Jan Pytlick (born 5 June 1967) is a Danish handball coach, and trains Saudi Arabia national team. He was head coach for the Danish women's national handball team from 1998 to 2006, and again from 2007 to 2014.[1] Pytlick has led the women's national team to victory in two Summer Olympics, as they became Olympic Champions in 2000, and again in 2004. After the team's flop at the 2014 European Women's Handball Championship, DHF and Pytlick agreed to end cooperation.[2]
He is educated as a bricklayer. He played handball himself until he was forced to stop by injuries at the age of 19. This lead him to pursue a training career instead.
He was the coach of the Danish teams Team Esbjerg and GOG Handball, both in Women's handball and men's handball,[3] before DHF suggested that he applied to become the Danish national coach. He rejected the idea initially, but decided to apply anyway.
His three children Simon Pytlick, Camilla Pytlick and Josephine Pytlick are all professional handball players,[4][5] and so was his wife, Berit Bogetoft. His nephew Andreas Haagen Pytlick is also a professional handballer.[6]
He met success immediately in the position, when he won silver medals at the 1998 European Women's Handball Championship despite the fact, that recently a long list of established players had decided to retire.
He won back-to-back Olympic gold medals as well as gold at the 2002 European Women's Handball Championship and silver at the 2004 European Women's Handball Championship.
In 2005 he rejoined his former club GOG Håndbold. He did however not have much success, as the club finished the season in the middle of the table.
In February 2007 he was once again hired as the Denmark when Brian Lyngholm decided to withdraw. It was initially only ment to be a temporary return, but in March 2007 he decided to quit his GOG position to focus 100% on the national team. He signed a five-year agreement up to and including the 2012 Olympics.[7] In the end he was the Danish national coach until 2014.[8]
He returned to club Handball to coach Odense Håndbold, but was fired in 2019. He then joined SønderjyskE Håndbold, where he was given a three-year deal, but was fired in 2019 due to disappointing results.[9] He had initially planned to retire after the SønderjyskE position, but was convinced to join the Saudi Arabia men's national handball team up and until the 2023 World Cup.
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