Andrija Prlainović


Andrija Prlainović is a Serbian water polo player. He won bronze medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics and a gold medal in 2016. He also held the world title in 2009 and 2015 and the European title in 2006, 2012, 2014 and 2016. Prlainović was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia and raised in Herceg Novi, Montenegro, where he came up through the PVK Jadran youth system. In 2011, he won the LEN Euroleague with VK Partizan and in 2013 with Red Star Belgrade, where he was one of the best scorers.

Club career

PA Fluminense

In June 2010, Fluminense triumphed in the Brazilian championship, winning their fifth title. In the finals the team overcame Pinheiros, 13–7. Prlainović scored two goals in the final.

Pro Recco

On 17 September 2011, in the first round of the Adriatic League, Prlaionović scored a goal in an easy 14–6 home win against :it:Plivački vaterpolo klub Jadran|Jadran HN. In the second round on 24 September, he scored his second goal against :hr:Vaterpolo klub Koper|Koper Rokava in a 16–4 home win. On 1 October Prlainović scored his second Adriatic goal in a 10–7 away win against :it:Vaterpolo Klub Jug|Jug CO. On 8 October in the Adriatic League fourth round, Prlainović and his team-mate and fellow countryman Pijetlović were the top scorers with each scoring three times in a 14–8 away win against :hr:Vaterpolski klub Medveščak|Medveščak. Prlainović scored two goals in the fifth round on 15 October, in a 15–8 home win against :it:Plivački Klub Primorje|Primorje EB. On 22 October Prlainović scored two goals in the first round of the Euroleague Group in an easy 13–5 win over :hr:Spartak Volgograd |Spartak Volgograd. On 26 October Prlainović scored another two goals in an easy 15–5 away win against :it:Vaterpolski klub Jadran Split|Jadran ST, but this time in the sixth round of the Adriatic League. On 29 October he scored a goal in the Adriatic League seventh round 13–9 home win against Mladost. On 9 November Prlainović scored three goals in the second round of the Euroleague, in a 13–4 away victory against :fr:Cercle des nageurs de Marseille|CN Marseille. On 26 November Prlainović scored two goals in the Euroleague third round, in a 10–8 win against :hr:Vaterpolo klub Jadran Herceg-Novi|VK Jadran HN. On 30 November he scored another two goals, but in the eleventh round Adriatic League 16–1 away win over :it:Vaterpolo klub Primorac|Primorac. Prlainović managed to score just one goal on 3 December in a humiliating 21–0 defeat over :it:Vaterpolo klub POŠK|POŠK in the twelfth round of the Adriatic League. In the thirteenth round on 10 December, Prlainović scored three goals against :it:Vaterpolski klub Mornar Split|Mornar BS in a 20–8 away win. Prlainović scored three goals on 14 December in the fourth round of the Euroleague, in a 14–9 away win against VK Jadran HN. The third goal was his 10th of the tournament. On 8 February 2012. in the fifth round of the Euroleague, Prlainović scored a goal in a 15–7 win against CN Marseille. 3 days later he scored two goals in Adriatic League fifteenth round 9–8 home win against Jug CO. On 25 February, in the last round of the Euroleague group stage, Prlainović scored three goals in the 18–7 away win against Spartak Volgograd. Four days later, Prlainović scored another three goals but in the Adriatic League fourteenth-round game behind, in a 21–5 easy home win over Mornar BS. On 3 March Prlainović scored a goal in a 12–7 Adriatic League away win against Mladost.

VK Partizan

Adrija Prlainovic started his career in Jadran, following his time there he moved to Partizan Raiffeisen for five seasons. In 2011, he moved to the Italian Pro Recco but he spent only one season there as the club went bankrupt. He was then invited to return to Partizan but he decided to sign a contract with another Belgrade water polo club: Crvena Zvezda. Upon his arrival at Crvena zvezda he was made captain.

Clubs

He also played summer league in 2010 with Fluminense in Brazil.

International career

Prlainović scored his first two goals at the European Championship on 17 January against Germany in a second game which the Serbs won by 13–12. He also scored a goal in a third game on 19 January, in a great 15–12 victory for his country against the defending European champions Croatia. On 21 January in the fourth match, Prlainović scored three goals for his national team in a routine victory against Romania 14–5. On 23 January, Prlainović scored a goal in the last round of group A, in which Serbia lost to Montenegro with 11–7. On 27 January Prlainović scored a goal in a semifinal 12–8 victory over Italy. Andrija Prlainović 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. This was his second gold medal at the European Championships.
He was part of the Serbian 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic teams which won a gold and two bronze medals. He was the top goalscorer at the 2012 Olympics, with 22 goals.

Honours

Club

;PVK Jadran
;VK Partizan
;PA Fluminense
;Pro Recco
;VK Crvena Zvezda
;National team
Prlainović is married to Ivana Culjkovic and has a daughter Djurdja.