Željko Sopić (born 26 July 1974) is a Croatian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Club career

Sopić started his professional career with

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian amateur football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of ...

in 1994 and spent four years with the club's first team before leaving for

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

in 1998. He made 23 appearances and scored two goals in his only season in the German top flight. He went on to spend another season with Mönchengladbach in the

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

, following their relegation from the first division in 1999, before moving to league rivals

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after the team was relegated ...

in the summer of 2000. He played for Ahlen until 2005, bringing his record in the 2. Bundesliga to a total of 155 appearances and 21 goals. He then returned to NK Zagreb for the 2005–06 season, before joining to

NK Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city ...

, in the summer of 2006. In 2008 he came back to Zagreb but he has played for

NK Lokomotiva Zagreb Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb ( en, Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional association football, football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First ...

in the

Croatian First Football League The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...

International career

He also won two international caps for the Croatian B national team, against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1998 and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1999.

Managerial career

Sopić started as a manager with

NK Rudeš Nogometni Klub Rudeš ( en, Football Club Rudeš), commonly referred to as NK Rudeš or simply Rudeš, is a Croatian football club founded in 1957 in Zagreb's neighbourhood of Rudeš. The club competes in Croatia's second division. History Be ...

in 2012. He managed a club to 2015, and in 2016 he was named the caretaker manager for

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

, after

Zoran Mamić Zoran Mamić (; born 30 September 1971) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player, and convicted fraudster. He was most recently the manager of Croatian First Football League club Dinamo Zagreb. He is a wanted criminal in C ...

had left. Before that, Sopić worked as the manager for Dinamo Zagreb II in the

Croatian Second Football League The Druga nogometna liga ( eng, Second football league), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL) is the third tier of the football league system. The league was established in 1991 following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Cro ...

, and after as the assistant manager for

Ivaylo Petev Ivaylo Bogdanov Petev ( bg, Ивайло Богданов Петев; born 9 July 1975) is a Bulgarian professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He spent his whole career ...

in Dinamo Zagreb. On 30 January 2017, Sopić became the assistant for Zoran Mamić in

Al-Ain Al Ain ( ar, ٱلْعَيْن, , ) is a city in the western side of Tawam (region), Tuwwam region and the seat of the administrative division of its namesake, Al-Ain Region, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. ...

, but two years later, on 30 January 2019, Mamić left Al-Ain and Sopić became the manager for club. On 26 November,

Sabah FK Sabah Football Club ( az, Sabah Futbol Klubu) is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Masazır. The team plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League, their top tier of Azerbaijani football. History Sabah were formed on 8 September ...

announced the appointment of Sopić on an 18-month contract. He was named manager of Gorica in November 2022, replacing

Igor Angelovski Igor Angelovski ( mk, Игор Ангеловски; born 2 June 1976) is a Macedonian professional football manager and former player. Playing career As player he played in the Slovenian First League with Publikum Celje between 1998 and 2000. ...

Personal life

Sopić is the father of the German-born footballer

Leon Sopić Leon Sopić (born 29 October 2000) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Trnje on loan from Dinamo Zagreb II. Club career Sopić made his professional debut with Rudeš in a 1–1 Croatian First Football League t ...

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sopic, Zeljko 1974 births Living people Footballers from Zagreb Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers NK Zagreb players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Rot Weiss Ahlen players NK Slaven Belupo players NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players Croatian Football League players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players First Football League (Croatia) players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Croatian football managers NK Rudeš managers GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers Al Ain FC managers HNK Gorica managers Croatian Football League managers UAE Pro League managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in Azerbaijan Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan GNK Dinamo Zagreb non-playing staff