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Nikola Karabatić

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Nikola Karabatić
Karabatić in 2015
Personal information
Born (1984-04-11) 11 April 1984 (age 40)
Niš, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia
Nationality French
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Playing position Centre back
Senior clubs
Years Team
2000–2005
 Montpellier Handball
2005–2009
 THW Kiel
2009–2013
 Montpellier Handball
2013
 Pays d'Aix
2013–2015
 FC Barcelona
2015–2024
 Paris Saint-Germain
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2024
 France 356 (1293)
Medal record
Representing  France
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team
Gold medal – first place 2012 London Team
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo Team
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2009 Croatia
Gold medal – first place 2011 Sweden
Gold medal – first place 2015 Qatar
Gold medal – first place 2017 France
Silver medal – second place 2023 Poland/Sweden
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Tunisia
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Germany/Denmark
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2006 Switzerland
Gold medal – first place 2010 Austria
Gold medal – first place 2014 Denmark
Gold medal – first place 2024 Germany
Bronze medal – third place 2008 Norway
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Croatia

Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French former professional handball player. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history.[1]

With the French national handball team, he won three Olympic gold medals (Summer Olympics of 2008, 2012 and 2020), four World Championship gold medals (2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017) as well as four gold medals in the European Championship (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2024). He also won L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 2011.[2] He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history,[3] and he was IHF World Player of the Year for a male record-tying three times, in 2007, 2014, and 2016.

Club career

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Karabatić began his professional career at the top French club Montpellier HB. There he became French champion in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as winner of the EHF Champions League in 2003. He then played for the German club THW Kiel, who became German champions in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won the EHF Champions League in 2007. In the summer of 2009 he left Germany and returned to Montpellier HB, winning three further French champion titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After a quick stay in Pays d'Aix Université Club handball, Aix-en-Provence, between February and June in 2013, he moved to FC Barcelona and then in 2015 he moved to and currently plays for PSG Handball.

International career

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He is an Olympic, World and European champion. This makes eleven titles out of 17 medals won, which constitutes an absolute record.

He first became a European champion in the 2006 European Men's Handball Championship, subsequently becoming a bronze medallist in the 2008 edition of the championship (without forgetting 2018). He has received two more bronze medals at the World Championships, in 2005 and 2019. At the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, he was voted into the All-Star Team in which France finished fourth. He was also voted into the All Star Team at the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship.

Personal life

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Nikola was born in Niš, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Croatian father and Serbian mother. Nikola's father Branko Karabatić, who was also a professional handball player, is originally from Vrsine, a village between Trogir and Marina in Croatia.[4][5][6] In his career, Branko played for the Železničar handball team from Niš, which is where he met his wife Radmila, who is originally from Aleksinac, Serbia.[7] The family moved to France after Nikola's father got a coaching job there when Nikola was 3+1⁄2 years old. His younger brother, Luka, is also a professional handball player.[5]

On 30 September 2012, he was involved in match-fixing and was arrested alongside his wife and his brother Luka.[8][9]

In addition to French and Serbo-Croatian, he speaks English, German and Spanish.[10]

Major tournament statistics

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Legend
 Tnmt Tournament  GP Games played  Gls  Goals
 Sh  Shots  G%  Goal percentage  7G  7-meter goals
 7S  7-meter shots  As  Assists  AG  Assists and Goals
 St  Steals  Bl  Blocks  2M  2 Minute Suspensions
 RC  Red Cards  Pl  Placement of National Team  Bold  Career high
    Led the Tournament     Tournament MVP     On All-Star Team
As of conclusion of 2024 European Men's Handball Championship[11][12][13]
Tnmt GP Gls Sh G% 7G 7S As AG St Bl 2M RC Pl
2004 EC 7 35 71 49 8 13 21 56 4 3 4 0 6th
2004 OG 7 20 39 51 2 2 16 36 2 1 5 0 5th
2005 WC 9 43 71 61 5 5 20 63 8 4 5 0 3rd
2006 EC 8 40 72 56 0 1 14 54 10 4 4 0 1st
2007 WC 10 50 86 58 0 2 24 74 13 4 7 1 4th
2008 EC 8 44 89 49 7 14 26 70 6 5 2 0 3rd
2008 OG 8 37 69 54 2 3 34 71 7 6 2 0 1st
2009 WC 10 45 80 56 0 0 36 81 8 9 2 0 1st
2010 EC 8 40 73 55 0 0 25 65 5 4 6 0 1st
2011 WC 10 51 80 63 0 0 34 85 4 10 2 0 1st
2012 EC 6 9 34 26 0 0 11 20 3 1 1 0 11th
2012 OG 8 26 48 54 0 0 34 60 3 15 3 0 1st
2013 WC 7 25 38 66 0 0 12 37 3 10 3 0 6th
2014 EC 8 32 51 63 0 0 44 76 3 6 4 0 1st
2015 WC 9 33 56 59 0 0 26 59 8 14 9 0 1st
2016 EC 7 26 47 55 0 0 21 47 5 3 2 0 5th
2016 OG 8 26 40 65 0 0 21 47 4 4 2 0 2nd
2017 WC 9 31 53 58 0 0 42 73 7 5 4 0 1st
2018 EC 8 30 46 65 0 0 33 63 3 3 3 0 3rd
2019 WC 6 4 15 27 0 0 15 19 1 1 3 0 3rd
2020 EC 3 8 13 62 0 0 5 13 0 2 0 0 14th
2021 WC Not in team
2020 OG 8 22 34 65 0 0 29 51 1 1 3 0 1st
2022 EC 8 15 36 42 0 0 22 37 2 3 3 0 4th
2023 WC 7 8 18 44 0 0 12 20 0 1 0 0 2nd
2024 EC 8 16 27 59 0 0 22 38 1 0 0 0 1st

Achievements

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Club

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International

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Individual

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  • IHF World Player of the Year – Men
    • Winner: 2007, 2014, 2016
    • Second: 2009, 2010, 2015
    • Third: 2011
  • With French national team:
    • Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship (2): 2011, 2017
    • Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the European Championship (2): 2008, 2014
    • Top Scorer of the European Championship: 2008
    • All-Star Centre back of the Olympic Games: 2012, 2016
    • All-Star Centre back of the World Championship: 2009, 2015
    • All-Star Centre back of the European Championship: 2010
    • All-Star Left back of the World Championship: 2007
    • All-Star Left back of the European Championship: 2004
    • Best player of Tournoi de France: 2007, 2011
  • With clubs:
    • champions league
      • Best striker: 2007 (89 goals)
      • All-stars team: 2014
    • France
      • Best player of French league: 2010, 2013, 2017
      • Best left back of French league: 2004, 2005
      • Best center back of French league: 2010, 2016, 2017
      • Best player of French supercup: 2010
    • Germany
      • Best player of the year in Germany: 2007, 2008
      • Best player of the season in German league: 2006–07, 2007–08
      • Best left back in German league: 2006, 2007, 2008
      • Best player of German All-stars game: 2007
    • Spain
      • Best player of Spanish league: 2014, 2015
  • Others
    • Sportsman on France: 2011

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "European Handball Federation - Nikola Karabatic / Player". www.eurohandball.com. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  2. ^ "2015 World Championship Roster" (PDF). IHF. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  3. ^ "Ivano Balic voted best male player ever". ihf.info. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  4. ^ SVI SMO NAVIJALI ZA NAŠU HRVATSKU , Slobodna Dalmacija, July 21, 2003
  5. ^ a b "Никола Карабатић: Желим злато у родном Нишу". Glas Srpske. 31 January 2011. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  6. ^ Official EHF EURO Channel (24 January 2012). "Interview with Nikola Karabatic, the Serbian born French player". Retrieved 9 May 2019 – via YouTube.
  7. ^ "Код куће говоримо само српски". Ilustrovana Politika. 22 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  8. ^ "Start of French Handball Match-Fixing Trial". Sports Integrity Initiative. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Karabatic found guilty in match-fixing trial". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 9 May 2019.
  10. ^ Video on YouTube
  11. ^ "France – Players, Team and Season Information". European Handball Federation. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  12. ^ "IHF Top Scorers Statistics World Championships". International Handball Federation. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  13. ^ "IHF Top Scorers Statistics Olympics". International Handball Federation. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
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