Mirko Hrgović (born 5 February 1979) is a Bosnian 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 beg ...

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 i ...

currently working as an assistant coach for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Club career

Široki Brijeg

Hrgović has played for Posušje and Široki Brijeg in the Bosnian Premier League,

Gamba Osaka is a Japanese professional association football, football club based in Suita, Osaka Prefecture. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the country. The club's home stadium is Panasonic Stadium Suita. They form a ...

and

JEF United Chiba , full name and also known as , is a Japanese professional football club based in Chiba, capital of Chiba Prefecture. They currently play in the J2 League, Japanese second tier of professional football. History Furukawa Electric SC (19 ...

in the Japanese

J1 League The , the J.League or the for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Japan and the highest level of the Japanese football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation ...

, VfL Wolfsburg in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

and

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian First League among others.

Dinamo Zagreb

On 18 July 2008, Hrgović signed a three-year contract with Dinamo Zagreb. His move, albeit not directly from Hajduk Split to Dinamo, stirred quite a controversy among both Hajduk and Dinamo fans. While Hajduk fans tend to see the move as treason to their beloved club, Dinamo fans cannot forgive the physical altercation between Hrgović and a couple of them that occurred seven months earlier during the national

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

competition. Graffiti against Hrgović and death threats, including a puppet of him being hanged by the Dinamo stadium fence, were registered.

Greuther Fürth

On 17 July 2009, Hrgović signed a two-year contract with 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth. He was released on 25 November 2009.

Return to Široki Brijeg

After his release in November 2009 by Greuther Fürth, Hrgović returned to his former club Široki Brijeg in March 2010.

International career

Born in Croatia, Hrgović decided to play for

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

after his games went unnoticed in Croatia. He decided to take Bosnia and Herzegovina nationality while playing for Široki Brijeg. He was called up by national team head coach

Blaž Slišković Blaž "Baka" Slišković (; born 30 May 1959) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. As a player, Slišković was capped 26 times for Yugoslavia in th ...

. Hrgović made his debut for

in a February 2003

friendly game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

away against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He has earned a total of 29 caps, scoring 2 goals. Hrgović played regularly during

's time as the national team's head coach. After Slišković's resignation in 2006, he also played under Fuad Muzurović and

Meho Kodro Mehmed "Meho" Kodro (born 12 January 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. Kodro started playing professionally at Velež Mostar, making his first team debut in 1985. He spent most of his 1 ...

. When Miroslav Blažević became head coach, Hrgović was dropped for several games. He would eventually be called back to represent the country in the last two games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign against

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His final international was an October 2009 World Cup qualifying game against the latter.

Managerial career

Following his retirement from active football, Hrgović became a

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. He worked as an assistant at Široki Brijeg, Sheriff Tiraspol,

Beijing Guoan Beijing Guoan Football Club (), known in AFC competitions as Beijing FC, is a Chinese professional football club based in Beijing, that competes in . Beijing Guoan plays its home matches at the Workers' Stadium, located within Chaoyang Distr ...

and

Šibenik Šibenik (), historically known as Sebenico (), is a historic town in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka (Croatia), Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is one of the oldest Croatia, Croatian self-governing cities ...

. In May 2024, Hrgović was named as an assistant of newly appointed Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach Sergej Barbarez.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first''

Honours

Player

Hajduk Split * Croatian First League: 2000–01 Dinamo Zagreb * Croatian First League: 2008–09 * Croatian Cup: 2008–09

References

External links