Nikola Grbić ( sr-cyrl, Никола Грбић; born 6 September 1973) is a Serbian professional

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

coach and former player who is currently serving as head coach for the Poland national team. Grbić is a gold medalist of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

, a bronze medalist of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, and a multiple

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 ...

, European Championship, and World League medalist. He was inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame in 2016.

Career as player

Club volleyball

In 1994, Grbić began playing for Gabeca Montichiari, which started a 13–year career playing for eight different Italian teams and resulted in eight league titles from 1994 to 2013. He won two Championship titles in Italy (2008

Trentino Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...

– 2010

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), and one in Russia (2014 Zenit Kazan). He also won two CEV Euro Champions League titles (2000 Sisley – 2009

National team

Grbić started with the senior national team in 1991, when he was 18 years old. For the next couple of years (1992–1994), he was unable to play due to an international embargo.

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 ...

, with Grbić, won the bronze medal at the

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. Grbić was honored as the European Championship Best Setter in 1997 as Yugoslavia earned the silver medal. In 1998, he led

to the silver medal at the FIVB World Championship in Japan. Grbić was the captain of his national team from 1999 to 2010. He led Yugoslavia to the gold medal at the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, with a dominating three-set win over

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in the finals. Grbić then helped Serbia win the bronze medal at the 2010 FIVB World Championship in Italy, where he was named Best Setter of the tournament.

Career as coach

In May 2014, Grbić became the head coach of the Italian club Sir Safety Perugia. On 3 February 2015, Grbić was announced as the new head coach of the Serbia men's national volleyball team. Grbić led Serbia to the silver medal at the 2015 FIVB World League. In the next year, he led

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 ...

to the gold medal at the 2016 FIVB World League. Serbia had lost their five previous appearances in the World League final, including three times to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and the previous year against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Finally, after five silver medals and three bronze medals, they won the gold.

Personal life

Grbić was born in Klek. He has an older brother, Vladimir, who is also a former volleyball player. Grbić's wife is named Stanislava and together they have two sons, Matija and Miloš.

Honours

As a player

CEV Champions League The CEV Champions League is the top official competition for men's volleyball clubs from the whole of Europe. The competition is organised every year by the European Volleyball Confederation. Formula (2018–19 to present) Qualification A tota ...

2008–09 – with Trentino Volley * CEV European Champions Cup ** Gold medal europe

1999–2000 – with Sisley Treviso *

CEV Cup The CEV Cup is the second tier official competition for men's Volleyball clubs of Europe. The competition takes place every year. Until 2000, it was the CEV Cup Winners' Cup. In 2000 it was renamed to CEV Top Teams Cup and in 2007 to CEV Cup. T ...

1997–98 – with Alpitour Traco Cuneo ** Simple gold cup

2005–06 – with Copra Berni Piacenza ** Simple gold cup

2009–10 – with Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo * Domestic ** 1991–92 Simple gold cup

Serbia and Montenegro Cup, with Vojvodina Novi Sad ** 1991–92 Gold medal with cup

Serbia and Montenegro Championship, with Vojvodina Novi Sad ** 1992–93 Gold medal with cup

Serbia and Montenegro Championship, with Vojvodina Novi Sad ** 1993–94 Simple gold cup

Serbia and Montenegro Cup, with Vojvodina Novi Sad ** 1993–94 Gold medal with cup

Serbia and Montenegro Championship, with Vojvodina Novi Sad ** 1998–99 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with TNT Alpitour Cuneo ** 1999–2000 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with Sisley Treviso ** 2007–08 Gold medal with cup

Italian Championship, with Itas Diatec Trentino ** 2009–10 Gold medal with cup

Italian Championship, with Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo ** 2010–11 Simple gold cup

Italian SuperCup, with Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo ** 2010–11 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with Bre Banca Lannutti Cuneo ** 2013–14 Gold medal with cup

Russian Championship, with Zenit Kazan

As a coach

2020–21 – with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle * Domestic ** 2019–20 Simple gold cup

Polish SuperCup, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2020–21 Simple gold cup

Polish Cup The Polish Cup in Association football, football ( ) is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout football competition for Polish football club (association football), football clubs, held continuously since 1950, and is the second most i ...

, with ZAKSA Kędzierzyn-Koźle ** 2021–22 Simple gold cup

Italian Cup, with Sir Safety Conad Perugia

Individual awards

* 1997: CEV European Championship – Best setter * 1997:

Sportsman of the year Since its inception in 1954, ''Sports Illustrated'' has annually presented the Sportsman of the Year award to "the athlete or team whose performance that year most embodies the spirit of sportsmanship and achievement." Both Americans and non-Ame ...

by the

Olympic Committee of Serbia The Olympic Committee of Serbia (, sr-Cyrl, Олимпијски комитет Србије) is the National Olympic Committee representing Serbia. It organizes the country's participation at the Olympic Games and other multisport events. The ...

* 2000: Italian Championship – Best player * 2000: Italian Championship – Best foreign player * 2001: CEV European Championship – Best setter * 2003: CEV European Championship – Best setter * 2003: FIVB World Cup – Best setter * 2005: CEV European Championship – Best setter * 2006: CEV Top Teams Cup – Best setter * 2009: FIVB World League – Best setter * 2010: Italian Championship – Best setter * 2010: Italian Cup – Best player * 2010:

– Best setter * 2010: FIVB World Championship – Best setter * 2014: CEV – Ultimate team leader * 2023: Awards of Plebiscite of

Przegląd Sportowy ''Przegląd Sportowy'' (, ''Sports Review'') is the oldest and now the only Polish sports daily, founded in 1921 in Kraków. In 1926 it initiated an annual, popular plebiscite for the Polish Sportspersonality of the Year. Its current editor-in-ch ...

– Coach of the year

State awards

* 2024:

Knight's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland