Mirko Bašić

Mirko Bašić (born 14 September 1960 in Bjelovar, FPR Yugoslavia) is a former Croatian handball player who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and in the 1988 Summer Olympics. He has also played six EHF Champions League finals winning two in 1984–85 and 1985–86 as part of the famous RK Metaloplastika which dominated European handball in the 1980s (often referred to as Handball Aliens).^[1]

Mirko Bašić
Personal information
Full name	Mirko Bašić
Born	(1960-09-14) 14 September 1960 (age 63) Bjelovar, FPR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Croatian
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Number	1
Youth career
Years	Team
1972–1976	Partizan Bjelovar
Senior clubs
Years	Team
1976–1980	Partizan Bjelovar
1980–1989	Metaloplastika Šabac
9-12/1988	Medveščak Zagreb
1/1989–1991	Vénissieux
1991–1993	OM Vitrolles
1993–1996	no club
1996–2001	Badel 1862 Zagreb
2001–2002	Medveščak Infosistem
2002	Zagreb
2003	Fotex Veszprém
National team
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1979–1981	Yugoslavia U-21	17	(0)
1979–1991	Yugoslavia	133	(0)
1992–2000	Croatia	47	(0)
Teams managed
2003	Croatia (GK coach)
2003–2010	RK Zagreb (assistant)
2018	Croatia (GK coach)
Medal record Representing  Yugoslavia Men's Handball 1984 Los Angeles Team 1988 Seoul Team World Championship 1982 West Germany Team 1986 Switzerland Team World Championship U-21 1979 Denmark & Sweden Team 1981 Portugal Team Mediterranean Games 1983 Casablanca Team Representing  Croatia World Championship 2003 Portugal Coach Mediterranean Games 1983 Casablanca Team

Bašić was a big influence on Thierry Omeyer who is regarded as the greatest goalkeeper in handball history.^[2]

Career

At the age of 16 Bašić debuted for RK Partizan Bjelovar.

In 1984 he was a member of the Yugoslav handball team which won the gold medal. He played all six matches as goalkeeper. Four years later he was part of the Yugoslav team which won the bronze medal, playing five matches.

In 1985 and 1986 he was a member of European Champions Cup winning team of RK Metaloplastika. With RK Metaloplastika he also won 7 Yugoslav national titles. He also played an additional ECC final with the club and reached three more semi-finals and a Cup Winners' Cup semi-final. Throughout the 1980s Bašić was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the game.^[3] In 1989 he left Šabac to go play for Medveščak Zagreb for one season. With club he won the Yugoslav Cup that season.

He moved to the French First League to Vénissieux handball in January 1989,^[4] with whom he won the 1991 cup. Then he joined the wealthy emerging OM Vitrolles in 1991^[5] where he won the 1993 Cup Winners' Cup and in the same year was French league for the fourth time in a row. From 1993 to 1996 Bašić was in retirement from handball.

In 1996 he returned to the scene with Badel 1862 Zagreb where he played for five years winning five league and four cup titles also reaching the EHF Champions League final three times.^[6] After a season and half in RK Medveščak he ended his career in 2003 at Fotex Veszprém.^[7]

Personal life

He is the father of professional handball player Sonja Bašić.

Honours

Player

Partizan Bjelovar

• Yugoslav First League (2): 1976–77, 1978–79

Metaloplastika Šabac

• Yugoslav First League (7): 1981–82, 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88
• Yugoslav Cup (3): 1983, 1984, 1986
• European Champions Cup (2): 1984–85, 1985–86, finalist (1): 1983–84

Medveščak Zagreb

• Yugoslav Cup (1): 1990

Vénissieux

• French First League runner's up (2): 1990–91 and 1991–92
• Coupe de France (1): 1991

Vitrolles

• French First League runner-up (2): 1991–92 and 1992–93
• Coupe de France (1): 1993
• Cup Winners' Cup (1): 1993, finalist (1): 1994

Badel 1862 Zagreb

• Croatian First League (5): 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2000–01
• Croatian Cup (4): 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
• EHF Champions League finalist (3): 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–1999

Fotex Veszprém

• Hungarian First League (1): 2002–03
• Magyar Kupa (1): 2003

Individual

• Best goalkeeper in the world: 1982, 1986^{[citation needed]}

Assistant Coach

RK Zagreb

• Croatian First League (7): 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10
• Croatian Cup (7): 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010
• IHF Cup Winners' Cup finalist (1): 2005

References

1. ""Vanzemaljci" glume sami sebe". novosti.rs. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
2. "Thierry Omeyer: Mirko Bašić mi je bio velika inspiracija". 24 sata. Retrieved 31 October 2016.
3. "Mirko Bašić: Hrvatska bez mnogih zlata zbog golmana". balkan-handball.com. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
4. "Mirko Bašić : un joyau venu de l'Est". Hand-ball : bulletin fédéral #246 (in French). Fédération Française de Handball. January 1989. pp. 102–104. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
5. "Mirko Basic, en partance pour l'OM Vitrolles" (in French). L'Humanité. 24 April 1991. Retrieved 26 March 2021.
6. "Mirko Bašić". os-prva-bj.skole.hr. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
7. "Ein großer Torwart: Mirko Basic feiert seinen 50. Geburtstag". handball-world.com. Retrieved 19 February 2018.

External links

• European profile
• Croatian Olympic Profile