Vladimir Vujasinović

This article is about the water polo player. For the footballer, see Vladimir Vujasinović (footballer).

Vladimir Vujasinović
Personal information
Born	14 August 1973 (1973-08-14) (age 51) Rijeka, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Club information
Current team	Novi Beograd (head coach)
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1989–1991	Primorje
1991–1994	Crvena zvezda
1994–1997	Barcelona
1997–1998	Partizan
1998–2001	Roma Pallanuoto
2001–2008	Pro Recco
2008–2012	Partizan
Medal record Men's water polo Representing Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and Serbia Olympic Games 2004 Athens 2000 Sydney 2008 Beijing World Championships 2005 Montreal 2001 Fukuoka 1998 Perth 2003 Barcelona European Championship 2001 Budapest 2003 Kranj 2006 Belgrade 1997 Seville 2008 Málaga FINA World League 2004 Long Beach 2005 Belgrade 2006 Athens 2008 Genova FINA World Cup 2002 Belgrade Mediterranean Games 1997 Bari 2005 Almeria Universiade 1995 Fukuoka

Vladimir Vujasinović (Serbian Cyrillic: Владимир Вујасиновић; pronounced [ʋlǎdimiːr ʋujasǐːnɔʋit͡ɕ]; born 14 August 1973) is a Serbian professional water polo head coach and former player. He currently serves as head coach of VK Novi Beograd.

During his playing career, he won two Olympic bronze medals (FR Yugoslavia team at 2000 Olympics and Serbia team at 2008 Olympics), an Olympic silver medal (Serbia and Montenegro team at 2004 Olympics), and numerous other titles. He has been named best water polo player in the world several times. In 2003 he was pronounced the best athlete of Serbia and Montenegro, and in 2005 the Olympic Committee of Serbia and Montenegro declared him to be the best sportsman. Vujasinović has played 341 matches for his country and scored 391 times. In 2011, his then club VK Partizan won the National Championship and National Cup of Serbia, LEN Euroleague (his fourth overall), LEN Super Cup (his third overall), Eurointer League and Tom Hoad Cup.

Early life

Vujasinović was born on 14 August 1973 in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia (modern Croatia), to ethnic Serb parents hailing from Ivoševci village near Knin. He grew up in Istria.

Career

As player

Vujasinović debuted for the national team in Kotor scoring his first goal against France in an 18–3 win. He was 17 years, three months and 22 days old. From 1995. he was a permanent member of the national team, and a captain since 2003. During this period, Vladimir only missed the 1999 European championship after a doping scandal after the Italian Cup semi-final. In numerous surveys, he was elected as the world's best water polo player on the grounds that he can play equally well in all positions for the team. Forerunner of all-round player, he was a member of all possible ideal setups. He retired from the national team in 2008. Vujasinović is considered to be one of the best players in the history of world water polo. He played for Croatian Primorje, Serbian VK Crvena zvezda, Spanish Barcelona, Italian A.S. Roma Pallanuoto, Serbian VK Partizan, Italian Pro Recco, Brazilian Fluminense. In summer 2007 he played with Maltese side Neptunes WPSC and helped them retain the Maltese First Division. He was named Most Valuable Player at the 2001 European Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Vujasinović won European Champions League several times with Italian Pro Recco (year 2007 and 2008) and Serbian VK Partizan. He rejoined Partizan Belgrade for the 2008/9 season. He won the Malta Waterpolo Summer League title with Neptunes Emirates (St. Julians, Malta) in August 2010.

As coach

Vladimir Vujasinović named as assistant coach of Serbian national team in 2012. With national team, he won 2016 Olympic Games, 2015 World Championship, two European Championships: 2014, 2016 and four World League: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016. In 1 year and less than 2 months the Serbian National team had won the four biggest titles in Waterpolo in a row, a feat nobody before him did.

Club

As player

Neptunes WPSC

Efforts to strengthen the team and try to retain the championship in 2007 were made immediately after the 2006 season ended. Serbian idol Vlado Vujasinović was snapped up from top Italian side Pro Recco and Sergio Afric’s immediate reaction to the club president was "Abbiamo appena vinto il prossimo campionato!" And how true that was. Vlado turned out to be the toast of the game’s connoisseurs as he managed to bring the best out of his colleagues with his superb marshalling at the back, closing all gaps and his play-making was the platform of Neptunes offensive stints. The final game that wrapped up the championship for Neptunes will go down in the club’s history as the biggest win they ever registered over Sliema – 12–4.

Partizan Raiffeizen

2011–12 season

On 22 October 2011. Vujasinović scored two goals in the first round of the Euroleague Group, in an 8–9 loss to Szeged Beton VE. On 9 November Vujasinović scored a goal in the second round of the Euroleague Group in the 10–10 tie against TEVA-Vasas-UNIQA. On 26 November Vujasinović scored a goal in a 9–6 Euroleague third round win over ZF Eger in Belgrade. On 30 December Vujasinović won with Partizan the ninth "Tom Hoad Cup" in Perth, defeating in the final the Australian team, Fremantle Mariners 11–9. He led his rejuvenated team to the victory with no Serbia men's national water polo team representatives as a captain. On 15 February 2012. Vujasinović scored his first goal of the Serbian National Championship season, in the second round of the "A League", in an 8–6 win against Crvena zvezda VET. On 17 February Vujasinović scored in the third round of the "A League", in an easy 14–2 win against ŽAK. On 26 February Vujasinović scored his last two goals in the final round of the Euroleague Group, in which his team lost by 9–8 to Szeged Beton VE and dropped out of the competition. On 1 March he scored two goals against VK Vojvodina in a 10–9 win in the "A League" fourth round.

Vujasinović has additionally had summer league club stints in Malta and Brazil with Neptunes WPSC and Fluminense, respectively.

As coach

Vujasinović led VK Partizan from 2013. He won two Serbian league matches and was twice in the semifinal in LEN Champions League. He led the youngest team in LEN Champions League.

In 2016, Vujasinović signed a three-year contract with Italian Pro Recco, but stayed there for two seasons, until June 2018.

On July 1, 2019, he was named a new head coach of VK Novi Beograd.

Honours

Club

Crvena zvezda

• National Championship of Yugoslavia (2) : 1991–92, 1992–93

CN Barcelona

• División de Honor de Waterpolo (3) : 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Copa del Rey (2) : 1994–95, 1995–96
• LEN Cup (1) : 1994–95

AS Roma Pallanuoto

• Serie A1 (1) : 1998–99

Pro Recco

• Serie A1 (4) : 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Coppa Italia (3) : 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Trofeo del Giocatore (1) : 2003
• LEN Euroleague (3) : 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08
• LEN Supercup (2) : 2003–04, 2007–08

Neptunes WPSC

• National Championship of Malta (1) : 2007

PA Fluminense

• National Championship of Brazil (1) : 2009

Partizan

• National Championship of Serbia (4) : 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
• National Cup of Serbia (4) : 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12
• LEN Euroleague (1) : 2010–11
• LEN Supercup (1) : 2011–12
• LEN Cup (1) : 1997–98
• Eurointer League (2) : 2009–10, 2010–11
• Tom Hoad Cup (1) : 2011

Individual

• European Championship MVP (1): 2001 Budapest
• FINA Athlete of the Year in men's water polo (1): 2001
• Golden Badge (1): 2003
• Best Sportsman by OCS (1): 2005

See also

• Serbia men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• Serbia and Montenegro men's Olympic water polo team records and statistics
• List of Olympic medalists in water polo (men)
• List of players who have appeared in multiple men's Olympic water polo tournaments
• List of men's Olympic water polo tournament top goalscorers
• List of world champions in men's water polo
• List of World Aquatics Championships medalists in water polo

References

• Waterpolo Serbia (in Serbian)
• Pro Recco (in Italian)

External links

• Vladimir Vujasinović at World Aquatics
• Vladimir Vujasinović at Olympics.com
• Vladimir Vujasinović at Olympedia
• Vladimir Vujasinović at the Olympic Committee of Serbia (in Serbian)