Michael Biegler takes over German women's national team

Just about two months after Michael Biegler resigned from his position as head coach of the Polish national team, the 54-year-old has a new job that sees him returning to Germany and taking over the nation's women's national team.

He succeeds Dane Jakob Vestergaard whose contract had been terminated in mutual agreement between the coach and the German Handball Federation just about a week ago.

"We are proud that we could sign Michael Biegler; that's a strong signal for women's handball. We have huge ambitions as hosts of the World Championship 2017 and we want to reach the semi-final," said the federation's president Andreas Michelmann.

"Together with our new head coach and with the cooperation of everyone involved in the championship, we can be successful."

"I'm looking forward to the task. Coaching a national team is always a huge challenge," said Biegler.

"I like the high intensity of the project World Championship 2017 that all of us have to show immediately. But there is also another level to it: Besides achieving the desired performances and results, we want further develop the structures of women's handball as well support measures for its overall development." 

In the most recent past Michael Biegler had been the coach of the Poland's men's national team which he took over in 2012. At the World Championship 2015 he won bronze but resigned after his team failed to reach the semi-final at the EHF EURO 2016 at home.

His first matches courtside with the German women will be the EHF EURO 2016 qualifiers against Switzerland and Iceland at the beginning of June.