Thierry Omeyer

Thierry Omeyer

File:Thierry Omeyer.jpg
Personal information
Born	(1976-11-02) November 2, 1976 Mulhouse, France
Nationality	French
Height
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Nickname	"TiTi"
Club information
Current club	PSG Handball
Number	16
Youth clubs
1985–1994	Cernay
Senior clubs
1994–2000 2000–2006 2006–2013 2013–2014 2014–	Sélestat HB Montpellier Handball THW Kiel Montpellier Handball PSG Handball
National team
1999–	France	325 (2)
Medal record Olympic Games 2008 Beijing Team 2012 London Team World Championship 2001 France 2009 Croatia 2011 Sweden 2015 Qatar 2003 Portugal 2005 Tunisia European Championship 2006 Switzerland 2010 Austria 2014 Denmark 2008 Norway

Thierry Omeyer (born 2 November 1976) is a French handball goalkeeper who currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain Handball. Member of the French national team since 1999, he has won all major titles with the team: world champion (four times), European champion (three times) and Olympic champion (twice).

He is widely considered to be one of the best handball goalkeepers of all time, and is the third goalkeeper so far to have been elected best player of the world by the International Handball Federation (the two others being Henning Fritz, in 2004, and Árpád Sterbik, in 2005), what he achieved in 2008. In his former club (THW Kiel), his nickname was Die Mauer (The Wall).

Club career

Omeyer started handball at age 9 in Cernay (Alsace). In 1994, he joined his first professional club, Sélestat. His save percentage being up to 50%, he caught the attention of the best club in the French championship, Montpellier. Quickly becoming the first choice goalkeeper, he won five championships (from 2002 to 2006) and five national cups (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006). The biggest highlight of his time there is the win of the 2003 EHF Champions League, a title that had never been won by a French club before.

In 2006, he decided to leave for a more competitive championship and joined the German club THW Kiel, with whom he won the double, the championship and the national cup in 2007 and 2008, plus the Champions League in 2007 and 2010.

International career

He made his debut for the French national team on September 19, 1999 against Romania. In 2001, he became World champion after beating Sweden 28-25 (after two extra-times) in the final.

In 2008, he became Olympic champion after an excellent tournament where he was voted best goalkeeper with a rate of 41% shots saved all over the competition. In the final, he saved 11 shots out of 39 to ensure France's 28-23 win over Iceland.

In 2015, he became World champion after beating Qatar 25-22. He was voted best goalkeeper and the MVP of the tournament.

Individual awards

• Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship: 2015
• All-Star Goalkeeper of the World Championship: 2011, 2015
• All-Star Goalkeeper of the European Championship: 2006
• IHF World Player of the Year: 2008