I never imagined what a book about Split handball should look like. At the persuasion of Mr. Gordan Stojanc, I had to write a comment on my handball journey. Writing is not really my favorite way of expression, but books like this are written every ten or more years, and it will last forever, so it’s not difficult for me… I remember every joyful moment on the open playground in Babylon. those locker rooms and a broken window. We were never cold, nor warm enough in the time when training was our main date and pastime. The children of my generation, there were no more than 12 of us, it was never difficult to train. Not even in the rain where we feasted a million times, making sure we don’t break. That’s probably why the dexterity that I practiced well on concrete. We had the will, but not the conditions. Today’s children have greater opportunities, but I don’t know if they know how to use them. In any case, we were much more persistent. We played with plastic balls, I don’t even know what size, mostly at night, under the spotlight. I know from my parents’ stories that it was like that in their times. Mama Stipanka played in Dalma and was first a goalkeeper, and later a winger, while her father Žarko was a middle outsider and a real Split player. I must say that I inherited the collective spirit from my mother, and speed from my father. I am proud that my family and I participated in handball in the times when the history of this very successful sport was written for us, and for the whole of sports Split. When I talk about that second period, in which I became a first-team player who enjoyed the hall at Gripe, then I can say that the real motive came to the fore there – to make something out of a career. The full hall in European matches was proof that we are actually worth more than we ourselves could have imagined at the time. It was my pleasure to play in Metković, and in Gripe against Zagreb in the championship matches. Every European match brought new enthusiasm. That was a sign that I asserted myself, and with the breakup of the club, I had to go to Metković. Four years in the Mandarin valley, I remembered that period as a very professional path that opened the door to the national team for me. After Metković, in which I confirmed myself as a player and became a standard representative, there was a departure to Spain.
All the successes and achievements of me and my teammates from the national team have already been described a long time ago, so there is no need to spend words on it. Although the success was measured by the number of titles and medals won, for me the biggest confirmation is that I achieved something big came in the summer of 2008. I remember lunch, during which my friend Ivica Maraš called me and told me: ‘They chose you!’. The HOO Council decided that I would carry the Croatian flag at the Olympic Games in Beijing. I knew then what honor I had received, although I was little and sorry for Pera Metličić, who also hoped for the prestigious decision of HOO. I will never forget the emotions that overwhelmed me while I waited in the tunnel to call out our Croatia at the bird’s nest stadium in Beijing. I thought for days I would get tangled up, so I practiced while my teammates teased me. When I stepped forward, everything was easier, the flag danced nicely, our expedition went crazy on the track, so at one point it seemed to me that we had occupied a whole 400 meters of large circle. It was an unforgettable experience from my career and the most valuable prize for everything I could receive in sports, along with all the medals I won, the most favorite of which is the Olympic one from Athens in 2004. What makes me happy is my return home to Croatia and hanging out with to the people I love. There are moments in life that no sporting success can replace. That is why I always tell young athletes and handball players to remain consistent, honest and patient. Fame and success do not come overnight. They are located somewhere close, and if you get the chance, they should be caught immediately. I was lucky that I was fast and that I had the opportunity to create in the most beautiful period of Croatian handball. I want that to happen to some other generations from Split and the whole of Croatia that will come after the end of our era.

Ivano Balić

As a child, I really wanted to become an athlete. I never gave up in my intentions, which ultimately paid off for me, because I had a very successful journey from players from the concrete playgrounds of primary and secondary school to the Olympic and world champions. Before the World Cup in Croatia, it will be twenty years of my association with a handball. It seems to me that yesterday was the primary school championship, when I played for my Mertojak Elementary School team for the first time. Although everything that had to do with the ball was played at the time, and I was especially attracted to basketball, my professor sent me to Washington’s 13th century. ‘They enter your age, you are left-handed and it is best to try playing handball,’ said Professor Dumančić in 1989, thus forever determining my place in sports. It was hard to bear bus rides and outdoor training, but none of us about 20 even thought of giving up at the time. We were a team and a great team, which mostly fought for the first three places in all state competitions. I remember the silver medal at the pioneer and bronze medals at the Croatian Cadet and Junior Championships. My generation, from which Mucić, Ljubobratović, Maraš, Anušić, Popović, Sarić, Mikšić and Petrić later emerged, later played the first matches for the first league Split in the new state. The ambitions of every player from that time grew as the club itself rose. Historical matches with Kiel and full of flu, is the most beautiful thing that could have happened to most young and inexperienced players like we were in Brodomerkur in the late 90s. Admittedly, at the very beginning of the creation of the European Split, I went to Metković, as probably one of the few people from Split who went to Neretva in the recent history of the two clubs. Later it was confirmed that I was not wrong, even if some of them did not like my decision. Metković gave me maturity toy, which eventually resulted in going to Spain, when my trophy journey begins. You don’t need to recount all the trophies and successes with the national team, because that would require a new book, but I never forgot where I started. My handball story always had a cover in a huge desire for success, despite some bad times in which people grew up. Today, if I had to repeat everything, I would not avoid a single challenge that has been imposed on me throughout the years of my career. I would choose the beginnings again on the concrete playground and all the crises I went through as an adolescent. I was always lucky to be able to choose and in the end it was confirmed that I usually chose the best.
I will definitely return to Split one day and I believe that with my experience and advice I will be able to help young players in their efforts to become true athletes. I am an optimist because I know that Split has always had great handball players and I hope that I will be able to watch good handball with my children when I am no longer an active player. I believe that there is potential and talent in Split that will succeed Balić, Vuković, Vukić and me one day in the national team. That’s why you have to be patient, because European and world handball will soon meet some new people from Split…

Petar Metličić