Zlatan "Zlatko" Saračević (5 July 1961 – 21 February 2021) was a Croatian professional

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 who competed in the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

for

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 ...

and 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, ...

for

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 ...

. From the

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 ...

to 2017 World Championship he was a commentator on RTL Televizija together with Filip Brkić. Following the domestic league match between RK Podravka, of which he was coach, and RK Lokomotiva, Saračević suffered a

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest (also known as sudden cardiac arrest CA is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. When the heart stops beating, blood cannot properly Circulatory system, circulate around the body and the blood flow to the ...

and died in

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of Koprivnica-Križevci County. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total populati ...

on 21 February 2021. He was 59.

Playing career

Saračević was born in

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city in Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is the tr ...

, present-day

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

. Product of the prolific youth academy RK Borac Banja Luka, he was one of the greater Yugoslav players of the early 1980s, whose junior team won the world junior championship, defeating the then invincible

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in the final. With the senior Yugoslavia national team he would win the 1986 World Championship. In 1988 he was part of the Yugoslav team which won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. He played all six matches and scored nine goals. Zlatan Saracevic Hand-ball bulletin federal 1988-2-1

He played for ten years in RK Borac Banja Luka winning the league and cup once. In 1987 he moved to RK Medveščak from

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 ...

. During his three-year stay with the club he won the

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 ...

in 1989 and 1990. After his stint in RK Medveščak he moved to France where he played for seven years at

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Créteil Créteil () is a Communes of France, commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. Créteil is the ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, dep ...

and at Istres. He won the French First League two times and was the league's top goalscorer three times. In 1997 he moved to Croatian side Badel 1862 Zagreb. At the club he won during his three-year stay all league and cup titles. He also reached the

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 ...

final twice and the semi-final once. He was also the top goalscorer in the

during his last two seasons. In 2000 he moved to Fotex Veszprém where he played for two seasons winning league and cup titles while reaching the EHF Champions League final. In 2002 he moved to Zamet Crotek where he finished his playing career and started his coaching career. While playing for Zamet in the EHF Cup match against Lukoil Dinamo Astrakhan Saračević provoked a fight during the match, all of the players and fans fought against the Russian players. Saračević got a one-year ban from playing

in European competitions and Zamet Crotek were fined and lost the match 10–0. Saračević retired at the end of the 2002–03 season at RK Zamet Crotek. With the senior Croatian national team Saračević won a bronze medal at the 1994 European Championship, a silver medal at the 1995 World Championship and gold medals at the 1993 Mediterranean Games and

. At the Olympics he played six matches including the final and scored 16 goals.

Coaching career

On 27 February 2003 it was announced that Saračević had become the new head coach of RK Zamet Crotek after the sacking of Damir Čavlović. During the rest of the 2002–03 season he was a player-coach in some matches. At the end of the season Zamet finished in fifth place while reaching the semi-final of the Croatian Cup. Failing to qualify for the EHF Cup and a bad league position in the new season forced the board's hand to sack Saračević on 22 March 2004. He had unsuccessful stints in Nyíregyházi KSE in Hungary and NK Čelik Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina. For a brief time he was the assistant coach of RK Zagreb. On 19 March 2016 he was named as the head coach of RKHM Dubrovnik.

Honours

Player

;Borac Banja Luka *

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) ...

(1): 1980–81 *

(1): 1979 ;Medveščak *

(2): 1989, 1990 ;USAM Nîmes * French First League (2): 1990–91, 1992–93 ;Badel 1862 Zagreb * Croatian First League (3): 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00 * Croatian Cup (3): 1998, 1999, 2000 *

Runner-up (2): 1998, 1999 ;Veszprém * Hungarian First League (2): 2000–01, 2001–02 *

Hungarian Cup The Hungarian Cup (, ), officially known as MOL Magyar Kupa for sponsorship reasons, is the Hungarian cup competition for football clubs. It was started by the Hungarian Football Association'','' in 1909, eight years after the commencement of ...

(1): 2002 *

Runner-up (1): 2002 * EHF Champions Trophy Runner-up (1): 2002

Individual

* 1990–91 Division 1 top goalscorer * Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport – 1996 * 1998–99 EHF Champions League top goalscorer – 90 goals *Best Croatian handballer of 1999 by HRS & '' Sportske novosti'' * 1999–2000 EHF Champions League top goalscorer – 92 goals *Best Croatian handballer of 2002 by HRS & '' Sportske novosti''

Coach

;Zagreb * Croatian Premier League: 2017–18 * Croatian Cup: 2018 * SEHA League runner-up: 2017–18 ;Podravka * Croatian First League: 2018–19

Orders

* Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995

References

External links

*
European profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saracevic, Zlatko 1961 births 2021 deaths RK Zamet players RK Zamet coaches Yugoslav male handball players Croatian male handball players Handball players at the 1988 Summer Olympics Handball players at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic handball players for Yugoslavia Olympic handball players for Croatia Olympic bronze medalists for Yugoslavia Olympic gold medalists for Croatia in handball Handball players from Banja Luka Olympic medalists in handball Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Croatia Competitors at the 1993 Mediterranean Games Croatian handball coaches RK Zagreb coaches Mediterranean Games medalists in handball Croatian people of Bosniak descent Croatian sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Croatian expatriate handball players in France Croatian expatriate handball players in Hungary