Five players that shaped Paris Saint-Germain history

Now in their 15th season, and even without actually lifting the most coveted trophy in men’s club handball, PSG have been playing a defining role in the EHF Champions League through the years.

On the eve of the MOTW against Barça, here is a look back at five iconic players in the Paris Saint-Germain jersey that shaped the club’s history.

Patrice Annonay — goalkeeper

This might seem an odd choice, but it’s not. The goalkeeper grew up at Paris Saint-Germain and has always managed to prove his competence. Annonay might have played his first EHF Champions League game only at 34, but he is best remembered for pulling off many impressive saves during his three seasons in the competition.

And while he left Paris Saint-Germain in 2016, it was only a matter of time before he would come back — and so he did in 2023, as an assistant coach to Raul Gonzalez. Last summer, he became the goalkeeper coach, a sign of recognition the club is giving Annonay, one of the players inducted into PSG Hall of Fame, with his jersey hanging high on the ceiling of Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Mikkel Hansen — left back

The arrival of the Danish superstar was the first statement that Paris Saint-Germain were not joking around. After a previous two-year stint at Barça and free from a contract when AG København went down in 2012, Hansen chose to sign with Paris. And the player with his trademark headband stayed in the French capital city for 10 seasons.

With Paris, he made the EHF Champions League All-star Team six times and in 2015/16 set the — still valid — record for most goals scored in a single season: 141. He never won the EHF Champios League, neither with PSG nor with Barça or Aalborg Håndbold, but Hansen remains one of the best and most iconic players ever at PSG.

Luc Abalo — right wing

The artistic part of this overview could have featured two wings: Uwe Gensheimer and Luc Abalo. Their goals are all-time hits on YouTube, but the fans in Coubertin were able to witness them live. Fresh from playing two EHF Champions League finals with Ciudad Real, Abalo joined Paris in 2012, and it somehow was like a homecoming for him.

Born in Ivry, just outside Paris’ ring road, Abalo felt at home in Paris. A true artist both on and off the court, he scored a string of iconic goals — including one in the EHF Champions League 2017/18 final against Vardar’s Arpad Sterbik. Abalo left the club through the back door, joining Elverum Håndball in Norway during the pandemic, but the fans have never forgotten about him.

Thierry Omeyer — goalkeeper

When Omeyer signed his contract with Paris Saint-Germain in 2014, he was already a four-time EHF Champions League winner, with Montpellier HB (2003) and THW Kiel (2007, 2010, 2012). No surprise his experience and his skills helped Paris reach the EHF FINAL4 three times in a row between 2016 and 2018. And he was only one save away from winning his fifth trophy and Paris’ first, but Vardar’s Ivan Cupic decided otherwise in the 2017 final.

Omeyer’s EHF Champions League career came to an end on a crazy April afternoon in 2019, when PSG came up just one goal short to make up for a 10-goal defeat in the first leg quarter-final leg against Industria Kielce. Omeyer never left PSG after his retirement as a player; he now is the club’s general manager.

Nikola Karabatic — left back

In one of the most talked-about transfers in handball, Paris Saint-Germain signed Nikola Karabatic in 2015 — fittingly on 14 July, France National Day. Three years after Mikkel Hansen, Paris got another player in their ranks who was widely seen as among the best in the world.

Karabatic had just won the EHF Champions League with Barça — his third title, with three different clubs — and his goal to make it four with four when he joined PSG. Even if the French side did come up short, Niko’s presence put the spotlight of the international handball scene even more on Paris. His legacy still lives on, and Nikola Karabatic still shows up for the big games in Coubertin, where his younger brother Luka is still on the court chasing the club’s ultimate dream.

photos © EHF archive / kolektiff