Bruno Martini (born 1970) is a French former

team 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 Handball goalkeeper, goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands ...

goalkeeper. He was a part of the French national team that won the 1995 World Championship; the first time France ever won a major international tournament.

Career

Martini played for the OM Vitrolles between 1991-1994, where he won 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 ...

in 1993 and the French Championship in 1994. In 1994 he joined Istres Provence Handball, where he played for a year before returning to OM Vitrolles. Here he once again won the French championship, before leaving for Spanish

SD Teucro Sociedad Deportiva Teucro is a team handball, handball team based in Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in Spain. SD Teucro currently plays (2015–16 season) in Liga ASOBAL. For sponsorship reasons the club has previously been known as ''Teu ...

, when OM Vitrolles went bankrupt and were administratively relegated. After a year in Spain he returned to France and played for Spacer's Toulouse. Here he won the

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 1998, before joining Spanish team BM Cangas. In the 1999-2000 season he joined 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 HC Wuppertal. From 2000 to 2003 he played for

Montpellier Handball Montpellier Handball, formerly named Montpellier Agglomération Handball, is a professional handball club from Montpellier, France. Montpellier is the only French club to ever have won the EHF Champions League. History The team was founded as ...

, where he won the French championship and Cup in 2002 and in 2003. At the end of his career he also played for Paris Handball and

USAM Nîmes The United Autonomous Unions of Madagascar (USAM) is a national trade union center in Madagascar. It is affiliated with the International Trade Union Confederation The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC; ; ; ) is the world's lar ...

. In March 2009 he came back from retirement to join German side

THW Kiel THW Kiel is a professional handball club from Kiel, Germany. Currently, they compete in the Handball-Bundesliga and are the record champion with 23 titles. 2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed t ...

to replace the injured

Andreas Palicka Andreas Miroslav Palicka (; , ; born 10 July 1986) is a Swedish professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the Swedish national team. Club career Palicka began his professional handball career at Redbergslids IK in 2002. He join ...

. In that season he won both the

and the

DHB-Pokal The DHB-Pokal (English: German Handball Federation Cup) is an elimination handball tournament held annually in Germany. It is the second most important handball national title in the country after the Handball-Bundesliga championship. DHB-Pokal ...

National team

Martini played a total of 202 national team games for

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He debuted in 1990, a month after turning 20, against the Soviet Union. With France he won the

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and 2001 World Championships. At the

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and 2003 World Championships he won bronze medals with the French team. He also competed at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, where he placed 4th with the French team, and also at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, where the team placed 6th.

Post playing career

Together with his wife, Sonia, he had the Markerting company ''MP Sport'', which works with the French league and several French clubs. From 2010 Until January 15th, 2021 he was the General Manager at

Paris Saint-Germain Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain () or simply PSG, is a French professional Association football, football club based in Paris. They compete in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top d ...

. In November 2021 he was elected as the President of the French handball league,

Ligue Nationale de Handball The ''Ligue Nationale de Handball'' () is a governing body established in 2004 to administer French men's professional handball autonomously from the national federation (FFHB). It has jurisdiction over the country's top two men's divisions, a cup ...

Sexual abuse trial

In January 2023 it became public that Martini was under investigation of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

against a minor and of possession of child pornography. He agreed to a 1 year suspended sentence as a

Plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...

and withdrew from the presidency of the French league. He was replaced by David Tebib. He had been made a knight of the French

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, but was excluded following the trial.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martini, Bruno 1970 births Living people French male handball players Olympic handball players for France Handball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Salon-de-Provence Montpellier Handball players Paris Saint-Germain Handball players French sports executives and administrators French expatriate handball players in Spain French expatriate handball players in Germany Sportspeople convicted of crimes French sex offenders People stripped of awards THW Kiel players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for France Mediterranean Games medalists in handball USAM Nîmes Gard players Fenix Toulouse Handball players 20th-century French sportsmen