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Croatia men's national handball team

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Croatia
Shirt badge/Association crest
Information
NicknameKauboji (English: The Cowboys)
AssociationCroatian Handball Federation
CoachLino Červar
CaptainDomagoj Duvnjak
Most capsIgor Vori (223)
Most goalsMirza Džomba (719)
Colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
1st
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
2nd
Results
Summer Olympics
Appearances5 (First in 1996)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (1996, 2004)
World Championship
Appearances11 (First in 1995)
Best result1st place, gold medalist(s) (2003)
European Championship
Appearances13 (First in 1994)
Best result2nd place, silver medalist(s) (2008, 2010)
Last updated on Unknown.
Croatia men's national handball team
Medal record
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Team
Gold medal – first place 2004 Athens Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2003 Portugal Team
Silver medal – second place 1995 Iceland Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Tunisia Team
Silver medal – second place 2009 Croatia Team
Bronze medal – third place 2013 Spain Team
European Championship
Silver medal – second place 2008 Norway Team
Silver medal – second place 2010 Austria Team
Bronze medal – third place 1994 Portugal Team
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Serbia Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Poland Team
Mediterranean Games
Gold medal – first place 1993 Languedoc-Rousillon Team
Gold medal – first place 1997 Bari Team
Gold medal – first place 2001 Tunis Team
Silver medal – second place 2005 Almería Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Mersin Team

The Croatia national handball team represents Croatia in international men's team handball competitions and friendly matches. The handball team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation Croatia has often been portrayed[1] as an international force in handball, having won two Olympic gold medals and one World Championship, but never winning the Euros, having lost two finals, one to rivals France and the other to Scandinavian handball team Denmark. The Croatian handball team that won the 1996 Olympic Gold medal was often credited as the biggest upset in history of handball, with handball making its debut appearance.[2] The Croatian national team won a so-called "international double" after winning both the gold medal at the Olympics (2004) and the World Championships (2003), beating Germany in both finals.

Croatia's handball team has often been labelled[3] as a model for sport, often being the replacement for Romania in Europe's "Big Three" in handball, alongside France and Denmark.[4] Some of their biggest rivals are neighbors Slovenia, Hungary and Serbia. Germany are also called rivals of the handball team, although matches between Germany and Croatia have been met with Croatian dominance, Germany only winning once in their nine meetings, and Croatia winning seven times. Mediterranean side Spain have also been called as close rivals, having played 23 games with them, the most out of any sides the Croatians have played with in handball. However, the French are often remarked as Croatia's biggest-ever rival in handball, due to both countries' success. Although France won five games more than Croatia, many crucial moments in the rivalry have been met with the Croats as emerging victorious.[5]

History

Handball in Austria-Hungary monarchy (1904–1918)

The word handball in the Croatian region was first used by Franjo Bučar, describing the German game Schleuderball in the journal Sokol 1904. The earliest documented forms of playing handball in these areas appear in 1911 in the gymnasium of Pazin, which is among other things due to the fact that programs for education in Istria, as part of the then Austrian coast, coming from the education center in Graz. In Croatia, at the time handball was in high school programs closing ceremony. It was a kind of Czech handball extended from the Czech Republic, where it was adopted by the Osijek and Vukovar students from Prague.[6]

Between the two world wars (1918–1941)

In the early beginnings of the Croatian handball, venues played field handball and handball. Students were still more attracted to field handball, because the little handball were played on makeshift courts without the right door, as opposed to the field handball, which is played on the existing football fields.[7] During the Kingdom of Yugoslavia first public handball match in the Croatian region was played and in the wider neighborhood. It was played in a high school in Varaždin 29 May 1930 under the guidance of physical education teachers Zvonimir Šuligoj. Since that game, until 1950, in Croatia and Yugoslavia publicly played exclusively field handball, on the football field with eleven players on each side. In high school in Zagreb on June 1, 1935, opened the first handball courts in Yugoslavia.[8]

The establishment of Croatian Handball Federation and the first Croatian national team (1941–1945)

At the beginning of World War II Kingdom of Yugoslavia disintegrated. Most of the territory inhabited by Croats on April 10, 1941, it became part of the newly formed Independent State of Croatia (NDH). As part of the new state on 2 October 1941 in Zagreb for the first time in history the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS) was established.[9] The place of foundation is recorded to be at the Croatian Sports home in Jurišićeva, Zagreb. HRS is the umbrella organization of handball in the ISC coordinated the work of a dozen clubs and until 1944 organized national championships. In the state of NDH was established the first Croatian handball team. The first training for practice-match team NDH was held on 12 October 1941 between the two teams selected from the head coach Dragutin Pehe. His first and only international match this team played on June 14, 1942 with Hungary in Budapest where they lost 0:9. This field handball match was played in front of 30,000 spectators at the then NEP Stadium (since 2002 Ferenc Puskás Stadium) was a prelude meeting of the football teams of the same name.[10] The best handball player in the field was the goalkeeper Branko Kralj. Under the direction of the coach Ante Škrtić, the players for Croatia were Vlado Abramović, Irislav Dolenec, Žarko Galetović, Zvonko Leskovar, Todor Marinov, Viktor Medved, Krešo Pavlin, Vlado Šimanović Stjepan Širić, Josip Žitnik and reserve goalkeeper Zdenko Šurina. HRS stopped functioning in 1944 because of the war in World War II.[11]

Handball in SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1991)

When the 1945 World War II ended, the territory of the Independent State of Croatia was included in the newly established SFR Yugoslavia.

Immediately after that began the reconstruction of the war abandoned handball in Yugoslavia, and that same year founded the Committee for handball Gymnastics Association Croatian, and in May 1948 the Committee for handball Gymnastics Association of Yugoslavia. Operation HRS is restored on 19 December 1948, in which he, in accordance with the national policy of the new Yugoslav state, name changed in the Croatian Handball Association (RSH). Handball Federation of Yugoslavia (RSJ) was established on December 17, 1949 in Belgrade by pooling national and provincial associations, and it became a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF) in 1950.[12]

After the end of World War II, most field handball players of NDH completed courses and became instructors or referees in handball. Some of them have become members of the field handball national team of Yugoslavia and played in its first international match, played on June 19, 1950 at the stadium in Stadion Kranjčevićeva in Zagreb, against Belgium. Yugoslavia won 18:3 playing with nine players from Zagreb, one from Split and one from Sarajevo.[13]

Since the end of World War II until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, the best Croatian handball players in field and team handball played for the national team of Yugoslavia. With this national team Croatians have performed at 17 major competitions and won seven medals. These are two Olympic gold medals, the Olympic bronze, world gold, world silver and two bronze world. Among the other famous trophy, in this period they won 5 gold medals in five appearances at the Mediterranean Games (1967, 1975, 1979, 1983 and 1991), two gold and one bronze medal at the World Cups held in 1971, 1974 and 1984 in Sweden, 2 bronze medals at handball Super League held in 1981 and 1983 in Germany and silver at the 1990 goodwill Games in Seattle.

At the World Junior Championship in 1987 in Rijeka there was created a nucleus generation that will define the nineties and bring some of the most beautiful handball stories for the Croatian national team. Alvaro Načinović, Iztok Puc, Vladimir Jelčić and other predominantly have won this championship playing for Yugoslavia, and their talent and knowledge are later incorporated as seniors in the first Croatian success after independence of the country.[14]

Place Croatians in the team of Yugoslavia[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] Croatian head coaches
10th place at WC 1952 Irislav Dolenec (player) Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
5th place at WC 1955. Irislav Dolenec (player), Stjepan Korbar Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
8th place at WC 1958 Jerolim Karadža, Lovro Manestar, Božidar Peter, Zlatko Šimenc, Ivan Špoljarić Ivan Snoj
9th place at SP 1961. Anton Bašić, Ivan Đuranec, Zvonko Jandroković, Jerolim Karadža, Božidar Peter,[36] Zlatko Šimenc Ivan Snoj
6th place at WC 1964 Vojislav Bjegović, Vinko Dekaris, Ivan Đuranec, Lujo Györy, Jerolim Karadža, Zvonko Kocijan, Josip Milković, Vladimir Vićan, Albin Vidović, Zlatko Žagmešter Ivan Snoj
7th place at WC 1967 Vinko Dekaris, Ivan Đuranec, Hrvoje Horvat, Jerolim Karadža, Branko Klišanin, Josip Milković, Miroslav Pribanić, Dobrivoje Selec, Ninoslav Tomašić, Ivan Uremović,[37] Vladimir Vićan Ivan Snoj / Irislav Dolenec
Gold medal at MG 1967 Hrvoje Horvat, Miroslav Klišanin, Josip Milković, Ivan Uremović, Albin Vidović Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Bronze medal at WC 1970 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Marijan Jakšeković, Dragutin Mervar, Josip Milković, Miroslav Pribanić, Zlatko Žagmešter Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Gold medal at WC 1971 Ivan Snoj
Gold medal at OG 1972 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Miroslav Pribanić, Dobrivoje Selec, Albin Vidović, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Vlado Štencl
Bronze medal at WC 1974 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Josip Milković
Gold medal at WC 1974 Ivan Snoj
Gold medal at MG 1975 Abas Arslanagić, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Miroslav Pribanić, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj
5th place at OG 1976 Abas Arslanagić, Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Pero Janjić
5th place at WC 1978[38] Hrvoje Horvat, Zdravko Miljak, Željko Nimš, Zvonimir Serdarušić,[39] Željko Vidaković, Zdenko Zorko Ivan Snoj / Zdravko Malić
Gold medal at MG 1979 Pavle Jurina, Željko Vidaković, Zdravko Zovko, Željko Zovko
6th place OG 1980 Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran
Bronze medal SC 1981
Silver medal at WC 1982 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran, Zdravko Zovko
Bronze medal SC 1983
Gold medal at MG 1983 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Stjepan Obran, Željko Vidaković, Zdravko Zovko
Bronze medal at SC 1984
Gold medal at OG 1984 Mirko Bašić, Pavle Jurina, Zdravko Zovko / Abas Arslanagić (GK coach)
Gold medal at WC 1986 Mirko Bašić, Zlatko Saračević / Abas Arslanagić (GK coach and fitness coach)
Bronze medal at OG 1988 Mirko Bašić, Boris Jarak, Alvaro Načinović, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić Abas Arslanagić
4th place at WC 1990[40][41] Mirko Bašić, Nenad Kljaić, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević, Irfan Smajlagić, Ratko Tomljanović
Silver medal at GG 1990[42][43] Patrik Ćavar, Bruno Gudelj, Nenad Kljaić
Gold medal at MG 1991 Tomislav Farkaš, Valter Matošević

Modern Croatian national handball team (1991–present)

Official formation and first competitions (1991–1996)

Croatia on 30 May 1990 began the process of creating the Independent State of Croatia, and soon established and modern Croatian handball team. The first international match of the Croatian handball team was played on January 14, 1991 in Zagreb, in Kutija Šibica. It was a friendly match with Japan witch ended in a draw 23:23. The team was coached by Josip Milković with assistant coach Lino Červar and the players were Patrik Čavar, Tonči Peribonio, Vlado Šola, Ivica Obrvan, Nenad Kljaić, Iztok Puc, Ratko Tomljanović, Bruno Gudelj, Željko Zovko, Stjepan Obran, Tomislav Farkaš, Robert Ipša, Ivo Glavinić and Goran Stojanović.[44] The dissolution of Yugoslavia that followed, Croatia gained full independence on 8 October 1991 the Croatian Handball Association (RSH) in 1992 restored the original name of the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS), and on April 10, 1992 became a member of the International Handball Federation (IHF), and 23 July 1992 members of the European Handball Federation (EHF).[45]

Taking fourth place at the 1990 World Championship in Czechoslovakia the Yugoslav national team was placed among the nine best teams of the tournament, which acquired them the right to participate in the upcoming 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. Because of the war and the disintegration of Yugoslavia, this team was disqualified, and should it was supposed to be specified who will replaced them in the games. Since the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) was provisionally recognized on 17 January 1992 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and since Croatia had already on 22 May 1992 become a member of the United Nations, Croatian handball players had conditions to perform at the Olympic Games in 1992.[46] This unfortunately did not happen. Although Croatia in terms of game was handball superpower, it was decided that Yugoslavia would be replaced by Iceland at the games as they finished tenth at the 1990 World Championship.[47] Adverse effects of certain officials in the IOC prevented even the option of maintaining an additional qualifying tournament like the one held for the Croatian basketball players. Croatia also missed the 1993 World Championship in Sweden, because the World Championship in 1990 was an elimination tournament for this championship.

The following years, in spite of the short history of the country brought the Croatian team very significant results in important competitions. Croatia won its first official competition at the Mediterranean Games in 1993 in Languedoc-Roussillon, France, Croatia won gold. At the first ever European Championship in 1994 held in Portugal the team was led by Zdravko Zovko they won their first medal at this first major international competition. The group stage ended with Croatia finishing behind then powerful Russians, but in front of the French, led by the famous Jackson Richardson. In the semi finals, the Swedes were better and Croatia played the third place match and won in a dramatic match against Denmark. Sweden won the tournament demolishing the Russians in the final with 13 points.[48] A year later at the 1995 World Championships in Iceland Croatia relatively went easily from group stage to the quarter final where there was brought a rarely seen drama. Tunisia was defeated after penalty shootout. Then the team beat Egypt in the quarter finals and Sweden national handball team in the semi finals. In the final they the French were too big an obstacle for Zovko guys won their first Croatian World Championship silver medal.[49] Sweden won the bronze defeating Germany. The next year at the European Championship in 1996 in Spain, Croatia, was led by Abas Arslanagić. Croatia lost took fifth place with victory over the Czech Republic where the match was led by Vladimir Nekić because Arslanagić quit after Croatia failed to enter the semi-finals. The championship was won by Russia.[50]

Gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics

On the second Olympics in which Croatian athletes performed under the banner of the Croatian flag and won their first gold medal. This was won by the athletes who were least expected to win it, handball players. They were sent off to Atlanta without hope, because at the European Championship in 1996 they had finished in a weak fifth place, and relations in the national team were bad. Coach Abas Arslanagić quit during the end of the European championship and the national handball selection was filled with confrontation and fights. 38 days before the Olympic Games, the team was taken over by coach Velimir Kljaić, whose statement: "Will go back swimming if we don't win a medal" no one took seriously.

Before the Olympics there were still problems. Preliminary matches didn't offer much optimism. A few days before the start of the handball tournament a friendly encounter with Algeria was not played to the end. The Croatian players left the court because the Algerians went too far with their abusive playing and hurt three players, Goran Perkovac, Slavko Goluža and Nenad Kljaić.[51]

The opening match of the Olympic games against Switzerland was tough. A victory was achieved in an already lost match. The Swiss led by as much as 6 goals, but then the goal was kept safe with a superb save from Venio Losert who just during the Olympic Games celebrated his 20th birthday. Making it a minimal victory, scoring in the 55th second before the end of the match, Patrik Ćavar brought a stellar victory.

The next two matches against Kuwait and hosts United States were easy victories. This was followed by the decisive encounter to enter the semi-finals, where there were only the two first-placed teams from each group.

The match with the then current Olympic and European champions Russia had a shocking finale. The Russians were leading by four points, but the Croats were arriving. The last minute was not for the faint of heart, but from the Russian roulette though the Croats came out as winners. One her of this triumph for the semifinals was Valter Matošević. 40 seconds before the end of the match, when the result was 24:24, he defended a penalty shot from Torgovanov. Another hero was Božidar Jović, who just 3 seconds before the siren rang scored the winning goal.[52]

The last match in the group was with the Swedes. This was the one in which yoneou could choose an opponent in the semi-finals, but Kljun omitted Patrik Ćavar, Iztok Puc, Zlatko Saračević and Irfan Smajlagić from the match. Croatia was defeated with nine goals difference, but without their poker aces there wasn't much to expect. The defeat did not have larger significance, except that it took to save face. In the semifinals they waited for the French who were World Champions. Croatian handball showed the best possible way to respond to defeat in the final of the 1995 World Championship in Iceland. Engaged and disciplined, Croatian players did a great job and ensured the silver medal the same brightness as did the water polo team.[53]

In the grand finale again Croatia faced the Swedes. In the semifinals they defeated Spain, who later won the bronze medal. It was a great generation that only needed an Olympic gold medal to complete their collection. They probably hoped that Croatia was not with those who were missing against Sweden would not much raise the quality that they could be threatened. In the end their plans were foiled, and the Vikings failed to win. After starting 0: 1 followed by a brilliant game from the players Kljaić chose and the series of 6:1. The defense was solid and impenetrable and the attack varied and deadly. Perkovac great led his boys and Božidar Jović was the revelation of the tournament. Worried only in the final Zlatko Saračević was not playing properly, but Kljaić brought the perfect replacement, Zoran Mikulić. Although the Croatians twice led with seven goals difference, the second half offered drama. Swedes switched to defense 4-2 which created big problems. Decreased the difference and 6:30 minutes before the end came at just hit behind. Croatian handball players still in those crucial minutes they had never trembled hands.[54]

Thirty seconds before the end of the line player Nenad Kljaić scored a crucial goal for the final 27:26 and brought a glorious victory. With the sound of sirens was created indescribable celebration and parquet Georgia Dome in front of 25,000 visitors in the hall and millions of TV viewers, witch is today known caterpillar gold handball. It was the biggest win in the history of Croatian sport. The handball players were not yet aware of this gold they had placed around his neck President of the Croatian Olympic Committee Antun Vrdoljak, who previously predicted 6 Atlanta medal and otherwise announced "As running from the day he was born" at Zagreb's main square. Still not running, but the handball players after returning from Atlanta to thousands of fans being greeted at the airport and on Jelačić Square. And they did the famous caterpillar crawl.[55]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Valter Matošević, Venio Losert
Back players Zlatko Saračević, Goran Perkovac, Iztok Puc, Zoran Mikulić, Slavko Goluža, Bruno Gudelj, Valner Franković
Line players Nenad Kljaić, Alvaro Načinović, Božidar Jović
Wing players Irfan Smajlagić, Patrik Ćavar, Vladimir Šujster, Vladimir Jelčić
Coaching staff Velimir Kljajić (Head coach), Milan Rončević (assistant and fitness coach), Zdenko Zorko (GK coach), Stanislav Peharec (Somatoped), Damir Suman (kinesiotherapists), Vladimir Nekić (tehniko), Josip Guberina (director)

A series of poor results (1996–2002)

After winning the Olympic gold medal on August 4, 1996 it was followed by a slow decline in the Croatian national team and the change of generations in which the handball players were far from winning a medal. It when Croatia was knocked-out in the round of 16 of the World Championships. In Japan in 1997, Croatia was knocked out by Spain 31:25 and was ranked in 13th place. In Egypt 1999 they were knocked-out by Yugoslavia 30:23 leaving Croatia in 10th place. In France 2001 the national team would lose in the next round after two extra time (4 x 5 minutes) stopped Ukraine 37:34 (29: 29/33: 33) finishing in 9th place. At the European Championships in 1998, 2000 and 2002 finished in 8th, 6th and 16th place. Croatia in 2000 hosted the European Championship, they had high expectations from this tournament but they weren't fulfilled. After the defeat from Slovenia in the match for fifth place Croatia took only 6th place and failed to qualify for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. The national team is also lost its ability to defend the gold from Atlanta in Sydney.

Červar era (2002–2010)

Once the team reached bottom with their results, being ranked last or in 16th place at the 2002 European Championship, in March 2002 the Federation entrusted Lino Červar and with him the team that suffered a seven-year drought medal in two years was created into the world champions and Olympic winners. In the period between these two gold medals Croatia is still ranked 4th place at the European Championships in 2004 in Slovenia. With Čevar in charge Croatia would be at the top of the handball world.[56]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Vlado Šola, Valter Matošević, Mario Kelentrić
Back players Petar Metličić, Ivano Balić, Blaženko Lacković, Slavko Goluža, Tonči Valčić
Line players Božidar Jović, Renato Sulić, Igor Vori
Wing players Mirza Džomba, Nikša Kaleb, Vedran Zrnić, Goran Šprem
Defensive players Denis Špoljarić, Davor Dominiković
Coaching staff[57] Lino Červar (Head coach), Irfan Smajlagić (Assistant coach), Mirko Bašić (GK coach), Josip Feldbauer (Doctor), Milorad Sakradžija (Fizioterapist), Antun Arić (Fizioterapist), Ivica Udovičić (tehniko), Ratko Balenović (Director)

With the arrival of Lino Červar and a maturing exceptionally talented new generation of with a young Ivano Balić the revival of the national team culminated at the 2003 World Championship. The start of the competition was disastrous. Croatia lost in their first match to Argentina who was at the time a punching for serious national teams in official competitions. Although the first half led with 5 goals, but 14 minutes before the end of the match conceded 6 goals. At the end of the match, Croatian handball players fired five successive attacks, and Mirza Džomba 20 seconds before the end missed the equalizer. How Croatian players badly played that match by was proven by the fact they missed 6 penalty shots. During halftime of the second match against another underdog Saudi Arabia Croatia was losing with 2 differences and was playing desperately. Yet the team found strength to win this match.[58] The turning point was marvelous - the group's dramatic victories in the end against giants Russia, France and Hungary securing first place to the second part where the Croats were convincing against Egypt and Denmark. In semifinals the match went into overtime (4 x 5 minutes) defeating the Spaniards 39:37 (26: 26/31: 31) and in the grand final they outscored Germany 34:31 and won their first title of world champions and wrote surely one of the most beautiful story's in the history of Croatian sport.[59]

In January 2004 Croatia played at the 2004 European Championship in Slovenia. They got to the semifinals where they were knocked out by the hosts 25:27. They finished in fourth place losing the third place match to Denmark 27:31.

In Summer 2004 the Olympics were held in Athens. The national team continued its dominating play and were undefeated in all eight matches played. They defeated Iceland, Slovenia, South Korea, Russia, Spain, Greece and Hungary before getting to the final. In a dramatic final Croatia defeated Germany 26-24 and with the title of world champions they won the Olympic gold. In the last 5 minutes of the match went a goal ahead for Croatia, and then Nikša Kaleb who had not scored no goal with 3 consecutive goals sealed a great victory. The gold was an even greater success considering the fact that Croatia traveled to Athens without their best line player Renato Sulić who was recovering from a car accident, without important defense player Tonči Valčić and without Patrik Ćavar who was ill.[60]

Position Players
Goalkeepers Vlado Šola, Venio Losert, Valter Matošević
Back players Petar Metličić, Ivano Balić, Blaženko Lacković, Slavko Goluža, Drago Vuković
Line players Igor Vori
Wing players Mirza Džomba, Nikša Kaleb, Vedran Zrnić, Goran Šprem
Defensive players Denis Špoljarić, Davor Dominiković
Coaching staff[61] Lino Červar (Head coach), Irfan Smajlagić (Assistant coach), Zdenko Zorko (GK coach), Miljenko Rak (Fitness coach), Milorad Sakradžija (Fizioterapist), Josip Feldbauer (Doctor), Stanislav Peharec (Somatoped), Davor Urek (Tehniko), Ivica Udovičić (Director)

Rivalries

Croatia has developed several handball rivalries. Their most played rivalry is against France, which is often considered to be the biggest modern handball rivalry since the end of the Cold War, since Croatia and France are the most successful nations in handball both in Europe and worldwide. Their second biggest rivalry is with neighbors Slovenia, whom they played 14 times, winning 9 games and losing 5. In recent years, a rivalry with Spain has also developed, sometimes called the Mediterranean derby. Other rivalries include Denmark, Poland, Germany, Serbia and Hungary.

The 2009 World Men's Handball Championship, hosted in Croatia, was remembered[62] for constant refereeing mistakes, through which France ultimately won the final against Croatia. The final was memorable[63] for starting the "curse of Arena Zagreb", in which many Croatian sports teams had lost finals in the Arena. Many had questioned the appointment of Danish referee Olesen Pedersen, who was remarked for his constant mistakes against several Croatian handball players, through which France won the final. After the final, the rivalry sparked more in Croatia, but later became a famous French phenomenon.

Results at international competitions

Prior to 1991 Croatia men's national handball team played as a part of Yugoslavia men's national handball team.

Croatia played its first match on 14 January 1991 against Japan which ended 23–23.

Summer Olympics

World Championship

European Championship

Mediterranean Games

Year Round Position W D L GF GA GD
France 1993 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) unknown
Italy 1997 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 0 1 121 115 +6
Tunisia 2001 Final 1st place, gold medalist(s) unknown
Spain 2005 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 3 0 1 107 103 +4
Italy 2009 Did not compete
Turkey 2013 Final 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 0 2 166 158 +8
Spain 2017 Decision on participating is still to be made

List of cities in which the games were played

City Pld W D L GF GA GD
Denmark Aarhus 3 2 0 1 89 80 +9
Portugal Almada 5 3 0 2 120 114 +6
Turkey Ankara 2 2 0 0 64 48 +16
Greece Athens 2 2 0 0 59 55 +4
United States Atlanta 7 6 0 1 183 168 +15
Romania Baia Mare 1 1 0 0 25 22 +3
Spain Barcelona 2 1 0 1 55 56 -1
China Beijing 8 4 0 4 218 199 +17
Serbia Belgrade 2 1 0 1 53 53 0
Switzerland Bern 3 2 0 1 85 79 +6
France Besançon 5 3 1 1 154 115 +39
Italy Bolzano 2 0 0 2 41 57 -16
Portugal Braga 1 0 0 1 18 19 -1
Slovakia Bratislava 1 1 0 0 32 21 +11
Denmark Brøndby 3 3 0 0 85 68 +17
Austria Bruck an der Mur 2 2 0 0 59 46 +13
Slovenia Celje 3 2 1 0 82 77 +5
Spain Ciudad Real 5 5 0 0 135 119 +16
Germany Cologne 3 2 0 1 87 73 +14
Croatia Čakovec 1 1 0 0 39 30 +9
Latvia Dobele 1 1 0 0 30 23 +7
Qatar Doha 8 7 0 1 234 196 +38
Romania Drobeta-Turnu Severin 1 1 0 0 30 25 +5
Austria Graz 3 3 0 0 83 76 +7
Iceland Hafnarfjörður 7 6 0 1 192 159 +33
Finland Helsinki 1 1 0 0 31 26 +5
Denmark Herning 2 0 0 2 55 58 -3
Slovakia Hlohovec 1 1 0 0 30 26 +4
Egypt Ismaïlia 6 3 1 2 141 145 -4
Sweden Jönköping 3 0 0 3 70 89 -19
Croatia Karlovac 3 3 0 0 103 77 +26
Czech Republic Karviná 1 1 0 0 32 26 +6
Greece Komotini 1 1 0 0 29 24 +5
Iceland Kópavogur 1 1 0 0 29 28 +1
Croatia Koprivnica 1 1 0 0 35 24 +11
Japan Kumamoto 1 0 0 1 25 31 -6
Croatia Kutina 2 2 0 0 59 42 +17
Croatia Labin 2 2 0 0 57 38 +19
Norway Lillehammer 2 1 0 1 44 47 -3
Portugal Lisbon 2 2 0 0 73 68 +5
United Kingdom London 8 7 0 1 230 183 +47
Sweden Lund 2 2 0 0 62 33 +29
Qatar Lusail 1 0 0 1 24 28 -4
Slovenia Ljubljana 7 2 1 4 184 197 -13
Portugal Madeira 5 4 0 1 135 125 +10
Spain Madrid 5 5 0 0 148 99 +49
Sweden Malmö 7 4 1 2 209 180 +29
Germany Mannheim 4 4 0 0 113 101 +12
France Marseille 1 0 0 1 34 37 -3
Italy Merano 3 2 1 0 76 63 +13
Croatia Metković 1 1 0 0 29 26 +3
Belarus Minsk 3 1 2 0 81 80 +1
Tunisia Nabeul 3 2 0 1 78 77 +1
Serbia Novi Sad 3 1 1 1 75 70 +5
Croatia Osijek 2 2 0 0 57 41 +16
Greece Palaio Faliro 6 6 0 0 179 156 +23
Croatia Poreč 1 1 0 0 34 26 +8
Portugal Porto 2 1 0 1 45 47 -2
Croatia Pula 1 1 0 0 28 19 +9
Tunisia Radès 2 1 0 1 69 72 -3
Iceland Reykjavík 2 1 0 1 47 48 -1
Croatia Rijeka 3 2 1 0 80 69 +11
Portugal Rio Maior 2 2 0 0 62 50 +12
Spain Seville 2 0 0 2 45 55 -10
Tunisia Sfax 5 5 0 0 169 124 +45
North Macedonia Skopje 1 0 0 1 29 31 -2
Croatia Split 6 6 0 0 193 136 +57
Switzerland St. Gallen 3 3 0 0 94 88 +6
Norway Stavanger 6 4 1 1 168 156 +12
Germany Stuttgart 3 3 0 0 108 72 +36
Turkey Trabzon 1 1 0 0 27 23 +4
Croatia Umag 1 1 0 0 26 24 +2
Finland Vantaa 1 1 0 0 34 14 +20
Croatia Varaždin 3 3 0 0 102 65 +37
Hungary Veszprém 2 0 0 2 46 50 -4
Austria Vienna 3 2 1 0 124 118 +6
Lithuania Vilnius 1 1 0 0 21 19 +2
Serbia Vršac 3 3 0 0 88 78 +10
Japan Yatsushiro 5 2 1 2 123 115 +8
Croatia Zadar 5 5 0 0 160 118 +42
Croatia Zagreb 18 15 0 3 494 396 +98
Spain Zaragoza 2 2 0 0 63 47 +16
Switzerland Zürich 2 0 0 2 50 61 -11

Team

Current squad

Squad for the 2017 World Men's Handball Championship.[65]

Head coach: Željko Babić

No. Pos. Name Date of birth (age) Height App. Goals Club
1 GK Ivan Stevanović (1982-05-18) 18 May 1982 (age 42) 1.93 m 38 0 Croatia RK Zagreb
2 LW Lovro Mihić (1994-08-25) 25 August 1994 (age 30) 1.80 m 6 10 Poland Wisła Płock
5 CB Domagoj Duvnjak (1988-06-01) 1 June 1988 (age 36) 1.97 m 175 576 Germany THW Kiel
7 RB Luka Stepančić (1990-11-20) 20 November 1990 (age 33) 2.03 m 42 92 France Paris Saint-Germain
10 LB Jakov Gojun (1986-04-18) 18 April 1986 (age 38) 2.04 m 17 19 Germany Füchse Berlin
11 RW Jerko Matulić (1990-04-20) 20 April 1990 (age 34) 1.87 m 28 59 France HBC Nantes
12 GK Ivan Pešić (1989-03-17) 17 March 1989 (age 35) 1.93 m 34 1 Belarus Meshkov Brest
13 RW Zlatko Horvat (1984-09-25) 25 September 1984 (age 40) 1.79 m 134 387 Croatia RK Zagreb
16 GK Filip Ivić (1992-08-30) 30 August 1992 (age 32) 1.95 m 37 0 Poland Vive Targi Kielce
20 P Tin Kontrec (1989-09-09) 9 September 1989 (age 35) 1.96 m 4 3 Croatia RK Zagreb
22 RW Josip Božić-Pavletić (1994-08-06) 6 August 1994 (age 30) 1.87 m 0 0 Croatia Nexe Našice
23 LB Stipe Mandalinić (1992-09-09) 9 September 1992 (age 32) 1.95 m 19 18 Croatia RK Zagreb
26 LW Manuel Štrlek (1988-12-01) 1 December 1988 (age 35) 1.81 m 122 429 Poland Vive Targi Kielce
28 P Željko Musa (1986-01-08) 8 January 1986 (age 38) 2.00 m 84 56 Germany SC Magdeburg
29 CB Lovro Jotić (1994-11-12) 12 November 1994 (age 30) 1.91 m 0 0 Croatia RK Zagreb
30 LB Marko Mamić (1994-03-06) 6 March 1994 (age 30) 2.00 m 25 27 France Dunkerque
31 RB Luka Šebetić (1994-05-26) 26 May 1994 (age 30) 1.98 m 13 24 Croatia RK Zagreb
33 CB Luka Cindrić (1993-07-05) 5 July 1993 (age 31) 1.82 m 24 28 North Macedonia RK Vardar

Medal-winning squads

Notable players

Alvaro Načinović former national team captain
Domagoj Duvnjak current national team captain

Statistics

Coaching staff

April 2017

Record against other teams

As of 28 Aug 2016

Key
Positive total balance (more wins)
Neutral total balance (equal W/L ratio)
Negative total balance (more losses)
National team Total Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L Pld W D L
Algeria Algeria 4 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Argentina Argentina 4 3 0 1 1 1 0 0 3 2 0 1 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Australia Australia 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Austria Austria 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Bahrain Bahrain 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
Belarus Belarus 10 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — 6 4 2 0
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and
Herzegovina 		1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Brazil Brazil 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Bulgaria Bulgaria 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Chile Chile 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — 1 1 0 0
China China 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Cuba Cuba 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Czech Republic Czech Republic 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 2 2 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Denmark Denmark 18 9 0 9 3 3 0 0 5 2 0 3 9 4 0 5 — — — — 1 0 0 1
Egypt Egypt 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0
Finland Finland 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
France France 22 8 1 13 5 2 0 3 7 4 0 3 10 2 1 7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Germany Germany 9 7 1 1 1 1 0 0 4 3 1 0 4 3 0 1 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Greece Greece 6 6 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 2 2 0 0
Greenland Greenland 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Hungary Hungary 16 11 1 4 3 3 0 0 6 5 0 1 3 1 1 1 — — — — 4 2 0 2
Iceland Iceland 9 7 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 4 3 1 0 — — — — 3 2 0 1
Iran Iran 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Italy Italy 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Japan Japan 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 2 2 0 0
Kuwait Kuwait 3 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Latvia Latvia 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Lithuania Lithuania 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
North Macedonia Macedonia 5 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1
Montenegro Montenegro 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Morocco Morocco 3 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Netherlands Netherlands 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0
Nigeria Nigeria 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Norway Norway 12 7 2 3 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 1 7 5 1 1 — — — — 3 2 0 1
Poland Poland 9 7 0 2 2 1 0 1 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Portugal Portugal 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 1 0 — — — — 2 1 0 1
Qatar Qatar 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Romania Romania 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Russia Russia 16 9 1 6 2 2 0 0 6 4 0 2 7 2 1 4 — — — — 1 1 0 0
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Serbia Serbia* 9 4 1 4 1 1 0 0 3 1 1 1 4 1 0 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Slovakia Slovakia 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — — — 4 4 0 0
Slovenia Slovenia 14 9 0 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 0 0 5 3 0 2 2 1 0 1 4 2 0 2
South Korea South Korea 5 4 0 1 2 2 0 0 3 2 0 1 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Spain Spain 23 14 1 8 4 3 0 1 9 7 0 2 7 2 1 4 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0
Sweden Sweden 9 6 0 3 2 1 0 1 4 3 0 1 3 2 0 1 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Switzerland Switzerland 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
Tunisia Tunisia 6 6 0 0 2 2 0 0 2 2 0 0 — — — — 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
Turkey Turkey 6 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 0 0
Ukraine Ukraine 3 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 2 2 0 0 — — — — 0 0 0 0
United States United States 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 — — — — — — — — 0 0 0 0
Total (51) 292 212 13 67
* includes games against Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro

Biggest wins

Double digit goal difference

Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
  • +19 vs. Brasil (33-14) 2008
  • +11 vs. China (33-22) 2008
  • +11 vs. Denmark (32-21) 2012
  • +10 vs. South Korea (31-21) 2012
  • +29 vs. USA (41-12) 2001
  • +27 vs. Australia (42-15) 2011
  • +23 vs. Australia (36-13) 2013
  • +21 vs. Cuba (41-20) 2009
  • +20 vs. Argentina (38-18) 2011
  • +20 vs. Australia (38-18) 2005
  • +19 vs. Iran (41-22) 2015
  • +19 vs. Kuwait (40-21) 2009
  • +18 vs. South Korea (41-23) 2007
  • +15 vs. Chile (37-22) 2017
  • +14 vs. Egypt (30-16) 1995
  • +13 vs. Argentina (36-23) 2005
  • +13 vs. China (34-21) 1997
  • +13 vs. Marocco (35-22) 2007
  • +12 vs. Marocco (33-21) 1995
  • +11 vs. Algeria (31-20) 2013
  • +10 vs. Spain (32-22) 2009
  • +14 vs. Poland (37-23) 2016
  • +11 vs. Belarus (33-22) 2014
  • +10 vs. Macedonia (34-24) 2016
  • +8 vs. Greece (33-25) 2005
  • +20 vs. Chile (35-15) 2012
  • +20 vs. Finland (34-14) 2010
  • +19 vs. Finland (39-20) 2010
  • +15 vs. Japan (37-22) 2008
  • +14 vs. Japan (36-22) 2012
  • +14 vs. Turkey (40-26) 2016
  • +13 vs. Slovakia (34-21) 2010
  • +12 vs. Greece (32-20) 2010
  • +12 vs. Romania (34-22) 2012
  • +11 vs. Algeria (37-26) 2008
  • +11 vs. Netherlands (35-24) 2016
  • +11 vs. Slovakia (32-21) 2014
  • +10 vs. Bahrain (32-22) 2016
  • +10 vs. Turkey (32-22) 2016

Biggest losses

Olympic Games World Championship European Championship Mediterranean Games Qualifications
  • -9 vs. Sweden (18-27) 1996
  • -7 vs. Qatar (23-30) 2016
  • -6 vs. Spain (29-35) 2008
  • -11 vs. Russia (20-31) 1997
  • -15 vs. Russia (14-29) 1998
  • -12 vs. FR Yugoslavia (22–34) 2002
  • -10 vs. Denmark (20–30) 2008
  • -7 vs. Spain (21-28) 2005

Youth teams

Croatia Youth selections
Medal record
European Championship U-20
Silver medal – second place 2012 Turkey Team
World Championship U-19
Gold medal – first place 2009 Tunisia Team
Silver medal – second place 2007 Bahrain Team
Silver medal – second place 2013 Hungary Team
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Qatar Team
European Championship U-18
Gold medal – first place 2006 Estonia Team
Gold medal – first place 2010 Montenegro Team
Silver medal – second place 2004 Serbia and Montenegro Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Croatia Team
European Summer Olympic Festival
Bronze medal – third place 2009 Finland Team

Croatia has various youth selection which compete at the highest European and World level in handball. Various Croatia players have also played for the youth selection of Yugoslavia. At the 1981 1981 World U-21 Championship Yugoslavia U-21 won the gold medal in Portugal.

Awards

The Croatia national handball team has received numerous award throughout the years.

Senior squad

U-19 squad

Source: hrs.hr

Squads

Major tournaments

Minor tournaments

See also

References

  1. ^ "CROATIA SEEK CONSISTENCY ON THEIR WAY TO THE TOP". eurohandball.com. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Dokumentarac o povijesnom uspjehu kada su Hrvati šokirali sportski svijet". tportal.hr. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Rukometna reprezentacija perjanica je hrvatskog sporta, a London je nova prilika za povijest". sportnet.hr. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
  4. ^ "Kladionice Francuska i Danska opaki favoriti Hrvatska visoko". 24 sata. Retrieved 10 January 2017.
  5. ^ "Hrvatska u teškoj dilemi – izabrati lakši put do medalje ili izbjeći najtežeg rivala". rama-prozor.info. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  6. ^ "Povijest rukometa". www.hrs.hr (in Croatian).
  7. ^ "Razvoj rukometa". www.hrs.hr (in Croatian).
  8. ^ "Povijest rukometa". www.rkhd.hr (in Croatian).
  9. ^ "Počeci djelovanja Hrvatskog rukometnog saveza". issuu.com (in Croatian).
  10. ^ "Prije 70 godina odigrana prva rukometna utakmica u Zagrebu". issuu.com (in Croatian).
  11. ^ "ZNAČAJNIH 80 GODINA RUKOMETA". www.hr-rukomet.hr (in Croatian).
  12. ^ "International Handball Federation". IHF.
  13. ^ "Uspeh rukometašica". www.vreme.com (in Serbian).
  14. ^ "Od Od Rijeke do Herninga: Kako je Hrvatska postala pretplaćena na rukometne". index.hr (in Croatian).
  15. ^ Olimpijski Komitet Srbije(1)
  16. ^ Olimpijski Komitet Srbije(2)
  17. ^ Hrvatski Olimpijski Odbor
  18. ^ Olimp(MI)
  19. ^ MI 1979.
  20. ^ Olimpijska Odličja
  21. ^ Olimpijski Treneri
  22. ^ Rukometne Medalje
  23. ^ Svjetske Medalje
  24. ^ Todor Arhiv
  25. ^ Njemački Arhiv
  26. ^ Enciklopedija Fizičke Kulture
  27. ^ Irislav Dolenec
  28. ^ Jezdimir Stanković
  29. ^ Branislav Pokrajac
  30. ^ Ivan Snoj
  31. ^ Pero Janjić(1)
  32. ^ Pero Janjić(2)
  33. ^ Zdravko Malić(1)
  34. ^ Zdravko Malić(2)
  35. ^ Josip Milković SP 1974.
  36. ^ Božo Peter SP 1961.
  37. ^ Ivan Uremović SP 1967.
  38. ^ Sastav SP 1978.
  39. ^ Serdarušić SP 1978.
  40. ^ Jugoslavija-Island
  41. ^ Jugoslavija-DDR
  42. ^ Jugoslavija-Španjolska
  43. ^ Jugoslavija-SSSR
  44. ^ "Protiv Japana: Na današnji su dan prvi put zaigrali "kauboji"". 24 sata (in Croatian).
  45. ^ "Povijest". hrs.hr (in Croatian).
  46. ^ "Na današnji dan MOO je priznao Hrvatski olimpijski odbor". sportnet.rtl.hr/ (in Croatian).
  47. ^ "Na današnji dan MOO je priznao Hrvatski olimpijski odbor". http://sportnet.rtl.hr/ (in Croatian).
  48. ^ "Men Handball I European Championship 1994 Portugal". www.todor66.com.
  49. ^ "Men Handball XIV World Championship 1995 Iceland". www.todor66.com.
  50. ^ "Men Handball II European Championship 1996 Spain". www.todor66.com.
  51. ^ "OLIMPIJSKE IGRE U ATLANTI 1996. GODINE: NAJVEĆI USPJEH U POVIJESTI HRVATSKOG SPORTA". arhiv.slobodnadalmacija.hr (in Croatian).
  52. ^ "Atlanta 1996". sportnet.hr (in Croatian).
  53. ^ "Nije se ponovila Atlanta 1996 i put preko Francuza do prvog olimpijskog zlata za Hrvatsku". index.hr (in Croatian).
  54. ^ "Povijesne Igre u SAD-u: Zbog rukometaša smo prvi put čuli 'Lijepu našu'". gol.dnevnik.hr (in Croatian).
  55. ^ "SPOMENAR: Gdje su danas pripadnici slavne generacije iz Atlante?". germanijak.hr (in Croatian).
  56. ^ "Čarobnjak iz Umaga: Lino Červar". www.hrvatskareprezentacija.hr (in Croatian).
  57. ^ Struka Na SP 2003.
  58. ^ "Hrvatska - Saudijska Arabija: U nastavku osigurana pobjeda". sportnet.rtl.hr (in Croatian).
  59. ^ "Hrvatska prvak svijeta!". index.hr (in Croatian).
  60. ^ "Atena 2004. Novo zlato za rukomet i najveća berba medalja do tada". gol.dnevnik.hr/ (in Croatian).
  61. ^ Struka Na OI 2004.
  62. ^ "Hrvatska srebrna; Metličić: Suci nam nisu dozvolili igrati, dali smo sve od sebe". slobodnadalmacija.com. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  63. ^ "Francuzi najbolji, Hrvatska druga na svijetu!". sportnet.hr. Retrieved 1 February 2009.
  64. ^ Scheduled to play against at the qualifying tournament for the 2016 European Championship.
  65. ^ 2017 World Championship roster
  66. ^ "rukomet". Proleksis Enciklopedija. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
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