Ivano Balić
Ivano Balic 22 August 2009 for the Schlecker Cup
Status: National January 16, 2008
Ivano Balic ( born April 1, 1979 in Split) is a native of Croatia handball player. With a body length of 1.89 m and weighs 97 kg. He is considered one of the best handball players in the world; his playing position is the central rear room. He is currently at the HSG Wetzlar under contract.
Career
Ivano Balic began his athletic career in basketball; he coached for many years at Jugoplastika Split. However, he opted for the handball and began his career with the club RK Split. His second stop was RK Metković, then the second largest club in the Croatian Handball League. From there in 2004 he joined the Spanish club SDC San Antonio. With the men from Pamplona he won the 2005 Spanish Championship and in 2006 was the final of the EHF Champions League. In 2008 he returned to his homeland where he series champion RK Zagreb joined. With Zagreb he won from 2009 to 2012, the Croatian championship. End of June 2012 was his contract with Zagreb. Shortly before the start of the season 2012/13 he joined Atlético Madrid. After Madrid filed for bankruptcy, Balic moved in August 2013 to the German Bundesliga HSG Wetzlar.
National
Ivano Balic was in the attack as a leading player of the head of the team. From journalists, he was sometimes referred to as " Ronaldinho of handball ". He was known for his concealed forearm throws and passes without eye contact ( " no-look passes" ) to the circle runner. In ten international championships from 2003 to 2012, he reached at least the semi-finals with the Croatian national team. At the World Cup in 2013, he was not called to the squad.
Achievements
- World Championships in Portugal 2003: 1st place (Gold)
- European Championship in Slovenia 2004: 4th place
- Olympic Games in Athens 2004: 1st place (Gold)
- World Cup in Tunisia 2005: 2nd place (Silver)
- European Championships in Switzerland in 2006: 4th place
- World Cup in Germany 2007: 5th place
- European Championships in Norway 2008: 2nd place (Silver)
- Scorer in the Euro 2008 together with Lars Christiansen and Nikola Karabatic
- World Championship in Croatia 2009: 2nd place (Silver)
- European Championships in Austria 2010: 2nd place (Silver)
- European Championship in Serbia 2012: 3rd place ( Bronze)
- London Olympics 2012: 3rd place ( Bronze)
Awards
- Balic was voted World Handball Player in 2003 and 2006.
- He is the first and only handball players in history, who was elected five times in a row with a handball major event for MVP (Most Valuable Player): European Championship in Slovenia 2004
- Olympics in Athens 2004
- World Cup in Tunisia in 2005
- European Championships in Switzerland in 2006
- World Cup in Germany 2007