Samir Handanović facts for kids
Handanović with Slovenia in 2015
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 14 July 1984 | ||
| Place of birth | Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Inter Milan U17 (head coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | Slovan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2004 | Domžale | 7 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | → Zagorje (loan) | 11 | (0) |
| 2004–2012 | Udinese | 182 | (0) |
| 2005–2006 | → Treviso (loan) | 3 | (0) |
| 2006 | → Lazio (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2006–2007 | → Rimini (loan) | 39 | (0) |
| 2012–2023 | Inter Milan | 380 | (0) |
| Total | 623 | (0) | |
| International career | |||
| 2001 | Slovenia U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Slovenia U20 | 4 | (0) |
| 2003–2006 | Slovenia U21 | 9 | (0) |
| 2004–2015 | Slovenia | 81 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Samir Handanović (born 14 July 1984) is a former professional football player from Slovenia. He played as a goalkeeper. People often called him Batman because of his amazing saves. He is known as one of the best goalkeepers of his time.
Handanović started his career in Slovenia. He later moved to Italy, where he played for several teams. He became famous for saving penalty kicks. In fact, he holds the record for the most penalties saved in Italy's top league, Serie A. After retiring from playing in September 2023, he became a coach. Since August 2024, he has been the head coach for Inter Milan's under-17 team.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Starting His Career
Samir Handanović began his football journey at a local club called Slovan. He then joined Domžale, where he played his first professional game in the Slovenian PrvaLiga during the 2003–04 season. In the same season, he also played on loan for Zagorje.
Time at Udinese
In the summer of 2004, when he was 20, Handanović joined the Italian team Udinese. He spent his first few years on loan to other teams. He played for Treviso, Lazio, and Rimini.
He returned to Udinese for the 2007–08 season and became their main goalkeeper. He played in European competitions for the first time, making his debut in the UEFA Cup. Handanović played over 200 games for Udinese over five years.
Penalty Saving Skills
Handanović became known for saving penalty kicks. During the 2010–11 season, he saved six penalties. This equaled an old league record from the 1948–49 season. Because of his great performances, he was chosen for the Serie A Team of the Year for 2010–11.
In August 2011, he played his first UEFA Champions League match against Arsenal. Udinese was knocked out of the competition, but Handanović continued to show his skills.
Joining Inter Milan
In July 2012, Handanović moved to Inter Milan. He joined to become their new main goalkeeper. He signed a contract to play for Inter for many years.
He played his first game for Inter on 2 August 2012 in a Europa League match. He quickly became an important player for the team. In 2012, he was ranked among the top ten goalkeepers in the world by the IFFHS. After the 2012–13 season, he was again selected for the Serie A Team of the Year.
Key Moments at Inter
Handanović continued to make amazing saves. In November 2014, he saved a penalty in a UEFA Europa League game. This was his 100th game for Inter Milan. He played his 100th league match for Inter in April 2015.
In September 2015, he played his 300th Serie A match. He made many important saves during the 2015–16 season. One save in January 2016 was called the "save of the season" by many. Inter finished fourth in the league that season, returning to the UEFA Europa League.
In February 2019, Handanović was named the new team captain of Inter Milan. In March, he achieved his 100th clean sheet (a game where the opponent doesn't score) for Inter. He also reached 150 clean sheets in Serie A. At the end of the 2018–19 season, he won the Lega Serie A Best Goalkeeper award. He played in all 38 league matches that season and had 17 clean sheets, which equaled a club record.
In September 2019, he played his 300th game for Inter. In December, he won the AIC Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award for the third time. In January 2020, he saved another penalty, reaching 24 penalty saves in Serie A. This tied the record for most penalties saved in the league.
Winning Trophies and Retirement
On 17 October 2020, Handanović broke the record for most penalties saved in Serie A with his 25th save. In February 2021, he played his 500th Serie A game, becoming only the 15th player to reach this milestone.
In May 2021, Inter Milan won the Serie A title for the first time since 2010. This was Handanović's first major trophy in his career. In May, he also became the goalkeeper with the most appearances for Inter in the Italian top league.
In January 2022, Handanović won his second trophy, the Supercoppa Italiana. Inter beat Juventus in a thrilling match. He continued to play for Inter, reaching 400 appearances for the club in all competitions.
In the 2022–23 season, he started as the main goalkeeper but later shared his spot with another player. Inter Milan announced Handanović's departure on 12 July 2023. He played a total of 455 matches for Inter. Handanović officially retired from professional football in September 2023.
Playing for Slovenia
Early International Career
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Handanović made his debut for the Slovenia national team on 17 November 2004. It was a friendly match against Slovakia that ended in a draw. He was often a backup goalkeeper during the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
In May 2008, Handanović was the captain for Slovenia for the first time in a friendly match against Sweden. He became the main goalkeeper for Slovenia during the Euro 2008 qualifiers.
2010 World Cup and Retirement
Handanović played every minute of Slovenia's 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign. In June 2010, he was part of Slovenia's team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Slovenia was in a group with Algeria, England, and the United States.
He kept a clean sheet in Slovenia's first match against Algeria, which they won 1–0. In the next game against the United States, Slovenia drew 2–2. Slovenia was eliminated from the tournament after finishing third in their group.
On 18 November 2015, Handanović announced he was retiring from the national team. This happened after Slovenia failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016. He ended his international career with 81 games for Slovenia. He is the most capped goalkeeper for his country.
How He Played
Samir Handanović was a very agile and athletic goalkeeper. Even though he was tall, he had amazing reflexes and could make acrobatic saves. He was great at stopping shots and knew where to position himself. He was also a leader and helped organize his team's defense.
He was especially good at saving penalty kicks. He holds the record for the most penalties saved in Serie A. Many people consider him one of the best goalkeepers in Europe.
Coaching Career
After he stopped playing professional football, Handanović stayed with Inter Milan. He worked as a technical helper. On 1 August 2024, he was appointed as the head coach for Inter Milan's under-17 team.
Personal Life
Samir Handanović was born in Ljubljana, Slovenia. His older cousin, Jasmin Handanović, was also a professional football goalkeeper. Samir has two sons. His first son, Alen, was born in 2011. In May 2012, he married Zoja Trobec. Their second son, Ian, was born in 2013.
Career Statistics
Club
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| Club | Season | League | National cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Domžale | 2003–04 | 1. SNL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7 | 0 | ||
| Zagorje (loan) | 2003–04 | 2. SNL | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| Udinese | 2004–05 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2007–08 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | |||
| 2008–09 | Serie A | 34 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 45 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 0 | |||
| 2010–11 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 0 | — | 51 | 0 | ||
| Total | 182 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 0 | ||
| Treviso (loan) | 2005–06 | Serie A | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 3 | 0 | ||
| Lazio (loan) | 2005–06 | Serie A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Rimini (loan) | 2006–07 | Serie B | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 41 | 0 | ||
| Inter Milan | 2012–13 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 37 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Serie A | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2016–17 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 43 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 0 | |||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 38 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 49 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | Serie A | 37 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 50 | 0 | |
| 2022–23 | Serie A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | |
| Total | 380 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 52 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 455 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 623 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 74 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 730 | 0 | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slovenia | |||
| 2004 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2006 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2007 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2008 | 9 | 0 | |
| 2009 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 5 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2014 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 81 | 0 | |
Awards and Achievements
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 2020–21
- Coppa Italia: 2021–22, 2022–23
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2021, 2022
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2019–20
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2022–23
Individual
- Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2009, 2011, 2012
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2010–11, 2012–13, 2018–19
- AIC Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year: 2011, 2013, 2019
- Lega Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year: 2018–19
- UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2019–20
See also
In Spanish: Samir Handanović para niños
