Darko Milanič (born 18 December 1967) is a Slovenian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...

. As a player, Milanič represented both

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

and

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

at international level. He also

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed Slovenia at

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

Club career

Born in

Izola Izola (; it, Isola ) is a town in southwestern Slovenia on the Adriatic coast of the Istrian peninsula. It is the seat of the Municipality of Izola. Its name originates from Italian ''Isola'', which means 'island'. History An ancient Roman ...

, Milanič began his football career with local side

NK Izola Nogometni klub Izola ( en, Izola Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Izola or simply Izola, was a Slovenian football club from Izola. They played in the Slovenian top division for five consecutive seasons during the early 1990s. The cl ...

. In the 1986–87 season, he joined

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

. During his time at Partizan, he won the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

and the

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

twice. After the 1992–93 season, Milanič moved to the Austrian side

Sturm Graz Sportklub Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909. Its colours are black and white. In its history, Sturm Graz has won the Austrian f ...

, where he played for eight seasons and won eight trophies, including two Austrian Bundesliga titles, three

Austrian Cup The Austrian Cup (german: ÖFB-Cup), known as UNIQA ÖFB Cup for sponsorship purposes, is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB. During the 2008–09 season, Austria Wien won the tournament for 27th t ...

s 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

, Milanič earned five caps for

. Even after Slovenia's independence, he was included by Yugoslavia in their squad for

Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having qualifi ...

along with

Džoni Novak Džoni Novak (born 4 September 1969) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented his country at Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup. Club career Born in Ljubljana, he started his professional career p ...

, but the nation would be suspended due to the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

. Milanič later represented

, earning 42 caps. He captained his country at the

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, including a match against his former national side, 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

. After that, he was appointed manager of Primorje and an assistant coach at

under

Franco Foda Franco Foda (born 23 April 1966) is a German football coach and former player who was most recently the manager of Swiss club FC Zürich. Club career Foda appeared in over 400 top-flight matches in (West) Germany, Switzerland and Austria. F ...

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 The Slovenian PrvaLiga ( sl, Prva slovenska nogometna liga, ), currently named Prva liga Telemach due to sponsorship reasons, also known by the abbreviation 1. SNL, is the top level of the Football in Slovenia, Slovenian football league system. ...

. In the

2007–08 UEFA Cup The 2007–08 UEFA Cup was the 37th edition of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. The final was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester, England on 14 May 2008 between Rangers of Scotland and Zenit Saint Pet ...

, 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 Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, th ...

by Director of Football

Zlatko Zahovič Zlatko Zahovič (; born 1 February 1971) is a Slovenian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After making a name for himself in Europe in Portugal, most notably with Porto and Benfica where he amassed Primeira ...

. He won the Slovenian PrvaLiga during his first year in the 2008–09 season. In May 2010, Maribor won the

Slovenian Cup Slovene or Slovenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Slovenia, a country in Central Europe * Slovene language, a South Slavic language mainly spoken in Slovenia * Slovenes, an ethno-linguistic group mainly living in Slovenia * Sl ...

. 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 The Slovenian Supercup ( sl, Superpokal Slovenije) was a Association football, football match played between the Slovenian PrvaLiga champions and the Slovenian Football Cup, Slovenian Cup winners. Prior 2007, the match was held only twice, in 1995 ...

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 League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

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 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 ...

. 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 Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

and drawing with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, both at home. On 9 November 2012, Maribor suffered a 3–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur after a hat-trick by

Jermain Defoe Jermain Colin Defoe (born 7 October 1982) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He also played for the England national team. Defoe began his career with Charlton Athletic, joining their youth team aged 14, be ...

. In the final game of Group J, Maribor suffered a 4–1 defeat to

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. Maribor confirmed their eleventh league title on 11 May 2013 after defeating Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1. In the 2013 Cup Final, Maribor defeated

Celje ) , pushpin_map = Slovenia , pushpin_label_position = left , pushpin_map_caption = Location of the city of Celje in Slovenia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Cou ...

1–0, thus securing their fourth "

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

" 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 Novica Nikčević (born 7 October 1972) is a Slovenian retired footballer who played as a forward. He is currently the assistant coach of Darko Milanič at Slovan Bratislava. Playing career Nikčević played for a number of Slovenian clubs th ...

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 Breiðablik (sometimes anglicised to Breithablik or Breidablik) is the home of the god Baldr in Nordic mythology. The name can also refer to: Locations * Breidablik Peak, a mountain in Canada * Breidablick, Washington, a community in the USA S ...

. 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 Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

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 David Hockaday (born 9 November 1957) is an English professional footballer who is currently Head of Male Football at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College. He has previously worked as a manager at Leeds United, Forest Green Rovers, Kidde ...

. 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 Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club (), commonly known as Wolves, is a professional football club based in Wolverhampton, England, which compete in the . The club has played at Molineux Stadium since moving from Dudley Road in 1889. The club's ...

, 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 The 2017–18 UEFA Champions League was the 63rd season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 26th season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was pla ...

after eliminating

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) *H ...

Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar ( en, Hafnarfjörður Gymnastics Club), commonly referred to as FH, is an Icelandic multi-sports club based in Hafnarfjörður. The club competes in football, handball, athletics, and fencing. It was founded in 1929 ...

, 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 Bravo(s) or The Bravo(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music Groups and labels *Bravo (band), a Russian rock band * Bravo (Spanish group), represented Spain at Eurovision 1984 *Bravo Music, an American concert band music publishing company ...

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 Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

on a two-year contract. He was sacked on 10 May 2022 after a 1–0 defeat against

Anorthosis Famagusta 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 fou ...

, one round before the end of the season.

Anorthosis Famagusta

On 22 June 2022, he signed a two-year contract with

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

club Anorthosis Famagusta. He was sacked on 3 October after managing just five games.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Partizan *

: 1986–87 *

: 1988–89, 1991–92 Sturm Graz * Austrian Bundesliga: 1997–98, 1998–99 *

: 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99 * Austrian Supercup: 1996, 1998, 1999

Manager

Maribor *

: 2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2018–19 *

: 2009–10, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2015–16 *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Individual * Slovenian PrvaLiga Manager of the Season: 2011–12SPINS XI 2011–12
/ref>

References

External links

Player profile
at NZS * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milanic, Darko 1967 births Living people People from Izola Yugoslav footballers Slovenian footballers Association football defenders FK Partizan players SK Sturm Graz players Slovenian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Serbia and Montenegro Expatriate footballers in Austria Yugoslav First League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players UEFA Euro 2000 players Dual internationalists (football) Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Serbia and Montenegro Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Yugoslavia international footballers Slovenia international footballers Slovenian football managers Slovenian expatriate football managers Austrian Football Bundesliga managers English Football League managers Slovak Super Liga managers Cypriot First Division managers NK Primorje managers ND Gorica managers NK Maribor managers SK Sturm Graz managers Leeds United F.C. managers ŠK Slovan Bratislava managers Pafos FC managers Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Austria Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate football managers in England Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Slovakia Expatriate football managers in Slovakia Slovenian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in Cyprus