Nikola Karabatić

Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.
With the French national handball team, he has 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 three gold medals in the European Championship (2006, 2010 and 2014). He also won L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 2011. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history, and he was IHF World Player of the Year for a male record-tying three times, in 2007, 2014, and 2016.
Club career
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
He is an Olympic, World and European champion. 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. He has received two bronze medals at the World Championships, in 2003 and 2005. 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
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. 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. The family moved to France after Nikola's father got a coaching job there when Nikola was years old. His younger brother, Luka, is also a professional handball player.
On 30 September 2012, he was involved in match-fixing and was arrested alongside his wife and his brother Luka.
In addition to French, he speaks English, Serbo-Croatian, German and Spanish.
Achievements
Club
EHF Champions League:
Winner in 2003, 2007, 2015
Runners up in 2008, 2009, 2017
IHF Super Globe: 2013, 2014
European Super Cup: 2007
French league: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
French cup: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022
French league cup: 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018
French supercup: 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023
German league: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
German cup: 2007, 2008, 2009
German supercup: 2005, 2007, 2008
Spanish league: 2014, 2015
Spanish cup: 2014, 2015
Spanish supercup: 2013, 2014
Asobal cup: 2013, 2014
Catalonia Supercup: 2013, 2014
Pyrenees league: 2004
International
Olympics
Gold: 2008, 2012, 2020
Silver: 2016
World championship
Gold: 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017
Silver: 2023
Bronze: 2005, 2019
European championship
Gold: 2006, 2010, 2014
Bronze: 2008, 2018
World cup 2002
Tournoi de France: 2007, 2011
Individual
IHF World Player of the Year – Men
Winner: 2007, 2014, 2016
Second: 2009, 2010, 2015
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
Best player of Spanish league: 2014, 2015
Others
Sportsman on France: 2011
See also
List of handballers with 1000 or more international goals
References
External links
1984 births
Living people
French male handball players
French people of Croatian descent
French people of Serbian descent
Handball players at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Handball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Handball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Handball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic handball players for France
Olympic gold medalists for France
Sportspeople from Niš
Montpellier Handball players
Olympic medalists in handball
Yugoslav emigrants to France
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics
European champions for France
Liga ASOBAL players
FC Barcelona Handbol players
THW Kiel players
Handball-Bundesliga players
Expatriate handball players
French expatriate sportspeople in Germany
French expatriate sportspeople in Spain
Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics
Olympic silver medalists for France
Handball players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics
Naturalized citizens of France