Velimir Kljaić

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.

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