Miljenko Mumlek (born 21 November 1972 in
Varaždin
)
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) is a
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
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, capit ...
n former
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
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 ...
until being sentenced to prison for
match fixing
In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
. He later returned as a football team manager for one season.
Club career
Born in
Varaždin
)
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, image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg
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, Mumlek started his professional career in his hometown with
NK Varteks in early 1992 and went on to establish himself as one of the club's key players during the 1990s. In the 1998–99 season, he was an important part of the Varteks team that reached the quarter-finals of the now-defunct
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
, appearing in all of the six matches played by the team in the competition that season, as well as scoring three goals in the two matches against
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
in the second round of the competition. After grabbing a 5–4
aggregate win against the Dutch side in the
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
of the second leg at home in Varaždin, Varteks faced
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca, S.A.D. (, ca, Reial Club Deportiu Mallorca , ''Royal Sporting Club Mallorca''), commonly known as Real Mallorca or just Mallorca is a Spanish professional football club based in Palma on the island of Majorca in ...
in the quarter-finals, losing the return leg 3–1 after a goalless draw at home in the first leg.
In the summer of 1999, Mumlek left Varteks for
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 ...
(then known as Croatia Zagreb) and went on to make four appearances for the club 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 ...
group stage, appearing in both home and away fixtures against
Manchester United
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...
and
Olympique de Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club pl ...
before Dinamo were knocked out of the competition after finishing 4th out of 4 teams in their group, one point behind the 3rd-place
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 ...
. Mumlek made just nine appearances for Dinamo in the
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 league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva ...
and went on to return to Varteks in January 2000, staying with the club until August 2003, when he moved to
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
side
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the most ...
, which was the only time during his career that he had played his club football outside Croatia.
After spending two seasons with the Belgian side, he returned to Croatia in July 2005 and signed with
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 June 2007, he returned to Varteks for his third spell with the club.
In June 2010, he was one of the players arrested under allegations of being involved in
match fixing
In organized sports, match fixing is the act of playing or officiating a match with the intention of achieving a pre-determined result, violating the rules of the game and often the law. There are many reasons why match fixing might take place, ...
in the Croatian First League during the
2009–10 season. According to the club's chairman, he had been in negotiations to sign a one-year contract extension with Varteks at the time. He remained in custody until 16 July 2010. After that, 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 ...
allowed him to return to training and play in competitive matches. However, as his contract with Varteks (meanwhile renamed NK Varaždin) expired on 30 June 2010, he was without a club. NK Varaždin stated that they would wait to see whether or not there would be any legal action taken against him before possibly considering to offer him a new contract.
On 13 December 2011, Mumlek was sentenced to 7 months of prison due to his involvement in match fixin
NK Varaždin folded in 2015, and in 2018 Mulmek served as manager of a different
NK Varaždin (2012), NK Varaždin, a team which played in the same
Stadion Varteks where he had spent many years as a player.
International career
Mumlek made his international debut with the
Croatia national under-21 football team
The Croatia national under-21 football team represents Croatia in association football matches for players aged 21 or under.
Competition UEFA U-21 Championship
;Notes
*OFF = Lost in play-offs.
UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2023 UEFA ...
, making his only appearance for the team in a friendly match against
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 ...
on 17 March 1993 in Varaždin. Later, he also occasionally played for the
Croatia national team. He won a total of 8 full international caps and scored one goal for the national team, although all of his international appearances came in friendly matches.
He made his full international debut on 20 April 1994 in a 4–1 defeat for Croatia against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
in
Bratislava
Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...
, coming on as a half-time substitute for
Dean Računica
Dean Računica (born 5 December 1969) is a Croatian professional football manager and retired player. He was most recently an assistant manager at Watford to Slaven Bilić.
Playing career
Računica began his career in his hometown Šibenik, whe ...
. In his second international appearance, against
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
on 17 August 1994, he scored the final goal in a 4–0 win for Croatia. His third international appearance came in 1997 at the
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 national ...
, a minor international tournament in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, where he appeared as a substitute in a 1–1 draw against
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
Following the Kirin Cup tournament, he remained uncapped for over four years, apart from appearing for Croatia B in a friendly match against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
on 19 January 1999. In November 2001, he made his comeback to the full international side during a two-match tour in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, where he appeared in both of Croatia's friendlies against the
home side. After that, he won another three international caps, with his final international appearance coming on 12 February 2003 in a goalless draw against
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
in
Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
.
International goal
Club
Honours
Dinamo Zagreb
*
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 ...
:
1999–00
;Individual
*
SN Yellow Shirt award: 1999
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mumlek, Miljenko
1972 births
Living people
Footballers from Varaždin
Men's association football midfielders
Croatian men's footballers
Croatia men's under-21 international footballers
Croatia men's international footballers
NK Varaždin (1931–2015) players
GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
Standard Liège players
NK Slaven Belupo players
Croatian Football League players
Belgian Pro League players
Croatian expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Croatian football managers
Match fixers