Career
He has been head coach for the Danish men"s national handball team from 2005. Wilbek"s first international successes came as coach for the Danish Women"s national youth team in the late 1980s. A few years later, he was asked to be coach for the national A-team, which nearly was closed in the early 1990s due to bad results.
Wilbek took the challenge and promoted a couple of the youth players, and the team had its first success as finalist in the 1993 World Women"s Handball Championship, losing only after extra time.
In the following years, Wilbek was in the lead of the team, that became one of the most successful national handball teams of all times and at the same time one of the most popular teams in Danish sport. The peak of the team was reached at the end of 1997, when the team was reigning World Champions (1997), European Champions (1996), and Olympic Champions (1996).
Wilbek"s initial work as a handball coach was in his own club, Virum Sorgenfri Håndboldklub, in 1985-1988 (elite men). Just turned 30, he came to Viborg Hong Kong as a coach for the ambitious women"s team, which by then had just been promoted to the Danish top league.
Within a few years, he led the club to their first medals (silver in 1991), and the Danish National team now wanted him as a coach for the women"s team
After five extremely successful years as national coach, Wilbek again turned towards club coaching. He was reappointed as coach for Viborg Hong Kong"s elite women, and again he showed his excellence: The team became national champions for four consecutive years and reached the final in the 2001 EHF Champions League. He now needed new challenges and turned towards the club"s men"s team in the early 2000s.
But he was still popular within the national handball association, and in 2005 he was appointed coach of the national men"s team
In 2006 he led the team to a 3rd place finish at the European Championships and in 2007 they finished 3rd in The World Championship. In 2008 he led the team to first place in the 2008 European Men"s Handball Championship.