Dragan Matutinovic was an irruption, a volcano in the Spanish warterpolo in 1990, when he came to take over the men's water polo team. His militarized methods earned the gold generation to win a World silver in 1991 and an Olympic one in the unforgettable final in Barcelona '92, with two extensions against Italy. Now, at 66 years old, 27 seasons later, the Croatian returns to Spain to enter the Second Division.
The CN Alhambra made official this afternoon the hiring of one of the most charismatic coaches in world water polo. The Andalusian entity must play a playoff in September to remain in the second category of Spanish water polo. Matutinovic, 66, has been training continuously since 1982.
At the club level, he has gone through different groups in Croatia, Spain, Greece, Italy and Brazil. Apart from being in domestic leagues and training Spain, he has also coached the teams in France, Slovakia, China, Turkey and Croatia. In 1999 he was named the best coach of the year worldwide. One of his last adventures was to train the Croatian women's team. At the Barcelona European Championship in 2018, his exaggerated methods were again discussed.