Irfan Smajlagić

Irfan "Pipe" Smajlagić (born 16 October 1961) is a Bosnian-born Croatian former handball player and current coach Borac Banja Luka and most recently coach of Bosnia and Herzegovina who competed in the 1988 Summer Olympics for Yugoslavia and in the 1996 Summer Olympics for Croatia.

Irfan Smajlagić
Personal information
Full name	Irfan Smajlagić
Born	(1961-10-16) 16 October 1961 (age 63) Banja Luka, PR Bosnia-Herzegovina, FPR Yugoslavia
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Right wing
Youth career
Years	Team
1975–1978	Borac Banja Luka
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1978–1987	Borac Banja Luka
1987–1990	Medveščak Zagreb
1990–1993	US Ivry
1993–1994	USAM Nîmes
1994–1996	Badel 1862 Zagreb
1996–1997	RK Zamet
1997–1999	Medveščak Zagreb
1999–2000	Livry-Gargan
2000–2001	Girondins de Bordeaux
2001–2002	Livry-Gargan
National team
Years	Team
1987–1991	Yugoslavia
1992–2000	Croatia	93	(290)
Teams managed
2002–2003	RK Čakovec
2003–2006	Croatia (assistant)
2005–2007	Croatia U-21
2007–2009	Egypt
2009–2011	Bosna Sarajevo
2012–2013	RK Zamet
2013–2014	Lokomotiva Zagreb
2015–2016	Iran
2022–2024	Bosnia and Herzegovina
2023–	Borac Banja Luka
Medal record Men's handball Representing  Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Team Representing  Croatia Olympic Games 1996 Atlanta Team World Championship 1995 Iceland Team European Championship 1994 Portugal Team Mediterranean Games 1993 Languedoc-Roussillon Team

In 1988 he was part of the Yugoslav national team, which won the bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics. He played five matches and scored 14 goals.

Eight years later he won the gold medal with the Croatian national team at the 1996 Olympics. He played six matches including the final and scored 31 goals.

He was inducted in the European Handball Hall of Fame in 2023.^[1]

Personal life

His son Sven is a professional basketball player.^[2]

Honours

Player

Borac Banja Luka

• Yugoslav First League: 1980–81
• Yugoslav Cup: 1979

Medveščak Zagreb

• Yugoslav Cup: 1988–89, 1989–90

USAM Nîmes

• Coupe de France: 1994

Badel 1862 Zagreb

• Croatian First League: 1994–95, 1995–96
• Croatian Cup: 1995, 1996
• EHF Champions League runner-up: 1994–95

Yugoslavia

• 1988 Summer Olympics – 3rd place

Croatia

• 1993 Mediterranean Games – 1st place
• 1994 European Championship – 3rd place
• 1995 World Championship – 2nd place
• 1996 Summer Olympics – 1st place

Individual

• Best right wing at the 1995 World Championship
• 1995 World Championship Dream Team
• Best Croatian handballer of 1995 by the HRS
• Best Croatian handballer of 1995 by Sportske novosti
• Best right wing at the 1996 Summer Olympics
• 1996 Summer Olympics Dream Team
• Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 1996
• LNH Division 1 top goalscorer: 1999–00 – 174 goals
• LNH Division 1 top goalscorer: 2001–02 – 185 goals

Coach

Croatia (assistant)

• 2003 World Championship – 1st place
• 2004 Summer Olympics – 1st place
• Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 2004
• 2005 World Championship – 2nd place

Croatia U-21

• 2005 World Championship – 3rd place
• 2007 World Championship – 2nd place

Egypt

• 2008 African Championship – 1st place

Bosna Sarajevo

• Bosnian First League: 2009–10, 2010–11
• Bosnian Cup: 2009–10

Lokomotiva Zagreb

• Croatian First League: 2013–14
• Croatian Cup: 2013–14

Orders

• Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995, 2004^[3]

References

1. "Three Croatians enter first-ever Hall of Fame of European Handball". Croatia Week. 27 June 2023. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
2. Vidalina, Marko (4 December 2010). "Smajlagić: Ne znam zašto se zagrebaši tako "pale" na nas". 24sata (in Croatian). Retrieved 24 January 2021.
3. "Irfan Smajlagić biography". hoo.hr (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.

External links

• Irfan Smajlagić at the European Handball Federation
• Irfan Smajlagić at Olympedia
• Irfan Smajlagić at Olympics.com
• Irfan Smajlagić at Olympic.org (archived)
• Irfan Smajlagić at the Croatian Olympic Committee (in Croatian) (archived)