Rafael Guijosa

Rafael Guijosa Castillo (born 31 January 1969, in Alcalá de Henares) is a former Spanish handball player, and current manager of Iran men's national handball team. When playing for the Spanish national team, he won bronze medals both in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney.

Guijosa was voted World Player of the Year 1999 by the International Handball Federation.

Career Guijosa joined BM Guadalajara in the top Spanish league from CD Iplacea in 1989. In 1993 he joined Juventud Alcalá in Madrid. Here he reached the final of the Copa del Rey de Balonmano in 1994. The following summer he joined FC Barcelona, where he played until his retirement in 2002. With Barcelona he won many title, including the EHF Champions League 5 times.

At the 1999 World Championship he scored the second most goals with 50, behind Cubas Rolando Uríos (57).

Coaching career His coaching career sparted with the Spanish teams BM Alcobendas and Toledo BM, before he became the head coach of Iran. Here he won bronze medals at the 2014 Asian Championships. Here he was until 2019.

In August 2020 he took over the Qatari team Al-Arabi SC, where he won the 2020 Qatari championship.

In December 2023 he became the head coach of Rwanda. Here he led the team at their first ever African Championship in 2024, where the team finished 14th and won one match against Zambia. After 10 months he left the position to return as the head coach of Iran.