Dejan Savić ( sr-cyr, Дејан Савић; born 24 April 1975) is a Serbian professional

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with the ...

coach and former player. He currently serves as head coach of the

Serbia men's national water polo team The Serbia men's national water polo team represents Serbia in international water polo competitions and is controlled by the . They have won gold medals in the Olympics, World and European Championships, World Cup, FINA World League, Mediterr ...

and

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

. During his playing career, he was part of two Olympic bronze medal squads, one for FR Yugoslavia at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, the other for Serbia at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and one Olympic silver medal squad for Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Savić started training with the

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

water polo club at the age of five and he debuted for the first team (seniors) at the age of thirteen, while still a pupil in elementary school. His last club was VK Crvena Zvezda where he was team captain. He retired from active playing at the end of the 2010/11 season. At international level, Savić represented

FR Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or ...

Serbia and Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Cрбија и Црна Гора, translit=Srbija i Crna Gora) was a country in Southeast Europe located in the Balkans that existed from 1992 to 2006, following the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

and

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

, in 444 matches and scored 405 goals. He is the most capped player in Serbian water polo. He began coaching VK Crvena Zvezda in 2011 and stayed there until 2015. He also became head coach of the

in autumn 2012 and is still in that position.

Club career as coach

Crvena Zvezda

In 2011, after finishing his long playing career, Savić remained with his club Crvena zvezda in the position of head coach. In 2015, Savić left the position in Crvena zvezda. In February 2022, he returned to Crvena zvezda as head cocach.

National career

Savić is one of a few sportspeople who won Olympic medals in water polo as players and head coaches.

As player

Savić made his debut for the national team in 1994, during a time of sanctions for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, following All-Star selections in a tournament in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He became the standard no. five (wing) player for the team almost without a break over the whole of his national career. Holding the record for the highest number of matches played (444), and also being a highly successful scorer (405 goals), he is considered to be among the true legends of Serbian sports. During his career, he developed into the strongest pillar of Serbia's defense in front of the goal. With his power and imagination, he was a prominent member of the team. From 1997, Savić was part of the Yugoslav/Serbian water polo team in every competition in which they won a medal. In a duel with

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

at the 2008 Olympic Games, he was one of the players most responsible for Serbia's triumph when they won the bronze medal that year. Savić played his last match with the national team in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

in 2011.

As coach

Savić was named as head coach of the Serbian National team after

Dejan Udovičić Dejan Udovičić ( sr-cyrl, Дејан Удовичић; born 26 July 1970) is a Serbian professional water polo head coach. He was named head coach for Serbia in June 2006, after the dissolution of the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. As a ...

left the position in 2012. Under Savić's leadership, the national team won the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

and

2016 Olympic Games ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro d ...

, the 2015 World Championship, three European Championships (

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

and

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

), and six World League titles (

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

). In little over twelve months, between August 2015 and August 2016, the Serbian National team won consecutively all four of the biggest titles in Water Polo – the 2015 World Championship, the 2016 European Championship, the 2016 World League, and the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games – an unprecedented achievement.

Honours

As coach

VK Crvena Zvezda

LEN Champions League The LEN Champions League is the top-tier European professional water polo club competition with teams from up to 18 countries. It is organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. The competition started in 1963 as European Cup. A change of nam ...

: 2012–13 * Serbian Championship: 2012–13, 2013–14 * Serbian Cup: 2012–13, 2013–14 * Regional A2 League: 2017–18 *

LEN Super Cup The LEN Super Cup is an annual water polo match organized by LEN and contested by the reigning champions of the two European club competitions, the LEN Champions League and the LEN Euro Cup. From 1976 to 2002, the LEN Super Cup was contested betwe ...

: 2014

As player

VK Partizan

* Yugoslavian Championship: 1994–95 * Yugoslavia Cup: 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95 *

LEN Cup The LEN Euro Cup is the second-tier European water polo club competition run by the Ligue Européenne de Natation for those clubs who did not qualify for the LEN Champions League. The cup was inaugurated in 1992. History Names of the competitio ...

: 1997–98 *

: 1991 *

LEN Cup Winners' Cup The LEN Cup Winners' Cup was a European water polo club competition organized by the Ligue Européenne de Natation. National cup winners qualified for the tournament. After 2003, the nationalcup winners qualified for the LEN Euroleague, and the cup ...

: 1990 * Mediterranean Championship: 1989

CN Barcelona

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footbal ...

: 1998–9

CN Atlètic-Barceloneta

* Spanish Championship: 2000–01 *

: 2000–01 *

Supercopa de España The Supercopa de España or the ''Spanish Super Cup'' is a super cup tournament in Spanish football. Founded in 1982 as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since 2019–20 by four teams: the winners and runners-up of ...

: 2001

Rari Nantes Florentia

: 2001

Pro Recco

: 2004

Sintez Kazan

* Russian Championship: 2006–07 *Russian Cup: 2004–05, 2009–10 *

LEN Euro Cup The LEN Euro Cup is the second-tier European water polo club competition run by the Ligue Européenne de Natation for those clubs who did not qualify for the LEN Champions League. The cup was inaugurated in 1992. History Names of the competitio ...

: 2006–07

Individual honours

It was announced on 1 June 2010 that Dejan Savić won the national sports award, which includes lifetime monthly fees. Savić was honored for winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

References

Interview

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Savic, Dejan 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Belgrade Yugoslav male water polo players Serbia and Montenegro male water polo players Serbian male water polo players Water polo centre backs Water polo players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic water polo players of Yugoslavia Olympic water polo players of Serbia and Montenegro Olympic bronze medalists for Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Serbia and Montenegro Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia in water polo Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo European champions for Serbia Competitors at the 1997 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in water polo Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Universiade medalists in water polo Universiade gold medalists for Serbia and Montenegro Serbian water polo coaches Serbia men's national water polo team coaches Water polo coaches at the 2016 Summer Olympics Water polo coaches at the 2020 Summer Olympics Serbian expatriates in Italy Serbian expatriates in Russia Serbian expatriates in Spain

Club career as coach

Crvena Zvezda

National career

As player

As coach

Honours

As coach

VK Crvena Zvezda

As player

VK Partizan

CN Barcelona

CN Atlètic-Barceloneta

Rari Nantes Florentia

Pro Recco

Sintez Kazan

Individual honours

See also

References

External links