Hrvoje "Cveba" Horvat (born 16 December 1977) is a Croatian

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 ...

coach and retired handball player.

Early life

Born in the family of mother Dunja and father Hrvoje Horvat, one of the worlds best handballplayers of the 20th Century and gold medalist from the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the younger Hrvoje finished primary and secondary school in his native

Bjelovar Bjelovar (, , Czech language, Czech: ''Bělovar'' or ''Bělovár,'' Kajkavian dialect, Kajkavian: ''Belovar,'' Latin: ''Bellovarium'') is a city in central Croatia. In the Demographics of Croatia, 2021 census, its population was 36,316 . It is ...

, while in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

he graduated from the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

's Faculty of Kinesiology.

Playing career

Horvat started playing

at ORK Partizan from

, where his first coach was Krunoslav "Kuna" Turković. Later he played for

RK Zagreb Rukometni klub Zagreb (, ) is a men's professional handball club from Zagreb, Croatia. It competes in the Croatian Premier League and the EHF Champions League. RK Zagreb has won 38 national championships and the national cup 32 times. The c ...

and RK Dubrava, with short stints in Switzerland and Germany. He was a member of national teams of whole age categories under the

Croatian Handball Federation The Croatian Handball Federation (; abbr. HRS) is the governing body of handball in Croatia. It is based in Zagreb. It organizes the handball leagues: * Croatian Men's Premier Handball League * Croatian Women's First Handball League * Croatian ...

, including several appearances for the senior team. In addition to indoor handball, Horvat also played

beach handball Beach handball is a team sport where two teams pass and bounce or roll a ball, trying to throw it in the goal of the opposing team. The game is similar to standard handball, but it is played on sand instead of on a solid floor. Because the ball ...

, being a member of the senior Croatian national team, with which he won the

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 ...

in Spain and several gold medals from European championships.

Coaching career

After holding the position of player-coach at RK Dubrava until 2012, Horvat started his indoor handball coaching career in the same club in the same year. After saving Dubrava from relegation from the

Croatian First League The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

, he led the club to their placement in the final of the 2014

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

, which they lost to powerhouse

. In November 2016 Horvat was appointed head coach of

RK Nexe Našice Rukometni klub Nexe Našice (), commonly referred to as RK Nexe Našice or simply Nexe, is a professional handball club from Našice, Croatia. Currently, RK Nexe competes in the Premijer liga and Croatian Handball Cup as well in the SEHA Leagu ...

, which he led to secure a spot in the final four of the

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 the 2018–19 season and previously won a place in the 2018–19 EHF Cup. After

Lino Červar Lino Červar (born 22 September 1950) is a Croatian retired handball coach. In 2003 he guided Croatia men's national handball team to gold in the 2003 World Championship as well as to gold at the 2004 Olympics. As a member of the largest centr ...

became head coach of the

Croatia men's national handball team The Croatia national handball team () represents Croatia in international men's team handball competitions and friendly matches. The handball team is controlled by the Croatian Handball Federation (HRS). Croatia has o ...

in March 2017, Horvat was appointed his assistant. As a member of his coaching staff he participated in European championships in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, and in World championships in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

and

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

. Following the latter tournament where Croatia finished in 15th place, Červar resigned and Horvat was appointed his successor as head coach of the Croatia men's national handball team. After the 2023 World Championship the Croatian Handball Federation wasn’t happy with the results of the championship, and he was sacked. In December 2022 he became head coach of

HSG Wetzlar HSG Wetzlar is a professional handball club from Wetzlar, Germany. It competes in the top-tier Handball-Bundesliga and in the DHB-Pokal, German Handball Cup. They have played in the Bundesliga since 1998 without relegation. History The modern ...

, but was sacked already in April 2023.

Personal life

His nickname, like his father Hrvoje, is Cveba, which is the Croatian word for

raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

. Hrvoje Horvat Jr. has two older sisters, Jasenka and Vanja. Jasenka is the widow of the famous handball player,

Iztok Puc Iztok Puc (14 September 1966 – 20 October 2011) was a Croatian-Slovenian handball player, who was one of the world's top players of the 1980s and 1990s. During his career he played professionally for Borac Banja Luka, Zagreb, Celje and Prule ...

, and Vanja is the ex-wife of former footballer and now football manager,

Zoran Mamić Zoran Mamić (; born 30 September 1971) is a Croatian former professional football manager and player. He is most known for his successful time as a player and later manager of Dinamo Zagreb. Mamić represented the Croatia national team 6 tim ...

. Horvat's mother, Dunja, passed away in March 2020 from

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Honours

Coach

;RK Dubrava *

runner-up: 2014

References

External links

Hrvoje Horvat
at eurohandball.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Horvat, Hrvoje 1977 births Living people Croatian male handball players Croatian handball coaches Sportspeople from Bjelovar Handball coaches of international teams Beach handball players European champions for Croatia Expatriate handball coaches Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Croatian expatriate handball players in Germany