Nikola Blažičko (born 13 September 1977) is a former Croatian handball goalkeeper and co-trainer at Nettelstedt-Lübbecke.

Early life

Blažičko grew up in

Rijeka Rijeka (; Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...

. His parents Duško and Nada were also

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 ...

players, so him becoming a handball player himself was inevitable.

Career

Blažičko began his career in his hometown club Zamet in

. Soon he became a pivotal player and 1st goalkeeper at the club. In 2000 Blažičko moved to Split for 2 seasons before returning to Zamet. In 2004 he went to

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 ...

n powerhouse

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 ...

. With Zagreb Blažičko got to the finals of

EHF Cup Winners' Cup The EHF Cup Winners' Cup was the official competition for men's and women's handball clubs of Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocea ...

in 2005. The same year he played for the national team in World Championship in Tunis and Mediterranean Games in Almería where

finished second. He also played at the 2006 European Championship in Switzerland where

finished fourth losing the third-place match to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

32:27. Since 2007 he's been playing in

TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke is a 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 ...

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 March 2011 he was called up by

Slavko Goluža Slavko Goluža (born 17 September 1971) is a retired Croatian handball player and most recently coach of RK Zagreb. Club career Goluža was born in the village of Pješivac-Kula near Stolac. He began his career with RK Mehanika Metković. A ...

to play for

in the Euro-qualifiers. Unfortunately in June the same year Blažičko got injured losing his spot in the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

and being replaced with Venio Losert. In 2015 Blažičko got another injury and didn't play for the vast majority of the season. At the end of the season his club Nettelstedt-Lübbecke was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

Honours

;Zamet * Croatian Handball Championship U-18 **Third (1): 1994 * Croatian Handball Championship U-19 **Winner (1): 1996 * First B League ** Winner (1): 1995-96 * First A League **Third (2): 1997–98, 1998–99 * Croatian Cup **Runner-up(1): 2000 ;Split * First A League **Third (1): 2000-01 ;Zagreb * First League **Winner (2): 2004–05, 2005–06 *

Croatian Handball Cup The Croatian Handball Cup () is a national team handball competition in Croatia operated by the Croatian Handball Federation. It has been held annually since Croatian independence in 1991 and succeeded the former Yugoslavian Handball Cup. Winner ...

**Winner (2): 2005, 2006 *

**Runner-up (1): 2005 ;PSG *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

**Winner (1): 2007 ;TuS Nettelstedt-Lübbecke * 2nd Bundesliga **Winner (1): 2016-17 ;Croatia * 2005 World Championship in Tunis - 2nd * 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería - 2nd * 2006 European Championship in Switzerland - 4th ;Individual *Best goalkeeper at Croatian Handball Championship U-19 - 1996 *

RK Zamet RK Zamet (Rukometni Klub Zamet) is a handball club from Rijeka, Croatia, formed in 1957. The club currently competes in the Croatian Premier Handball League and the Croatian Handball Cup. Although the club has not won any mayor trophies, it ha ...

hall of fame - 2015

Orders

Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Trefoil

Order of the Croatian Trefoil The Order of the Croatian Trefoil () is the sixteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in war, direct war danger or in extraordinary circumstances in ...

- 2005

References

External links

*
Eurohandball profileScoresway profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Blazicko, Nikola 1977 births Living people Croatian male handball players Croatian expatriate sportspeople in France Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Handball players from Rijeka RK Zamet players Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Croatia Handball players at the 2005 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in handball 21st-century Croatian sportsmen