Filip Filipović ( sr-Cyrl, Филип Филиповић; born 2 May 1987) 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 widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and gold medals in 2016 and 2020. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He was named ''Most Valuable Player'' at the 2011 World Championships. He was also voted as the male water polo "World Player of the Year" in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2021 by the FINA magazine. He played for Pro Recco in Italy and won three LEN Champions League and three

LEN Super Cup The European Aquatics Super Cup is an annual water polo match organized by European Aquatics and contested by the reigning champions of the two most important European club competitions, the European Aquatics Champions League and the European A ...

with them. Currently, he plays for

Novi Beograd New Belgrade (, ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade. It was a Planned community, planned city and now is the central business district of Serbia and South East Europe. Construction began in 1948 in a previously un ...

. Filipović was given the honour to carry the national flag of Serbia at the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, becoming the 26th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

Club career

Pro Recco

In February 2010. Filip and his Pro Recco teammate Udovičić were guests in

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 ( INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial populatio ...

. They played an all-stars humanitarian match between Italy and the selection of foreigners playing in the Italian championship, and all proceeds from the match went to charity – to help

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

, the victims of the recent devastating earthquake. Caps of all players were offered for sale at a symbolic price of 30 euros. It was confirmed on 29 June 2011 that Filip and his teammates from Pro Recco will play in Adriatic Water polo League. ;2011–12 season In the second round of the

Adriatic League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, ...

, on 24 September, Filipović scored his first goal against Koper Rokava in a 16–4 home win. On 1 October 2011. Filipović scored two goals in the Adriatic League, in a 10–7 third round away win against Jug CO. On 15 October Filipović scored a goal in the fifth round of the Adriatic League, in a 15–8 home win against Primorje EB. On 22 October Filipović scored two goals in the first round of the Euroleague Group in an easy 13–5 win over Spartak Volgograd. On 29 October, in the Adriatic League seventh round 13–9 home win against Mladost, Filipović scored two goals. On 26 November Filipović scored a goal in the Euroleague third round, in a 10–8 win against Jadran Herceg Novi. Filipović scored two goals on 3 December in a humiliating 21–0 defeat over

POŠK POŠK (POmorski Športski Klub: ''Marine Sports Club''), is a professional water polo club based in Split, Croatia, Split, Croatia. The club was founded in 1937. As of 2021–22 season, it competes in the Croatian First League of Water Polo, Croat ...

in the twelfth round of the Adriatic League. In the thirteenth round on 10 December, Filipović scored another two goals against Mornar Split in a 20–8 away win. On 8 February 2012. in the fifth round of the Euroleague, Filipović scored two goals in a 15–7 win against CN Marseille. 3 days later he scored another two goals but in the Adriatic League fifteenth round 9–8 home win against Jug CO. He scored one more in a win over Primorje EB by 13–6 on 18 February, in the sixteenth round. On 25 February, in the last round of the Euroleague group stage, Filipović was the top scorer in the 18–7 away win against Spartak Volgograd with five goals. Four days later, Filipović scored another five goals but in the Adriatic League fourteenth-round game behind, in a 21–5 easy home win over Mornar BS. On 3 March Filipović scored two goals in a 12–7 Adriatic League away win against Mladost, the second goal was his 20th so far.

National career

Filip finally scored his first two goals on 17 January at the European Championship against

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in the second game which the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

won by a score of 13–12. On 19 January, in the third game of the tournament, Filipović scored two goals in a big 15–12 victory against rivals and defending European champions

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

. He will also remember the match for the

unsportsmanlike conduct Unsportsmanlike conduct (also called untrustworthy behaviour, ungentlemanly fraudulent, bad sportsmanship, poor sportsmanship or anti fair-play) is a foul or offense in many sports that violates the sport's generally accepted rules of sportsmans ...

of Croat Nikša Dobud who deliberately struck him from behind, resulting in serious bruising underneath Filipović's right eye. Filipović responded by scoring two goals against the Croatians and waving the Serbian three-finger salute at the Croatian bench. On 27 January Filipović scored three goals in a semifinal 12–8 victory over

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Filip Filipović won the 2012 European Championship on 29 January. He scored a goal in the final against

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

which his national team won by 9–8. This was his third gold medal at the European Championships. Filipović was the joint top goalscorer at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with 19 goals.

Honours

Filipović has played for the Serbia and Montenegro / Serbia national team more than 381 times and has scored more than 677 goals. He has 35 medals with his national team, the most notable being gold medals representing Serbia at the World Championships in 2009 Rome and 2015 Kazan, as well as gold medals and individual MVP awards at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

in 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo.Filip Filipović
. sports-reference.com

Club

;Partizan * Serbian Championship: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 *

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 ;Pro Recco * LEN Champions League: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2014–15; ''runners-up'': 2010–11, 2017–18 *

: 2010, 2012,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

: 2011–12 * Serie A1: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 *

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 ;Radnički Kragujevac * LEN Euro Cup: 2012–13 * LEN Champions League ''runners-up'': 2013–14 ;Szolnok Vízilabda * LEN Euro Cup: 2020–21 * Hungarian Championship: 2020–21 Olympiacos *

Greek Championship The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repl ...

: 2021–22, 2022–23 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 2021–22, 2022–23 Novi Beograd *

: 2023–24 *

: 2023–24

Awards

* FINA "World Player of the Year" award: 2009, 2011, 2014, 2021 * Swimming World Magazine's man water polo "World Player of the Year" award: 2014, 2016, 2021 *''Waterpolo-World'' Magazine's man water polo "World Player of the Year" award: 2015 * LEN "European Player of the Year" award: 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 *Member of the World Team of the Year's 2000-2020 by total-waterpolo *Member of the World Team by ''total-waterpolo'': 2018, 2021 * Sportsman of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee: 2016, 2021 * Serbia's sport association "May Award" : 2007 * Serbian Water Polo Player of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 *

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Top Scorer: 2009 Rome *

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

: 2011 Shanghai * World League

: 2019 Belgrade * World League Top Scorer: 2011 Firenze, 2014 Dubai * LEN Champions League

: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19 * LEN Champions League Top Scorer: 2013–14 * LEN Champions League Right Driver of the Year: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19 *

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

: 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo * Summer Olympics Team of the Tournament: 2012 Pekino, 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo *

Top Scorer: 2016 Rio de Janeiro * European Championship

: 2018 Barcelona *

: 2011–12 *

Right Driver of the Year: 2023–24 * Hungarian Championship

: 2020–21 * Hungarian Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2020–21 *

: 2021–22 * Greek Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23 * Serbian Championship

: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14 * Serbian Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14 * Serbian Championship Top Scorer: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14 * Serie A1

: 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18

Personal life

Filipović has two children, a son and a daughter, with his wife, Sanja.Filip Filipović
. nbcolympics.com

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Filipovic, Filip 1987 births Living people Water polo players from Belgrade Serbian male water polo players Water polo drivers Left-handed water polo players Water polo players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics 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 Water polo players at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Water polo players at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Water polo players at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in water polo Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Serbia Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Serbia and Montenegro Olympiacos Water Polo Club players Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Serbian expatriate water polo players Serbia and Montenegro male water polo players Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Hungary European Water Polo Championship medalists 21st-century Serbian sportsmen