Paris Saint-Germain Handball

First titles (1941–2012)

The Parisian club was founded in 1941. Initially, it took the name of Patriotes d'Asnières before becoming Asnières Sports one year later. Asnières Sports was presided by Christian Picard, whose son Gérard Picard took over during the 1975–1976 season and remained president until 2003.^[1]

In 1987, the club's management succeeded in convincing the Paris City Council to partner Asnières Sports and create a major handball team in the capital. This resulted in the Hauts-de-Seine team moving to Paris and being renamed Paris-Racing-Asnières then Paris-Asnières. Relegated in 1989, Paris-Asnières immediately bounced back to the top flight in 1990 after winning the D2 title. At the time, the club's most notable players were future French internationals Jackson Richardson and Patrick Cazal.^[1]

In 1992, the club came under the management of Paris Saint-Germain, a partnership that lasted 10 years. This led to another name change, and Paris-Asnières became PSG-Asnières. PSG-Asnières finished second in the LNH Division 1 during the 1995–96 season and then reached the French Cup final in 2001, losing to Montpellier.^[1]

During that time, PSG-Asnières managed to attract several international players such as Stéphane Stoecklin, Denis Lathoud, Gaël Monthurel, Nenad Peruničić and Olivier Girault. The latter set up home in Paris in 1999, playing for the club until 2008 and then coaching the team until 2011.^[1]

Under yet another name, Paris Handball began 2002 with new club owner Louis Nicollin. During the next decade, the club played in the EHF Champions League during the 2005–06 season, and won its first major trophy in 2007 with star player Kévynn Nyokas. Paris Handball registered a 28-21 win in the French Cup final over Pays d'Aix.^[1]

But there were tough times too. At the end of the 2008–09 season, the club was relegated to Division 2. Paris Handball won the LNH Division 2 the very next season and rejoined the top clubs. In 2012, the team narrowly avoided relegation in the last round of play.^[1]

Domestic dominance (2012–)

PSG Handball players lifting the 2014–15 French Cup trophy.

After being bought by Paris Saint-Germain owners Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) in 2012, the club became Paris Saint-Germain Handball. Under the initiative of Nasser Al-Khelaifi, a new management and playing team was assembled. Jean-Claude Blanc was named General Manager; Philippe Gardent signed as first-team manager; and a host of international stars arrived at the French capital, including Didier Dinart, Luc Abalo, Samuel Honrubia, Mikkel Hansen, José Manuel Sierra and Antonio García.^[1]

In the 2012–13 season, PSG Handball claimed their maiden league success, which also meant the club secured a spot in the EHF Champions League. However, PSG were denied the double by Montpellier in the French Cup final.^[1]

Big-name signings kept coming in the 2013–14 season with the arrivals of Daniel Narcisse, Igor Vori, Jakov Gojun, Fahrudin Melić and Gábor Császár. PSG reached the Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in its history, but failed to keep up the pace with Dunkerque in the league. Despite this, the season finished on a high note, thanks to a victory in the French Cup final against Chambéry, adding a second national cup trophy to the club's honours.^[1]

In the 2014–15 season, new manager Zvonimir Serdarušić and star signing Nikola Karabatić led the capital club to its second league title following a nail-biting battle for top spot against Montpellier. PSG claimed the trophy on the last day of the season, after a win over Tremblay. The league crown rounded off a domestic treble, going alongside the French Cup and the French Super Cup that they had won after beating Nantes and Dunkerque, respectively. On the European stage, PSG's hopes were dashed, for a second time, by Veszprém in the Champions League semifinals.^[1]

PSG continued its winning ways in the 2015–16 season by claiming a second French Super Cup and a third league title. However, the crowning moment was reaching the Champions League Final4 for the first time in its history. Along the way, the club downed THW Kiel at the Sparkassen-Arena, where the German side had been undefeated for four years; topped its group for the first time ever; and trumped Kiel in the third-place play-off. Additionally, Mikkel Hansen set a new record for goals in a Champions League season, with no fewer than 141 strikes to his name.^[1]

Current squad

As of the 2018–19 season.^[5]

Transfers

Notable former players

Presidents

No.	President	Paris Saint-Germain	Honours
				1	Christian Picard	1941–1975
2	Gérard Picard	1975–2003	LNH Division 2 (2)
3	Jean-Claude Lemoult	2003–2009	Coupe de France (1)
4	Jean-Paul Onillon	2009–2012
5	Nasser Al-Khelaifi	2012–	LNH Division 1 (5) Coupe de France (3) Coupe de la Ligue (2) Trophée des Champions (3)

Managers

Raúl González

No.	Manager	Paris Saint-Germain	Honours
				1	Patrice Canayer	1990–1994
2	Risto Magdinčev	1994–1997
3	Nicolas Cochery	1997–2000
4	Boro Golić	2000–2003
5	Maxime Spincer	2003–2004 2011
6	Thierry Anti	2004–2008	Coupe de France (1)
7	Olivier Girault	2008–2011	LNH Division 2 (1)
8	François Berthier	2011–2012
9	Philippe Gardent	2012–2015	LNH Division 1 (2) Coupe de France (2) Trophée des Champions (1)
10	Zvonimir Serdarušić	2015–2018	LNH Division 1 (3) Coupe de France (1) Coupe de la Ligue (2) Trophée des Champions (2)
11	Raúl González	2018–