Welcome to Straight Handball Talk

Staffan Olsson has had a truly remarkable handball career both as a player and as a coach. He was part of the Swedish national team nicknamed the Bengan Boys—one of the greatest national teams in the history of the sport—and has won medals in all major international competitions.

In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Jérôme Fernandez shares his recollection of the 2009 IHF World Championship finals in Zagreb, against Croatia where he, as the first time team captain led France to victory while overcoming challenging times in his personal life.

In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Ivan and Bini reflect on what makes The World’s Handball Club who they are while also sharing a few memories from their long-shared handball experiences that have turned into a priceless brotherhood.

Lewis Howes is an entrepreneur, influencer, and business coach. His podcast, The School of Greatness, is one of the top 100 iTunes podcasts with over 250 million downloads. In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Lewis Howes and Bini Mustafa talk about Lewis’ unusual start to handball in 2011. Lewis went on to kickstart his handball career at age 29, making his dream of representing Team USA in international competition come true.

Tom O'Brannagáin is the voice of handball in all English-speaking countries, commentating for the EHF on EHFTV.com. He has also played and coached handball at an international level and is one of the responsible people you are glued to your TV while Champions League matches are underway.

Goran Šprem played for the Croatian national team for ten years. As part of Croatia’s golden handball generation, he has won Olympic and World Championship medals In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Goran reflects on some critical moments in his career and shares his take on the recent successes of a new generation in the Croatian national team.

Xavier O'Callaghan is a two-time Olympian who played 19 seasons for FC Barcelona handball, winning many titles. His dedication to Barca has stretched for 34 years into his life. Xavi is now the Managing Director for FC Barcelona in the Americas, focusing on the expansion of Barcelona's fundamental beliefs.

Marko Savovski is the Operational Manager for RK Vardar. As current regional SEHA League and EHF Champions League title holders, Vardar is the most successful handball team in Macedonia and, as of late, among the world's most successful.

Divine Jackson is among the most successful American handball players and was recently appointed Northeast Regional Director by USA Team Handball. In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Divine and Bini discuss the US handball trajectory leading up to the Olympics in LA in 2028.

David Degouy is an integral part of the talent development in Montpelier, the most successful handball club in France. He runs their handball academy and works as an assistant coach to the legendary coach Patrice Canayer.

Drew Donlin is an American handball player and the Air Force Captain. He joined Ademar León in August of 2019, becoming the first American handball player to play in EHF European Cup and score a goal. In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Drew tells Bini how he got introduced to handball, the most significant challenges he is facing while developing specific skills, and understanding the positions and tactical aspects of the professional game.

In this episode of Straight Handball Talk, Christoph and Bini discuss how handball had a critical role in their friendship, work, and life in general. They reminisce about their best moments on the court, and the impact handball has had in Christoph’s professional career as one of the future leaders in corporate America.

Carlos Prieto is a retired Spanish handball player who played for top European clubs, and at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing won a bronze medal by defeating Croatia where he scored 7 goals.

John Ryan represented Team USA in 1993 World Championships. He also runs Team Handball News independent news and commentary outlet for the Olympic sport of Team Handball and is a graduate of the European Handball Managers Course.

Sayed Shalaby plays for NYC Team Handball Club and has won multiple US National Gold medals and MVPs. He also represented Team USA at the 2019 Pan Am Games in Peru.

Danilo Rojevic was born in Yugoslavia but moved to Switzerland when he was very young. He moved to the USA in 2015 and for the past 4 years has been the head coach of San Francisco Cal Heat.

Vladimir Bicvic is the current handball player for NYC Team Handball Club, a former member of Team USA, and bronze medalist at the Youth Handball World Championships with Croatia.

Julio Sainz has a great international coaching career with well over 100 international matches taking charge of not only the USA Men’s program, but women’s too, as well as the Puerto Rican women’s team, and both the Colombian men’s and women’s teams.

Mark Ortega is the assistant coach of Team USA, and recently became the first American born to coach at the IHF Super Globe, and become the head coach of the ladies team from HV KRAS Volendam in Holland.

Gil Pires is an 8-time World Champion in beach handball with the National team of Brazil and received the highest honors from IOC as the Olympic Athlete Role Model. He also played for NYC Team Handball Club at the 2019 IHF Super Globe in Saudi Arabia.

Vid Kavticnik is a handball legend and has won almost every title in the world of handball. He is a 4-time German Champion with THW Kiel, 3-time French Champion with Montpellier, 2-time Champions League Winner with each team. He won a silver medal at Euro Championship, bronze at World Championships, and is a 2-time Olympian with the Slovenian National Team.

Kim Ekdahl Du Rietz is a 2-time Bundesliga Champion with Rhein Neckar Lowen. He also won the French title with PSG. In 2012 he competed for the National team of Sweden at the Olympic Games in London where they won the silver medal.

Laszlo Nagy has won multiple titles and trophies with Barcelona in Asobal League, Copa del Rey. He’s a 2-time EHF Champions League winner but played 7-times in the finals. He also won the EHF Cup, is a 2-time 4th place finisher at the Olympic games (2004 and 2012), multiple SEHA league champion, multiple Hungarian Championships, and Cups.