Branko Karačić (born 24 September 1960) is a Croatian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

and former

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who was most recently the manager of

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 ...

club

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

Playing career

Club

Karačić turned professional in 1981 and spent the following six years with

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, where he appeared in a total of 300 matches for the club. He became captain of the team in his last years at Osijek and played alongside

Davor Šuker Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He served as president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 t ...

, the world class striker from the Croatia national team and later

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...

, currently president of the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation ( hr, Hrvatski nogometni savez, HNS) 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 FIF ...

. He then moved to Croatian powerhouse

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

, for whom he played between 1987 and 1989, alongside many Croatia national team players –

Alen Bokšić Alen Bokšić (; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the h ...

Aljoša Asanović Aljoša Asanović (born 14 December 1965) is a former Croatian professional footballer who played as a midfielder from 1984 to 2002. He was one of the best players in the Yugoslav First League, emerging as one of five top scorers during the 1989� ...

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian football coach and former player who played as a centre back. He is the current head coach of the Indian national team. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and ...

and

Robert Jarni Robert Jarni (born 26 October 1968) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a left winger or wingback and current manager. Jarni started his professional career with Hajduk Split in 1986, and went on to spend 10 years playin ...

. After which, he decided to move abroad and play for

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. Cercle have played in the Belgian Pro League since the 2003–04 season, having previously spent several years in the Belgian Second Divisio ...

(1989–1993). There he was a part of the Croatian trio – Jerko Tipurić,

Josip Weber Josip Weber, nicknamed Joske, (born Josip Veber; 16 November 1964 – 8 November 2017) was a Croatian-Belgian professional football forward. He represented Croatia and Belgium at international level. Club career Weber began his senior career in ...

and he. They were the star players in the late 1990s and made a historic impact. Karačić was elected in the top 11 in the history of

. In 1993, he moved to

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent (Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, a ...

where he played for 2 years after which he moved to Austria to play for

FC Linz FC Linz was an Austrian football club, based in Linz, Upper Austria. History SK VÖEST Linz It was founded on 30 June 1946 as ''SV Eisen und Stahl 1946 Linz'', a factory squad of the public ''VÖEST'' steel company (present-day Voestalpine). In ...

where

Zlatko Kranjčar Zlatko "Cico" Kranjčar (; 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 Yugosl ...

was the head coach and the famous Hugo Sanchez played as a forward. His last club was Saint-Gilloise (1996–1997) from the 2nd league in Belgium where he played for half and a year, and then finished his career as a professional footballer.

International

During his playing career, Karačić was feared for his passing and

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

abilities and was known for having excellent technique and first touch. He had an amazing oversight of the game and was the definition of a classic playmaker. He also made an appearance for the Olympic team of Yugoslavia while he was playing at Osijek.

Managerial career

After retiring from active football he first held the post of

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

(1997–1998) and then, after gaining his coaching diploma – UEFA PRO, went on to coach a number of

Prva HNL 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 league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

clubs. His first coaching job was assisting

Ivo Šušak Ivo Šušak (born 10 June 1948) is a Croatian football manager. He was the head coach of Dinamo Vinkovci, NK Zagreb, Zagreb, NK Osijek, Osijek, NK Maribor, Maribor, and FC Dinamo Tbilisi, Dinamo Tbilisi. He was also the head coach of Croatia nati ...

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 ...

(1999–2000), before taking over himself in the 2000–01 season. In his first season as the head coach, he managed to finish on the 4th place and reached semi-final of the

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup * Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup *Croatian Minute Movie Cup ...

. He then went on to coach

Marsonia Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

, with which he earned a promotion to the Prva HNL. He took over Osijek in 2003, his first club as a professional football player, finishing again on the 4th place in the competition and reaching the quarter-finals of the Croatian Cup. In 2010 he once again became the coach of Osijek. After accepting an offer from

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 2004, he managed to finish on the 6th place and qualified for the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

where the club played against

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable), an aerial lift station in Ecatepec, Mexico * Deport ...

. This was the first international appearance in his career as the coach. During the 2005–06 he managed the team of

Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second tier league. Their stadium ...

finishing on the 9th place in Prva HNL. After a 1-year absence of coaching, he accepted the project Slavonac CO, which he managed from 2007 to 2009. With the club he made a historic result qualifying for the Prva HNL, although they have never played in it due to financial reasons. When he took over

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

in the 2009–10 season, he managed to put down the best result in the club's history finishing on the 4th place in domestic competition and playing the final of the

against

. They qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

, where they successfully passed the 1st round of qualifications. They then played against Cyprian powerhouse

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

. In 2011 he became the head coach of

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

in the

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

. There, he also reached the final of the

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

and finished as runner-ups in the competition. In the 2013–14 season he achieved his best result yet as a manager, when he won Bosnian Premier League with

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) **ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *Han ...

, although they were considered underdogs throughout the whole season. They earned the right to play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

where they played against

NK Maribor NK may refer to: Businesses *Imerys (Euronext ticker code NK) *Nordiska Kompaniet, a department store in Stockholm, Sweden *Northrup-King Seed Company *Spirit Airlines (IATA code NK) *NK.pl, a Polish school-based social networking service Places ...

. At the end of year 2014, Karačić was sacked. During the 2015–16 season he managed

NK Vitez NK Vitez is football club based in Vitez, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club plays in Second League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina - Center. The club's crest has the sword in front of a football ball. It also features the year when t ...

, and during late 2016 he managed

NK Široki Brijeg Nogometni klub Široki Brijeg ( en, Široki Brijeg Football Club) is a professional association football club from the city of Široki Brijeg, that is situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Currently, Široki Brijeg plays in the Premier League of ...

. On 4 October 2017 he was named as the head coach of Vitez for the second time. In October 2018, Karačić became the new manager of

Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...

. On 18 May 2019, he got Varaždin promoted to the Prva HNL after the club beat Šibenik 3–1 at home. On 17 June 2019, with the expulsion of his contract, the cooperation between Karačić and Varaždin fell and thus he left the club.

Style of managing

Karačić as a coach is well known for his tactical knowledge, iron discipline and an attacking style of playing. He is fond of giving young talented players a chance and promoted a whole bunch of high quality Croatian players in his teams -

Ognjen Vukojević Ognjen Vukojević (born 20 December 1983) is a Croatian football manager and former professional player. He is currently the manager of the Croatia national under-20 team, an assistant manager of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv, and a ...

Danijel Pranjić Danijel Pranjić (born 2 December 1981) is a Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Being a versatile left-footed player, he could play all across the left Defender (footbal ...

Arijan Ademi Arijan Ademi ( mk, Аријан Адеми; born 29 May 1991) is a professional footballer who captains Prva HNL side Dinamo Zagreb and plays for the North Macedonia national team. Ademi started his professional career at Šibenik, debuting f ...

Ermin Zec Ermin Zec (born 18 February 1988) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a forward or as a winger. Club career In 2007, Zec signed for Šibenik where he quickly established himself in the first team. He was voted best young Bosnian ...

, Marko Babić and

Antonio Franja Antonio Franja (born 8 June 1978) is a retired Croatian professional footballer who played as a left winger. Club career Franja been through football school NK Dinamo Zagreb. As a junior he signed with NK Croatia Zagreb (Dinamo ). He later wen ...

Honours

Manager

Marsonia *

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second ...

- North: 2002–03 Zrinjski Mostar *

: 2013–14 Varaždin *

: 2018–19

References

External links

Branko Karačić
at ''Nogometni leksikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Karacic, Branko 1960 births Living people Sportspeople from Vinkovci Association football midfielders Yugoslav footballers Croatian footballers NK Osijek players HNK Hajduk Split players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players K.A.A. Gent players Royale Union Saint-Gilloise players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players 2. Liga (Austria) players Belgian First Division B players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Croatian expatriate footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Croatian football managers NK Zagreb managers NK Marsonia managers NK Osijek managers NK Slaven Belupo managers HNK Cibalia managers HNK Šibenik managers NK Široki Brijeg managers HŠK Zrinjski managers NK Vitez managers NK Varaždin managers Croatian Football League managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina