Bob Hanning: Napoleon resigns

Anyone who thinks it is exaggerated that Bob Hanning brings an autobiography to bookstores on his departure as Vice President of the German Handball Federation (DHB), on the cover of which he sits on a golden throne, let me tell you: That was really to be expected! Hanning, 53, is the greatest media professional that German handball has ever seen. Someone who always stands in the loudest wind, calls himself “Napoleon”, who appears in a brightly colored sweater for the interview on the topic of the day – and who has moved a lot in the background. If Hanning now resigns, one thing is certain in handball: it will be a little quieter in the future in the sport.

For eight years, Hanning was the most prominent head of the DHB presidium, contentious and argumentative, with a great will to reform. This is what his book “Hanning. Power. Handball.” (Edel Sports), which is “no accounting book”, as Hanning assures. In which he does not leave out any controversy: He describes the gossip that prevailed when Hanning challenged the previous association leadership with his controversial thesis paper in 2013. He recapitulates the row with the former DHB President Bernhard Bauer; likewise the term of office of the national coach Christian Prokop, which Hanning first installed against resistance, then held in office and finally had to state that none of this was a fully developed idea. “Enduring me,” says Hanning, “was certainly not always easy.”

The sharpest sentences fall to Heiner Brand, the world champion player and coach, whom many call “a figure of light”, similar to Franz Beckenbauer in football. In 2015, Brand accused Hanning of being responsible for the split in the DHB, attesting that he had a “narcissistic personality”. Hanning says he found it difficult to write this chapter. He deals with his former friend and sponsor on eleven pages and describes why Brand is no longer a shining light for him. The personal attacks hit him deeply. “I made the promise to myself on my mother Layla’s deathbed,” writes Hanning, “I will not go to his funeral.”

People see him as a provocateur – Hanning prefers a “problem solver”

Hanning prefers to talk about his real passion, promoting young talent, and about his successes in the association. He experienced the DHB in a “second class” condition in 2013, since then the association has been turned inside out. With “Bob ‘n’ Roll” (Hannings word creation) he was swept over the DHB, with little consideration for the merits of former handball legends. And even if at times the color and pattern of Hannings sweaters were talked a little too much instead of the sporty: Structurally, the DHB is in good shape today.

Hanning’s dream of Olympic gold in Tokyo burst with a loud bang, but the youth national teams are successful, some major tournaments have been brought to Germany: the 2023 Junior World Cup, the 2024 Men’s European Championship, the 2026 Women’s World Cup and finally the Men’s World Cup 2027.

For Hanning, his job is done. It was not always easy to give the tough renovator: “There were moments when I would have liked not to be seen as a provocateur (…) who makes enemies everywhere.” More like the “problem solver I always thought I was”. On Sunday, Hanning will hand over his office to Jörg Föste, the managing director of Bergisches HC, provided that he is elected at the Bundestag in Düsseldorf. You will hardly have to worry that Hanning’s appointment calendar will be empty in the future. Handball will continue to determine his life, he still acts as managing director of the first division club Füchse Berlin; He’s also been a trainer since the summer at Füchse’s cooperation partner VfL Potsdam, which plays in the third division but urgently wants to get promoted.

What if someone asks him his opinion on the general weather situation in handball in the future? “I will be heard from time to time,” promises Hanning via Sports information service: “Where it is important. And maybe also where it hurts.”