Swiss national team coach Andy Schmid to also become club coach of HC Kriens-Luzern from summer
Former world-class handball player and current Switzerland national team coach Andy Schmid (42) will also take charge of HC Kriens-Luzern’s club team from the summer of 2026. He has signed a contract with the Central Swiss club until 2028, with an option to extend. The Central Executive Board of the Swiss Handball Federation approved the dual role and thus cleared the way for this solution.
Andy Schmid returned to Central Switzerland in the summer of 2022 after an impressive playing career, with spells in Denmark and Germany. At HC Kriens-Luzern, the five-time Bundesliga MVP played the final club matches of his career before retiring in January 2024. Shortly after ending his playing career, Schmid took over as head coach of the Swiss men’s national team in February 2024. Under his leadership, Switzerland performed very successfully at two major tournaments (one European Championship and one World Championship), taking another step toward the extended world elite.
As a young coach, Schmid quickly realized that the relatively small number of training camps and competitive matches with the national team placed clear limits on the development of his own coaching identity. A club coach completes many more training sessions and competitive matches during a season. As a result, a national team coach has far fewer opportunities to gain comprehensive experience in training implementation and in-game coaching. Schmid therefore explored the possibility of combining his role as national team coach with an additional position at club level. Similar models already exist in other handball nations, where national team coaches successfully combine their work with a club appointment.
At the same time, HC Kriens-Luzern had been searching for a coaching solution for its QHL team. Current coach Thomas Zimmermann, who took over the position at very short notice in the summer of 2025, is on a successful path toward the play-offs together with his coaching staff and the squad. However, a change became necessary because new coaching licence requirements for European competitions will come into force next season.
These considerations led to talks between Andy Schmid, the Central Executive Board of the Swiss Handball Federation, the management of HC Kriens-Luzern, and the clubs of the Quickline Handball League. In a constructive exchange, the framework for the planned dual role was agreed upon. HC Kriens-Luzern has also shown a willingness to make compromises in order to address concerns related to the dual mandate as effectively as possible.
For Schmid, this creates the opportunity to take on a club coaching role close to his place of residence. Family stability had always been one of Schmid’s priorities, even during his playing career. It was one of the reasons why he remained loyal to German club Rhein-Neckar Löwen for 12 years despite numerous offers. He now intends to follow the same principle in his current situation.
Andy Schmid will fulfil his contract with the Swiss Handball Federation, which runs until the end of the 2027/2028 season, continue on the path already set as national team coach, and keep pursuing the high sporting goals linked to the home EHF EURO 2028. At the same time, he will take over HC Kriens-Luzern’s QHL team from the summer of 2026 in a dual role. There, together with a coaching staff made up largely of people from Central Switzerland, he will work on the future of the team and help shape the club’s development vision for the coming years. The dual role will give Schmid the chance to gain valuable additional experience in daily training and league competition, which will also help him in his role as national team coach.
