Laurent Munier (born 30 September 1966 in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

) is a French former

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

player and since 2002 the sporting director at who competed in the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. He won the 1995 World Championship with the French national team.

Career

Munier started playing handball at Villeurbanne HBC in his hometown Lyon. In 1985 he joined second tier team HBC Villefranche, where he managed to get promoted in 1986 to the top french league. In 1987 he joined

Vénissieux HB Vénissieux (; Arpitan: or in the Lyonnais dialect) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France. Geography Vénissieux is located on the southern outskirts of Lyon. The name ''Vénissieux'' deri ...

, where he won the 1992 French championship and the 1991 and 1992

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

. In 1993 he joined OM Vitrolles. Here he won the French championship again in 1994 and 1996 and the Coupe de France in 1995. In 1994 he reached the final of the

EHF Cup Winners' Cup The EHF Cup Winners' Cup was the official competition for men's and women's handball clubs of Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocea ...

, but lost the final to

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly known as FC Barcelona and colloquially as Barça (), is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of ...

. When OM Vitrolles in 1996 had financial issues and were administratively relegated, he joined

Istres Provence Handball Istres Provence Handball is a handball club from Istres, France. Currently, Istres Provence Handball competes in the French Second League of Handball. Crest, colours, supporters Naming history Kits Team Current squad :''Squad ...

. After a season at Istres, he was without a club for half a year before joining the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

side

VfL Gummersbach VfL Gummersbach is a professional handball club from the German city of Gummersbach, North Rhine-Westphalia. Currently, VfL Gummersbach competes in the Handball-Bundesliga and the DHB-Pokal. The club has seen great success, especially from the ...

in December 1997. Here he played the rest of the season, before joining the 2nd Bundesliga team SG PSV Solingen in 1998. From 1999 to 2003 he played for Chambéry SG, where he won the French Championship in 2001 and the French League Cup in 2002, before retiring. After he retired as a player, he became the general director at Chambéry SG, where he had played himself.

National team

Munier debuted for the French National Team in 1987. In 1992 he was a member of the French team which won the bronze medal at the

1992 Olympics 1992 Olympics may refer to: *1992 Summer Olympics, which were held in Barcelona, Spain *1992 Winter Olympics The 1992 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVI Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Albertville '92 (Franco-Provença ...

. He played all seven matches and scored 26 goals. A year later he won silver medals at the 1993 World Championship. Two years later he won the 1995 World Championship. In 1994 he was temporarily excluded from the French national team by head coach Daniel Costantini for "unacceptable behaviour towards the referees"..

External links

profile

References

1966 births Living people French male handball players Olympic handball players for France Handball players at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in handball Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics French handball coaches Handball players from Lyon VfL Gummersbach players Chambéry Savoie Mont-Blanc Handball players French expatriate handball players in Germany 20th-century French sportsmen {{France squad 1995 World Men's Handball Championship