{{Short description|Austrian handball coach (born 1940)}}
{{Infobox handball biography | name = Gunnar Prokop | image = Gunnar Prokop – Gala Nacht des Sports 2011.jpg | caption = Gunnar Prokop in 2011 | nationality = Austrian | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|7|11|df=y}} | birth_place = St. Polten, Austria
| nationalyears1 = | nationalteam1 = | nationalcaps1 = | nationalgoals1 = | manageryears1 = 1972-2009 | managerclubs1 = Hypo Niederösterreich | medaltemplates = }} '''Gunnar Prokop''' (born 11 July 1940) is a former Austrian handball and athletics coach. He has previously been both president and coach for the handball club Hypo Niederösterreich. He is widely considered one of the best women's handball coaches of all time, but has been involved in controversy due to cheating as a coach and misogynistic remarks.
==Career== ===Athletics=== Prokop started his career as a track and field coach at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, where he was the coach for Liese Sykora, who competed in pentathlon.<ref >{{cite web|title=Prokop's Tokyo 1964 Austrian Olympic blazer joins MOWA|url=https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi/world-athletics-race-walking-team-championshi-7138851/news/news/liese-prokop-tokyo-1964-austrian-olympic-blazer-mowa|accessdate=26 January 2025|website=World Athletics|date=26 July 2021}}</ref> They married a year later in 1965.
At the 1968 Olympics Liese Sykora-Prokop won a silver medal in the pentathlon,<ref name=usap>{{cite news|title=Austrian Interior Minister Liese Prokop, a former Olympian, dead at 65|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/2007-01-01-%20austria-obit_x.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710074943/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/2007-01-01-%20austria-obit_x.htm|archive-date=10 July 2015|url-status=dead|accessdate=20 October 2013|newspaper=USA Today|date=1 January 2007|agency=AP|location=Vienna}}</ref> something Prokop has described as one of his best achievements.<ref name=Zampano/>
===Handball=== In 1972 Prokop switched to women's handball, where he was involved in the creation of the Austrian club Hypo Niederösterreich, a club which he described as his "life work".<ref name=Zampano>{{cite web|url=https://www.oehb.at/de/newsshow-der-zampano-ist-80-gunnar-prokop-feiert-jubilaeum|title=Der Zampano ist 80 - Gunnar Prokop feiert Jubiläum|publisher=Austrian Handball Federation|date=11 July 2020|accessdate=25 January 2025|language=de|trans-title='Der Zampano' is 80 - Gunnar Prokop celebrates birthday}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=May 2025}} During the 1980s he made the club into one of the best in the world. He won his first Austrian championship in 1977 and then went on to win every single league title until his resignation in 2009.<ref name=replacement>{{cite web|url=https://www.handball-world.news/o.red.r/news-1-2-3-8474.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241127171527/https://www.handball-world.news/o.red.r/news-1-2-3-8474.html|archive-date=27 November 2024|url-status=dead|title=Maly übernimmt Traineramt bei Hypo Niederösterreich|publisher=Handball-world.news|date=6 November 2009|accessdate=26 January 2025|language=de|trans-title=Maly takes over as coach at Hypo Niederösterreich}}</ref> His first international final was in 1987 when Hypo NÖ reached the EHF Cup. In 1989 he won the Champions League for the first time. In total, he won the tournament eight times between 1989 and 2000.<ref name="ehf">{{cite web|url=http://www.eurohandball.com/ec/cl/women/2008-09/clubs/001079/Hypo+Niederösterreich|title=Hypo Niederösterreich|publisher=European Handball Federation|access-date=2009-01-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ehfcl.eurohandball.com/women/2024-25/history/ehf-champions-league-women-all-time-statistics/|publisher=European Handball Federation|title=EHF Champions League Women all-time statistics|access-date=18 May 2025}}</ref> He was one of the main drivers behind the Austria women's national handball team seeing relative success despite a small player pool.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.dr.dk/sporten/haandbold/kvindelandsholdet/video-da-oestrig-blev-sur-paa-dr|publisher=Danmarks Radio|title=VIDEO: Da Østrig blev sur på DR|date=15 December 2013|access-date=18 May 2025|language=da}}</ref>
====2009 controversy==== On the 29th of October in a Champions League match with 7 seconds remaining against French Metz Handball, Gunnar Prokop entered the field and tackled Metz player Svetlana Ognjenović in order to stop a counterattack. The score was 27–27 at the time, and he thus prevented Metz from potentially winning the match.<ref>{{YouTube|id=6SPOY8IWrSg}}</ref> Prokop got a red card, but Metz could not score, and the match ended in a 27-27 draw.
In interviews immediately afterwards Prokop called the decision "tactically smart".<ref name=Jyllandsposten>{{cite news|url=https://jyllands-posten.dk/sport/handbold/article4259911.ece|title=Skandale-træner løb ind på banen|publisher=Jyllands-Posten|date=30 October 2009|accessdate=26 January 2025|language=DA|trans-title=Scandal coach entered the field}}</ref> Four days later he apologized for his actions. He also resigned as the head coach of Hypo Niederösterreich. Simultaneously, he announced that he would seek professional help to work through the situation.<ref>{{cite news | title = Skandalemanager søger psykolog | url = https://jyllands-posten.dk/sport/handbold/article4262557.ece | work = Dan Philipsen| publisher = Jyllands-Posten | date = 2009-11-03 | access-date = 2011-12-12 | language =da|trans-title=Scandal coach seeks psycological help}}</ref> The day after, on November 4, 2009, the European Handball Federation suspended Prokop from all handball-related activities for three years, suspended him for life from all political and administrative positions in handball, and fined him 45,000 euros.<ref name=verdict>{{cite news | title = EHF Arbitration Tribunal decision | url = http://www.eurohandball.com/article/12709 | work = | publisher = European Handball Federation | date = 2009-11-04 | access-date = 2011-12-12 | language = En | archive-date = 7 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091107034814/http://www.eurohandball.com/article/12709 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The club received a fine of 30,000 euros. They also had 1 point deducted in the Champions League, the one point they had gained by drawing Metz.<ref name=verdict/> The fine was later changed to 10,000 euros,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!-- not stated -->|date=20 January 2010|title=Handball-Zampano Prokop: "Mir ist das wurscht"|url=http://diepresse.com/home/sport/mehrsport/533990/HandballZampano-Prokop_Mir-ist-das-wurscht|trans-title=Handball star Prokop: "I don’t care"|work=Die Presse|language=German|location=Vienna, Austria|publisher=Die Presse Verlags-Gesellschaft m.b.H. & Co KG|access-date=17 May 2025}}</ref> and Prokop's suspension was reduced to 1 year.<ref name=criticism>{{cite news |url=https://sport.tv2.dk/haandbold/2010-01-19-aalborg-dh-raser-over-prokopdom| title =Aalborg DH raser over Prokop-dom|last=Bech Josefsen|first=Kristian|publisher=TV2 Danmark|date=19 January 2010|accessdate=26 January 2025|language=da|trans-title=Aalborg enraged by Prokop verdict}}</ref>
Prokop's actions have been called, among other things, "The worst action taken in handball in modern times" by Danish club Aalborg DH's director, Jan Hansen<ref name=criticism /> and "The most scandalous behaviour we have ever seen" by Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/sportbladet/a/1kvJLe/borde-stangas-av--pa-livstid| title ="Borde stängas av – på livstid"|date=30 October 2009|accessdate=26 January 2025|language=sv|trans-title="Should be excluded - for life"}}</ref>
A year later the Danish club Viborg HK accused him of going against his ban and communicating with the Hypo NÖ during a Champion League match.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://sport.tv2.dk/haandbold/2010-02-15-ehf-vil-undersoege-gunnar-prokop| title =EHF vil undersøge Gunnar Prokop|publisher=TV2 Danmark|first=Mortensen|last=Mortensen|date=15 February 2010|accessdate=26 January 2025|language=da|trans-title=EHF will investigate Gunnar Prokop}}</ref>
His replacement as the head coach of Hypo Niederösterreich was Christian Mali.<ref name=replacement />
==Other controversies== He was accused of misogynistic remarks in interviews, saying among other things that "women belongs in the kitchen".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.falter.at/print/F2005_04_4.php|title=Prokop mit der Peitsche|author=Gerald John|publisher=Falter|date=2005-01-26|accessdate=2011-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100206222322/http://www.falter.at/print/F2005_04_4.php|archive-date=2010-02-06|language=de}}</ref>
In 2009 he was accused of offering referees paid vacations before they officiated a match between Hypo Niederösterreich and the Danish club Aalborg DH.<ref name=Jyllandsposten />
==Private life== He was married to Austrian athlete and politician Liese Prokop from 1965 until her death in 2006.<ref name=usap /> Their daughter Karin Prokop became a top-level handball player between 1977 and 1995,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.karin-prokop.at/t4/c4.htm | title=PPP - Prokop Personalberatungs KEG }}</ref> and later became a politician for ÖVP.<ref>[http://www.krone.at/Oesterreich/Team_Stronach_Von_Minister-Tochter_bis_SPOe-Rohrspatz-Bunte_Runde-Story-335618 Team Stronach: Von Minister-Tochter bis SPÖ-Rohrspatz], 27. September 2012, ''www.krone.at''</ref> His grandchild, Gunnar Prokop, is a professional handball player.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.handball-base.com/gunnar-prokop|publisher=Handball-base|title=Gunnar Prokop|access-date=18 May 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
Category:1940 births Category:Living people Category:Austrian handball coaches Category:Austrian sports coaches Category:Handball coaches of international teams Category:Sportspeople from Sankt Pölten
{{DEFAULTSORT:Prokop, Gunnar}}