Magnus Wislander

{{Infobox handball biography

| name = Magnus Wislander

| image = Magnus Wislander.jpg

| caption = Magnus Wislander at the Swedish Sports Awards inside the Ericsson Globe in Stockholm, Sweden in January 2013

| fullname = Hans Einar Magnus Wislander

| nickname =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1964|2|22}}

| birth_place = Gothenburg, Sweden

| height = {{height|meter=1.96}}

| currentclub = Redbergslids IK

| position = Centre back, Pivot

| youthyears1 = 1973–1979

| youthclubs1 = Tuve IF

| youthyears2 = 1979–1983

| youthclubs2 = Redbergslids IK

| years1 = 1983–1990

| clubs1 = Redbergslids IK

| years2 = 1990–2002

| clubs2 = THW Kiel

| years3 = 2002–2005

| clubs3 = Redbergslids IK

| nationalyears1 = 1985–2002

| nationalteam1 = Sweden

| nationalcaps1 = 384

| nationalgoals1 = 1185

| ntupdate =

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry | {{SWE}} }}

}}

Hans Einar Magnus Wislander (born 22 February 1964) is a Swedish former handball player, who has been voted Handball Player of the Century and is widely regarded as one of the best players ever. Since his debut in the national team in 1985 he has played over 384 games and scored over 1,185 goals, which is the record for both most matches and most goals on the Sweden national team. He played for Redbergslids IK, Gothenburg and THW Kiel. In 1990 he was named IHF World Player of the Year.

He was included in the European Handball Federation Hall of Fame in 2023.{{cite web |url=https://www.eurohandball.com/en/news/en/legendary-players-enter-the-hall-of-fame-of-european-handball/ |publisher=European Handball Federation|website=www.eurohandball.com|title=LEGENDARY PLAYERS ENTER THE HALL OF FAME OF EUROPEAN HANDBALL|date=26 June 2023|accessdate=27 June 2023}}

He played primarily as a centre back, but in his latter years he transitioned to be a pivot. He has earned the nickname 'Slangen' (The hose).

Career

File:Magnus Wislander Hand-ball bulletin federal 1992-4-1.jpg

Wislander started playing handball at Tuve IF, before joining Gothenburg club Redbergslids IK in 1979. Here he won the Swedish championship 4 times. In 1990 he joined German top club THW Kiel, where he played until 2002 and won the German championship 7 times. He played 369 league matches for the club, scoring 1,371 goals and captained theteam from 1991 2001.{{cite web|url=https://archiv.thw-handball.de/thw/se_wisla.htm|publisher=THW Kiel|website=archiv.thw-handball.de|title=Magnus Wislander 2|language=english|accessdate=6 February 2025}}

He then returned Redbergslids IK as player-coach. In 2003 he won his fifth Swedish championship. He retired in 2005, and continued as the coach.{{cite web|url=http://www.handball-world.com/o.red.c/news-1-1-1-43294.html |publisher=Handball-world|title=Wislander als Trainer entlassen|accessdate=22 January 2013|language=de}} He continued as a coach until 2022.

On November 2011 he made a one game comeback at the age of 47 for Redbergslids IK against Hammarby IF. He played for 6 minutes and scored one goal.{{cite web|url=https://sport.tv2.dk/haandbold/2011-11-14-47aarig-haandboldlegende-i-comeback|publisher=TV2 Danmark|title=47-årig håndboldlegende i comeback|date=14 November 2011|accessdate=6 February 2025|language=da}}

At Kiel, his shirtnumber (#2) is retired and hangs under the roof at the Kiel home arena Ostseehalle.

Post playing career

Wislander has worked as a handball expert on Swedish radio and a postal worker at PostNord.{{cite web|title=”Min fru säger att det är förbjudet för mig”|url=https://www.expressen.se/sport/handboll/min-fru-sager-att-det-ar-forbjudet-for-mig/|publisher=expressen.se|accessdate=2021-08-18|language=sv|date=2019-08-24|last=Kingdahl|first= Thomas}}