Velimir Kljaić (10 February 1946 – 12 August 2010) was a Croatian handball player and coach.
Career As a player Kljaić played with RK Medveščak Zagreb and Klagenfurt. As a coach, he won two Croatian championships with RK Zagreb and one Cup. In Germany he was the Coach of the Year in 1992, in which he won German championship and the Cup with SG Wallau-Massenheim.
As head coach of Croatia men's team he won the gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.
He was also head coach of the national teams of Egypt and Kuwait.
Personal life Kljaić was born in the village of Danilo Gornje, administrative part of Šibenik. He was the father of the former handballer Nenad Kljaić who was a part of Croatia's squad in the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Velimir Kljaić died on 12 August 2010 of lung cancer in Zagreb. He was buried five days after his death in Zagreb.
Honours
Player Medveščak Yugoslav First League Winner (1): 1966 Yugoslav Cup Winner (1): 1970 European Champions Cup Finalist (1): 1964–65
Manager Medveščak Yugoslav Cup Winner (1): 1981
Wallau-Massenheim Bundesliga Winner (1): 1991–92 IHF Cup Winner (1): 1992
Croatia 1996 Summer Olympics – 1st place
Zagreb First A League Winner (1): 1998–99 Croatian Cup Winner (1): 1999 EHF Champions League Finalist (1): 1998–99
Egypt 2000 African Championship – 1st place
Kuwait 2002 Asian Championship – 1st place
Gummersbach EHF Champions Trophy Finalist (1): 2006
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 – 1996, 2010 (posthumously) Best Croatian coach of 1997 by Croatian Handball Federation 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