Goran Vučević (born 18 May 1971) is a Croatian former professional

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

central 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 ...

. He spent most of his professional career with

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 ...

(in several capacities, including player and manager) and

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(mostly with the reserves).

Club career

Born in

Split, Croatia )'' , settlement_type = List of cities and towns in Croatia, City , anthem = ''Marjane, Marjane'' , image_skyline = , imagesize = 267px , image_caption = Top: Nighttime view of ...

Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

, Vučević started his career at local HNK Hajduk, where he became a key player at only 18, eventually winning the 1992

Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award The Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award or SN Yellow Shirt for short ( hr, Žuta majica Sportskih novosti) is an annual football award given by the Croatian sports daily ''Sportske novosti''. It is awarded to the best football player playing in th ...

, issued to the best footballer playing in the Croatian League at the end of every season. Afterwards, Vučević was bought by

Johan Cruyff Hendrik Johannes Cruijff (, internationally known as Johan Cruyff; 25 April 1947 – 24 March 2016) was a Dutch professional football player and manager. As a player, he won the Ballon d'Or three times, in 1971, 1973 and 1974. Cruyff was a ...

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

. During his five-year stay, he could never break into the first team, which also featured – as the clubs in Spain were not allowed to field more than three foreign players at the same time –

Luís Figo Luís Filipe Madeira Caeiro Figo (; born 4 November 1972) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger for Sporting CP, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Inter Milan. He won 127 caps for the Portugal national team, a one-ti ...

Gheorghe Hagi Gheorghe "Gică" Hagi (; born 5 February 1965) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is currently the owner and manager of Liga I club Farul Constanța. Deployed as an attacking midfielder, Hagi was considered one of ...

Ronald Koeman Ronald Koeman (; born 21 March 1963) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is the younger brother of his former international teammate Erwin Koeman and the son of former Dutch international Martin Koeman. Koeman was cap ...

Michael Laudrup Michael Laudrup (, born 15 June 1964) is a Danish professional football coach and former player. He is considered to be one of the greatest players of all time. He is the older brother of fellow retired footballer Brian Laudrup. During his pl ...

Romário Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...

Hristo Stoichkov Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov ( bg, Христо Стоичков Стоичков, ; born 8 February 1966) is a Bulgarian former professional Association football, footballer who is a football commentator for TUDN. A prolific Forward (association ...

; in December 1993, he was ousted from the squad by the Dutch manager after refusing to return to the B-side, and in the following off-season was loaned to Hajduk, where alongside experienced players such as

Stjepan Andrijašević Stjepan "Stipe" Andrijašević (born 7 February 1967) is a Croatian retired Association football, football player. Club career Andrijašević made his debut for local club HNK Hajduk Split, Hajduk Split in 1983 and played in the 1994–95 UEFA C ...

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� ...

and

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 ...

he helped to a

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 ...

conquest – the first since 1975 – and a quarter-final run 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 ...

. After two loans, first loaned to his former club then

CP Mérida Club Polideportivo Mérida was a Spanish football team based in Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Having played twice in La Liga ( 1995–96 and 1997–98), the club was dissolved in 2000, due to serious economic debts. Its ...

, the latter also in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

, Vučević was finally sold in the 1997 summer to 1. FC Köln. He also struggled immensely in Germany, playing very rarely including when the team was in the

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 ...

. In 1999, he returned for a third spell with Hajduk, retiring after two unassuming years.

International career

Over the course of one week, starting on 5 July 1992, Vučević played three times for the Croatia national team. All of his

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

were won in

friendlies 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 the same opponent,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Managerial career

From 2005 to 2008, still with Hajduk Split, Vučević accumulated the tasks of assistant to the main squad and youth coach, taking the first team's reins in May 2008 but resigning in October, after which he returned to the youth system. His second spell as manager started on 16 November 2010, when he replaced

Stanko Poklepović Stanko "Špaco" Poklepović (19 April 1938 – 24 December 2018) was a Croatian professional football player and manager. Poklepović managed a number of teams over 46 years, including Hajduk Split on four occasions. He was also the first manage ...

; in April 2011, having already been ousted from the group stage of 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 ...

and having failed to win the national championship during the club's 100-year celebration season, he was sacked. Vučević returned to Hajduk Split in December 2013 as

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 ...

, thanks to president

Marin Brbić Marin Brbić (born 24 August 1961) is a Croatian businessman and economist who served as chairman of the Croatian football club Hajduk Split from 2012 to 2016, and then again from 2019 to 2020. Career Brbić started his career in tourism. He wa ...

. In April 2015, he again replaced Poklepović for a third spell as head coach, but was himself relieved of his duties after only two games, one of them resulting in elimination from the

Croatian Football Cup The Hrvatski nogometni kup ( eng, Croatian football cup), also colloquially known as Rabuzinovo sunce (), is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after th ...

at the hands of

RNK Split Radnički nogometni klub Split, commonly known as RNK Split, is a Croatian football club based in the city of Split. History The club had a strong fanbase in the Split's shipyard. The club was founded on 16 April 1912 as Anarch, but has had se ...

. He received threats to both him and his family from the fans, but continued to work as sporting director afterwards; in March 2016, he was criticised for his methods and blamed for the team's negative run in the league, offering his resignation which was taken into consideration. On 1 April 2016, Vučević resigned from Hajduk after Brbić left his post. He then became a scout for former club Barcelona. He signed a two-year deal as technical director at Saudi Arabia's

Al Nassr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

in October 2021.BIVŠI TRENER HAJDUKA IMA NOVI POSAO, EVO KAKVOG SE IZAZOVA UHVATIO NAKON DUGIH PREGOVORA
- Sportske Jutarnji

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vucevic, Goran 1971 births Living people Footballers from Split, Croatia Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's international footballers HNK Hajduk Split players FC Barcelona Atlètic players FC Barcelona players CP Mérida footballers 1. FC Köln players Yugoslav First League players Croatian Football League players La Liga players Segunda División players Bundesliga players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Germany Croatian football managers HNK Hajduk Split managers HNK Hajduk Split non-playing staff FC Barcelona non-playing staff Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Al Nassr FC non-playing staff