Joachim Stenbäcken

Joachim Stenbäcken (pronounced [ˈjûːakɪm ˈstêːnˌbɛkːɛn]; born 26 May 1963)[1] is a Swedish former handball player who played as a pivot.[2] He was born and raised in Vårgårda[3] and made his senior debut for Vårgårda IK in the 1978–79 season.[2] He later moved to Alingsås HK before signing for top division club IFK Karlskrona in 1982.[4] In his first season with the club they reached the final of the IHF Cup, where they were defeated by Soviet club ZTR Zaporizhia.[5] He scored more than 400 goals in his five seasons for Karlskrona.[4] In 1987 he left the club and joined second division club SoIK Hellas, where he played for two seasons.[4] In 1989 he signed for IFK Kristianstad[6] and helped them to promotion back to the top division in his first season. They were relegated after one season but were promoted again a year later.[7] He left the club in 1995 and signed for league rivals Stavstens IF.[4] He later returned to Hellas before rejoining Kristianstad, who were now playing in lower divisions, in 1998.[4][6] He continued to play for the club until he retired in 2004.[6] He played 340 matches for Kristianstad and scored 1350 goals for the club, the second most behind Bo Ahlberg.[4] In total he scored 2400 goals in his career.[6]

He played 55 matches for the Swedish national team between 1983 and 1987.[1] He was a member of the team that finished fourth in the 1986 World Championship.[8]

After his handball career he became a journalist for Kvällsposten writing about harness racing,[4] having long been a follower of the sport.[6] He later studied psychology, having been interested in the psychological factors of handball during his playing career.[4] In 2014–15 he was mental coach for HIF Karlskrona, helping the team to reach promotion to the top division.[4][9] In 2017 he joined Kristianstad HK in the same position, reuniting with former HIF Karlskrona coach Ulf Schefvert.[9]

His nephew is handball player Jonathan Stenbäcken.[10]