Dagur Sigurðsson (born 3 April 1973) is an Icelandic

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 ...

coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Croatian men's national team. He spent his career playing for clubs in Iceland, Germany and Japan before starting his coaching career in 2003 with Austrian team

Bregenz Bregenz (; ) is the capital of Vorarlberg, the westernmost states of Austria, state of Austria. The city lies on the east and southeast shores of Lake Constance, the third-largest freshwater lake in Central Europe, between Switzerland in the wes ...

as a

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. Dagur later coached the Austrian men's national team, German club Füchse Berlin, where he won 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 ...

and EHF Cup, the German men's national team, with whom he won the 2016 European Championship and earned the bronze medal at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

, and the Japanese men's national team, with whom he placed third and second at the

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Asian Championship respectively. Dagur became the head coach of the Croatian men's national handball team in February 2024 and led the team to a second-place finish at the 2025 World Championship. He was the IHF World Coach of the Year in 2015. Dagur was capped 215 times and scored 399 goals for the Icelandic national team. He captained the team from 1999 until his international retirement in 2005 and competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Club career

Dagur began his senior handball career at local club Valur in 1990, having passed through their youth system. He won the Icelandic Championship in his first season with the club, followed by an Icelandic Cup title in 1993 and four consecutive championship titles from 1993 to 1996. Dagur joined newly-formed German club HSG LTV/WSV Wuppertal in 1996, achieving promotion to the

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 ...

in the club's inaugural season, before moving to Japanese team Wakanuga Hiroshima in 2000. Dagur become the

of Austrian club

in 2003, winning four national championship titles and two cup titles before retiring as a player in 2007.

International career

Dagur made his debut for the Icelandic national handball team in 1992 and was made captain of the team in 1999. He was part of the team that competed at the

. Dagur was capped 215 times and scored 399 goals before retiring from the national team in 2005.

Coaching career

Dagur began his coaching career as a

for Austrian club

upon his transfer to the club in 2003. Following four consecutive national championship titles, he won a fifth title with the team in his first season after retiring as a player in 2008. That same year, he became the head coach of the Austrian men's national team, before joining German club Füchse Berlin in 2009. Dagur led the Austrian national team to a ninth-place finish at the 2010 European Championship and left the team that year. In 2014, he won the

with Füchse Berlin, the club's first major trophy, and became the head coach of the German men's national team. Dagur won the EHF Cup with Füchse Berlin in 2015 and left the team following the conclusion of the season. Dagur won the 2016 European Championship with the German national team and earned the bronze medal at the

. He left the team in 2017 to coach the Japanese men's national team, finishing third and second at the Asian Championship in

and

respectively. He became the head coach of the Croatian men's national team in 2024 and placed second at the 2025 World Championship.

Honours

Player

Valur * Icelandic Championship: 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996 * Icelandic Cup: 1993

* Austrian Championship: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 * Austrian Cup: 2003, 2006

Manager

* Austrian Championship: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 * Austrian Cup: 2003, 2006 Füchse Berlin *

: 2014 * EHF Cup:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

** :

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

: ** :

Japan * Asian Championship: ** :

** :

Croatia *

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

: ** :

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Individual * IHF World Coach of the Year: 2015

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sigurdsson, Dagur 1973 births Living people Dagur Sigurdsson Dagur Sigurdsson Dagur Sigurdsson Dagur Sigurdsson Handball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Icelandic expatriate handball players in Germany Dagur Sigurdsson Dagur Sigurdsson Dagur Sigurdsson Handball coaches of international teams Coaches at the 2024 Summer Olympics Expatriate sports coaches Icelandic expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate handball players in Japan Expatriate handball players in Austria