Bojan Prašnikar
Encyclopedia
Bojan Prašnikar is a Slovenia
n football
manager
and former player, who currently works as Head Coach of NK Rudar Velenje.
where in the 1975-76 season he was the top scorer of the Slovenian League
. After that season he moved to Olimpija Ljubljana
of Yugoslav First League
, spending only one year there before returning to Šmartno, where he played for the next 6 seasons.
During this period he was the league's top scorer on three occasions and helped NK Šmartno become Slovenian champions in 1981. In 1983 he transferred to SVG Bleiburg of Austria
where he played for one season before retiring
.
, Olimpija Ljubljana
(leading them to 2 Slovenian league titles) and Rudar Velenje
. His most successful spell however, came while in charge of NK Maribor
from 1996 to 2000. Under his guidance, the club won the Slovenian league 4 times and qualified for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League
(the only Slovenian club to ever achieve this), after defeating KRC Genk and Olympique Lyon in the qualifying rounds.
Bojan Prašnikar was the manager of the Slovenian national football team
during three time spans. After Slovenia
's independence in 1991 he was named the first head coach of the national team. He remained in the position until December 1993, when Zdenko Verdenik
took charge of the Slovenian affairs until the end of the unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 1998. Prašnikar was re-installed head coach in December 1997, but his second spell at the helm of Slovenia lasted for only four month as in April 1998 he resigned due to his commitments with NK Maribor
on club-level. He was replaced by Srečko Katanec
.
His third spell in charge of the Slovenian national team started in July 2002, when the Football Association of Slovenia
appointed him the successor of Katanec after the disappointing first round finish of the national team at the FIFA World Cup 2002 and Katanec's swift resignation. This job lasted until May 2004. Not qualified for the 2004 European Football Championship tournament, the Slovenian FA replaced Prašnikar with Branko Oblak
, who was the head coach of the Slovenian U21 at that time.
On 28 September 2007 he was appointed by German Bundesliga
outfit Energie Cottbus
, who had parted company with head coach Petrik Sander
five days earlier. Prašnikar, who was in charge of Primorje Ajdovščina
in the Slovenian league
before that, signed a deal until June 2010 with the former German Cup finalist. On 30 May 2009 Prašnikar announced his leaving at the end of the season from FC Energie Cottbus, his last game was the Fußball-Bundesliga 2008–09 relegation playoff game on 31 May 2009 against 1. FC Nuremberg which he lost 5-0 on aggregate. On 6 April 2010 Prašnikar signed a contract until the end of the season with the Slovenian team NK Rudar Velenje.
, who is a profesional footballer and currently plays for the 1.SNL team NK Nafta.
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
manager
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
and former player, who currently works as Head Coach of NK Rudar Velenje.
Playing career
Prašnikar started his professional football career in at his home town club NK Šmartno 1928NK Šmartno 1928
NK Šmartno ob Paki was a Slovenian football club from Šmartno ob Paki, which played in Slovenian PrvaLiga. The club was dissolved in the early 2000s due to financial difficulties...
where in the 1975-76 season he was the top scorer of the Slovenian League
Slovenian Republic Football League
Slovenian Republic Football League was the highest football league in Slovenia within the yugoslav football system. During the time of SFR Yugoslavia, it was third level league for most of the time, but became fourth level in 1988. Before that, the winner was promoted to Yugoslav Second League,...
. After that season he moved to Olimpija Ljubljana
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)
NK Olimpija Ljubljana was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club had traced its origin back to 1911 when it was originally founded as SK Ilirija. It had gone through a series of mergers in the first half of the 20th century before adopting the name Olimpija in 1962...
of Yugoslav First League
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
, spending only one year there before returning to Šmartno, where he played for the next 6 seasons.
During this period he was the league's top scorer on three occasions and helped NK Šmartno become Slovenian champions in 1981. In 1983 he transferred to SVG Bleiburg of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
where he played for one season before retiring
Retirement
Retirement is the point where a person stops employment completely. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours.Many people choose to retire when they are eligible for private or public pension benefits, although some are forced to retire when physical conditions don't allow the person to...
.
Coaching career
After retirement, Prašnikar focused on coaching, starting his managerial career at NK Šmartno, before moving on to coach various other clubs - Elkroj, Ingrad Celje, NK MuraNK Mura
Nogometni Klub Mura was a Slovenian association football club based in Murska Sobota. The club was founded on 16 August 1924 as one of the first clubs in the Prekmurje region. Through its history Mura was widely considered one of the giants of Slovenian football and had one of the biggest fan bases...
, Olimpija Ljubljana
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)
NK Olimpija Ljubljana was a Slovenian association football club based in Ljubljana. The club had traced its origin back to 1911 when it was originally founded as SK Ilirija. It had gone through a series of mergers in the first half of the 20th century before adopting the name Olimpija in 1962...
(leading them to 2 Slovenian league titles) and Rudar Velenje
Rudar Velenje
Rudar Velenje is a Slovenian football club, which plays in the town of Velenje. At the end of the 2005-2006 season, they were relegated to the Second Division of Slovenian professional football after playing the season in the First Division...
. His most successful spell however, came while in charge of NK Maribor
NK Maribor
Nogometni Klub Maribor , commonly referred to as NK Maribor or simply Maribor, is a professional association football club based in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. Founded on 12 December, 1960, Maribor is one of only three football clubs in the country who have never been relegated from...
from 1996 to 2000. Under his guidance, the club won the Slovenian league 4 times and qualified for the group phase of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
(the only Slovenian club to ever achieve this), after defeating KRC Genk and Olympique Lyon in the qualifying rounds.
Bojan Prašnikar was the manager of the Slovenian national football team
Slovenia national football team
The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....
during three time spans. After Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
's independence in 1991 he was named the first head coach of the national team. He remained in the position until December 1993, when Zdenko Verdenik
Zdenko Verdenik
Zdenko Verdenik is a Slovenian football manager and former player.He coached NK Olimpija Ljubljana, U-21 Slovenia NT, Slovenia NT, FK Austria Wien, JEF United Ichihara, Nagoya Grampus Eight and Vegalta Sendai.He is also a university teacher at the Faculty of Sport in Ljubljana.-External links:*...
took charge of the Slovenian affairs until the end of the unsuccessful qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 1998. Prašnikar was re-installed head coach in December 1997, but his second spell at the helm of Slovenia lasted for only four month as in April 1998 he resigned due to his commitments with NK Maribor
NK Maribor
Nogometni Klub Maribor , commonly referred to as NK Maribor or simply Maribor, is a professional association football club based in the city of Maribor, Slovenia. Founded on 12 December, 1960, Maribor is one of only three football clubs in the country who have never been relegated from...
on club-level. He was replaced by Srečko Katanec
Srecko Katanec
Srečko Katanec is a Slovenian football manager and a former player capped for Yugoslavia and Slovenia. His last position was as the manager of the United Arab Emirates national football team.-Career:...
.
His third spell in charge of the Slovenian national team started in July 2002, when the Football Association of Slovenia
Football Association of Slovenia
The Football Association of Slovenia is the governing body of football in Slovenia. It organizes the following football leagues and cups: 1st division , 2nd division , 3rd division East, 3rd division West, Slovenian Cup - Hervis, Slovenian Women's National League, etc. It is also responsible for...
appointed him the successor of Katanec after the disappointing first round finish of the national team at the FIFA World Cup 2002 and Katanec's swift resignation. This job lasted until May 2004. Not qualified for the 2004 European Football Championship tournament, the Slovenian FA replaced Prašnikar with Branko Oblak
Branko Oblak
Branko Oblak is a Slovenian football coach and former international player. He usually played as an offensive midfielder or deep-lying playmaker, notable for his excellent dribbling, stamina, great vision and precision passing...
, who was the head coach of the Slovenian U21 at that time.
On 28 September 2007 he was appointed by German Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
outfit Energie Cottbus
Energie Cottbus
FC Energie Cottbus is a German association football club based in Cottbus, Lusatia . It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was, at the time, East Germany...
, who had parted company with head coach Petrik Sander
Petrik Sander
Petrik Sander is a German footballer, who works as Head Coach of Carl Zeiss Jena- Player career :He played many games in the DDR-Oberliga for Energie Cottbus and Motor Nordhausen.- Coaching career :...
five days earlier. Prašnikar, who was in charge of Primorje Ajdovščina
NK Primorje
NK Primorje is a Slovenian football club, playing in the town of Ajdovščina.-Honours:League* Slovenian Championships:'Cup* Slovenian Cup:- Current squad :As of 31 July 2011- External links :...
in the Slovenian league
PrvaLiga Telekom Slovenije
Slovenian First Football League also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the main football league in Slovenia, and was formed in 1991 after Slovenia became an independent country. From 1920 until the end of the 1990–91 season, the Slovenian Republic League was a lower division of the Yugoslavian...
before that, signed a deal until June 2010 with the former German Cup finalist. On 30 May 2009 Prašnikar announced his leaving at the end of the season from FC Energie Cottbus, his last game was the Fußball-Bundesliga 2008–09 relegation playoff game on 31 May 2009 against 1. FC Nuremberg which he lost 5-0 on aggregate. On 6 April 2010 Prašnikar signed a contract until the end of the season with the Slovenian team NK Rudar Velenje.
Personal life
He has a son, Luka PrašnikarLuka Prašnikar
Luka Prašnikar is an Slovenian footballer who currently plays as a striker for Slovenian Prva Liga club NK Nafta.-External links:* – Prva Liga* – transfermarkt.ch...
, who is a profesional footballer and currently plays for the 1.SNL team NK Nafta.