Slobodan Nikić ( Serbian Cyrillic: Слободан Никић; born 25 January 1983) is a Serbian professional

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, 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 water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player. He is currently

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

and he is a long-standing member 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, Mediter ...

. His most notable achievements with the national team are the gold medal from the Olympic Games in

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, silver from the Olympic Games in 2004 and bronze from the Olympic Games

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, three gold medals from the World Championships in 2005, 2009 and 2015, and five gold medals from the European Championships in 2003, 2006,

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, and finally in

. He is one of the most decorated players in the history of water polo, and the only water polo player in the world to have won 3 FINA World Championship gold medals, an all-time record as of 2018. In his club career, his most important achievements are the LEN Euroleague and the

LEN Supercup Len or LEN may refer to: People and fictional characters * Len (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lén, a character from Irish mythology * Alex Len (born 1993), Ukrainian basketball player * Mr. Len, American hip hop DJ *Le ...

won in 2010 with

Pro Recco A.S.D. Pro Recco (Official name: Associazione Sportiva Dilettantistica Pro Recco) is an Italian water polo club from Recco, in Liguria. It currently plays in Serie A1. Pro Recco is the most successful club in men's water polo. In men's domesti ...

. Nikić is one of the most successful Serbian Olympians.

National career

2012 Samaridis Cup

From 9 to 11 January 2012. Nikić competed with his national team on the

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Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of masti ...

in the Samaridis Cup which was more a like preparation tournament for the upcoming 2012 European Championship held in Eindhoven. He and his team-mates finished second behind the

Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordi ...

on goal difference.

2012 Eindhoven

Nikić scored his first goal at the European Championship on 17 January against

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in a second game which the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

won by 13–12. On 19 January, in a third game of the tournament, Nikić scored his second goal in a difficult 15–12 victory against the defending European champions

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. On 21 January in the fourth match, Nikić scored his third goal of the tournament for his national team in a routine victory against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

14–5. On 29 January, Nikić won the European Championship with his

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

beating in the final

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by 9–8. This was his third gold medal at the European Championships.

Honours

Club

;Olympiacos * Greek Championship: 2007, 2008, 2009 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 ;Pro Recco * Serie A1: 2009–10, 2010–11 *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of ...

: 2009–10, 2010–11 * LEN Euroleague: 2009–10 *

: 2010 ;Ferencváros *

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 competiti ...

: 2017–18 * Hungarian Championship ( OB I): 2018

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikic, Slobodan 1983 births Living people Sportspeople from Zrenjanin Serbia and Montenegro male water polo players Serbian male water polo players Water polo centre forwards Water polo players at the 2004 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic water polo players of Serbia and Montenegro Olympic silver medalists for Serbia and Montenegro Olympic gold medalists for Serbia in water polo Olympic bronze medalists for Serbia in water polo World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo European champions for Serbia and Montenegro European champions for Serbia Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in water polo Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Serbia Olympiacos Water Polo Club players Serbian water polo coaches Serbian expatriates in Greece Serbian expatriates in Italy Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey