Filip Filipović (water polo)

Filip Filipović
Filip Filipović
	Filipović at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Born	2 May 1987 (age 36); Belgrade, SR Serbia,; SFR Yugoslavia
Nationality	Serbian
Height	1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Weight	101 kg (223 lb)
Position	Right Driv
Handedness	Left
Senior clubs
Years	Team
2002–2009	Partizan
2009–2012	Pro Recco
2012–2014	Radnički Kragujevac
2014–2020	Pro Recco
2020–2021	Szolnoki Vízilabda
2021–2023	Olympiacos
2023–2024	Novi Beograd
Medal record
Men's water polo
Representing Serbia
Olympic Games
World Championship
European Championship
FINA World Cup
FINA World League
Mediterranean Games
Representing Serbia and Montenegro
European Championship
FINA World Cup
FINA World League
Mediterranean Games

Filip Filipović (Serbian Cyrillic: Филип Филиповић; born 2 May 1987) is a Serbian professional water polo player widely considered to be one of the greatest players in the history of the sport. He was a member of the Serbia men's national water polo teams that won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and gold medals in 2016 and 2020. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2003, 2006, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018. He was named Most Valuable Player at the 2011 World Championships. He was also voted as the male water polo "World Player of the Year" in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2021 by the FINA magazine.^[3] He played for Pro Recco in Italy and won three LEN Champions League and three LEN Super Cup with them.^[4] Currently, he plays for Novi Beograd.

Filipović was given the honour to carry the national flag of Serbia at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo,^[5] becoming the 26th water polo player to be a flag bearer at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.

Club career

Pro Recco

In February 2010. Filip and his Pro Recco teammate Udovičić were guests in Soria. They played an all-stars humanitarian match between Italy and the selection of foreigners playing in the Italian championship, and all proceeds from the match went to charity – to help Haiti, the victims of the recent devastating earthquake. Caps of all players were offered for sale at a symbolic price of 30 euros. It was confirmed on 29 June 2011 that Filip and his teammates from Pro Recco will play in Adriatic Water polo League.^[6]

2011–12 season

In the second round of the Adriatic League, on 24 September, Filipović scored his first goal against Koper Rokava in a 16–4 home win.^[7] On 1 October 2011. Filipović scored two goals in the Adriatic League, in a 10–7 third round away win against Jug CO.^[8] On 15 October Filipović scored a goal in the fifth round of the Adriatic League, in a 15–8 home win against Primorje EB.^[9] On 22 October Filipović scored two goals in the first round of the Euroleague Group in an easy 13–5 win over Spartak Volgograd. On 29 October, in the Adriatic League seventh round 13–9 home win against Mladost, Filipović scored two goals.^[10] On 26 November Filipović scored a goal in the Euroleague third round, in a 10–8 win against Jadran Herceg Novi. Filipović scored two goals on 3 December in a humiliating 21–0 defeat over POŠK in the twelfth round of the Adriatic League.^[11] In the thirteenth round on 10 December, Filipović scored another two goals against Mornar Split in a 20–8 away win.^[12] On 8 February 2012. in the fifth round of the Euroleague, Filipović scored two goals in a 15–7 win against CN Marseille. 3 days later he scored another two goals but in the Adriatic League fifteenth round 9–8 home win against Jug CO.^[13] He scored one more in a win over Primorje EB by 13–6 on 18 February, in the sixteenth round.^[14] On 25 February, in the last round of the Euroleague group stage, Filipović was the top scorer in the 18–7 away win against Spartak Volgograd with five goals.^[15] Four days later, Filipović scored another five goals but in the Adriatic League fourteenth-round game behind, in a 21–5 easy home win over Mornar BS.^[16] On 3 March Filipović scored two goals in a 12–7 Adriatic League away win against Mladost, the second goal was his 20th so far.^[17]

National career

Filip finally scored his first two goals on 17 January at the European Championship against Germany in the second game which the Serbs won by a score of 13–12. On 19 January, in the third game of the tournament, Filipović scored two goals in a big 15–12 victory against rivals and defending European champions Croatia. He will also remember the match for the unsportsmanlike conduct of Croat Nikša Dobud who deliberately struck him from behind, resulting in serious bruising underneath Filipović's right eye. Filipović responded by scoring two goals against the Croatians and waving the Serbian three-finger salute at the Croatian bench. On 27 January Filipović scored three goals in a semifinal 12–8 victory over Italy. Filip Filipović won the 2012 European Championship on 29 January. He scored a goal in the final against Montenegro which his national team won by 9–8.^[18] This was his third gold medal at the European Championships.

Filipović was the joint top goalscorer at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with 19 goals.^[19]

Honours

Filipović has played for the Serbia and Montenegro / Serbia national team more than 381 times and has scored more than 677 goals. He has 35 medals with his national team, the most notable being gold medals representing Serbia at the World Championships in 2009 Rome and 2015 Kazan, as well as gold medals and individual MVP awards at the Olympics in 2016 Rio de Janeiro and 2020 Tokyo.^[1]^[20]^[21]

Club

Partizan

Serbian Championship: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
Serbian Cup: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

Pro Recco

LEN Champions League: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2014–15 ; runners-up: 2010–11, 2017–18
LEN Super Cup: 2010, 2012, 2015
Adriatic League: 2011–12
Serie A1: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
Coppa Italia: 2009–10, 2010–11, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19

Radnički Kragujevac

LEN Euro Cup: 2012–13
LEN Champions League runners-up: 2013–14

Szolnok Vízilabda

Olympiacos

Greek Championship: 2021–22, 2022–23
Greek Cup: 2021–22, 2022–23

Novi Beograd

Adriatic League: 2023–24
Serbian Cup: 2023–24

Awards

FINA "World Player of the Year" award: 2009, 2011, 2014, 2021
Swimming World Magazine's man water polo "World Player of the Year" award: 2014, 2016, 2021
Waterpolo-World Magazine's man water polo "World Player of the Year" award: 2015
LEN "European Player of the Year" award: 2009, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021
Member of the World Team of the Year's 2000-2020 by total-waterpolo
Member of the World Team by total-waterpolo: 2018, 2021
Sportsman of The Year by the Serbian Olympic Committee: 2016, 2021
Serbia's sport association "May Award" : 2007
Serbian Water Polo Player of the Year: 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020
World Championship Top Scorer: 2009 Rome
World Championship MVP: 2011 Shanghai^[3]
World League MVP: 2019 Belgrade
World League Top Scorer: 2011 Firenze, 2014 Dubai
LEN Champions League MVP: 2013–14, 2015–16, 2018–19
LEN Champions League Top Scorer: 2013–14
Olympic Tournament MVP: 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Tournament Team of the Tournament: 2012 Pekino , 2016 Rio de Janeiro, 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Tournament Top Scorer: 2016 Rio de Janeiro
European Championship MVP: 2018 Barcelona
Adriatic League MVP: 2011–12
Adriatic League Right Driver of the Year: 2023–24
Hungarian Championship MVP: 2020–21^[22]
Hungarian Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2020–21
Greek Championship MVP: 2021–22^[23]
Greek Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2021–22, 2022–23
Serbian Championship MVP: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14
Serbian Championship Right Driver of the Year: 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2013–14
Serbian Championship Top Scorer: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2013–14
Serie A1 MVP: 2010–11, 2015–16, 2017–18

Personal life

Filipović is married to Sanja and has a son and a daughter.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b Filip Filipović Archived 6 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com
^ Filip Filipović Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
^ ^a ^b ^c Filip Filipović Archived 19 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. nbcolympics.com
^ Craig Lord: Germany Back On Top In European Vote. SwimNews.com. Retrieved on 11 August 2016.
^ "Sonja Vasić i Filip Filipović nose zastavu Srbije na otvaranju Olimpijskih igara" [Sonja Vasić and Filip Filipović will carry the Serbian at the Olympic opening ceremonies]. rts.rs (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
^ Pro Recco u Triglav Jadranskoj ligi. Vaterpolo Magazin (29 June 2011)
^ "Pro Recco 16–4 Koper Rokava". hvs. 24 September 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Jug CO 7–10 Pro Recco". hvs. 1 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Pro Recco 15–8 Primorje EB". hvs. 15 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Pro Recco 13–9 Mladost". hvs. 29 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Pro Recco 21–0 POŠK". hvs. 3 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Mornar BS 8–20 Pro Recco". hvs. 10 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Pro Recco 9–8 Jug CO". hvs. 11 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Primorje EB 6–13 ro Recco". hvs. 11 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "PALLANUOTO, SAVONA E RECCO REGINE DI COPPA". liguria notizie. 27 February 2012.
^ "Pro Recco 21–5 Mornar BS". hvs. 29 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ "Mladost 7–12 Pro Recco". hvs. 3 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Serbia 2012 European champions Archived 14 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Waterpoloworld.com. Retrieved on 11 August 2016.
^ "Official Results Book – 2016 Olympic Games – Water Polo". olympic.org. IOC. p. 100. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
^ "Serbia wins its 1st men's water polo gold". USA Today. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^ "Filipovic, Serbia top Greece 13-10 for men's water polo gold". Associated Press News. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
^ "Magyar Vízilabda Szövetség". waterpolo.hu. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^ "Στο θρόνο ο Φιλίποβιτς!". pisina.net (in Greek). Retrieved 6 June 2022.

External links

Official website
Filip Filipović on Instagram
Filip Filipović at World Aquatics
Filip Filipović at Olympedia
Filip Filipović at Olympics.com
Filip Filipović at the Olimpijski Komitet Srbije (former profile) (in Serbian)

Sporting positions
Preceded by Živko Gocić	Serbia captain 2017–	Succeeded by Incumbent
Awards
Preceded by Vanja Udovičić	Most Valuable Player of Water Polo World Championship 2011	Succeeded by Dénes Varga
Preceded by Vanja Udovičić Dénes Varga Italy	FINA Water Polo Player of the Year 2011 2014 2021	Succeeded by Josip Pavić Serbia Incumbent
Preceded by Duško Pijetlović Francesco Di Fulvio	Swimming World Magazine Water Polo Player of the Year 2016 2021	Succeeded by Márton Vámos Incumbent
Preceded by Ivana Anđušić Maksimović	Flagbearer for Serbia (with Sonja Vasić) Tokyo 2020	Succeeded by Incumbent

[sr-1] Filip Filipović Archived 6 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. sports-reference.com

[rio-2] Filip Filipović Archived 15 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com

[nbc-3] Filip Filipović Archived 19 October 2016 at the Wayback Machine. nbcolympics.com

[4] Craig Lord: Germany Back On Top In European Vote. SwimNews.com. Retrieved on 11 August 2016.

[5] "Sonja Vasić i Filip Filipović nose zastavu Srbije na otvaranju Olimpijskih igara" [Sonja Vasić and Filip Filipović will carry the Serbian at the Olympic opening ceremonies]. rts.rs (in Serbian). Radio Television of Serbia. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

[6] Pro Recco u Triglav Jadranskoj ligi. Vaterpolo Magazin (29 June 2011)

[7] "Pro Recco 16–4 Koper Rokava". hvs. 24 September 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[8] "Jug CO 7–10 Pro Recco". hvs. 1 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[9] "Pro Recco 15–8 Primorje EB". hvs. 15 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[10] "Pro Recco 13–9 Mladost". hvs. 29 October 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[11] "Pro Recco 21–0 POŠK". hvs. 3 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[12] "Mornar BS 8–20 Pro Recco". hvs. 10 December 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}

[13] "Pro Recco 9–8 Jug CO". hvs. 11 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[14] "Primorje EB 6–13 ro Recco". hvs. 11 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[15] "PALLANUOTO, SAVONA E RECCO REGINE DI COPPA". liguria notizie. 27 February 2012.

[16] "Pro Recco 21–5 Mornar BS". hvs. 29 February 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[17] "Mladost 7–12 Pro Recco". hvs. 3 March 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}

[18] Serbia 2012 European champions Archived 14 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Waterpoloworld.com. Retrieved on 11 August 2016.

[19] "Official Results Book – 2016 Olympic Games – Water Polo". olympic.org. IOC. p. 100. Archived from the original on 18 December 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2020.

[20] "Serbia wins its 1st men's water polo gold". USA Today. Retrieved 9 August 2021.

[21] "Filipovic, Serbia top Greece 13-10 for men's water polo gold". Associated Press News. 8 August 2021. Retrieved 9 August 2021.

[22] "Magyar Vízilabda Szövetség". waterpolo.hu. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[23] "Στο θρόνο ο Φιλίποβιτς!". pisina.net (in Greek). Retrieved 6 June 2022.

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