Nikola Karabatić Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Nikola Karabatić

Personal information

Born

11 April 1984 (age 40)
Niš, SR Serbia, Yugoslavia

Nationality

French

Height

1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)

Playing position

Centre back

Club information

Current club

Paris Saint-Germain

Number

Senior clubs

Years

Team

2000–2005

Montpellier Handball

2005–2009

THW Kiel

2009–2013

Montpellier Handball

2013

Pays d'Aix

2013–2015

FC Barcelona

2015–2024

Paris Saint-Germain

National team

Years

Team

Apps

(Gls)

2002–2024

France

335

(1255)

Medal record

Olympic Games

Gold	2008 Beijing	Team
Gold	2012 London	Team
Gold	2020 Tokyo	Team
Silver	2016 Rio de Janeiro	Team
World Championship
Gold	2009 Croatia
Gold	2011 Sweden
Gold	2015 Qatar
Gold	2017 France
Silver	2023 Poland/Sweden
Bronze	2005 Tunisia
Bronze	2019 Germany/Denmark
European Championship
Gold	2006 Switzerland
Gold	2010 Austria
Gold	2014 Denmark
Bronze	2008 Norway
Bronze	2018 Croatia

Nikola Karabatić (born 11 April 1984) is a French professional handball player for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team.

With the French national handball team, he has won three Olympic gold medals (Summer Olympics of 2008, 2012 and 2020), four World Championship gold medals (2009, 2011, 2015 and 2017) as well as three gold medals in the European Championship (2006, 2010 and 2014). He also won L'Équipe Champion of Champions in 2011. He is regarded as one of the greatest players in handball history, and he was IHF World Player of the Year for a male record-tying three times, in 2007, 2014, and 2016.

Club career
International career
Personal life
Achievements
See also

Club career

Karabatić began his professional career at the top French club Montpellier HB. There he became French champion in 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005 as well as winner of the EHF Champions League in 2003. He then played for the German club THW Kiel, who became German champions in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009, and won the EHF Champions League in 2007. In the summer of 2009 he left Germany and returned to Montpellier HB, winning three further French champion titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. After a quick stay in Pays d'Aix Université Club handball, Aix-en-Provence, between February and June in 2013, he moved to FC Barcelona and then in 2015 he moved to and currently plays for PSG Handball.

International career

He is an Olympic, World and European champion. He first became a European champion in the 2006 European Men's Handball Championship, subsequently becoming a bronze medallist in the 2008 edition of the championship. He has received two bronze medals at the World Championships, in 2003 and 2005. At the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, he was voted into the All-Star Team in which France finished fourth. He was also voted into the All Star Team at the 2004 European Men's Handball Championship.

Personal life

Nikola was born in Niš, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Croatian father and Serbian mother. Nikola's father Branko Karabatić, who was also a professional handball player, is originally from Vrsine, a village between Trogir and Marina in Croatia. In his career, Branko played for the Železničar handball team from Niš, which is where he met his wife Radmila, who is originally from Aleksinac, Serbia. The family moved to France after Nikola's father got a coaching job there when Nikola was 3+1⁄2 years old. His younger brother, Luka, is also a professional handball player.

On 30 September 2012, he was involved in match-fixing and was arrested alongside his wife and his brother Luka.

In addition to French, he speaks English, Serbo-Croatian, German and Spanish.

Achievements

Club

EHF Champions League:
- Winner in 2003, 2007, 2015
- Runners up in 2008, 2009, 2017
IHF Super Globe: 2013, 2014
European Super Cup: 2007
French league: 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023
French cup: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2021, 2022
French league cup: 2004, 2005, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017, 2018
French supercup: 2010, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023
German league: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009
German cup: 2007, 2008, 2009
German supercup: 2005, 2007, 2008
Spanish league: 2014, 2015
Spanish cup: 2014, 2015
Spanish supercup: 2013, 2014
Asobal cup: 2013, 2014
Catalonia Supercup: 2013, 2014
Pyrenees league: 2004

International

Olympics
- Gold: 2008, 2012, 2020
- Silver: 2016
World championship
- Gold: 2009, 2011, 2015, 2017
- Silver: 2023
- Bronze: 2005, 2019
European championship
- Gold: 2006, 2010, 2014
- Bronze: 2008, 2018
World cup 2002
Tournoi de France: 2007, 2011

Individual

IHF World Player of the Year – Men
- Winner: 2007, 2014, 2016
- Second: 2009, 2010, 2015
With French national team:
- Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the World Championship (2): 2011, 2017
- Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the European Championship (2): 2008, 2014
- Top Scorer of the European Championship: 2008
- All-Star Centre back of the Olympic Games: 2012, 2016
- All-Star Centre back of the World Championship: 2009, 2015
- All-Star Centre back of the European Championship: 2010
- All-Star Left back of the World Championship: 2007
- All-Star Left back of the European Championship: 2004
- Best player of Tournoi de France: 2007, 2011
With clubs:
- champions league
  - Best striker: 2007 (89 goals)
  - All-stars team: 2014
- France
  - Best player of French league: 2010, 2013, 2017
  - Best left back of French league: 2004, 2005
  - Best center back of French league: 2010, 2016, 2017
  - Best player of French supercup: 2010
- Germany
  - Best player of the year in Germany: 2007, 2008
  - Best player of the season in German league: 2006–07, 2007–08
  - Best left back in German league: 2006, 2007, 2008
  - Best player of German All-stars game: 2007
- Best player of Spanish league: 2014, 2015
Others
- Sportsman on France: 2011

Nikola Karabatić facts for kids

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