Arpad Sterbik Capar (, ; /Arpad Šterbik; born 20 November 1979) is a retired

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor 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 thr ...

player who represented the national teams of Yugoslavia (later known as Serbia and Montenegro) and Spain. Internationally he has represented

FR Yugoslavia The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...

(Serbia and Montenegro) and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, winning a World Championship bronze medal and one gold. On club level, he has league and cup titles both in Hungary and Spain, and most notably he won the

EHF Champions League The 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's com ...

, the premier continental club competition in Europe. His performances were acknowledged several times, having been named

Hungarian Handballer of the Year The Hungarian Handballer of the Year award is an annual prize, which is given to the Hungarian handballer who is considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year. Presented by the Hungarian Handball Federation since 1964, the ...

in 2002 and

IHF World Player of the Year The IHF World Player of the Year is a handball award given annually to the player who is considered to have performed the best in the previous season, both at club and international competitions. It is awarded based on votes from experts, media a ...

in 2005.

Career

Sterbik grew up by the nearby town of

Ada Ada may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle'', a novel by Vladimir Nabokov Film and television * Ada, a character in 1991 movie '' Armour of God II: Operation Condor'' * '' Ada... A Way of Life'', a 2008 Bollywo ...

. He began his career by

RK Jugović RK Jugović () is a Serbian handball club based in Kać, Novi Sad. They compete in the top tier Serbian handball league, the Arkus league. History Founded as RK Mladost in 1956, the club changed its name to RK Jugović in 1960. They made thei ...

, and moved to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

to play for Fotex KC Veszprém in 2001. Sterbik, as an ethnic Hungarian, was eligible for expedited birthright naturalization process for Hungarian diaspora as per

Hungarian nationality law Hungarian nationality law is based on the principles of jus sanguinis. Hungarian citizenship can be acquired by descent from a Hungarian parent, or by naturalisation. A person born in Hungary to foreign parents does not generally acquire Hungar ...

, which made him a domestic player; at the time Hungarian teams could only name 2 foreign players in their match squad. It also made him eligible represent

at international competitions, however, he never made an international appearance for the country. Sterbik remained with Veszprém until 2004, during which period he won three

Hungarian league Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians/Magyars, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the ...

and as many

Hungarian cup The Hungarian Cup (, ), officially known as MOL Magyar Kupa for sponsorship reasons, is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association'','' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of ...

titles. In 2002 he reached with Veszprém the

final, just to fell short against

SC Magdeburg The SC Magdeburg is a professional handball club from Magdeburg, Germany. The team plays in the highest German league, the Handball-Bundesliga and regularly in highest international competitions. They won the EHF Champions League in 1978, 1981, ...

with an aggregate score of 48–51. In the same year he was voted

. In 2004, he moved to Spanish side

BM Ciudad Real Balonmano Ciudad Real was a Spanish handball team based in Ciudad Real, Castilla La Mancha. BM Ciudad Real played in Liga ASOBAL. History In July 1983 is founded in the city of Ciudad Real a handball club named Asociación Deportiva Cultural ...

and soon became one of the most prominent keepers in the

Liga ASOBAL Liga Asobal is the premier professional handball league in Spain. It was founded in 1958 with the name of División de Honor, changing its name to the current name in 1990. The Liga ASOBAL, which is played under EHF rules, currently consists of ...

. While playing for Ciudad Real (2004–2011) and its successor

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), commonly referred to as Atlético Madrid or simply Atlético, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid that plays in La Liga. The club play their home game ...

(2011–2012), he was named the best goalkeeper of the league five times in a row (2006–2010) and in 2006 he also got the Liga ASOBAL MVP Award. Additionally, he was awarded the

title by the

International Handball Federation The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball C ...

in 2005. Sterbik spent seven seasons by Ciudad Real and won four Spanish league and two Spanish cup titles. He went successful with Ciudad Real in the EHF Champions League as well, having won the title three times. In 2008, in his fourth season in Spain, Sterbik has gained Spanish citizenship and decided to represent Spain on international level. In 2012, after eight successful seasons in Ciudad Real and Atlético Madrid, Sterbik switched to league rivals

FC Barcelona Handbol Futbol Club Barcelona Handbol is a professional Spanish handball team based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It is a part of the FC Barcelona multi sports club, and was founded on 29 November 1942. The club competes domestically in the Liga ASOBAL and ...

, having signed a four-year contract with the Catalan team. On 14 June 2014, Sterbik has agreed to join

RK Vardar RK Vardar 1961 () is a professional handball club from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. Vardar is the most successful handball team in the country, having won 15-fifteen national Macedonian Handball Super League, League titles and 17-seventeen ...

from

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. With this club, Sterbik won 2 titles in two years in the Macedonian Handball League as well as 2 Cup titles. In addition, with RK Vardar, in season 2014–2015, he managed to enter the quarter final of the

and to be part of the top 8 handball teams in Europe. In the same year, they finished fourth in Gazprom's

SEHA League The South East Handball Association League, or simply the SEHA League, is a regional men's club handball league in Southeast Europe, featuring teams from Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovakia. Due to sponsorship reasons, the le ...

. In April 2016, they won the second place in the Final 4 tournament of the SEHA League (lost the final against Veszprem with 26–28). Sterbik has earned many individual awards with RK Vardar too. He was selected in the dream-team of the SEHA League for 2015–16, and also, he was recognized several times as a best goalkeeper of particular rounds of the EHF Champions League. On international level Sterbik played for Yugoslavia and Spain; he received bronze medals at the 1999 World Championships and at the 2001 World Championships with Yugoslavia, and added another World Championship bronze and a gold with Spain to his medals tally in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, respectively.

Personal life

Born in

Senta Senta ( sr-cyrl, Сента, ; Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Zenta'', ; Romanian language, Romanian: ''Zenta'') is a town and municipality located in Vojvodina, Serbia. It is situated on the bank of the Tisza, Tisa river in the geographical ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, at the time part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, Sterbik is an ethnic Hungarian from Serbia who acquired Hungarian citizenship shortly after playing in Hungary and holds Spanish citizenship per post naturalization process. Sterbik is married to Hungarian economist Mónika Horváth. The couple has twin children, Laura and Noel (b. 2010). Arpad's sister, Andrea Sterbik is also a professional handballer who plays for Hungarian top division club

Kiskunhalas NKSE Kiskunhalas (; ) is a city in the county of Bács-Kiskun, Hungary. Railroad The city is an important railway junction. It crosses the Budapest-Subotica-Belgrade railway line. The Kiskunfélegyháza railway ends in Kiskunhalas. Geography Kis ...

Achievements

EHF Challenge Cup The EHF European Cup is an annual men's handball club competition organised by the European Handball Federation (EHF). It is the third-tier competition of European club handball, after the EHF Champions League and the EHF European League. Foun ...

: **''Winner'': 2001 *

Nemzeti Bajnokság I The Nemzeti Bajnokság (, ), also known as NB I or Fizz Liga after its title sponsor, OTP Bank's webshop subsidiary, is a professional association football league in Hungary and the highest level of the Hungarian football league system. Twelve ...

: **''Winner'': 2002, 2003, 2004 *

Magyar Kupa The Hungarian Cup (, ), officially known as MOL Magyar Kupa for sponsorship reasons, is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association'','' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of ...

: **''Winner'': 2002, 2003, 2004 *

: **''Winner'': 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014 *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: **''Winner'': 2008, 2011, 2014 :

Macedonian Handball Super League Winner : 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18 Macedonian Handball Cup Winner : 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 Macedonian Handball Super Cup Winner (4): 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023 :European competitions EHF Champions League Winner : 2016–17 :Other competitions SEHA League Winner : 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 IHF Super Globe Third placed: 2017 *

: **''Winner'': 2006, 2008, 2009

Individual awards

: 2002 *

: 2005 *Liga ASOBAL MVP: 2006 *Liga ASOBAL Goalkeeper of the Year: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 *

European Handball Federation The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, Au ...

Hall of Fame in 2023.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sterbik, Arpad 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Senta Serbia and Montenegro male handball players Spanish male handball players Serbian male handball players Serbian people of Hungarian descent Spanish people of Hungarian descent Spanish people of Serbian descent Hungarians in Vojvodina Liga ASOBAL players BM Ciudad Real players FC Barcelona Handbol players Handball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for Serbia and Montenegro Yugoslav male handball players Handball players at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for Spain Veszprém KC players People from Ada, Serbia Spanish expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia RK Vardar players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Spain Hungarian male handball players Naturalised citizens of Spain Naturalised handball players Expatriate handball players in North Macedonia Serbian expatriate handball players in Spain Hungarian expatriate handball players in Spain