THW Kiel is a professional handball club from Kiel, Germany. The club competes in the Handball-Bundesliga and is the record champion with 23 titles. 2007 and 2012 were the most successful years in the club's history, as THW completed the treble, winning the domestic league, the domestic cup, and the EHF Champions League. In 2012, the team won every league game, a first in any top-flight German team sports. They ended the 2019–20 season as winners of the EHF Champions League and champions of the Handball-Bundesliga. Since then, they have secured additional league titles in 2021 and 2023, along with the DHB-Pokal in 2025. They have the nickname 'the zebras' and have a rivalry with fellow Schleswig-Holstein team SG Flensburg-Handewitt.

History

The club was founded on 4 February 1904, as a gymnastics association. From the beginning it was only a men's club, but from 1907 women were included too. The handball department was founded in summer 1923, initially focusing on field handball before transitioning to indoor handball. The opening of the Ostseehalle in Kiel in 1951 provided a key venue for indoor handball, boosting the sport's popularity locally. THW Kiel achieved its first national indoor handball championship in 1957. In 1992, the professional handball team became an independent entity as THW Kiel Handball-Bundesliga GmbH & Co. KG.

Crest, colours, supporters Kits HOME

AWAY

Rivalries The main rival of THW Kiel is SG Flensburg-Handewitt. The derby between them is called the "Nordderby" and have regularly and closely fought for national championships and in finals of the DHB-Pokal. As of March 2025, 114 matches have been contested between the two sides, with THW winning 67 and SG with 42 victories.

Accomplishments Handball-Bundesliga: 23 : 1957, 1962, 1963, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2023 : 1953, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1983, 1985, 1989, 2004, 2011, 2019, 2022 DHB-Pokal: 13 : 1998, 1999, 2000, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2025 : 1979, 1990, 2005 DHB-Supercup: 13 : 1995, 1998, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 : 1994, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019, 2025 EHF Champions League: 4 : 2007, 2010, 2012, 2020 : 2000, 2008, 2009, 2014 : 2022, 2024 EHF Cup / EHF European League: 4 : 1998, 2002, 2004, 2019 : 2026 : 2025 EHF Men's Champions Trophy: 1 : 2007 : 2004 : 2001, 2008 IHF Men's Super Globe: 1 : 2011 : 2012, 2019 German Championship: 2 (Field handball) : 1948, 1950 : 1951, 1953 Double: 8 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2011–12, 2012–13 Triple Crown: 2 2006–07, 2011–12

Team Current squad Squad for the 2026–27 season

Goalkeepers 1 Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas 33 Andreas Wolff 36 Tobias Dengler Left wingers 23 Rune Dahmke 74 Vincent Büchner Right wingers 3 Jarnes Faust 24 Lukas Zerbe Line players 20 Lukas Laube 61 Hendrik Pekeler 93 Veron Načinović

Left backs 7 Julian Köster 21 Eric Johansson Central backs 4 Domagoj Duvnjak (c) 22 Rasmus Ankermann 35 Domen Makuc 71 Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu Right backs 6 Harald Reinkind 11 Emil Madsen

Transfers

Transfers for the 2027–28 season

Joining Justus Fischer (LP) (from TSV Hannover-Burgdorf)

Leaving Elias Ellefsen á Skipagøtu (CB) (to Aalborg Håndbold)

Transfer History

Transfers for the 2026–27 seasonJoining Domen Makuc (CB) from FC Barcelona Julian Köster (LB) from VfL Gummersbach Jarnes Faust (RW) from TBV Lemgo Lippe Vincent Büchner (LW) from ThSV Eisenach Leon Nowottny (GK) back from loan at TV Großwallstadt

Leaving Magnus Landin Jacobsen (LW) to Aalborg Håndbold Nikola Bilyk (LB) to HC Kriens-Luzern Bence Imre (RW) to ONE Veszprém Petter Øverby (LP) to HSG Wetzlar Mohab Abdelhak (RB) to RK Vardar Leon Nowottny (GK) to HSV Hamburg Johan Rohwer (LB) on loan at TV Großwallstadt

Transfers for the 2025–26 seasonJoining Gonzalo Pérez de Vargas (GK) from FC Barcelona Lukas Laube (LP) from TVB Stuttgart Veron Načinović (LP) (from Montpellier Handball Mohab Abdelhak (RB) from USAM Nîmes Gard

Leaving Tomáš Mrkva (GK) to SC DHfK Leipzig Patrick Wiencek (LP) (retires) Henri Pabst (RB) to TuS N-Lübbecke Linus Kutz (CB) to VfL Eintracht Hagen Leon Nowottny (GK) on loan at TV Großwallstadt

Staff Staff for the 2026–27 season

Pos.NameManaging director Viktor SzilágyiHead coach Børge LundAssistant coach Christian SprengerGoalkeeping coach Mattias AnderssonTeam physicianDr. Detlev BrandeckerTeam physicianDr. Frank PriesTeam leaderMichael MenzelPhysiotherapistMaik BoltePhysiotherapistStephan LienauPhysiotherapistJan Bock

Notable former players

Heinrich Dahlinger (1936–1966) Michael Krieter (1983–1998) Wolfgang Schwenke (1996–2001) Uwe Schwenker (1980–1992) Henning Fritz (2001–2007) Dominik Klein (2006–2016) Thomas Knorr (1992–1998) Tobias Reichmann (2009–2012) Christian Sprenger (2009–2017) Christian Zeitz (2003–2014, 2016–2018) Andreas Wolff (2016–2019) Christian Dissinger (2015–2018) Dario Quenstedt (2019–2022) Stefan Lövgren (1999–2009) Staffan Olsson (1996–2003) Magnus Wislander (1990–2002) Johan Petersson (2001–2005) Kim Andersson (2005–2012) Marcus Ahlm (2003–2013) Peter Gentzel (2009–2010) Henrik Lundström (2004–2012) Martin Boquist (2003–2005) Mattias Andersson (2001–2008) Pelle Linders (2005–2007) Andreas Palicka (2008–2015) Lukas Nilsson (2016–2020) Nikolaj Jacobsen (1998–2004) Rasmus Lauge (2013–2015) René Toft Hansen (2012–2018) Lars Krogh Jeppesen (2006–2007) Morten Bjerre (2000–2003) Niklas Landin Jacobsen (2015–2023) Magnus Landin Jacobsen (2018–2026) Nikola Bilyk (2016–2026) Nikola Karabatić (2005–2009) Daniel Narcisse (2009–2013) Thierry Omeyer (2006–2013) Jérôme Fernandez (2010–2011) Igor Anić (2015–2016) Vincent Gérard (2023–2024) Børge Lund (2007–2010) Frode Hagen (2004–2006) Steinar Ege (1999–2002, 2015) Sander Sagosen (2020–2023) Goran Stojanović (1996–1999) Ljubomir Pavlović (2003) Momir Ilić (2009–2013) Marko Vujin (2012–2019) Davor Dominiković (2002–2003) Ilija Brozović (2016–2017) Blaženko Lacković (2016–2017) Marek Panas (1982–1989) Daniel Waszkiewicz (1987–1990) Piotr Przybecki (2001–2004) Predrag Timko (1977–1980) Nenad Peruničić (1997–2001) Goran Stojanović (1996–1999) Guðjón Valur Sigurðsson (2012–2014) Aron Pálmarsson (2009–2015) Filip Jícha (2007–2015) Pavel Horák (2019–2022) Vid Kavtičnik (2005–2009) Miha Zarabec (2017–2023) Demetrio Lozano (2001–2004) Joan Cañellas (2014–2016) Wael Jallouz (2013–2014) Zvonimir Serdarušić (1980–1981) Andrei Xepkin (2007) Julio Fis (2001–2002)

Notable former coaches Fritz Westheider (1930–1958) Heinrich Dahlinger (1958–1972) Kurt Bartels, Rolf Krabbenhöft, Bernd Struck (1972–1973) Adolf Gabriel (1973–1975) Werner Kirst (1975) Gerd Welz (1975–1977) Željko Seleš (1977–1978) Werner Kirst (1978–1979) Gerd Welz (1979–1980) Marinko Andrić (1980–1981) Herward Wieck (1981–1982) Jóhann Ingi Gunnarsson (1983–1986) Marek Panas (1987–1989) Josip Milković (1989) Holger Oertel (1989–1992) Uwe Schwenker (1993) Zvonimir Serdarušić (1993–2008) Alfreð Gíslason (2008–2019) Filip Jícha (2019–2026)

References

External links