RK Varteks Varaždin
| RK Varteks di Caprio | |
|---|---|
| Nickname: | Krojači (the "tailors") |
| Founded: | 1955 |
| Club colors: | blue White |
| Trainer: | Branimir Žoldoš |
| Manager: | Hrvoje Vojvoda |
| Venue: | Varaždin Arena |
| Places: | 5,200 seats |
| Season 2017/18: | |
| 1.HRL men: | 4th place (championship round) |
| Croatian Cup: | |
| Greatest successes / handball: | |
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RK Varteks Varaždin is a handball club from the northern Croatian city of Varaždin . Former names of the association are RK Tekstilac , RK Varteks , RK Varteks Tivar , RK Varteks-Inkos and RK Varteks di Caprio . The part of the name Varteks names the main sponsor, a local textile company.
history
In Varaždin there is documentation that the first handball game in Croatia was played here. However, it was a large field handball game that was played with eleven men on a soccer field.
In 1952, after the introduction of indoor handball, it was the women who first formed a team. It was not until 1955 that the gentlemen followed suit and founded the association under the name “Tekstilac”, which can be traced back to the local textile industry.
The men's team still plays in the highest Croatian class, the 1st high-bay warehouse. In the days of Yugoslavia, the then club "RK Varteks" reached the second division in 1971, in which he remained until 1979. In 1978 they finished second in the 2nd division. After 1979 you became a typical "elevator team", promotions to the 2nd Yugoslav league followed, then relegations to the 1st Croatian league (the 1st Croatian league was then under the 2nd Yugoslavian, so a kind of 3rd regional league Croatia). In 1977/78 they were the cup finalists of the Yugoslav Cup.
Since the independence of Croatia in 1991, the club has been promoted and relegated twice. Since the last promotion he has been an integral part of the Croatian first division. In the first season after the recovery in 1994/95 there was the best placement in the club's history with 4th place. This placement gave them the right to participate in a European competition the following year, in which they fought their way to the quarter-finals. The club named "RK Varteks Tivar" after a sponsor was the first club from Varaždin to reach an international competition.
Known players
The youth work of the club produced some well-known handball players, such as Blaženko Lacković or Zoran Jeftić.
Over the years, some national players have come from this club, such as Vladimir Đurića, Branko Novak, Branko Biškup, Gjure Šopara, Marijan Dolenc, Nikola Hasan, Mladen Martinović, Marijan Papić, Krešimir Borovec, Rajko Rože, Damir Premužić, Tomislav Štimac, Zdenko Sekelj , Stjepan Pintarić, Vladimir Vujović, Dražen Novak, Tomislav Žoldoš, Marijan Taćij, Kristijan Igrec, Branimir Žoldoš, Petar Rodik, Siniša Radujković, Saša Brkinjača, Vladimir Malner, Tomislav Štorge and Boris Vujović.