Nikola Portner

Nikola Portner
Personal information
Born	(1993-11-19) 19 November 1993 (age 32) Lyon, France
Nationality	Swiss
Height	1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	SC Magdeburg
Number	80
Youth career
Years	Team
2004-2006	BSC Grosshöchstetten
2006-2007	Handball Grauholz
2007-2009	TV Steffisburg
Senior clubs
Years	Team
2009–2010	Handball Grauholz
2010–2014	BSV Bern Muri
2014–2016	Kadetten Schaffhausen
2016–2020	Montpellier Handball
2020–2022	Chambéry SMB HB
2022–	SC Magdeburg
National team 1
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–	Switzerland	148	(33)
1 National team caps and goals correct as of 14 January 2026

Nikola Portner (born 19 November 1993) is a Swiss handball player for SC Magdeburg and the Swiss national team.

Private

Nikola Portner is the son of the Serbian international handballer Zlatko Portner. ^[1] At the age of three he moved to Bern when his father signed for BSV Bern. He achieved Swiss citizenship in 2008; at the same time as his father.

Career

Aged 11 he joined the Swiss team BSC Grosshöchstetten. He made his senior debut in the National Liga B for Handball Grauholz, where his father was a coach. From 2010 he joined BSV Bern Muri in the top league. In the 2011-12 season he was named Rookie of the season at the Swiss Handball Award. ^[2]

In 2014 he joined Kadetten Schaffhausen. ^[3] Here he won the Swiss Championship in 2015 and 2016 and the Swiss Cup in 2016.

In 2016 he joined French team Montpellier AHB. ^[4] Here he won the EHF Champions League in 2018.

For the 2017-18 season he joined league rivals Chambéry Savoie HB. ^[5] In the 2021-22 he was named best goalkeeper of the season in the French league. ^[6]

In 2022 he joined German side SC Magdeburg. ^[7] Here he won the 2022 IHF Men's Super Globe and the 2022-23 EHF Champions League, beating Polish KS Kielce in the final 30:29. The following sesason he won the 2023 IHF Men's Super Globe for a second time. In the 2024-25 season he won the EHF Champions League for a third time, beating Füchse Berlin in the final. ^[8]

In April 2024 while playing for Magdeburg, Portner was tested positive for Methamphetamine prior to league match against Füchse Berlin. ^[9] He denied allegations of deliberate doping, and in June it was ruled that there was not a high enough level of the drug that deliberate use was likely, and he was acquitted of all charges and only had to serve a 21 month ban. ^[10] He returned to training on 10 October 2025 and to paying on 10 December 2025. He made his return to handball for the Swiss national team at the 2026 European Men's Handball Championship. ^{[11] [12]}

National team

Portner made his debut for the Swiss national team on 2 November 2nd 2011 against Italy. ^[13]

He represented Switzerland at the 2020 European Men's Handball Championship. ^{[14] [15]}

At the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship he finished 16th with the Swiss team.

Ahead of the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship he was named captain of the Swiss national team. At the fournamant Switzerland finisheed 21st. ^[16]

At the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship he finished 11th with the Swiss team. ^[17]

References

1. "This is me: Nikola Portner". European Handball Federation . Retrieved 23 January 2026.
2. "Schweizer Handballer des Jahres kommen aus der Bundesliga" (in German). handball-world.com. 28 May 2012.
3. "Kadetten Schaffhausen verpflichten Nationaltorhüter" (in German). handball-world.com. 23 December 2013.
4. "Nationalgoalie Portner ab 2016 zu Montpellier" (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 6 February 2015.
5. "Handball: Der Goalie Nikola Portner wechselt nach Chambéry" (in German). Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 20 February 2020.
6. "«Green-Nachfolger» Nikola Portner zum besten Torhüter in Frankreich gewählt" (in German). handball-world.news. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
7. "SC Madgeburg verpflichtet Champions-League-Sieger" (in German). handball-world.news. 4 October 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
8. "Magdeburg win all-German final to take third title". eurohandball.com. Retrieved 15 June 2025.
9. "Topspiller mistænkt for doping – nu er der nye oplysninger" [Top player accused of doping - Now there is new information]. TV2 Danmark (in Danish). 19 April 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
10. "Landsholdsspiller frikendt for doping" [National team player acquitted of doping charges]. TV2 Danmark (in Danish). 26 June 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2025.
11. "Sperre! WADA, NADA, HBL und Nikola Portner legen Streit bei" (in German). handball-world.news. 15 August 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.
12. Mads Artmann Haugaard (23 January 2026). "Aviserne har nærmest gjort spiller til drugdealer, mener landstræner" (in Danish). TV2 Danmark . Retrieved 23 January 2026.
13. "Spielerprofil. Nikola Portner". handball.ch (in German). Retrieved 7 February 2025.
14. "Die schweizer starten am freitag mit zuversicht in die EHF EURO". handball.ch. 8 January 2020.
15. "2020 European Men's Handball Championship squad" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
16. "EHF Euro 2024" (PDF). eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation . Retrieved 27 January 2024.
17. "IHF World Championship 2025: Cumulative Statistics Switzerland" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation . Retrieved 7 February 2025.

External links

• Nikola Portner at the European Handball Federation
• Nikola Portner at the Ligue Nationale de Handball (in French)