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(Redirected from Darko Milanic) Slovenian footballer and manager

Darko Milanič
Milanič managing Maribor in 2017
Personal information
Date of birth (1967-12-18) 18 December 1967 (age 57)
Place of birth Izola, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defender
Team information
Current team Al Wahda (head coach)
Youth career
Izola
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Izola
1986–1993 Partizan 104 (2)
1993–2000 Sturm Graz 189 (9)
Total 293 (11)
International career
1991–1992 Yugoslavia 5 (0)
1992–2000 Slovenia 42 (0)
Managerial career
2004–2006 Primorje
2007–2008 Gorica
2008–2013 Maribor
2013–2014 Sturm Graz
2014 Leeds United
2016–2020 Maribor
2020–2021 Slovan Bratislava
2021–2022 Pafos
2022 Anorthosis Famagusta
2023–2024 Baniyas
2024– Al Wahda
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Darko Milanič (born 18 December 1967) is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of UAE Pro League club Al Wahda.

As a player, Milanič represented both Yugoslavia and Slovenia at international level. He also captained Slovenia at UEFA Euro 2000.

Club career

Born in Izola, Milanič began his football career with local side NK Izola. In the 1986–87 season, he joined Partizan. During his time at Partizan, he won the Yugoslav First League and the Yugoslav Cup twice.

After the 1992–93 season, Milanič moved to the Austrian side Sturm Graz, where he played for eight seasons and won eight trophies, including two Austrian Bundesliga titles, three Austrian Cups and three Austrian Supercups.

In 2000, at the age of 32, Milanič retired early due to injury and to pursue a coaching career in football.

International career

During his spell at Serbian club Partizan, Milanič earned five caps for Yugoslavia. Even after Slovenia's independence, he was included by Yugoslavia in their squad for Euro 1992, but the nation would be suspended due to the Yugoslav Wars.

Milanič later represented Slovenia, earning 42 caps. He captained his country at Euro 2000, including a match against his former national team, Yugoslavia, which ended in a 3–3 draw.

Coaching career

After his football career, Milanič turned to coaching. He started his coaching career at his hometown club Izola. After that, he was appointed manager of Primorje and an assistant coach at Sturm Graz under Franco Foda during the 2006–07 season.

Gorica

At the start of the 2007–08 season, Milanič was appointed as the head coach of Gorica, where he helped guide them to a third-place finish in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, the team was knocked out in the first qualifying round after losing over two legs to Rabotnički.

Maribor

On 29 May 2008, Milanič was appointed head coach at Maribor by Director of Football Zlatko Zahovič. He won the Slovenian PrvaLiga during his first year in the 2008–09 season. In May 2010, Maribor won the Slovenian Cup. After winning this trophy, Milanič became the first coach that have won all three domestic trophies in Slovenian club football, having won the Slovenian League and the Slovenian Supercup before that. He has achieved that in only two seasons.

At the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Maribor played in their fourth successive Supercup. The club defeated their "eternal rivals" Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1 to clinch their second Supercup title. In January 2013, Milanič was selected as the Slovenian Manager of the Year for 2012 by winning the league, cup and supercup.

Milanič led Maribor to the group stages of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League as one of the losers in the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Dinamo Zagreb. This was the second season in a row in which Maribor qualified to the Europa League main stages. They managed to get four points out of six matches, defeating Panathinaikos and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur, both at home. On 9 November 2012, Maribor suffered a 3–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur after a hat-trick by Jermain Defoe. In the final game of Group J, Maribor suffered a 4–1 defeat to Lazio.

Maribor confirmed their eleventh league title on 11 May 2013 after defeating Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1. In the 2013 Cup Final, Maribor defeated Celje 1–0, thus securing their fourth "double" in the club's history.

Sturm Graz

On 4 June 2013, Milanič became a manager of Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga, with Novica Nikčević as his assistant. One of his first signings was Robert Berić, whom he signed from his former club, Maribor. Sturm Graz were knocked out of the Europa League after losing 1–0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round to Breiðablik UBK. He led his side to a fifth-place finish during his first season during the 2013–14 season.

On 21 September 2014, during a press conference, Sturm Graz revealed that Milanič would be leaving the club to join an English side Leeds United after agreeing to buy out his contract at Sturm Graz to make the move.

Leeds United

On 23 September 2014, Milanič was appointed as manager of Leeds United on a two-year deal, replacing Dave Hockaday. He was joined at Leeds by his Sturm Graz assistant Novica Nikčević. Milanič parted company on 25 October 2014, minutes after a 2–1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers, just 32 days after taking over, for failing to win any of his six games in charge.

Return to Maribor

On 2 March 2016, Milanič returned to the Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor. He became the Slovenian champion with the team in the 2016–17 season. Milanič led Maribor to the group stages of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League after eliminating Zrinjski Mostar, Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar, and Hapoel Be'er-Sheva in the qualifying rounds. In the 2018–19 season, he won his sixth league title with Maribor. He resigned in March 2020 after a 2–1 home defeat against Bravo.

Slovan Bratislava

On 7 September 2020, Milanič took charge of Slovak club Slovan Bratislava, signing a one-year contract with an option for further two years, with Novica Nikčević named as his assistant. He was sacked on 9 May 2021 after a series of poor results, despite reaching the cup final and topping the league table.

Pafos

On 30 June 2021, Milanič was appointed as head coach of Pafos on a two-year contract. He was sacked on 10 May 2022 after a 1–0 defeat against Anorthosis Famagusta, one round before the end of the season.

Anorthosis Famagusta

On 22 June 2022, he signed a two-year contract with Cypriot First Division club Anorthosis Famagusta. He was sacked on 3 October after managing just five games.

Baniyas Club

On 8 June 2023, Milanič signed a one-year contract with the UAE Pro League side Baniyas for the 2023–24 season.

Managerial statistics

As of 11 June 2024
Managerial record by team and tenure
Team From To Record
G W D L Win %
Primorje 15 June 2004 12 April 2006 63 24 15 24 038.10
Gorica 6 June 2007 27 May 2008 38 15 9 14 039.47
Maribor 29 May 2008 3 June 2013 248 138 61 49 055.65
Sturm Graz 4 June 2013 22 September 2014 53 21 12 20 039.62
Leeds United 23 September 2014 25 October 2014 6 0 3 3 000.00
Maribor 2 March 2016 7 March 2020 196 105 56 35 053.57
Slovan Bratislava 7 September 2020 9 May 2021 32 22 6 4 068.75
Pafos 30 June 2021 10 May 2022 33 11 14 8 033.33
Anorthosis Famagusta 22 June 2022 3 October 2022 5 2 1 2 040.00
Baniyas 8 June 2023 11 June 2024 29 7 7 15 024.14
Total 703 345 184 174 049.08

Honours

Player

Partizan

Sturm Graz

Manager

Maribor

Individual

References

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  2. "Leeds: Massimo Cellino confirms Darko Milanic is new boss". BBC Sport. 23 September 2014. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
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  4. Players Appearing for Two or More Countries Archived 3 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
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  53. SPINS XI 2011–12

External links

Al Wahda FC – current squad
Slovenia squadUEFA Euro 2000
Slovenia
Darko Milanič managerial positions
NK Maribor – managers
(c) = caretaker / interim manager
SK Sturm Graz – managers
Leeds United F.C.managers
(c) = caretaker manager
ŠK Slovan Bratislava – managers
Pafos FC – managers
(c) = caretaker manager
Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. – managers
Baniyas – managers
Al Wahda FC – managers
(c) = caretaker manager
Categories: