February 6, 2020 - Croatia handball team captain Domagoj Duvnjak received the European Handball Federation award for 'Player of the Month' for the first time in his career.

HRT reports that the award, given by journalists of the European handball organization, was won by 18-year-old Elena Mikhaylichenko in the women's competition, while Domagoj Duvnjak’s superb play at the European Championship made the EHF’s decision easy for the men's side.

?? Nezaustavljivi Domagoj Duvnjak dobio je još jedno priznanje ?? igrač mjeseca siječnja po izboru EHF-a ✔️??#crohandball #ehfplayerofthemonth pic.twitter.com/0lEy5QT9SC

— HRS (@HRStwitt) February 6, 2020

Recall, Duvnjak not only led Croatia to the silver medal at the European Championship, but he was also named the MVP of the tournament. 

“It's always nice to get this kind of award. Thanks to everyone who voted for me. Of course, I would trade all of these awards for a gold medal,” Duvnjak said after learning that he had received the award.

Before him, only Luka Cindric received the EHF ‘Player of the Month’ award twice, in June 2017 and April 2019.

Duvnjak won the award in front of Norwegian Sander Sagosen and Spaniard Alex Dushebaev.

The Croatia captain has returned to Germany, where he will chase the Champions League title with his club, THW Kiel.

"We have a good base, but everything is still open. We have to keep in mind the difficult weeks in the Bundesliga, and then with the national team. My biggest dream is to win the Champions League with Kiel. It's been seven years since I won it with Hamburg. and I want to get back on the podium,” Duvnjak said on the office EHF website.

The Cowboys, in addition to their club duties, are also awaiting qualifications for the Tokyo Olympics. Although the disappointment of not winning the Euro gold remains, they are proud of the silver medal that few expected.

"We won silver, we did not lose gold, but that defeat still hurts. We wanted to give our coach a gift for everything he has done for Croatian handball and our country. I hope we will qualify for the Olympics and make him proud there," concluded Duvnjak.

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Croatia and Norway met for the second game of Group I of the European Handball Championship on January 20, 2018. 

While the World Handball Federation has yet to announce the nominees for the world's best handball players of the year, the European Handball Federation has eased the nerves by offering supporters a chance to vote for their favorite in 2017 - and it's a Croat.