Velimir Kljaić (10 February 1946 – 12 August 2010) was 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 ...

player and coach.

Career

As a player Kljaić played with

RK Medveščak Zagreb RK may refer to: Science and technology * Radial keratotomy, a surgical procedure on the eye * Rhodopsin kinase, an enzyme * r/K selection theory, in biology, relating to the trade-off between quantity and quality of offspring * Runge–Kutta meth ...

and Klagenfurt. As a coach, he won two Croatian championships with

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 one

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

. In Germany he was the Coach of the Year in 1992, in which he won German championship and the

with SG Wallau-Massenheim. As head coach of Croatia men's team he won the gold medal in 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, ...

. He was also head coach of the national teams of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

and

Kuwait Kuwait, officially the State of Kuwait, is a country in West Asia and the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. It is situated in the northern edge of the Arabian Peninsula at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to Iraq–Kuwait ...

Personal life

Kljaić was born in the village of Danilo Gornje, administrative part of

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

. He was the father of the former handballer

Nenad Kljaić Nenad Kljaić (born 21 December 1966) is a Croatian former handball player and current coach of Greek club Serbia men's national handball team, Serbia. Career Kljaić won two EHF Champions League, European Champions Cups as a player with RK Za ...

who was a part of

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 ...

's squad in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Velimir Kljaić died on 12 August 2010 of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

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 was buried five days after his death in Zagreb.

Honours

Player

;Medveščak *

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

**Winner (1):

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

**Winner (1):

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

* European Champions Cup **Finalist (1): 1964–65

Manager

;Medveščak *

**Winner (1):

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

;Wallau-Massenheim *

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

**Winner (1): 1991–92 * IHF Cup **Winner (1):

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

;Croatia *

– 1st place ;Zagreb * First A League **Winner (1): 1998–99 * Croatian Cup **Winner (1):

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

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 ...

**Finalist (1): 1998–99 ;Egypt * 2000 African Championship – 1st place ;Kuwait * 2002 Asian Championship – 1st place ;Gummersbach * EHF Champions Trophy **Finalist (1):

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

Individual

* Handball Manager of the Year in Germany – 1992 *The most successful athlete promoter of Croatia in the world: 1996 *

Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport () is the highest recognition that Republic of Croatia gives for extraordinary achievements and contributions of remarkable meaning for the development of sport in Croatia. This award has been given since 1991. I ...

– 1996, 2010 (posthumously) *Best Croatian coach of 1997 by

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 ...

*Best Croatian coach of 1997 by '' Sportske novosti'' *Best Croatian coach of 1999 by Croatian Handball Federation *Best Croatian coach of 1999 by ''Sportske novosti''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kljaic, Velimir 1946 births 2010 deaths Yugoslav male handball players Croatian male handball players Croatian handball coaches Coaches at the 1996 Summer Olympics Deaths from lung cancer in Croatia RK Zagreb coaches Yugoslav handball coaches Croatian expatriate handball players in Germany Olympic gold medalists for Croatia Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate handball players in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Handball coaches of international teams Expatriate handball coaches