Slobodan Klipa ( sr-cyr, Слободан Клипа; born 1 August 1960) is a Serbian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player who serves as the U-19 head coach for Qingdao.

Playing career

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...

, Klipa played 17 seasons in Yugoslavia from 1979 to 1996. During his playing days, he played for KK Igman, Željezničar Sarajevo, Varda Višegrad,

Kvarner The Kvarner Gulf (, or ; ; or ) sometimes also Kvarner Bay, is a bay in the northern Adriatic Sea, located between the Istrian peninsula and the northern Croatian Littoral mainland. The bay is a part of Croatia's internal waters. The largest i ...

, FMP Železnik, and Beopetrol. He retired as a player with Beopetrol in 1996.

Coaching career

After retirement in 1996, Klipa joined a

youth system In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team if they show en ...

of Beopetrol as the U19 head coach. In February 2000, he became the head coach of Beopetrol of the

YUBA League The YUBA League was the top-tier men's professional basketball league in Serbia and Montenegro (previously FR Yugoslavia). Founded in 1992 and folded in 2006, it was run by the Basketball Federation of Serbia and Montenegro. The name ''YUBA Le ...

for the rest of the 1999–2000 season. In summer 2000, he was named the U19 head coach for FMP Železnik. He coached the FMP Železnik U19 team until 2008. Klipa had two stints as head coach for FMP of the

Basketball League of Serbia The Basketball League of Serbia (), commonly abbreviated as KLS, is a Serbian basketball league system, top-tier men's professional basketball Sports league, league in Serbia. Founded in 2006. It is currently not run by the Basketball Federation o ...

and the

ABA League The ABA League, renamed the ABA League First Division in 2017, is the top-tier regional men's professional basketball league that originally featured clubs from former Yugoslavia (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedoni ...

. On 14 January 2008, Klipa became the FMP head coach after

Vlada Vukoičić Vladimir "Vlada" Vukoičić (; born 2 June 1973) is a Serbian basketball coach for the Qingdao Eagles of the Chinese Basketball Association. Coaching career Vukoičić was 19 years old in 1994 when he began working as coach in KK FMP (1991–201 ...

got fired. On 10 December 2008, Klipa parted ways with FMP. Afterwards, in July 2008, Klipa become the head coach of FMP for the second time. He left FMP on 28 October 2009. On 26 July 2010, Klipa was named the head coach for the Bosnian team Igokea. He had a 11–15 record in the 2010–11 ABA NLB League season. Klipa resigned as the Igokea head coach on 26 May 2011. The resignation came after two losts to Široki TT Kabeli in the 2011 Bosnian Championship Finals. In 2012, Klipa was named the head coach for the Crvena zvezda Youth. In August 2015, Klipa was named the head coach for FMP. In January 2016, he won the 2016 Cup of Serbia. During the 2015–16 BLS season, Klipa had a 24–2 record in the First League and a 6–2 record in the Super League. His team lost to Partizan in the semifinals. On 20 November 2016, Klipa parted ways with FMP. In November 2016, Klipa rejoined the Crvena zvezda youth system as the U19 head coach. After serving the 2021–22 season as a youth system coordinator, Klipa rejoined the under-19 team as a head coach on 17 August 2022. In November 2022, Slipa was hired as the U-19 head coach for Chinese team Qingdao.

Youth national teams

Klipa was an assistant coach for the Yugoslavia national U-20 team at the

2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2000 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship (known at that time as 2000 European Championship for Young Men) was the fifth edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Ohrid, hosted the tournament. Slovenia won their first title. ...

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

. Klipa was the head coach for the Serbia national U-20 team that won the gold medal at the

2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2008 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the eleventh edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The city of Riga, in Latvia, hosted the tournament. Serbia won their second title. Bulgaria and Georgia were relegated to Division B. ...

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

, Latvia. The team was led by talented cast of

Miroslav Raduljica Miroslav Raduljica ( sr-Cyrl, Мирослав Радуљица; born 5 January 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for Maroussi B.C., Maroussi of the Greek Basketball League (GBL). He has also represented the Serbia ...

Boban Marjanović Boban Marjanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бобан Марјановић; born August 15, 1988) is a Serbian professional basketball player who last played for the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He also represents the Serbia men' ...

, and

Milan Mačvan Milan Mačvan (; born 16 November 1989) is a Serbian politician and former professional basketball player serving as the deputy mayor of Šabac since 19 January 2024. Standing at , he played at the power forward position. He also represented the ...

. In the next year, he also coached the team at the

2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship The 2009 FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship was the 12th edition of the FIBA Europe Under-20 Championship. The cities of Rhodes (city), Rhodes and Ialysos, in Greece, hosted the tournament. Greece national basketball team, Greece won their second ...

in Greece, finishing 11th. In 2009, Klipa coached the Serbia national team at the

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

Pescara Pescara (; ; ) is the capital city of the province of Pescara, in the Abruzzo Regions of Italy, region of Italy. It is the most populated city in Abruzzo, with 118,657 (January 1, 2023) residents (and approximately 350,000 including the surround ...

, Italy. Klipa was the head coach for the Serbia national U18 team at the

2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship The 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship was the 32nd edition of the FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, which was held in Volos, Greece, from 23 July to 2 August 2015. Participating teams * * * * (3rd ...

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

, Greece, finishing 5th. Four years later, he coached the team at the 2019 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship in Volos, finishing 10th. Klipa was the head coach for the Serbia under-16 team that won the bronze medal at the

2017 FIBA U16 European Championship The 2017 FIBA U16 European Championship was the 31st edition of the FIBA U16 European Championship, Under-16 European Basketball Championship. The tournament was held in Podgorica, Montenegro, from 11 to 19 August 2017. Sixteen (16) teams particip ...

Podgorica Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

, Montenegro.

References

External links

*
Slobodan Klipa
at adidasngt.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Klipa, Slobodan 1960 births Living people Basketball players from Belgrade KK Beopetrol/Atlas Beograd coaches KK Beopetrol/Atlas Beograd players KK Crvena zvezda (youth) coaches KK FMP coaches KK FMP (1991–2011) coaches KK FMP (1991–2011) players KK Igokea coaches Point guards Serbian expatriate basketball people in China Serbian expatriate basketball people in Croatia Serbian expatriate basketball people in Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbian men's basketball coaches Serbian men's basketball players Yugoslav men's basketball players Serbia and Montenegro men's basketball players Serbia and Montenegro sports coaches Expatriate basketball coaches