In focus: Srećko Lisinac
Feature
Srećko Lisinac is definitely one of the best middle blockers in the world. Since 2018, when he joined Trentino Itas, he became a key member of the team in their successful campaign on the domestic and international stage. Starting his fifth season in Trento, a 30-year-old middle blocker is hungry for success.
Srećko Lisinac took up Volleyball relatively late, as he began regular training at age 16. However, it didn't prevent him from mastering his skills and becoming one of the top middle blockers in the world. In 2009 he signed his first professional contract with Ribnica Kraljevo, where he spent three seasons before moving abroad. In the meantime, he won bronze with the national team of Serbia at the 2010 CEV U20 European Championships and 2011 FIVB U21 World Championship and made his debut in the senior national team in 2012. His first international club was Poland's AZS Częstochowa, where he played in the 2012/2013 season. Summer 2013 was a breakpoint in his career. He was a core member of Serbia at the EuroVolley 2013, helping his team to win a bronze medal at Europe’s prime competition. In addition, his efforts were recognized with an individual award for the Best Middle Blocker. A few weeks later, he grabbed a silver medal at the 2013 FIVB U23 World Championship.
After one year in Poland, he went to neighboring Germany, where he was appointed by Berlin Recycling Berlin for one season. Then, he signed contract with PGE Skra Bełchatów in Poland, where he stayed until 2018, when he joined Trentino. With Skra Bełchatów he won two Polish Cups, a national title and silver medal in PlusLiga. He continued his successful path with the Serbian national team, winning a silver medal in the FIVB World League in 2015 and making it to the top one year later to grab a historic title in that competition. Lisinac was named the Best Middle Blocker on both occasions. Although his team failed to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio, in 2017, Serbia claimed another bronze at EuroVolley, to finally be crowned the European champions in 2019. In both cases, he was again a member of the EuroVolley Dream Team.
His victorious story with Trentino started immediately in 2018, when he joined the Italian team. In December, Trentino triumphed in the FIVB Club World Cup. Later, his team won silver in the Italian SuperCup and lifted the CEV Cup trophy. In the 2020/2021, he played a vital role in Trentino’s successful campaign in #CLVolleyM. The team reached the final of Europe’s prime club competition for the first time since 2016 and repeated this feat earlier this year. 205-cm-tall Lisinac was the best middle blocker of #CLVolleyM 2021, with as many as 29 killing blocks to his name. He was also the best scorer among the middles tallying 111 points. In the last edition, he was ranked 5th with 21 block stuffs (in total, 86 points). Also this season, the Serbian towering block of Lisinac and Marko Podraščanin will be powerful weapon of Trentino. Currently, Lisinac is the most successful blocker in SuperLega with 19 killing blocks under his belt.
“I wanted to pursue a path I took with this team last season. I found myself very well with this group. I want to move forward with this team, aiming for more important victories, with a strong desire to achieve more prestigious milestones as has often happened to us in recent years. I really had no reason to change my club jersey” - said Lisinac in an official statement after extending his contract in June.
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