Ivan "Ivica" Grnja, also known as John Grnja (born 26 April 1949) is a Croatian

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 and former professional player.

Playing career

Grnja joined NK Osijek from Metalac Osijek in 1972, forming a formidable striking partnership with

Ivan Lukačević Ivan Lukačević (7 October 1946 – 26 July 2003) was a Croatian professional footballer who played as a striker. Career Lukačević played in Croatia for Mladost Seleš, Dinamo Orlovnjak, NK Valpovka Valpovo, NK Belišće and NK Osijek, and ...

and played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

for the

Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Coaching career

Grnja has managed Croatian club side NK Osijek on two occasions – in 1991, and between 1993 and 1994. Grnja also managed the Croatia under-21 side in 2005, and the under-19 side in 2008.

References

1949 births Living people People from Darda, Croatia Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers NK Metalac Osijek players NK Osijek players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in the United States Croatian football managers NK Osijek managers Croatia national under-21 football team managers Croatia national under-19 football team managers {{Croatia-footy-bio-stub