Zlatko Kranjcar
Encyclopedia
Zlatko "Cico" Kranjcar is a Croatia
n football
manager and former striker. He is the currently head coach of Sepahan in Iran Pro League.
at the age of 10 in 1966 and stayed in the club until 1983. He appeared in a total of 556 matches for the club and scored 98 goals in the championship. Then he transferred to Austria
n club Rapid Vienna for which he played until 1990. The last club in his playing career was VSE St. Pölten for which he played for two months in late 1990.
. He also has two caps and scored one goal for the Croatian national team and is notable as the first team captain of the Croatian team in their first international match against the United States
on 17 October 1990 in Zagreb.
in his first season. In 1996 he returned to Austria to coach FC Linz
. A year later he was back in Croatia where he coached the clubs NK Slaven Belupo
, HNK Segesta (again) and NK Samobor
. In 1998 he came back to Croatia Zagreb and led the club to another win in both the Croatian Championship and Cup as well as to an appearance in the UEFA Champions League
. In 1999 he started to coach an Egypt
ian club Al-Masry and in 2000 he went on to coach a Slovenia
n club NK Mura
, where he also stayed for one season. In 2002 he became the Croatian championship winner with NK Zagreb
.
, Kranjcar was named the new coach of the country's national squad and he led the team in 18 international matches. They played fifteen matches in the World Cup 2006 qualifying
rounds and won the group, but performed relatively badly in their three 2006 World Cup
finals matches and were eliminated in the group stages. Due to this, the Croatian Football Federation
decided not to renew his contract on 14 July 2006. In June 2007, he took over coaching position in United Arab Emirates
team Al-Shaab but was sacked in December after a dispute with the board about player selection. On 22 April 2009, he was named as the new head coach of DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda
.
, Misagh Memarzadeh
, Sepehr Heidari
, Shpejtim Arifi
and Sheys Rezaei
, Persepolis was unsuccessful in the first weeks of the season. He was sacked by the club on 25 September 2009 but he was returned to the club after the support of the technical committee five days later.
His contract was renovated until the end of half season. He was replaced by Ali Daei
on 28 December 2009 after his contract was expired.
from Zoran Filipovic
having a very poor start with two defeats in two friendly matches against Macedonia (away) and Albania
(home) and a third defeat with Norway
against which Zoran Filipovic
had a stunning 3–1 home victory. He was dismissed on 8 September 2011, following Montenegro's defeat to Wales
in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier
six days earlier.
. In his first match as Sepahan head coach, Sepahan made a 0-0 draw with Persepolis which Kranjčar was it's head coach in 2009.
is also a professional footballer who is currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur
in the Premier League, and the Croatian national team
. His son and his daughter in law. Simona has a baby girl by the name of Loree who was born on 7 March 2011.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
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 and former striker. He is the currently head coach of Sepahan in Iran Pro League.
Club career
Kranjcar started to play for Dinamo ZagrebDinamo Zagreb
GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...
at the age of 10 in 1966 and stayed in the club until 1983. He appeared in a total of 556 matches for the club and scored 98 goals in the championship. Then he transferred to 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...
n club Rapid Vienna for which he played until 1990. The last club in his playing career was VSE St. Pölten for which he played for two months in late 1990.
International career
Between 1977 and 1983 he collected 11 caps and scored 3 goals for YugoslaviaYugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
. He also has two caps and scored one goal for the Croatian national team and is notable as the first team captain of the Croatian team in their first international match against the United States
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
on 17 October 1990 in Zagreb.
Early years
Kranjcar started his coaching career in 1991 as an advisor at Austria Klagenfurt. From 1992 until 1994 he coached a Croatian club HNK Segesta and in 1994 he transferred to Croatia Zagreb, where he won the Croatian Championship and CupCroatian Cup
The Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...
in his first season. In 1996 he returned to Austria to coach FC Linz
FC Linz
FC Linz was an Austrian football club based in Linz, Upper Austria. It was founded on 30 June 1946 as SV Eisen und Stahl 1946 Linz, a factory squad of the public VÖEST steel company...
. A year later he was back in Croatia where he coached the clubs NK Slaven Belupo
NK Slaven Belupo
NK Slaven Belupo, often referred to simply as Slaven and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of the country...
, HNK Segesta (again) and NK Samobor
NK Samobor
NK Samobor is a Croatian football club based in the town of Samobor in Zagreb County.Former Liverpool defender Igor Biscan played for the club on loan early on in his career....
. In 1998 he came back to Croatia Zagreb and led the club to another win in both the Croatian Championship and Cup as well as to an appearance in 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...
. In 1999 he started to coach an Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian club Al-Masry and in 2000 he went on to coach a 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...
n club NK Mura
NK 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...
, where he also stayed for one season. In 2002 he became the Croatian championship winner with NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb is a Croatian football club, from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.NK Zagreb's home is the Stadion Kranjčevićeva with capacity of 8,850. The club's fans are known as the White Angels...
.
Croatia
After Croatia's unsuccessful appearance at Euro 20042004 UEFA European Football Championship
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...
, Kranjcar was named the new coach of the country's national squad and he led the team in 18 international matches. They played fifteen matches in the World Cup 2006 qualifying
2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
Listed below are the dates and results for the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for UEFA teams. A total of 51 teams took part, divided in 8 Groups - five groups of 6 teams each and three groups of 7 teams each - competing for 13 places in the World Cup...
rounds and won the group, but performed relatively badly in their three 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
finals matches and were eliminated in the group stages. Due to this, the Croatian Football Federation
Croatian Football Federation
The Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...
decided not to renew his contract on 14 July 2006. In June 2007, he took over coaching position in United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
team Al-Shaab but was sacked in December after a dispute with the board about player selection. On 22 April 2009, he was named as the new head coach of DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda
DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda
DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda is a Slovak football team, based in the city of Dunajská Streda. They were West Group champions of Slovak 3. liga in 2007-2008 season and took FC Senec's place in Slovak Superliga after merging with them...
.
Persepolis
On 1 July 2009, he was appointed as head coach of Iran Pro League side Persepolis after signed a two years contract. Despite having good players such as Karim BagheriKarim Bagheri
Karim Bagheri is a retired professional Iranian player, most notably playing for Persepolis in the Iran Pro League. He was known as a two-footed midfielder and is famous for his powerful and thundering long range shots and free kicks.-Early years:...
, Misagh Memarzadeh
Misagh Memarzadeh
Misagh Memarzadeh is an Iranian footballer who plays for Persepolis as a goalkeeper.-Club career:He started his career in Saipa but after two years left the club after he had differences with the Italian coach Giovanni Mei and moved to Rah Ahan...
, Sepehr Heidari
Sepehr Heidari
Sepehr Heidari is an Iranian football defender who currently plays for Mes Kerman in Iran Pro League and the Iran national football team. He has a bachelor of Mechanical engineering from Najaf Abad Azad University.-Club career:...
, Shpejtim Arifi
Shpejtim Arifi
Shpejtim Arifi is an Kosovar Albanian footballer also a German citizen playing for Tractor Sazi football club in the Iran Pro League.-Club career:...
and Sheys Rezaei
Sheys Rezaei
-Club career:Sheys is originally from Hamid Abad .He has played most of his career for Persepolis and started be known in 2005-06 season and became more famous after problems in 2007-08 season.He was fired of the squad because of acting against manager Afshin Ghotbi just when few weeks was left in...
, Persepolis was unsuccessful in the first weeks of the season. He was sacked by the club on 25 September 2009 but he was returned to the club after the support of the technical committee five days later.
His contract was renovated until the end of half season. He was replaced by Ali Daei
Ali Daei
Ali Daei is an Iranian retired football player and former national team coach who currently manages a local Iranian team, Rah Ahan. He is a former captain of the Iran national football team, and is the world's all-time leading goalscorer in international matches...
on 28 December 2009 after his contract was expired.
Montenegro
In February 2010 he took over the Montenegro national teamMontenegro national football team
The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro...
from Zoran Filipovic
Zoran Filipovic
Zoran Filipović was a player of great success in the 1970s and 1980s for Red Star Belgrade and SL Benfica...
having a very poor start with two defeats in two friendly matches against Macedonia (away) and Albania
Albania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
(home) and a third defeat with Norway
Norway national football team
The Norway national football team represents Norway in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Norway, the governing body for football in Norway. Norway's home ground is Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo and their head coach is Egil Olsen...
against which Zoran Filipovic
Zoran Filipovic
Zoran Filipović was a player of great success in the 1970s and 1980s for Red Star Belgrade and SL Benfica...
had a stunning 3–1 home victory. He was dismissed on 8 September 2011, following Montenegro's defeat to Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 is a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, to be held in Poland and Ukraine...
six days earlier.
Sepahan
He was signed a two years contract with Iran Pro League three time champion, Sepahan on 28 October 2011 replaces his compatriot Luka BonacicLuka Bonacic
Luka Bonačić is a Croatian football coach and former player.-Early life:He was born on March 2, 1955 in Split, Croatia that was part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He began football careers in Split Football Academy...
. In his first match as Sepahan head coach, Sepahan made a 0-0 draw with Persepolis which Kranjčar was it's head coach in 2009.
Statistics
| Nat | Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | GF | GA | +/- | ||||
 |
Segesta | July 1992 | May 1994 |
79 | 88 | –9 | |||||
 |
Dinamo Zagreb | July 1994 | July 1996 |
99 | 39 | ||||||
| |
Samobor NK Samobor NK Samobor is a Croatian football club based in the town of Samobor in Zagreb County.Former Liverpool defender Igor Biscan played for the club on loan early on in his career.... |
May 1997 | January 1998 |
26 | 8 | ||||||
 |
El-Masry | February 1999 | August 2000 |
44 | 10 | ||||||
| |
Rokela NK Rijeka HNK Rijeka is a Croatian football club, from Rijeka on the Croatian coast.-History:The club was founded as NK Kvarner in 1946, after Rijeka passed from Italy to Yugoslavia following the end of World War II. During its early period in Yugoslavia, the club had moderate success in various Yugoslav... |
June 2002 | June 2003 |
23 | 33 | –10 | |||||
| |
Croatia Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić... |
July 2004 | August 2006 |
29 | 15 | ||||||
 |
Persepolis | July 2009 | December 2009 |
31 | 24 | ||||||
 |
Montenegro Montenegro national football team The Montenegro national football team represents Montenegro in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Montenegro, the governing body for football in Montenegro... |
February 2010 | September 2011 |
14 | 11 | ||||||
| |
Sepahan | November 2011 | Present |
2 | 0 | ||||||
Personal life
He was married in 1983 and has a son, NikoNiko Kranjcar
Niko Kranjčar is a Croatian footballer who plays as a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur and the Croatia national team.He represented two of the biggest clubs in his homeland, playing for Dinamo Zagreb before sparking controversy by making a move to their fierce rivals Hajduk Split in 2005...
is also a professional footballer who is currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club , commonly referred to as Spurs, is an English Premier League football club based in Tottenham, north London. The club's home stadium is White Hart Lane....
in the Premier League, and the Croatian national team
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
. His son and his daughter in law. Simona has a baby girl by the name of Loree who was born on 7 March 2011.
External links
- Zlatko Kranjcar at the Serbia national football teamSerbia national football teamThe Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
website