Ivano Balić
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| Full name | Ivano Balić | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | April 1, 1979 Split, SFR Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Middle Back | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Senior clubs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 2001–2004 2004–2008 2008–2012 2012–2013 2013– | RK Split RK Metković Portland San Antonio RK Zagreb Atlético Madrid BM HSG Wetzlar | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| -2012 | Croatia | 108 (364) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| 1 National team caps and goals correct as of January 2009 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ivano Balić (born April 1, 1979 in Split) is a Croatian handballer, world and Olympic champion. Balić is widely considered by experts and fans to be one of the best handball players of all time.[1] He was voted 5 times in a row as the most valuable player in major international competitions,[2][3] and is one of only two handball players who received the IHF World Player of the Year award on two occasions (2003, 2006).[2][3] Currently he plays for the German team HSG Wetzlar.
Career
_-_2010_European_Men's_Handball_Championship.jpg)
Before playing handball, Balić trained with the basketball club KK Split. He began his handball career with RK Split. Balić was a member of the Croatian national team that won the 2003 World Men's Handball Championship in Portugal. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and silver at the 2005 World Championship in Tunisia.
Balić was declared the IHF World Player of the Year in 2003 and 2006[2] as well as the best player in Croatia 2003. After playing for RK Metković he moved to Portland San Antonio. At the 2006 European Championship in Switzerland he was declared the tournament MVP. Even though Croatia won the 5th place on the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship in Germany, he was declared the tournament's MVP. In the 2008 European Men's Handball Championship he was the equal top scorer with 44 goals as he led Croatia to a silver medal and was also voted to the All-Star Team of the tournament. His playing position is middle back.
Honours
Club
Liga ASOBAL
Spanish Cup
Spanish Supercup
- 2005/06
EHF Champions League
- Runner-up: 2005/06
Croatian Cup
- 2002, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
Croatian League
- 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012
IHF Super Globe
- 2012
National
Olympic Games
- Gold: 2004
- Bronze: 2012
World Championship
European Championship
Mediterranean Games
- Gold: 2001
Individual
- IHF World Player of the Year: 2003, 2006
- Croatian Sportsman of the year: 2007
- Best Male Handball Player Ever – fans poll[1]
See also
- 2008 Summer Olympics national flag bearers
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Ivano Balic voted best male player ever". ihf.info. 08/12/2010. Retrieved 2013-01-23.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "World Handball Players of the Year 2006: Nadine Krause (GER) and Ivano Balic (CRO)". International Handball Federation. June 14, 2007. Retrieved 2010-05-13. "To make a long story short: an all-rounder you may not have seen before in handball. Balic is a real star. The handball director, who fully deserved the award as Most Valuable Player of the 2007 World Championship, knows that. He knows the ritual since 2003, at least every second year. Given these facts, it seems to be a little bit surprising that this is only the second time after 2003 that the exceptional player has been elected World Handball Player of the Year."
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Ivano Balic, the MVP of all MVPs". European Handball Federation. November 6, 2013. Retrieved December 4, 2013. "No other handball player to date has been awarded 'Most Valuable Player' more often than Ivano Balic, making him - figuratively speaking - the MVP of all MVPs. The 34-year-old playmaker received the honour at five consecutive major events, first at the EHF EURO 2004 in Slovenia followed by the 2004 Olympic Games, the World Championship 2005, the EHF EURO 2006 and the World Championship 2007."
| Olympic Games | ||
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| Preceded by Dubravko Šimenc |
Flagbearer for  CroatiaBeijing 2008 |
Succeeded by Venio Losert |
| Awards | ||
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Preceded by Bertrand Gille |
IHF World Player of the Year 2003 |
Succeeded by Henning Fritz |
Preceded by Árpád Sterbik |
IHF World Player of the Year 2006 |
Succeeded by Nikola Karabatić |
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