Pero Janjić (born 27 September 1944) is a Bosnian Croat retired handball player and coach. As a coach, Janjić won the

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

European Cup with

Borac Banja Luka Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...

which is still to this day one of the greatest sporting triumphs of clubs from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

. Janjić also led

to four Yugoslav championships in 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1981. He was hailed as a national hero in Switzerland for securing a historic first qualification of the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

to the 1980 Olympics.

Coaching career

Pero Janjić first started coaching at the youth team of

, his hometown club where he spent his entire career as a player. At the same time he was teaching physical education at Banja Luka gymnasium. Janjić got his break to manage Borac first team at a young age of 28. This proved to be the most successful era in the club's history. Janjić spent four years at the helm and won a European Cup, three Yugoslav Championships and two Yugoslav Cups. In 1976, Janjić managed Yugoslavia national team at 1976 Olympics in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

where they finished fifth. Yugoslavia missed the Olympic final by just one goal in the final group match. Janjić then took over Switzerland national team which was at the time struggling at the third tier World Championship C Group. Under Janjić's leadership, Switzerland's first success was promotion to the second tier B Group. Switzerland then reached the finals of the B Group tournament in 1979, thus securing promotion both to A group and to 1980 Olympics. Due to personal reasons, Janjić had to return home to

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

and thus didn't get a chance to lead Switzerland at the Olympic tournament. In 1980, he once again took over his hometown club Borac which were bottom of the table. Janjić made a complete turnaround and led them to another Yugoslav championship title in 1981. Later in his career, Janjić managed clubs in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

and

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

. In 1990 he had another stint as a head coach of Yugoslavia, finishing fourth at the 1990 World Championship. This was Yugoslavia's last major tournament prior to break up of the country. Velimir Petković considers Janjić as his role model and one of the best handball coaches in the world.

Personal life

Pero Janjić holds a degree in physical education from the

University of Sarajevo The University of Sarajevo ( Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian: ''Univerzitet u Sarajevu'' / Sveučilište u Sarajevu / Универзитет у Сарајеву) is a public university located in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the largest ...

. In 1990, he moved from Banja Luka to

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

where he lives today. He has a wife Emina and daughters Ivona and Leana.

Honours

Manager

Club

Borac Banja Luka * Yugoslav Championship (4): 1974, 1975, 1976, 1981 *

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, ...

(2): 1974, 1976 * European Cup winner (1): 1976 * European Cup runner up (1): 1975

International

Yugoslavia national team * 1976 Olympic Games - 5th place * 1990 World Championship - 4th place Switzerland national team * 1979 World Championship (B Tournament) - 2nd place

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janjic, Pero Handball coaches of international teams Handball coaches Sportspeople from Banja Luka Living people 1944 births Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina