Iztok Puc (14 September 1966 – 20 October 2011) was a Croatian-Slovenian
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
player, who was one of the world's top players of the 1980s and 1990s.
During his career he played professionally for
Borac Banja Luka
Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...
,
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
,
Celje
)
, pushpin_map = Slovenia
, pushpin_label_position = left
, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Cou ...
and
Prule 67. He won a total of 18 domestic trophies. He has won the elite
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
in 1992 and 1993, both times with Zagreb. He is one of very few handball players who represented three different countries at the
Summer Olympics
The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
(
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
and
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
),
winning bronze with Yugoslavia in 1988 and gold with Croatia in 1996. In 2009, he was named the best overall player in the history of Slovenian handball.
After his death an award named in his honour was introduced and is awarded annually to the most promising young handball players in Slovenia and Croatia, given alternately one year to Slovenian and another year to Croatian player.
Early life
Puc was born in
Slovenj Gradec
Slovenj Gradec (; german: Windischgrätz'', ''after about 1900 ''Windischgraz'') is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Slovenj Gradec. It is part of the historical Styria region, and since 2005 it has belon ...
,
SR Slovenia
The Socialist Republic of Slovenia ( sl, Socialistična republika Slovenija, sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Socijalistička Republika Slovenija, Социјалистичка Република Словенија), commonly referred to as Sociali ...
,
SFR Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...
on 14 September 1966. During his youth he lived in
Šoštanj
Šoštanj (; german: Schönstein) is a town in northern Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Šoštanj. The area is part of the traditional region of Styria. The entire municipality is now included in the Savinja Statistical Region.
Hi ...
with his mother and without his father, whom he met for the first time at the age of 25.
In elementary school a gym teacher named
Miro Požun, who was aware of the situation at Puc's home, took young Puc under his wing and became his mentor.
Požun, who eventually became one of the best coaches in history of Slovenian handball, was the first who noticed the enormous talent that Puc had and eventually introduced him to the local handball club
RK Šoštanj, which he also coached.
There Puc became the most promising young player of Yugoslav handball.
Club career
Puc was first noticed by
RK Borac in 1983 when their goalkeeper, Yugoslav international
Zlatan Arnautović
Zlatan Arnautović (; born 2 September 1956) is a Serbian former handball coach and player who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1980 Summer Olympics and in the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Club career
Born in Prijedor, Arnautović started playing handball ...
, spotted him and reported his findings to the club officials.
He was then tracked by the club and their scouting service and a few years later the young promising player was given an offer to join their club.
Abas Arslanagić
Abas Arslanagić (born October 2, 1944) is a Bosnian former handball player and coach who competed for Yugoslavia in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics.
In 1972, he was part of the Yugoslav team which won the gold medal at ...
, the coach of Borac, which was one of the top Yugoslav clubs at the time, wanted the young teenager to join his team immediately, however, Puc was persuaded by Miro Požun to finish high school first and complete at least some form of education.
Puc listened to his mentor, finished high school one year later and finally joined Borac in 1985 where he signed his first professional contract.
Upon his arrival in
Banja Luka
Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...
, he immediately became the best player of the team and the best goalscorer of the entire league.
Although he never won any major domestic honours with Borac, he is considered as one of the best players in the club's history.
He later played for
RK Zagreb
Rukometni klub Zagreb ( en, Zagreb Handball Club, ) is a men's professional handball club from Zagreb, Croatia. It competes in the
Croatian Premier League, SEHA League, and the EHF Champions League.
RK Zagreb won 33 national championships and ...
from Croatia, and
Celje
)
, pushpin_map = Slovenia
, pushpin_label_position = left
, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Cou ...
and
Prule 67 from Slovenia.
During his career he won a total of 18 domestic trophies and was a member of the Zagreb squad which won the elite
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
in 1992 and 1993. He is most remembered for the game-winning goal in the 1993 Champions League final where he scored in the final seconds of the game.
He has also won three
Croatian league and three
Croatian cup Croatian Cup may refer to:
*Croatian Football Cup
*Croatian Football Super Cup
* Croatian Women's Football Cup
*Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup
*Croatian Handball Cup
*Croatian Water Polo Cup
*Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...
titles. His longest spell was with Celje, where he played for five years during which time he won five
Slovenian league and five
Slovenian cup
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
titles and played in the EHF Champions League semi-final three times in a row.
Miro Požun was the head coach of Celje during the 1994–95 season with whom Puc won his first Slovenian league and cup title. He made a total of 136 appearances for Celje, scoring 630 goals in the process.
Puc last played for Prule 67 where he won both domestic titles, league and cup, in the 2001–02 season and appeared in another Champions league semi-final one year later.
International career
His first taste of international success came at the
1987 Junior World Championship when Yugoslavia won gold, and Puc was noticed as the most prominent player of the winning team.
Puc also captained his side during that tournament. One year later he won a bronze medal with the
Yugoslav senior team at the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and commonly known as Seoul 1988 ( ko, 서울 1988, Seoul Cheon gubaek palsip-pal), was an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October ...
in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
. He played his last game for Yugoslavia at the
1990 World Championship where his team finished fourth.
With 97 appearances, he is the third most capped Slovenian player in history of the Yugoslav national team.
Following his move to RK Zagreb in 1990 and the
breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1991, Puc became a Croatian citizen and played for the
Croatian team with whom he won a gold medal at the
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...
in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
. He won two other medals in major tournaments with Croatia, a bronze medal at the
1994 European Championship and a silver medal at the
1995 World Championship.
In 1995 he was awarded the
Order of Danica Hrvatska
The Order of Danica Hrvatska ( hr, Red Danice hrvatske; lit. "Order of the Croatian Morning Star") is the fourteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for different p ...
, and in 1996 he was the recipient of the
Franjo Bučar Award.
In the late 1990s he switched his national side allegiance in favour of Slovenia, the country of his birth. He then played for the
Slovenian team at the
2000 Summer Olympics
The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...
in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, where the team finished eighth. Slovenia qualified for the Sydney tournament after finishing fifth at the
2000 European Championship.
The fifth place play-off match was played in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
against host nation Croatia, Puc's former team. Puc was one of the best players of the game and Slovenia won the match 25–24, thus securing the last available spot for the 2000 Olympics.
He played 34 games for Slovenia, during which he scored 120 goals.
Retirement
After his retirement at Prule 67 he assumed the role of sports director at the club.
Soon afterwards he moved to
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
together with his wife Jasenka, who is the daughter of the Croatian handball player and
1972 Olympic gold medalist
Hrvoje Horvat
Hrvoje Horvat (born 22 May 1946) is a Croatian handball coach and player who competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics and in the 1976 Summer Olympics for SFR Yugoslavia.
International career
He was part of the Yugoslav team which won the gold medal ...
,
in support of their son
Borut's tennis career. He and his wife sold all of their family possessions and enrolled their son to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. At the time of his father's death, Borut Puc was ranked 502nd on the
ATP list with
Goran Ivanišević
Goran Ivanišević (; born 13 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional tennis player and current coach. He is the only player to win a The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon singles title as a Wild card (sports)#Professional tennis, w ...
as his tennis coach.
Similar to his father, he also represented both Slovenia and Croatia. He started his career representing Slovenia and did so until the late 2000s (decade) when he changed his allegiance to Croatia.
Illness and death
In early 2011, Puc was diagnosed with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
that spread to his liver and bones,
and succumbed to the disease on 19 October 2011 in a
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
hospital,
just a few days before the Champions League game between Zagreb and
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, with the revenue of the match intended to be donated to help cover the costs for his treatment. On 5 November 2011, a ''Handball Day'' was held in
Celje
)
, pushpin_map = Slovenia
, pushpin_label_position = left
, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Cou ...
, Slovenia, where two matches were played. In the first one, the 2000 Olympics Slovenian squad beat the Croatian squad composed of players who won the 1996 Olympic gold medal 29–25, while in the second match the regular squad of Slovenia beat the squad of
Celje
)
, pushpin_map = Slovenia
, pushpin_label_position = left
, pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Cou ...
35–32. This event was organized prior to Puc's death and matches would have been played even if he would still had been alive, as the main purpose was to gather donations for Puc and his family as financial aid for his treatment. Organizers collected around 17,000 euros and the revenue was bestowed on Puc's family.
At the end of the match, which was seen by 4,000 spectators, the arena was completely dimmed. He is survived by his wife Jasenka and son Borut, a tennis player who resides in Florida, where the family moved to in 2005.
Legacy
Despite being known for his relaxed approach to training,
Puc was described as a fiercely competitive and mentally tough player.
At the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the
Handball Federation of Slovenia
''
, abbrev= RZS
, logo= Rokometna zveza Slovenije Logo.svg
, logosize= 240px
, countryflag= Slovenia
, iocnation= Republic of Slovenia (SLO)
, url= http://www.rokometna-zveza.si/si/
, sport= Handball
, historytitle=History
, precedingorganisations ...
in 2009, Puc was named the best left back and the best overall player in the history of Slovenian handball.
Three days after his death, his former club
RK Zagreb
Rukometni klub Zagreb ( en, Zagreb Handball Club, ) is a men's professional handball club from Zagreb, Croatia. It competes in the
Croatian Premier League, SEHA League, and the EHF Champions League.
RK Zagreb won 33 national championships and ...
hosted Barcelona in an EHF Champions League match at
Arena Zagreb
The Arena Zagreb is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Zagreb, Croatia. The site also includes a building complex, the Arena Complex (Arena Center), making it one of the largest shopping-entertainment centers in the city. The arena is used fo ...
. A clip of his match-winning goal for Zagreb in the 1993 EHF Champions League final was shown and 15,000 people joined in a minute-long standing ovation in his memory.
In 2011 the
Slovenian Olympic Committee
Slovenian Olympic Committee ( sl, Olimpijski komite Slovenije, OKS) ensures the participation of Slovenian athletes at the Olympic Games, the Mediterranean Games, and the European Youth Olympic Festival. Members of the Committee are 39 Sports Fe ...
together with the
Croatian Olympic Committee
The Croatian Olympic Committee ( hr, Hrvatski olimpijski odbor (HOO)) is the non-profit organization representing Croatian athletes in the International Olympic Committee. The COC organizes Croatia's representatives at the Summer and Winter Olymp ...
and in collaboration with the Handball Federation of Slovenia and
Croatian Handball Federation
The Croatian Handball Federation ( hr, Hrvatski rukometni savez; abbr. HRS) is the governing body of handball in Croatia. It is based in Zagreb.
It organizes the handball leagues:
* Croatian Premier Handball League, Croatian Men's Premier Handball ...
, introduced a joint award named in honour of Puc (''Iztok Puc Award'') that is awarded annually to the most promising U–18 handball player.
The award is alternating between the two nations every year and is given alternately one year to Slovenian and another year to Croatian player.
Honours
;Zagreb
*
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...
(1): 1991
*
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...
(1): 1991
*
Croatian First League
The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva ...
(4): 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94
*
Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to:
*Croatian Football Cup
*Croatian Football Super Cup
* Croatian Women's Football Cup
*Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup
*Croatian Handball Cup
*Croatian Water Polo Cup
*Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...
(3): 1992, 1993, 1994
*
EHF Champions League
The Men's EHF Champions League is the most important club handball competition for men's teams in Europe and involves the leading teams from the top European nations. The competition is organised every year by EHF. The official name for the me ...
(2): 1992, 1993
*European Supercup (1): 1993
;Celje
*
Slovenian First League
The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten club ...
(5): 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99
*
Slovenian Cup
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
(5): 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999
;Prule 67
*
Slovenian First League
The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Slovenian football league system. Contested by ten club ...
(1): 2001-02
*
Slovenian Cup
Slovene or Slovenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe
* Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia
* Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia
* Sl ...
(1): 2002
;Individual
*
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
at
IHF Men's Junior World Championship
The IHF Men's Junior World Championship is the official competition for men's national handball teams of under-21 years category. It is being organized by the International Handball Federation since 1977. It takes place every two years in odd year ...
– 1987
*
Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport ( hr, Državna nagrada za šport "Franjo Bučar") is the highest recognition that Republic of Croatia gives for extraordinary achievements and contributions of remarkable meaning for the development of sport in Cr ...
– 1996
*Best player in history of
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
– 2009
*
Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame
The Slovenian Athletes Hall of Fame (slovene: "''Hram slavnih slovenskih športnikov''") was founded in 2011 by the Society of Slovenian Sports Journalists (''Društvo športnih novinarjev Slovenije'') and includes best Slovenian athletes of all ti ...
– 2016
;Records
*14th top scorer of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
– 325 goals
Orders
*
Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Puc, Iztok
1966 births
2011 deaths
Croatian male handball players
Croatian people of Slovenian descent
Slovenian male handball players
Olympic handball players for Croatia
Olympic handball players for Slovenia
Handball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Handball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Handball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Olympic gold medalists for Croatia
Olympic medalists in handball
RK Zagreb players
Olympic handball players for Yugoslavia
Yugoslav male handball players
Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia
Franjo Bučar Award winners
Deaths from lung cancer in California
Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery
Sportspeople from Slovenj Gradec
Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Croatia
Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games
Mediterranean Games medalists in handball
Slovenian expatriates in the United States