The Most Famous

COACHES from Croatia

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This page contains a list of the greatest Croatian Coaches. The pantheon dataset contains 471 Coaches, 9 of which were born in Croatia. This makes Croatia the birth place of the 11th most number of Coaches behind United States, and Argentina.

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Croatian Coaches of all time. This list of famous Croatian Coaches is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Croatian Coaches.

Photo of Tomislav Ivić

1. Tomislav Ivić (1933 - 2011)

With an HPI of 62.23, Tomislav Ivić is the most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages on wikipedia.

Tomislav Ivić (Croatian pronunciation: [tǒmislaʋ ǐːʋitɕ]; 30 June 1933 – 24 June 2011) was a Croatian professional football player and manager. Often described as a brilliant strategist, Ivić is credited with helping develop the modern style of the game. In April 2007, Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport proclaimed him as the most successful football manager in history, due to his seven league titles won in five countries.

Photo of Siniša Mihajlović

2. Siniša Mihajlović (1969 - 2022)

With an HPI of 61.32, Siniša Mihajlović is the 2nd most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 47 different languages.

Siniša Mihajlović (Serbian Cyrillic: Синиша Михајловић, pronounced [sǐniʃa mixǎːjloʋitɕ]; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian football manager and professional footballer who played as a defender. Mihajlović had an illustrious playing career, winning the European Cup with Red Star Belgrade in 1991 before moving to Italy, making 353 appearances for Serie A sides Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter Milan and winning league titles with the latter two clubs. Considered by many to be among the best free kick takers of all time, he holds the all-time record in Serie A for most goals from free kicks with 28 goals. He won 63 caps and scored 10 goals for Yugoslavia from 1991 to 2003, of which his first four caps in 1991 represented SFR Yugoslavia, and played in the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000 tournaments. Mihajlović retired from playing in 2006, becoming assistant manager at Inter. He managed six Serie A clubs from 2008 to 2022, starting and finishing with Bologna and also including Fiorentina, Torino and AC Milan. He was the coach of the Serbia national team from May 2012 to November 2013. He was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 and died from the disease in 2022.

Photo of Zlatko Kranjčar

3. Zlatko Kranjčar (1956 - 2021)

With an HPI of 54.25, Zlatko Kranjčar is the 3rd most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Zlatko "Cico" Kranjčar (Croatian pronunciation: [zlâtko tsǐːtso krâɲtʃaːr]; 15 November 1956 – 1 March 2021) was a Croatian professional football manager and player. Kranjčar started his career as a player with Dinamo Zagreb where he won the Yugoslav First League in 1981–82, then Yugoslav Cup twice in 1980 and 1983. He later became the manager of the club which is now part of independent Croatia and went on to win Croatian First League in 1995–96 and 1997–98 and the Croatian Cup twice in 1996 and 1998. Kranjčar also played for Rapid Wien where he had success winning the Austrian Bundesliga twice in 1986–87 and 1987–88; the Austrian Cup in 1984, 1985 and 1987; and the Austrian Supercup in 1986, 1987 and 1988. Kranjčar was appointed manager of the Croatia national team and took them to the 2006 World Cup. He also had a short spell with the Montenegro national team. In 2009 he went to Iran and managed Persepolis. While there he had two spells with Sepahan where he went on to win the Iran Pro League in 2011–12 and the Hazfi Cup in 2012–13.

Photo of Branko Ivanković

4. Branko Ivanković (b. 1954)

With an HPI of 53.55, Branko Ivanković is the 4th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 23 different languages.

Branko Ivanković (Croatian pronunciation: [brâːŋko ǐʋaːŋkoʋitɕ]; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the current manager of the China national football team. After a 12-year playing career at Varteks, Ivanković started his coaching career at the same club in 1991. Prior to his appointment as the manager of Oman, Ivanković's most high-profile managerial positions were at the most successful Croatian and Iranian clubs respectively, Dinamo Zagreb and Persepolis as well as one of the most successful Chinese clubs Shandong Luneng. He additionally served as both assistant coach and manager of the Iran national team, leading the team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

Photo of Ante Čačić

5. Ante Čačić (b. 1953)

With an HPI of 51.70, Ante Čačić is the 5th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 26 different languages.

Ante Čačić (Croatian pronunciation: [ǎːnte tʃâtʃitɕ]; born 29 September 1953) is a Croatian professional football manager who was most recently manager of Croatian Football League club Dinamo Zagreb. Čačić graduated from the Faculty of Physical Education at the University of Zagreb. He was one of the first ten football coaches in Croatia to get the UEFA Pro Licence.

Photo of Mirko Novosel

6. Mirko Novosel (1938 - 2023)

With an HPI of 50.99, Mirko Novosel is the 6th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Mirko Novosel (30 June 1938 – 20 July 2023) was a Croatian professional basketball coach and player. Novosel coached some of the greatest players in former Yugoslavia and Croatia, such as Croatian Hall of Fame players Krešimir Ćosić and Dražen Petrović. He was enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as a coach, on 7 September 2007. He was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame, as a coach, in 2010.

Photo of Tomislav Ivković

7. Tomislav Ivković (b. 1960)

With an HPI of 49.57, Tomislav Ivković is the 7th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Tomislav Ivković (born 11 August 1960) is a Croatian professional football manager, executive and former player. During his playing career, which spanned two decades, he competed mostly in Portugal, appearing for five clubs including Sporting CP. Ivković was also a Yugoslavian international in the late 1980s and early 1990s, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship. In 2010, he started working as a manager. During his managerial career, Ivković managed Međimurje, Lokomotiva, Al Faisaly, Slaven Belupo, Rudeš, Inter Zaprešić, Željezničar and Borac Banja Luka. Before becoming its manager, from January until April 2022, he worked as sporting director of Borac.

Photo of Borislav Cvetković

8. Borislav Cvetković (b. 1962)

With an HPI of 47.74, Borislav Cvetković is the 8th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Borislav Cvetković (born 30 September 1962) is a Serbian football manager and retired player. He was nicknamed "Lane sa Korane" (Doe of Korana), by legendary sports commentator Ivan Tomić, while playing for Dinamo. When he moved to Belgrade, Tomić just switched his nickname to "Lane sa Marakane" (Doe of Marakana), as Red Star Belgrade stadium is colloquially known.

Photo of Andrej Panadić

9. Andrej Panadić (b. 1969)

With an HPI of 47.70, Andrej Panadić is the 9th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 45 different languages.

Andrej Panadić (born 9 March 1969) is a Croatian football manager and a former defender. Besides Croatia, he has played in Germany, Austria, and Japan.

Photo of Petar Šegrt

10. Petar Šegrt (b. 1966)

With an HPI of 46.85, Petar Šegrt is the 10th most famous Croatian Coach.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Petar Šegrt (born 8 May 1966) is a Croatian football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Tajikistan national team.

People

Pantheon has 12 people classified as Croatian coaches born between 1933 and 1969. Of these 12, 8 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Croatian coaches include Branko Ivanković, Ante Čačić, and Tomislav Ivković. The most famous deceased Croatian coaches include Tomislav Ivić, Siniša Mihajlović, and Zlatko Kranjčar. As of April 2024, 3 new Croatian coaches have been added to Pantheon including Mirko Novosel, Petar Šegrt, and Dragan Skočić.

Living Croatian Coaches

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Deceased Croatian Coaches

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Newly Added Croatian Coaches (2024)

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Overlapping Lives

Which Coaches were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 4 most globally memorable Coaches since 1700.