Damir Milinović (born 15 October 1972) is a Croatian professional football

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 ...

and former player. He was named manager of Dubrava in June 2022.

Club career

Born in Rijeka, Milinović spent most of his career in his local club, Rijeka, before moving to Croatia Zagreb in 1997. He failed to impress in Croatia so he returned to Rijeka in the next season. After an impressive season with Rijeka, during which the club lost the title in last match, Milinović left for Germany in summer of 2000, signing with

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...

. As Bochum finished last in the

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 ...

and were relegated, Milinović returned to Rijeka after only one season. He spent half a season in Rijeka before joining eventual season champions NK Zagreb. In January 2003, Milinović returned to Rijeka for the third and final time, spending there one and a half season before joining

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 ...

once again. He left Dinamo after only half a season, joining

Austria Salzburg SV Austria Salzburg is an Austrian professional football club, based in the city of Salzburg. The club was formed in 2005 by some supporters of the original SV (Austria) Salzburg after it was renamed FC Red Bull Salzburg by its new owners, who ...

just few months before club was rebranded as Red Bull Salzburg. Milinović returned to Croatia after only half a season in Austria, signing for

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

side Pomorac Kostrena. After two seasons with Pomorac, Milinović announced his retirement in summer of 2007.

International career

Milinović made his debut for

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

in a June 1997

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (International competition which nationa ...

match against

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

, coming on as a 85th-minute substitute for

Tomislav Erceg Tomislav Erceg (born 22 October 1971) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He made four appearances for the Croatia national team, scoring one goal. Club career Erceg started his career at HNK Šibenik in 1990, ...

, and earned a total of 4 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was an April 1999

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Managerial career

A few months after he announced his retirement, Milinović was appointed as a manager of his last club, Pomorac Kostrena. In Pomorac he was quite successful, finishing amongst top clubs in second division and reaching quarterfinals of Croatian Cup. He left Pomorac in 2010 and took over third division side NK Grobničan. With Milinović in charge, Grobničan went from mediocre third division club to one of the best clubs in the league. They were on the edge of promotion to

two years in a row but were financially incapable to take that step. In May 2012, Milinović was appointed head coach of

HNK Gorica Hrvatski nogometni klub Gorica ( en, Croatian Football Club Gorica), commonly referred to as HNK Gorica or simply Gorica, is a Croatian football club based in the town of Velika Gorica, located just south of the Croatian capital Zagreb. They p ...

. Milinović spent only six months in Gorica; he resigned in November 2012 after disappointing results in the first half of the season. In January 2013, Milinović took over third division side Novigrad. He signed for Gorica again, on 9 September 2015, but got sacked on 30 March 2017. In August 2017, Milinović became manager of Slovenian club

FC Koper Football Club Koper, commonly referred to as FC Koper or simply Koper, is a Slovenian football club based in Koper that competes in the Slovenian PrvaLiga, the top flight of Slovenian football. The club was founded in 1920. Koper is one of five ...

. On 28 August 2020, Milinović was appointed to be second division side Orijent 1919 head coach.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

NK Zagreb *

Croatian First 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 ...

: 2001–02

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milinovic, Damir 1972 births Living people Footballers from Rijeka Men's association football defenders Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's international footballers HNK Orijent players HNK Rijeka players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players VfL Bochum players NK Zagreb players FC Red Bull Salzburg players NK Pomorac 1921 players First Football League (Croatia) players Croatian Football League players Bundesliga players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Croatian football managers HNK Gorica managers HNK Cibalia managers FC Koper managers HNK Orijent managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia