ES
José Javier Hombrados, international handball goalkeeper, has announced his retirement from professional handball at the age of 49 and has ended a 30-year sporting career at a press conference held at Camilo José Cela University, where he is Sports Director of SEK Education Group combining this role with that of president of the Madrid Handball Federation. Hombrados has ended his record-breaking career, making him a legend in Spanish handball and the greatest exponent of handball in Madrid.
The event began with the reading of a statement in the Assembly Hall of UCJC accompanied by his family, friends and different representatives of the institutions and clubs he belonged to over his career. “Handball has meant everything to me. It has been the engine of my life. Everything has revolved around this sport that got me hooked when I was 9 years old, but now it’s time to say goodbye and know when to stop. I can say that I am grateful for everything that handball has given me. I always say that I am privileged. It has been a thirty-year journey as a professional that has moulded me as a person, as an athlete and, above all, that has helped me to be the happy person I am today, even if it is the end of this journey” said Hombrados.
The former goalkeeper wanted to remember all those who have accompanied him throughout his career: “To those who are no longer with us, my coach, father, friend, Ernesto Enríquez for transmitting his passion to me and for making me part of his family. To Juan de Dios, who sadly also left us recently, for taking me to the elite and giving me an Olympic Games, that big-hearted athlete was always by my side. To my friends and classmates from Colegio Sagrada Familia who I have shared sports and adventures with since the age of 6 and helped me grow and instilled in me humility and team values. Thanks Nacho, Aitor, Oscar, Miguel Angel, Luis…”.
“To my first club, Atlético de Madrid, and to all the teammates with whom I shared that first day at Magariños in 1990, thank you for making me part of Atleti and for instilling in me the values of the club. To all the clubs I’ve been part of, that have each marked me including Ciudad Real that has been part of half my sporting life and a very special place that I consider my home”, he stated.
Hombrados was supported on this special day by the president of the Royal Spanish Handball Federation, Paco Blázquez; the president of the Club Atlético de Madrid, Enrique Cerezo; Kielce coach and former teammate, Talant Dujshebaev; the director of the UCJC Sports Club, José Luis Lesma; the former president of BM Ciudad Real, Domingo Díaz de Mera; Alejandro Ortiz, president of BM Guadalajara, his last club; the manager of the FMBM, Eduardo Donderis; and the president of the Technical Committee of Referees of the FMBM, David Monjo Ortega, among other guests.
