Asier Antonio, Handball Instructor at Frontignan THB Service
Arriving in the off-season, the Spanish technician managed to impose his vision of a game made of speed and enthusiasm. A passionate and fully invested coach, to whom FTHB owes a lot.
From Branko Karabatic to Renaud Boulanger, passing through Benjamin Korabat and Slavisa Ristevic, FTHB has had coaches who have made history. Captive Antonio will definitely be at the top of the list.
He arrived in France six years ago after a career in the Spanish League and some international selections, wore the colors of Nice, then was coach in 2018. The club with which he also won, in 2020, the title of best coach in Proligue. . Then Frontignan had the opportunity to get his hands on it.
Several steps forward
“It’s a bit in a parallel world sometimes, but what happiness!” His co-chair Sylvain Pellegrin rejoices. “His approach and modus operandi is very different from ours… He is a science of handball, a technician who is able to spend hours upon hours dissecting such a player or such a phase of the game. He is a man who has to play chess, he sees everything progress many times over.”
Multi-year project
But the “teacher” is nevertheless close to his students. As a young coach, he is still a player at heart and lives his job at 200%. However remarkable his results may be, they do not make him deviate from his unwavering investment and humility. “For this position we got leads from more experienced coaches but I wanted someone who was familiar with the tournament,” Sylvain Pellegrin continues. “And when we talked, I told him I didn’t want a mercenary. He was so offended. He’s so far from it…”
Asir Antonio may come out of the seraglio, his handball technique makes him a separate technician. The call for an amazing, passionate game where the pivots sometimes work more than the wings. It is unanimous in Ferrari’s sold-out room.
Graduated in Psychology, he’s also an avid gamer. And her leaders. “He’s a guy who cleans the locker room. Asier doesn’t account for anything, he doesn’t have a credit card, he doesn’t manage anything other than handball. When we talked to him about extending the contract, thinking that the clubs were asking him, he didn’t understand. Because for him, he works in Frontenian and for several years. He does not do this work, it is very worthwhile to know him.
“Organizer. Social media geek. General communicator. Bacon scholar. Proud pop culture trailblazer.”