Darko Stanić (; born 8 October 1978) is a Serbian former

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 for the Qatari

Al Rayyan Al Rayyan (; also spelled ''Ar Rayyan'') is the third-largest municipalities of Qatar, municipality in Qatar. Its primary settlement is the Al Rayyan (city), city of the same name, which occupies the entire eastern section and is a part of the Do ...

and the Serbia national team. He was dubbed the "

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

" due to his performances for the

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 ...

Club career

After making his

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 ...

debut with

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

, Stanić moved abroad to Switzerland and joined TV Suhr in early 2005. He spent the next season at fellow Swiss club

Grasshoppers Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

. In April 2006, Stanić tested positive for

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

after a play-off match with St. Gallen. He consequently received a six-month ban from handball. However, the ban was eventually extended for a period of two years, starting on 22 May 2006. After serving his two-year suspension, Stanić signed with Slovenian club

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

in May 2008. He spent three seasons in Slovenia, before moving to Macedonian side Metalurg Skopje. Later on, Stanić also briefly played in Germany (

SG BBM Bietigheim HB Ludwigsburg is a German professional handball club from Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg. Its women's team is playing in the Handball-Bundesliga Frauen, and internationally in the Women's EHF Champions League, EHF Champions League. The men's te ...

and

Rhein-Neckar Löwen Rhein-Neckar Löwen is a professional handball club founded in 2002, based in Mannheim, Germany. The club competes in the German Handball-Bundesliga and continentally in EHF European League. Rhein-Neckar Löwen play their home games in SAP A ...

), Kuwait (

Kuwait SC Kuwait Sports Club () is a Kuwaiti professional football club based in Kuwait City. Their football team has won Kuwait Premier League 19 times and has won over 50 trophies overall. The club plays in the Al Kuwait Sports Club Stadium located i ...

), and Qatar ( El Jaish and

Al Sadd Al Sadd Sports Club () is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the capital city Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in the top level of Qatari football, the Qatar Stars League. Locally, it i ...

and

International career

Stanić made his major international debut for

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 2009 World Championship. He was later an integral part of the team that won the silver medal at the 2012 European Championship, being named the tournament's best goalkeeper. Stanić also participated in the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Honours

;Crvena zvezda *

Serbia and Montenegro Handball Super League Serbia and Montenegro Handball Super League was the highest-level national handball league competition in Serbia and Montenegro. Champions Results by teams See also * Yugoslav Handball Championship * Serbian Handball Super League The Serb ...

: 2003–04 * Serbia and Montenegro Handball Cup: 2003–04 ;Koper *

Slovenian First League The Slovenian PrvaLiga (, ), 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 clubs, it operates on a system of prom ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

* Slovenian Cup: 2008–09, 2010–11 ;Metalurg Skopje *

Macedonian Handball Super League The Macedonian Handball Super League (), is the top-tier team handball competition in North Macedonia. As of 2018, the Macedonian Handball Federation was ranked 8th in the world. Current teams Teams for season 2024–25 Handball League * RK ...

: 2011–12, 2013–14 *

Macedonian Handball Cup The Handball Cup of North Macedonia (), is an elimination handball tournament held annually. It is the second most important national title in Macedonian handball after the Macedonian First League of Handball. Currently, RK Vardar RK Vardar 1 ...

: 2012–13 ;El Jaish *

Qatar Handball League The Qatar Handball League is a professional handball league in Qatar. It was founded in 1981. Champions Champions so far are: Performances Performance by club See also * List of handball clubs in Qatar References {{Qatari Sport leagues ...

: 2015–16 * Qatar Handball Cup: 2015–16

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanic, Darko 1978 births Living people People from Mojkovac Serbs of Montenegro Serbia and Montenegro male handball players Serbian male handball players Olympic handball players for Serbia Handball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics RK Crvena zvezda players Rhein-Neckar Löwen players Handball-Bundesliga players Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Serbian expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Serbian expatriate handball players in Germany Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Doping cases in handball Serbian sportspeople in doping cases Naturalized citizens of Qatar Qatari male handball players Naturalised handball players Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Expatriate handball players in North Macedonia Expatriate handball players in Slovenia 21st-century Qatari sportsmen