Aleksandar Šapic
Encyclopedia
Aleksandar "Aca" Šapić (born 1 June 1978 in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

) is a Serbian politician and a retired water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

 player.

At 1.91m and 105 kg, and a professional career that lasted from 1993 until 2009, he's considered by many to be one of the greatest water polo players of all time. Currently, he's the president of the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Serbia)
The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

's (DS) branch for the city of Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

.

As an instrumental part of Serbia-Montenegro national team Šapić won gold at the World Aquatic Championships in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

. At the last three Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

, he won a bronze medal in Beijing 2008, he collected a silver medal in Athens 2004
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

, along with a bronze from Sydney 2000
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

.

Early life

Born in Belgrade to father Miloš from Kordun
Kordun
The Kordun region is a part of central Croatia from the bottom of the Petrova Gora mountain range, which extends along the rivers Korana and Slunjčica, and forms part of the border region to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The southern border of Kordun touches the Lika region...

 and mother Slavojka from Berane
Berane
Berane , formerly Ivangrad, is a town in north-eastern Montenegro. It has a population of 11,776 .Berane is the centre of municipality and one of the centres of Polimlje area, named after the Lim River, on which Berane is situated.-History:During the medieval period the Montenegrin land of Berane...

 vicinity in Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, Aleksandar and his younger brother Vladimir grew up in New Belgrade near Studentski Grad
Studentski grad
Studentski grad is the student campus area for most universities in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and also one of the 24 districts of Sofia. It was created in the 1980s and now has over 40,000 residents...

.

Club career

Šapić started playing water polo at the age of 8. After going through all the age groups at VK Crvena Zvezda, Šapić transferred to VK Partizan
VK Partizan
Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen is a waterpolo club from Belgrade, Serbia. VK Partizan is one of the sport clubs in Serbia that are part of sport society Partizan. Partizan's home terrain is the pool which is part of the Sportski centar Voždovac na Banjici complex...

 in December 1991 after his previous club's pool in New Belgrade was closed down. In his first year at Partizan he made his senior debut at only 13 years of age.

After year and a half in black-and-white part of Belgrade, he went back to Red Star for the 1993/94 season as an established national team player.

Next seven seasons Šapić spent in VK Bečej where he won six Yugoslav league titles and six Yugoslav Cups. He also led the team to the 1999/00 European Champions League title, scoring 5 goals in the final versus Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

's HAVK Mladost
HAVK Mladost
HAVK Mladost is a Croatian water polo club from Zagreb. It is part of the Mladost sports society. The club was formed in 1946 and is currently coached by Veselin Đuho.It was voted as the world's best water-polo club of the 20th century.- Famous players :...

. He was also that year's Champions League best scorer with 39 goals on the season. http://www.serbia-info.com/news/2000-05/28/19171.html

After Bečej got dissolved due to financial difficulties, Šapić moved to Italian league in late summer 2001 and spent three seasons with Camogli.

In the summer of 2004 Šapić switched teams again, going this time to Savona. He led the club to the Italian league title in his first season.

In 2005/06 Šapić was already one of top five paid players in the sport when towards the end of the season Russian water polo club Shturm offered him $300,000 per season (huge sum of money in water polo terms), which would make him the single best paid player in the world. http://www.b92.net/sport/ostalo.php?nav_id=194462&dd=11&mm=04&yyyy=2006

At the end of 2005/06 season, powerhouse Savona, featuring Šapić, Tamás Kásás
Tamas Kasas
Tamás Kásás is a Hungarian water polo player, with a height of 200 cm and a weight of 90 kg....

, Bogdan Rath and Viktor Jelenić
Viktor Jelenic
Viktor Jelenić is a Serbian water polo player who played on the bronze medal squad of FR Yugoslavia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the silver medal squad of Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Summer Olympics.He spent 2005/06 season playing for Savona.-References:*...

, made it to LEN Champions League
LEN Euroleague
The LEN Euroleague and the Women's Champions' Cup are the premier European water polo club competitions run by the Ligue Européenne de Natation...

 Final Four in Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...

 but lost 8-9 in a tense semi-final to host VK Jug.

On 24 May 2006, he signed a contract with Russian club Shturm from the town of Chekhov
Chekhov, Moscow Oblast
Chekhov is a town and the administrative center of Chekhovsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia. Before 1954, it was named Lopasnya , after the Lopasnya River. Population: 56,000 ....

. The terms were not disclosed but it is widely believed to be the highest in water polo history. http://www.mondo.rs/v2/tekst.php?vest=18284

As of the end of 2005/06, Šapić is the holder of another significant record. From 1995 on (11 straight seasons and counting), Šapić was always the league's top scorer in whichever team or league he was playing.

National team

/







At the 2003 European Championships in Kranj
Kranj
' is the third largest municipality and fourth largest city in Slovenia, with a population of 54,500 . It is located approximately 20 km north-west of Ljubljana...

, Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

, Šapić turned in another star performance, scoring Serbia-Montenegro's winning goal in the final versus Croatia. He also scored the most goals at the championships (24).

At the European Championships 2006 held in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, Šapić won gold with Serbian national team. With 33 goals, Šapić was again the tournament's top scorer.

In 2008, Šapić was again the best scorer of the European Championships in Malaga
Málaga
Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, thus tying Manuel Estiarte
Manuel Estiarte
Manuel Estiarte Duocastella is a former water polo player from Spain. He is considered by many the best of all time.Estiarte has played 578 times for the Spanish team...

's record of being the top scorer at three consecutive European Championships. http://www.mtsmondo.com/sport/vesti/text.php?vest=103154

On 15 October 2008, Šapić called a press conference along with fellow player Aleksandar Ćirić
Aleksandar Ciric
/ Aleksandar Ćirić is a Serbian water polo player who played on the bronze medal squad at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the silver medal squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics.- Clubs honours :* 1999-00 LEN Euroleague - Champion, with VK Bečej Naftagas-References:*...

 where both announced their retirement from the national team.

In total Šapić played 385 official matches for the national team, and scored an absolute record 981 goals.

Playing style

In addition to his considerable playing and goal-scoring abilities Šapić is at times a fiery character:

At the 2003 World Championships, he and Dejan Savić
Dejan Savic
Dejan Savić is former Serbian water polo player from who played on the bronze medal squad of FR Yugoslavia at the 2000 Summer Olympics and the silver medal squad of Serbia and Montenegro at the 2004 Summer Olympics.Savić is playing at VK Crvena Zvezda. He is team captain...

 were both banned by FINA
Fina
Fina may refer to:*Fina, a character in the Skies of Arcadia video game*FINA, the International Swimming Federation*FINA, the North American Forum on Integration...

 for incidents following the semifinal clash with Italy. Šapić received a nine-month ban and Savić six months. He was the top scorer in the European Champions League in 2000 and 2003, and was the leading goal scorer in the 2000 Olympic Games with 18 goals.

In late April 2005, during LEN Cup final second leg match between Šapić's club at the time Savona and one of his former teams, VK Partizan
VK Partizan
Vaterpolo klub Partizan Raiffeisen is a waterpolo club from Belgrade, Serbia. VK Partizan is one of the sport clubs in Serbia that are part of sport society Partizan. Partizan's home terrain is the pool which is part of the Sportski centar Voždovac na Banjici complex...

, he got into an altrecation with the visiting fans. He reacted to their taunts and verbal abuse as he exited the pool after the match. http://arhiva.kurir-info.rs/Arhiva/2005/april/23-24/SP-01-23042005.shtml

Personal

In 2005, Šapić married Ivana Šljukić his girlfriend of few years, and the widow of slain mobster Sredoje Šljukić. In June 2009, their separation became public.

Other endevours

  • Šapić had a memorable part in the popular 2004 Serbian movie Kad porastem biću Kengur. He played the role of a local neighbourhood bully named Gangula.

  • In January 2006 he joined the Democratic Party
    Democratic Party (Serbia)
    The Democratic Party is a political party in Serbia. It is described as a social liberal or social democratic party.-Pre-war history:The Democratic Party was established on 16 February 1919 from unification of Sarajevo parties independent radicals, progressives, liberals and the Serbian part of...

     (DS).

External links

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