Zlatan "Zlatko" Saračević (5 July 1961 – 21 February 2021) was a Croatian professional handball player and coach who competed in 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 ...

for

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

and in 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, ...

for

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 ...

. From the 2015 to 2017 World Championship he was a commentator on

RTL Televizija RTL (previously known as RTL Televizija) is a Croatian free-to-air television network founded on 30 April 2004. It was owned by the RTL Group from 2004 to 2022. Since 1 June 2022, it is owned by the CME Group. The logo consisted of three prima ...

together with Filip Brkić. Following the domestic league match between

RK Podravka Rukometni Klub Podravka Koprivnica is a Croatian women's handball club from Koprivnica. It is the most successful club in Croatian women's handball since formation of the league in 1992. The team currently competes in the Croatia women's first hand ...

, of which he was coach, and

RK Lokomotiva Rukometni Klub Lokomotiva Zagreb ( en, Lokomotiva Zagreb Handball Club) is a Croatian professional women's handball club from Zagreb. They are currently competing in the 2022–23 Women's EHF Champions League. Lokomotiva was the most successful ...

, Saračević suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...

and died in Koprivnica on 21 February 2021. He was 59.

Playing career

Saračević was born 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 ...

, present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Product of the prolific youth academy RK Borac Banja Luka, he was one of the greater Yugoslav players of the early 1980s, whose junior team won the world junior championship, defeating the then invincible

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

in the final. With the senior Yugoslavia national team he would win the 1986 World Championship. In 1988 he was part of the Yugoslav team which won the bronze medal. He played all six matches and scored nine goals. He played for ten years in RK Borac Banja Luka winning the league and cup once. In 1987 he moved to

RK Medveščak Rukometni klub "Medveščak" is a handball club from Zagreb, Croatia. They are one of the more famous branches of the Medveščak sports society, named after the Medveščak neighbourhood of Zagreb. They play in the sports and recreational centre ...

from

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

. During his three-year stay with the club he won the

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, ...

in 1989 and 1990. After his stint in RK Medveščak he moved to France where he played for seven years at Nîmes,

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

Créteil Créteil () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Cr� ...

and at

Istres Istres (; Occitan: Istre) is a commune in southern France, some 60 km (38 mi) northwest of Marseille. It is in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture. Location ...

. He won the French First League two times and was the league's top goalscorer three times. In 1997 he moved to Croatian side Badel 1862 Zagreb. At the club he won during his three-year stay all league and cup titles. He also reached the

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 men ...

final twice and the semi-final once. He was also the top goalscorer in the

during his last two seasons. In 2000 he moved to Fotex Veszprém where he played for two seasons winning league and cup titles while reaching the EHF Champions League final. In 2002 he moved to Zamet Crotek where he finished his playing career and started his coaching career. While playing for Zamet in the

EHF Cup The EHF European League is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF) since 1981. It is the second-tier competition of European club handball, ranking only below the EHF Champions League. Prev ...

match against Lukoil Dinamo Astrakhan Saračević provoked a fight during the match, all of the players and fans fought against the Russian players. Saračević got a one-year ban from playing handball in European competitions and Zamet Crotek were fined and lost the match 10–0. Saračević retired at the end of the 2002–03 season at RK Zamet Crotek. With the senior Croatian national team Saračević won a bronze medal at the 1994 European Championship, a silver medal at the 1995 World Championship and gold medals at the

1993 Mediterranean Games The XII Mediterranean Games, commonly known as the 1993 Mediterranean Games, were the 12th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Languedoc-Roussillon, France, from 16 June to 27 June 1993, where 2,598 athletes (1,994 men and 604 women) fro ...

and

. At the Olympics he played six matches including the final and scored 16 goals.

Coaching career

On 27 February 2003 it was announced that Saračević had become the new head coach of RK Zamet Crotek after the sacking of

Damir Čavlović Damir Čavlović (born 28 January 1952) is a former Croatian handball player. He has coached clubs such as RK Zamet, RK Split Brodokumer, ŽRK Zamet, ŽRK Tvin Trgocentar and RK Kvarner Kostrena. In 1996 he was also coach of the Croatia men ...

. During the rest of the 2002–03 season he was a player-coach in some matches. At the end of the season Zamet finished in fifth place while reaching the semi-final of the Croatian Cup. Failing to qualify for the

and a bad league position in the new season forced the board's hand to sack Saračević on 22 March 2004. He had unsuccessful stints in Nyíregyházi KSE in Hungary and NK Čelik Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For a brief time he was the assistant coach of

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 a ...

. On 19 March 2016 he was named as the head coach of RKHM Dubrovnik.

Honours

Player

;Borac Banja Luka *

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): 1980–81 *

(1): 1979 ;Medveščak *

(2): 1989, 1990 ;USAM Nîmes * French First League (2): 1990–91, 1992–93 ;Badel 1862 Zagreb *

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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...

(3): 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00 * Croatian Cup (3): 1998, 1999, 2000 *

Runner-up (2): 1998, 1999 ;Veszprém * Hungarian First League (2): 2000–01, 2001–02 *

Hungarian Cup The Hungarian Cup ( hu, Magyar Kupa) is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association, the ''Magyar Labdarúgó Szövetség,'' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of the Hungarian ...

(1): 2002 *

Runner-up (1): 2002 * EHF Champions Trophy Runner-up (1): 2002

Individual

* 1990–91 Division 1 top goalscorer *

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 *

1998–99 EHF Champions League The 1998–99 EHF Champions League was the 39th edition of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is ...

top goalscorer – 90 goals *Best Croatian handballer of 1999 by HRS & ''

Sportske novosti ''Sportske novosti'' () is a Croatian daily sports newspaper based in Zagreb. It was established on 9 August 1945 as ''Ilustrirane fiskulturne novine'' weekly newspaper. Several months later, on 10 December 1945, its name got changed to ''Narodn ...

'' *

1999–2000 EHF Champions League The 1999–2000 EHF Champions League was the 40th edition of Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe i ...

top goalscorer – 92 goals *Best Croatian handballer of 2002 by HRS & ''

Coach

;Zagreb * Croatian Premier League: 2017–18 * Croatian Cup: 2018 *

SEHA League South East Handball Association League or simply SEHA League is a regional men's club handball league in Southeast and East Europe, divided in two zones. Due to sponsorship reasons, the league is also known as the Gazprom League (or Gazprom South ...

runner-up: 2017–18 ;Podravka *

: 2018–19

Orders

Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995

References

External links

*
European profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saracevic, Zlatko 1961 births 2021 deaths RK Zamet players RK Zamet coaches Yugoslav male handball players Croatian male handball players Handball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players of Yugoslavia Olympic handball players of Croatia Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Croatia Sportspeople from Banja Luka Olympic medalists in handball Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Croatia Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games Croatian handball coaches RK Zagreb coaches Mediterranean Games medalists in handball Croatian people of Bosniak descent Bosnia and Herzegovina people of Croatian descent