French Handball in great form
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Two and a half years after the victory of "Aimé Jacquet’s gang" at the Football World Cup, in February 2001 France won another title in a team sport world competition, a success which owes much to the man who has been the embodiment of French handball for more than fifteen years, coach-manager Daniel Costantini.
We shall now have to come to terms with the "Costauds", new holders of a world champion title. Bronze medallists at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, then world champions in 1995, the "Barjos" had adopted their name: "crazy ones" in recognition of the festive spirit which unites them off the pitch.
Rarely has the victory of a national team in a major competition been so narrowly associated with the personality of a single individual. On February 4, 2001, after the victory against Sweden in the final, the 17,000 spectators at the Paris-Bercy Palais Omnisports were not mistaken in giving Daniel Costantini, a great opera lover, an ovation worthy of that given to leading soprani.
For more than fifteen years, Daniel Costantini alone has been the embodiment of French handball, whose team was ranked 19th worldwide when he took it over in 1985. This fifty-seven year old native of Marseille has stood firm through every era without ever departing from his habit of outspokenness and a detachment which in the end bolstered his reputation.
Several times the free-thinker had been within a hair’s breadth of slamming the door, as happened during the Sydney Olympic Games (September 2000) when, frustrated by the attitude of some of his players, he almost walked out. In the end, the manager decided to stay on for the world championship, organised by the French Handball Federation (FFH). To ensure they did well, he sent some "handball barons" into early retirement, called on a few young players and put the man from Réunion, Jackson Richardson, once the best player in the world, in charge of play.
His players’ victory in the final against Sweden (28-25 after extra time) did not make Daniel Costantini go back on his decision to give up the French team. "I have contributed to what these lads have done all these years, but I am not the total explanation. I can’t say that I’m proud of myself, but I am proud I was there at the right time", he confided recently to a reporter from Le Monde, reflecting on what his life would be like from now on, far away from the courts. "I’m going to have to learn to enjoy something other than handball, to live differently, without the emotions I’ve experienced so far. Sport isn’t theatre where pastel colours dominate."
Journalist with the daily Le Monde
A few French handball recent success stories
Daniel Constantini’s team victory at the 2001 World Championship is just one more gem in the crown of an otherwise discreet, if not altogether absent, French sport in International events. The land of Pierre de Coubertin, founder of the modern Olympic Games at the onset of the XXth century, has acquired new visibility as illustrated by its sixth place medallist in the September 2000 Sydney (Australia) Olympic Games, (to be more specific : 38 medals - 13 gold, 14 silver, 11 bronze - See Label France n° 42). Some more recent results:
• Basket Ball: Silver medal at the Sydney Olympic against the US prestigious NBA selection. French women basket-ball players were vice-champions of Europe in 1999. In Messina (Italy), in the Euro League finals, the players of CJMB (Cercle Jean Macé de Bourges) became European Champions by defeating the Valenciennes Olympic Sports Union, another French team.
• Biathlon: The men’s team became World Champion in the relay race (4 x 7.5 km).
• Soccer : France achieved what had never before been achieved : World Cup in 1999 and European Champions in 2000 (See Label France n° 33 and 41).
• Rugby: After an epic game against New Zealand, French rugby players were qualified for the World Cup finals. (See Label France n° 39).
• Skiing: Régine Cavagnoud becomes World Champion in the Super G in March 2001. Christel Saïtoni gets the silver in the World Slalom competition in February 2001.
• Tennis: Amélie Mauresmo wins the GDF Open against the German Anke Huber and the Berlin Tournament in May 2001. She is therefore seeded the World 6th best woman player. Marseilles’ Arnaud Clément qualifies for the finals at the Australia International Open in January 2001.
• Sailing: Michel Desjoyaux, from Brittany, wins the "Vendée Globe" in February 2001.
The number of permit-holders in the French Handball Federation (FFHB), founded in 1941, began to grow significantly in the 1970s. 20,000 were registered in 1964, 100,000 in 1975 and 257,000 in 2000, of which 87 000 women and 170,000 men players; an enthusiasm due to the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, when an entire country discovered the talents of the French team. As for the women, they are not about to be outdone, with a silver medal picked up at the world championship in Norway, in 1999.
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