Metz Handball

Metz Handball
Metz Handball
Full name	Metz Handball
Short name	Metz HB
Founded	1965
Arena	Les Arènes
Capacity	4,500 / 5,000
President	Thierry Weizman
Head coach	Emmanuel Mayonnade
League	Ligue Butagaz Énergie
2023–24	Champion
Club colours
Home	Away
	Website ; Official site

Metz Handball is a French handball club from Metz, France. Founded in 1965 under the name ASPTT Metz, the club has an exceptional track record with some 40 titles won, which is the all-time record for a French women's team sport. Chaired by Thierry Weizman since 2005, the club is becoming increasingly professional and now aims to play a leading role in Europe.

The men's team also played in 1st League between 1971 and 1983, and nowadays plays in Nationale 1 (3rd division) since 2020.

Metz

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Location of Metz Handball

History

Over the past few decades, Metz Handball has become the most prestigious women's handball club in France. It is also one of the oldest institutions playing in the French elite.

The club was created in 1965 under the name of ASPTT Metz, but it wasn't until 1968, with the creation of the women's team, that the club became well-known in the sport.^[1]

Second-place finishers in France and semi-finalists in the Cup of Cups in 1977, the men's team gave ASPTT Metz its first prestige on a major stage. But in the shadow of the men's team, the women's team progressed year after year until being promoted in 1986 to France's top tier, without being relegated since. The coach of the team at that time was Frenchman Olivier Krumbholz, who later became the successful national manager for France. Since the promotion, Metz HB has had overwhelming success with 24 National Championships from 1989 to 2022, which is the all-time record in the French Women's First League Championship.^[2]

Metz Handball is progressively establishing itself as a strong place in European handball. A first epic saw the Dragonnes reach the semi-final of the Cup Winners Cup in 1999. They then became famous in the EHF Cup where, after several quarter finals, they played a first European final in 2013 but did not manage to win the title. The following seasons, the club gains momentum and shines in the Champions League. Unlucky quarter-finalists in 2017 and 2018, Metz participated for the first time in the Final 4 of Europe's most prestigious competition in 2019, where they finished fourth.^[3]

After a season without any trophy in 2021, Metz Handball realizes the most beautiful season of its history. The club won a 24th French Championship title, a 10th French Cup, and became famous in the Ligue Butagaz Énergie with a flawless record: 26 victories in 26 games. For the second time in its history, the Dragonnes participated in the Final 4 of the Women's EHF Champions League and won their first European medal by finishing third.^[4]

Name

1967–2002: ASPTT Metz
2002–2005: Handball Metz Métropole
2005–2009: Handball Metz Moselle Lorraine
2009–: Metz Handball

Results

National competitions

French Championship:
- Winners (26): 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
- Runners-up (7): 1991, 1992, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2021
French Cup:
- Winners (12): 1990, 1994, 1998, 1999, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024
- Runners-up (7): 1987, 1992, 1993, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2018
French League Cup [fr]:
- Winners (7): 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2014
- Runners-up (1): 2004

International competitions

EHF Cup (C3):
- Silver: 2013
EHF Cup Winners' Cup (C2):
- Semi-finalist: 1999, 2004, 2010, 2011
EHF Champions League (C1):
- Bronze: 2022
- Fourth place: 2019, 2024
- Quarterfinalists: 2017, 2018, 2021, 2023

European record

Record^[5]
Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2024–25	EHF Champions League	Group stage Group A	FTC-Rail Cargo Hungaria	24–19		1st
			CSM București		31–32
			RK Krim	34–30	25–34
			Storhamar HE		29–29
			Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub		27–28
			HC Podravka Vegeta	35–31
			CS Gloria Bistrița	28–26

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2024-25 season

Goalkeepers

Wingers players
LW

06 Chloé Valentini (c)
23 Zaliata Mlamali

RW

28 Lucie Granier
98 Manon Errard

Line players

15 Anne-Emmanuelle Augustine
27 Sarah Bouktit

Back players
LB

CB

RB

20 Laura Flippes
24 Emma Jacques [fr]

Information of players out on loan
No.	Nat.	Player	Position	Date of Birth	Since	Loan until	Current club
71		Mélanie Halter	Goalkeeper	17 June 2002	1 July 2024	30 June 2025	Mosonmagyaróvári KC SE
11		Mia Brkic	Line Player	11 May 2003	1 July 2024	30 June 2026	RK Podravka Koprivnica

Squad information
No.	Nat.	Player	Position	Date of Birth	In	Contract until	Previous club
1		Camille Depuiset	Goalkeeper	19 October 1998	2022	2025	Bourg-de-Péage Drôme Handball
6		Chloé Valentini	Left Wing	19 April 1995	2021	2027	ESBF Besançon
7		Allison Pineau	Centre Back	2 May 1989	2024	2025	RK Krim
8		Anne Mette Hansen	Left Back	25 August 1994	2023	2025	Győri ETO KC
9		Tyra Axnér	Left Back	18 March 2002	2024	2027	Nykøbing Falster Håndboldklub
15		Anne-Emmanuelle Augustine	Line Player	10 July 2001	2024	2026	OGC Nice Handball
16		Cléopâtre Darleux	Goalkeeper	1 July 1989	2024	2025	Brest Bretagne Handball
20		Laura Flippes	Right Back	13 December 1994	2024	2027	CSM București
23		Zaliata Mlamali	Left Wing	23 February 2003	2023	2025
24		Emma Jacques	Right Back	29 November 2001	2021	2025
27		Sarah Bouktit	Line Player	27 August 2002	2021	2026	Fleury Loiret HB
28		Lucie Granier	Right Wing	11 June 1999	2023	2025	ESBF Besançon
29		Léna Grandveau	Centre Back	21 January 2003	2024	2025	Neptunes de Nantes
31		Djazz Chambertin	Left Back	24 May 1997	2023	2025	OGC Nice Handball
37		Zsófi Szemerey	Goolkeeper	2 June 1994	2024	2026	Mosonmagyaróvári KC SE
38		Petra Vámos	Centre Back	14 September 2000	2024	2027	Debreceni VSC
98		Manon Errard	Right Wing	9 February 2005	2024	2025

Transfers

Transfers for the 2025–26 season

Joining

Leaving

Cléopatre Darleux (GK) (retires)?
Camille Depuiset (GK) (to ?)
Allison Pineau (CB) (retires)?

Technical staff

Staff for the 2024–25 season

Head coach: Emmanuel Mayonnade
Assistant coach: Yekaterina Andryushina
Physical coach: Samuel Breton
Goalkeeping coach: None
Physiotherapist: Alexandre Pawlowski
Physiotherapist: Pierre Gillet
Physiotherapist: Charles Balanger
Doctor: Thierry Weizman

Academy

Training Center

As of the 2023–24 season^[6]

Goalkeepers

12 Elihanna Rodrigo Da Costa
66 Fatima Camara

Left Wingers

05 Nélya Goval
29 Clara Bonne

Right Wingers

19 Délia Golvet (c)
78 Clémence Castets

Line Players

22 Alice Giliberto
25 Eléa Ferdilus
88 Marie-Eve Holler

Left Backs

14 Yvana Antangana
32 Maily Etilopy

Centre Backs

17 Claire Koestner
57 Anaïs Ababsa

Right Backs

03 Ludyvine Kaakil-Talaba
18 Fiona Gooroosamy

Men's team

As of the 2024–25 season^[7]

Goalkeepers

25 Clément Tamagna
27 Thibaut Jean
97 Nicolas Balmy

Left Wingers

09 Geoffrey Bettendeld
24 Vincent Massaro
28 Romain Rennié

Right Wingers

08 Florian Beck
19 Nathan Andrezo
44 Xavier Blond

Line Players

13 Emile Clément
33 Simon Voltz Marty
94 Thibaut Van Deik

Left Backs

12 Lory Altis
45 Antonin Bertrand

Centre Backs

14 Guillaume Bettenfeld (c)
57 Simon Vauchelet
77 Alexandre Belin

Right Backs

10 Steven Bello
18 Luka Miojevic

Statistics

Top scorers in the EHF Champions League

(All-Time) – Last updated on 17 November 2024^[8]

Rank	Name	Seasons played	Goals
1	Grâce Zaadi	8	300
2	Sarah Bouktit	5	271
3	Chloé Valentini	4	256
4	Ana Gros	4	231
5	Louise Burgaard	5	211
6	Meline Nocandy	7	198
7	Jurswailly Luciano	10	181
8	Kristina Jørgensen	2	170
9	Xenia Smits	5	162
10	Laura Flippes	6	159

Individual awards in the EHF Champions League

Season	Player	Award
2018–19^[9]	Manon Houette	All–Star Team (Best Left Wing)
2018–19^[9]	Emmanuel Mayonnade	All–Star Team (Best Coach)
2019–20^[10]	Emmanuel Mayonnade	All–Star Team (Best Coach)
2023–24^[11]	Chloé Valentini	All–Star Team (Best Left Wing)
2023–24^[11]	Sarah Bouktit	All–Star Team (Best Line Player)

Notable former players

Head coach history

	Claude Guillois	1980–1985
	Olivier Krumbholz	1985–1995
	Joël Monasso	1995–1996
	Patrick Passemard	2003
	Bertrand François	1996–2003; 2004–2006; 2009–2010
	Dragan Majstrorovic	2010
	Sébastien Gardillou	2010–2012
	Sandor Rac	2006–2009; 2012–2014
	Jérémy Roussel^[12]	2014–2015
	Emmanuel Mayonnade	2015–

Stadium

Name: Les Arènes
City: Metz
Capacity: 4,500 / 5,000
Address: 5 avenue Louis-le-Débonnaire 57000
Played in the arena since: 2001-

Kit manufacturers

Kempa

References

^ "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.
^ "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.
^ "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.
^ "EHF Final4 Women 2022". European Handball Federation.
^ "European record - Metz Handball". EHF. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
^ "NATIONALE 1F". Retrieved 26 September 2023.
^ "NATIONALE 1M". Retrieved 18 November 2024.
^ "Metz Handball". European Handball Federation.
^ "All-Star team gets fresh look in 2019". eurohandball.com. 10 May 2019.
^ "New All-Star Team features three fresh names and returning Neagu". eurohandball.com. 5 June 2020.
^ "EHF Excellence Awards 2024: These are the season's best players". eurohandball.com. 27 June 2024.
^ "New coach in Metz as Roussel has responded to call of Chartres". handball-world. Retrieved 2021-05-02.

External links

Media related to Metz Handball at Wikimedia Commons
Official website

[1] "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.

[2] "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.

[3] "History of Metz Handball". metz-handball.com (in French). June 2023.

[4] "EHF Final4 Women 2022". European Handball Federation.

[5] "European record - Metz Handball". EHF. Retrieved 27 June 2024.

[team1-6] "NATIONALE 1F". Retrieved 26 September 2023.

[team2-7] "NATIONALE 1M". Retrieved 18 November 2024.

[auto-8] "Metz Handball". European Handball Federation.

[9] "All-Star team gets fresh look in 2019". eurohandball.com. 10 May 2019.

[10] "New All-Star Team features three fresh names and returning Neagu". eurohandball.com. 5 June 2020.

[11] "EHF Excellence Awards 2024: These are the season's best players". eurohandball.com. 27 June 2024.

[12] "New coach in Metz as Roussel has responded to call of Chartres". handball-world. Retrieved 2021-05-02.

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