Senad Kreso (born 5 April 1955) 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 bega ...

and former

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Playing career

Senad began his footballing career in 1962 with the youth squad of top Bosnian club, FK Sarajevo. In 1963, he moved to

Vogošća Vogošća ( sr-cyrl, Bогошћа) is a town and a municipality located in Sarajevo Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The municipality is located about 6 kilometers north of the city of Sara ...

where he signed a long-term contract with

FK UNIS Vogošća FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video game character. Place ...

and played for the youth teams of the club for a long period of six years. He began his professional footballing career in 1969 with his parent club, FK UNIS Vogošća and played there for a long period of six years. In 1975, he signed a long-term contract with

Brčko Brčko ( sr-cyrl, Брчко, ) is a city and the administrative seat of Brčko District, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies on the banks of Sava river across from Croatia. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,893 inhabitants. De jure, ...

-based,

FK Jedinstvo Brčko Fudbalski klub Jedinstvo Brčko (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Јединство Бpчкo) is a professional association football club from the city of Brčko that is situated in the Brčko District, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The clu ...

. In 1979, he first moved out of Bosnia and Herzegovina as a footballer to

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

where he played for a short period with

Bela Crkva Bela Crkva ( sr-cyrl, Бела Црква, ; german: Weißkirchen; hu, Fehértemplom; ro, Biserica Albă) is a town and municipality located in the South Banat District of the autonomous province of Vojvodina, Serbia. The town has a populatio ...

-based, FK BAK Bela Crkva. In 1980, he moved back to Bosnia and Herzegovina where he signed a one-year contract with Goražde-based,

FK Goražde Fudbalski klub Goražde is a professional association football club based in the city of Goražde in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club was founded in 1918. Goražde plays in the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the secon ...

. In 1981, he moved back to Vogošća and more accurately to his parent and former club, FK UNIS Vogošća before hanging his boots as a professional footballer in 1983.

Managerial career

Senad holds the UEFA A Licence, the second highest football coaching qualification. He has participated in various Youth Level courses organised by the

Royal Belgian Football Association The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA; ; ; ) is the governing body of football in Belgium. It was a founding member of FIFA in 1904 and UEFA in 1954 and was based in Brussels, not far from the King Baudouin Stadium. Since October 2021, the ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He has also participated in various lower level

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

Coaching courses organised by

Malta Football Association The Malta Football Association (MFA; mt, Assoċjazzjoni tal-Futbol ta' Malta) is the governing body of football in Malta. The Association organises the Maltese Football League and several other competitions, including a knockout competition ...

, Italian Football Federation and

Football Association of Norway The Norwegian Football Federation ( nb, Norges Fotballforbund, nn, Noregs Fotballforbund; NFF) is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems f ...

in association with UEFA.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

He has had a successful managerial career from 1984 to 1999 in

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 ...

with teams like

, FK Mladost Župča, FK Sarajevo U20,

FK Olimpik Fudbalski klub Olimpik Sarajevo ( en, Football Club Olimpik Sarajevo), commonly referred to as just Olimpik, was a professional football club from Sarajevo, based in the part of the city which is called Otoka. Being one of the first teams to be ...

and Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-20 football team.

Al-Qadsia

He first moved out of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1999 to

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

where he was appointed as the manager of

Kuwaiti Premier League The Kuwait Premier League (), known as STC Premier League due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of the Kuwait football pyramid system. Formed in 1961, Al-Arabi, Qadsia and Kuwait both hold the best record in the competition, having won ...

club, Al-Qadsia SC.

Al-Merrikh

In the year 2000, he moved to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

where he was appointed as the manager of Sudan's most successful club, Al-Merrikh SC. In his one-year stay at the Omdurman-based club, he helped them win the 2000-2001 Sudan Premier League and the 2001 Sudan Cup.

Saudi Arabia

He then moved to Saudi Arabia in 2001 where he was appointed as the manager of

Buraidah Buraidah ( ar, بريدة ') is the capital and largest city of Al-Qassim Region in north-central Saudi Arabia in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula. Buraydah lies equidistant from the Red Sea to the west and Persian Gulf to the east. Its known fo ...

-based,

Saudi Premier League The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...

club, Al-Raed and later in the mid-season he was appointed as the manager of another Saudi Arabian club, Al-Fateh SC.

Al-Ahli

His next move was to

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

in 2003 where he was appointed as the manager of

Bahraini Premier League The Bahraini Premier League is the main football competition in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Currently known as the Nasser bin Hamad Premier League, the first season was held in 1957. The winners of the domestic championship qualify for the AFC Cup. ...

club, Al-Ahli. In his one-year stay at the

Manama Manama ( ar, المنامة ', Bahrani pronunciation: ) is the capital and largest city of Bahrain, with an approximate population of 200,000 people as of 2020. Long an important trading center in the Persian Gulf, Manama is home to a very di ...

-based club, he helped them win the 2003 Bahraini King's Cup. He also helped them secure the 3rd position in the 2002–03 Bahraini Premier League.

Al-Muharraq

At the end of the 2002-03 season, he was appointed as the manager of another Bahraini club,

Al-Muharraq SC Al-Muharraq Sports Club ( ar, نادي المحرق الرياضي) is a Bahraini professional football club based in Muharraq. It is one of the oldest sports clubs in the Arabian Peninsula. Al-Muharraq Sports Club has won the Bahraini Premier ...

. In his one-year stay at the

Muharraq Muharraq ( ar, المحرق, al-Muḥarraq) is Bahrain's third largest city and served as its capital until 1932 when it was replaced by Manama. The population of Muharraq in 2012 was 176,583. The city is located on Muharraq Island. Bahrain Int ...

-based club, he helped them win the 2003–04 Bahraini Premier League.

Back to Al-Ahli

In 2004, he moved back to Manama and was reappointed as the manager of his former club, Al-Ahli Club. This particular time he helped the club achieve the runners-up position in all the three major titles of the Bahrain Football Association. Under the Bosnian manager, the club secured the 2nd position in the 2005–06 Bahraini Premier League, achieved the runners-up place in the 2006 Bahraini King's Cup and also achieved the runners-up place in the

2005 Bahraini Crown Prince Cup The 2005 Bahraini Crown Prince Cup was the 5th edition of the cup tournament in men's football (soccer). This edition featured the top four sides from the Bahraini Premier League 2004-05 season. Bracket Bahraini Crown Prince Cup seasons ...

Bahrain U-23 and Bahrain national team

After a two-years successful stint with top Bahraini clubs, Al-Ahli Club and Al-Muharraq SC, the Bahrain Football Association appointed him as the manager of the Bahrain national under-23 football team. Looking at his success with the top clubs of Bahrain, the association appointed him as the manager of Bahrain national football team in 2007. His first major task was to lead the national team in the region's biggest football tournament, the

2007 Gulf Cup of Nations The 18th Arabian Gulf Cup ( ar, was the كأس الخليج العربي) 18th edition of the Arabian Gulf Cup. It took place in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 17 to 30 January 2007. The tournament was won by hosts UAE, who beat neighbor ...

. He led his side to the Semi-Finals stage of the competition but unfortunately his side had to face a 1-0 loss against

Oman Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of ...

in the Semi-finals.

Al-Najma

At the end of the 2006–07 Bahraini Premier League season, he was appointed as the manager of another Manama-based club, Al-Najma. He helped the club achieve the runners-up place in the 2008 Bahraini King's Cup.

Dhofar

In 2009, he again made a move out of Bosnia and Herzegovina and this time to

where on 26 December 2009 he was appointed as the manager of

Salalah Salalah ( ar, صَلَالَة, Ṣalālah) is the capital and largest city of the southern Omani governorate of Dhofar. Its population in 2009 was about 197,169. Salalah is the third-largest city in the Sultanate of Oman, and the largest city ...

-based Omani giants,

Dhofar The Dhofar Governorate ( ar, مُحَافَظَة ظُفَار, Muḥāfaẓat Ẓufār) is the largest of the 11 Governorates in the Sultanate of Oman in terms of area. It lies in Southern Oman, on the eastern border with Yemen's Al Mahrah G ...

. In his first year with then the 9-time Oman League winners, he helped them secure the 2nd position in the

2009–10 Oman Mobile League The 2009–10 Omani League (known as the ''Oman Mobile League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 34th edition of the top football league in Oman. It began on 12 September 2009 and finished on 7 May 2010. Al-Nahda Club were the defending champions, ...

and also helped them achieve the runners-up position in the 2009 Sultan Qaboos Cup where they narrowly lost 7-6 on penalties to Saham SC. The club management was happy with the efforts and achievements of the Bosnian manager in his first ever season in the country and as a result on 29 May 2009, he signed a contract extension with the Salalah-based club. In the 2010-11 Oman League season, he helped the club win the biggest and the most prestigious trophy of the country, the

2011 Sultan Qaboos Cup The 2011 Sultan Qaboos Cup was the 39th edition of the Sultan Qaboos Cup ( ar, كأس السلطان قابوس), the premier knockout tournament for football teams in Oman. The competition began on 16 September 2011 with the qualification round a ...

. But after some disputes with the club management and due to some financial delays in December 2011, he decided to part company with the club.

East Riffa

In January 2012, he again moved out of Bosnia and Herzegovina and more accurately to his former working place, Bahrain. On 29 January 2012, he signed a one-year contract to be appointed as the manager of

East Riffa Club East Riffa Club ( ar, نادي الرفاع الشرقي) is a Bahraini professional football club based in Riffa, Bahrain. They play in Bahraini Premier League, the top division of Bahraini football. Achievements Football *Bahraini Premier ...

Majees

Before the beginning of the inaugural season of the

Oman Professional League The Oman Professional League ( ar, دوري المحترفين عمان; known as the '' Omantel Professional League'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Omantel Elite League, is the top division of the Oman Football Association, ...

( 2013-14 season), on 13 August 2013 he was appointed as the manager of the newly promoted Sohar-based club, Majees SC. But after some disputes with the club management and due to some financial delays he decided to part company with the Majees-based club.

Busaiteen

In December 2013, he moved back to Bahrain where on 18 December 2013, he again signed a short-term contract with Bahraini Premier League club, Busaiteen. In his very short-stint with the Busaiteen-based club, he helped them achieve the runners-up position in the

2014 Bahraini King's Cup The Bahraini King's Cup is a cup competition involving teams from the Bahraini Premier League and 2nd tier. Al-Muharraq SC are the current holders of the King's Cup, having defeated their arch-rivals Riffa S.C. on penalties in last year's final. ...

where unfortunately his side had to face a narrow 2-1 loss against his former club, East Riffa.

Al-Orouba

In July 2014, he moved back to Oman and more accurately to Sur where he was appointed as the head coach of the eventual winners of the

2014–15 Oman Professional League The 2014–15 Oman Professional League (known as the ''Omantel Professional League'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 39th edition of the top football league in Oman. The season began on 11 September 2014, and concluded on 28 May 2015. Al-Nahda ...

and the 2014–15 Sultan Qaboos Cup, Al-Orouba. But after some disputes with the club management, he was sacked by the Sur-based club on 5 September 2014, a few days before the beginning of the

Salalah

On 12 July 2015, he was appointed as the manager of another Oman Professional Club,

Salalah SC Salalah Sport Club ( ar, نادي صلالة الرياضي; also known locally as ''Al-Nimoor'', or "The Tiger(s)", or just plainly as Salalah) is an Omani football club based in Salalah, Oman. Their home ground is Al-Saada Stadium, but they als ...

. During the pre-season, he helped his side achieve the runners-up position in the 2015 Salalah Festival Football Cup when his side narrowly lost 4-2 on penalties to local rivals Al-Nasr S.C.C. after the match had ended 3-3 after extra time. His club began the 2015-16 Oman Professional League campaign on a disappointing note as they faced a 3-1 loss at home against defending champions and his former club, Al-Oruba SC at the

Al-Saada Stadium The Al-Saada Stadium ( ar, أستاد السعادة), also known as Al-Saada Sports Complex ( ar, مجمع السعادة الرياضي) is a government owned multi-use stadium in the Al-Saada district of Salalah, Oman. The stadium is used on ...

. He helped his club qualify for the Quarter-finals of the 2015–16 Sultan Qaboos Cup following a massive 7-2 win over Oman Second Division League's Al-Salam SC in the Round of 32 and a 2-1 win over

Oman First Division League The Oman First Division League (known as the Omantel First Division League for sponsorship purposes) is the second-highest Association football league in Oman. Contested by 13 teams, the top 2 teams replace the bottom two in the Oman Professional ...

's Al-Wahda SC in the Round of 16. On 22 January 2016, after a lackluster performance of the club in the 2015-16 Oman Professional League under the Bosnian, Salalah SC's management decided to part ways with Bosnian manager.

Al-Nasr

A couple of weeks later, Kreso was appointed as manager of local rivals of his former clubs Salalah and Dhofar, Al-Nasr until the end of the 2015–16 season. He helped his side win the 2015–16 Oman Professional League Cup.

Personal life

Kreso is married and lives with his family in his hometown,

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

. He is the holder of First Level Degree from the faculty of Sports Sciences of

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 ...

since 1985.

Honours

Manager

Al-Ahli *

Bahraini King's Cup The King's Cup is Bahrain's premier knockout tournament in men's football. The national cup has had many different names over the years. Emir Cup (1952–59 & 1978–2002), Federation Cup (1960–77) and King's Cup (2003–present). Previous ...

: 2003 Al-Muharraq *

: 2003–04 Dhofar * Sultan Qaboos Cup: 2011 Al-Nasr *

Oman Professional League Cup The Oman Professional League Cup ( ar, كأس دوري المحترفين عمان) (known as the ''Mazda Professional Cup'' for sponsorship reasons), previously known as the Oman Federation Cup, is an Omani football competition. The first edition ...

: 2015–16

References

External links

Senad Kreso
at

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