Iztok Puc

Early life Puc was born in Slovenj Gradec, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia on 14 September 1966. During his youth he lived in Šoštanj with his mother and without his father, whom he met for the first time at the age of 25. While Puc was in elementary school, gym teacher Miro Požun, who was aware of the situation at Puc's home, took young Puc under his wing and became his mentor.

Club career Puc was first noticed by RK Borac in 1983 when their goalkeeper, Yugoslav international Zlatan Arnautović, spotted him and reported his findings to the club officials. Although he never won any major domestic honours with Borac, he is considered as one of the best players in the club's history. During his career he won a total of 18 domestic trophies and was a member of the Zagreb squad which won the elite EHF Champions League in 1992 and 1993. He is most remembered for the game-winning goal in the 1993 Champions League final where he scored in the final seconds of the game. He made a total of 136 appearances for Celje, scoring 630 goals in the process. Puc also captained his side during that tournament. One year later he won a bronze medal with the Yugoslav senior team at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. He played his last game for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Championship where his team finished fourth. With 97 appearances, he is the third most capped Slovenian player in history of the Yugoslav national team.

Following his move to RK Zagreb in 1990 and the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1991, Puc became a Croatian citizen and played for the Croatian team with whom he won a gold medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He won two other medals in major tournaments with Croatia, a bronze medal at the 1994 European Championship and a silver medal at the 1995 World Championship. and in 1996 he was the recipient of the Franjo Bučar Award.

In the late 1990s he switched his national side allegiance in favour of Slovenia, the country of his birth. He then played for the Slovenian team at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where the team finished eighth. Slovenia qualified for the Sydney tournament after finishing fifth at the 2000 European Championship. The fifth place play-off match was played in Zagreb against host nation Croatia, Puc's former team. Puc was one of the best players of the game and Slovenia won the match 25–24, thus securing the last available spot for the 2000 Olympics. in support of their son Borut's tennis career. He and his wife sold all of their family possessions and enrolled their son to the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. At the time of his father's death, Borut Puc was ranked 502nd on the ATP list with Goran Ivanišević as his tennis coach. On 5 November 2011, a Handball Day was held in Celje, Slovenia, where two matches were played. In the first one, the 2000 Olympics Slovenian squad beat the Croatian squad composed of players who won the 1996 Olympic gold medal 29–25, while in the second match the regular squad of Slovenia beat the squad of Celje 35–32. This event was organized prior to Puc's death and matches would have been played even if he was still alive, as the main purpose was to gather donations for Puc and his family as financial aid for his treatment. Organizers collected around 17,000 euros and the revenue was bestowed on Puc's family.

Legacy

Despite being known for his relaxed approach to training, Puc was described as a fiercely competitive and mentally tough player. At the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Handball Federation of Slovenia in 2009, Puc was named the best left back and the best overall player in the history of Slovenian handball. In 2011 the Slovenian Olympic Committee together with the Croatian Olympic Committee and in collaboration with the Handball Federation of Slovenia and Croatian Handball Federation, introduced a joint award named in honour of Puc (Iztok Puc Award) that is awarded annually to the most promising U–18 handball player.