Velimir Crljen (born 23 July 1966) is a Croatian retired

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 ...

and manager who played in the

Croatian First Football 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 (soccer), football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, i ...

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, Canadian Professional Soccer League, and

S.League The Singapore Premier League, commonly abbreviated as SPL, officially known as the AIA Singapore Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a men's professional football league sanctioned by the Football Association of Singapore (FAS), which r ...

. He also had several notable terms as a manager for

Toronto 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 anchor ...

in the CPSL/CSL.

Playing career

Crljen played with

HNK Šibenik Hrvatski nogometni klub Šibenik ( en, Croatian Football Club Šibenik), better known as HNK Šibenik or simply Šibenik (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Šibenik. It competes in the Croatian Football League, and plays their ...

of the

in 1992. In 1993, he played abroad in the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

with

. The following season played in the

with the

Toronto Rockets The Toronto Rocket (TR) train is the fifth and latest series of rolling stock used in the Toronto subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Owned and operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC), the trains were built by Bombardier Transpo ...

. He made his debut on 8 July 1994 against

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

. In 1996, he played in the newly formed

with the

Singapore Armed Forces FC Warriors Football Club is a Singaporean professional football club that played in the Singapore Premier League, the top division of football in Singapore. Before changing their name on 20 January 2013, they were previously known as the Singapo ...

, where he formed an instrumental triumvirate with fellow Croatian imports Ivica Raguz, and Jure Ere. During his tenure with SAFFC he won the three league titles,

Singapore Cup The Singapore Cup is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Singaporean football. Established in 1998, it is the foremost football cup competition in the country. It is open to clubs in the Singapore Premier League. Since ...

, and the

Singapore FA Cup The Singapore FA Cup, (also known as the Singapore Pools FA Cup for sponsorship reasons), is an annual football competition in Singapore. Initially held for clubs from the S.League from 1996-1998, the Football Association of Singapore decided to ...

. In 2000, he returned to Canada in the role of player/coach for Toronto Croatia in the Canadian Professional Soccer League. Crljen managed to achieve a

CPSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

after defeating the

Toronto Olympians 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 anchor ...

. After a one-year absence he returned to Singapore to sign with

Jurong FC Jurong Football Club was a professional football club, based in the Jurong area of Singapore. The club played in S.League, the top division of football in Singapore from 1997 to 2003. The team's best league finishes in this period were fifth pl ...

. In 2002, he permanently returned to Toronto Croatia, where he would eventually make the full transition from a player to a manager. He won his second CPSL Championship as a player in 2004.

Managerial career

In 2003, he resumed his dual role of player/coach for Toronto. After a year sabbatical from coaching, he returned to manage in 2005 and was named the head coach for the 2006 CSL All-Star team. In 2009, he fully retired from competitive soccer and returned to managing Toronto Croatia, where he was dismissed at the conclusion of the season. He returned in 2011 to lead Croatia to a championship, and followed by 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 ...

in 2012. In 2012, he was recognized by the league with the Coach of the Year award. He added another championship title in 2015, making Crljen one of the most successful managers in CPSL/CSL history.

Honours

Player

; Singapore Armed Forces FC *

(2):

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

(1):

(1): 1999 ; Toronto Croatia *

(2): 2000, 2004

Managerial

; Toronto Croatia *

CSL Championship The Canadian Soccer League championship final or CSL Championship is the post-season match of the Canadian Soccer League (CSL) and is the successor to the CNSL Championship. The winner is crowned champion in the same manner as in other North A ...

(3): 2011, 2012, 2015 *

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; french: Ligue canadienne de soccer — LCS) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (C ...

Regular Season Champions (1): 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crljen, Velimir 1966 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Croatian men's footballers HNK Šibenik players Toronto Croatia players Toronto Rockets (soccer) players Warriors FC players Jurong FC players Croatian Football League players American Professional Soccer League players Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) players Singapore Premier League players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Croatian football managers Toronto Croatia coaches Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) coaches Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in Canada