The Barça coach, Carlos Ortega, will lead the Japanese handball team in the Olympic Games that will be held this summer in Paris, according to what the Barça club reported this Wednesday.
The Malaga coach, who already held this position between 2016 and 2017, will return to the Asian bench only for the Olympic event in the French capital after receiving permission from the FC Barcelona board of directors.
The Barça coach will face this challenge during his vacation period, once the 2023-2024 season has ended, which could last until June 9.
Carlos Ortega arrived at Barça in the summer of 2021. Since then, he has won all the national titles at stake, including two in the Asobal League, in addition to the Champions League for the 2021-2022 season. This is his second experience in the Barça discipline, since between 1994 and 2005 he was a player for the Catalan team.
This same year he renewed with the Barça team until June 2026, with the option to extend his contract for one more season.
With the Japanese team, the Malaga coach won the bronze medal in the 2016 Asian Championship. In Paris, Ortega will try to surpass the ninth place that Japan achieved in 1976, the best historical result for the Japanese country.
