Vladimir Jelčić

Vladimir Jelčić (born October 10, 1968, in Čapljina, then SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Croatian handball player and handball coach. He played as a left winger, standing 187 cm tall. After finishing his playing career, he worked as an assistant coach at RK Zagreb.

Playing career

Jelčić started his senior career at Mehanika Metković (1985–1988), and then played for Zagreb Chromos/Loto/Badel (1988–1995), with which he achieved the greatest club successes. He also played for Zadar Gortan (1995–1996), Laško Pivovaru Celje (1996–1999), Badel 1862 Zagreb (1999–2001), Metković Jambo (2001–2002), and the Italian Principe Trieste (2002–2003).

He was a member of the RK Zagreb generation that won the European Champions Cup in 1992 and 1993. He also helped RK Zadar reach the semifinals of the EHF Cup in 1996, which remains the club's greatest European success to this day.

National team career

He played for the youth national team of Yugoslavia (U-21) from 1987 to 1989, winning gold at the World Championship in 1987 and bronze in 1989.

He played for the Croatian national team from 1992 to 1999, earning 57 caps. His greatest national team success came at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, where Croatia won the gold medal. He also won bronze at the European Championship in 1994 in Portugal and gold at the Mediterranean Games in 1993.

Coaching career

After his playing career, he began coaching. He led RK Siscia (2007–2008), the third team of RK Zagreb (2008–2009), and has been an assistant coach for the first team of RK Zagreb multiple times (2010–2011, 2016–2017). He also worked as an assistant coach for the Qatari club El Jaish (2012).

Major achievements

With clubs

Metković

• Winner of the Croatian Cup (2002)
• Winner of the Third Yugoslav League (1985/86)

Zagreb

• Champion of Croatia (6 times)
• Winner of the Croatian Cup (5 times)
• Champion of Yugoslavia (2 times)
• Winner of the Cup of Yugoslavia (1991)
• Winner of the European Champions Cup (1991/92, 1992/93)
• Winner of the EHF Super Cup (1993)
• Finalist of the EHF Champions League (1994/95)

Celje

• Champion of Slovenia (3 times)
• Winner of the Slovenian Cup (3 times)

Trieste

• Champion of Italy (2001/02)
• Winner of the Italian Cup (2002)

Individual awards

• State Award for Sport "Franjo Bučar" (1996)
• Member of the best Croatian sports team selected by the Croatian Olympic Committee (1996)

Vladimir Jelčić remains recorded as part of the golden generation of Croatian handball, which achieved historic successes on the European and world stage in the mid-1990s.