Branko Karačić (born 24 September 1960) is a Croatian 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 ...

Club career

Karačić turned professional in 1981 and spent the following six years with

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

, where he appeared in a total of 300 matches for the club. He became captain of the team in his last years at Osijek and played alongside

Davor Šuker Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian Association football, football administrator and former professional player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He served as the president of the Croatian Football Federatio ...

, the world class striker from the Croatia national team and later

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

, currently president of the

Croatian Football Federation The Croatian Football Federation (, HNS) is the national governing body of 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 FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible f ...

. He then moved to Croatian powerhouse

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

, for whom he played between 1987 and 1989, alongside many Croatia national team players –

Alen Bokšić Alen Bokšić (; born 21 January 1970) is a former Croatian professional footballer. A forward who spent most of his career in France and Italy, he was renowned for his technique and power, and is regarded as one of the greatest players in the ...

Aljoša Asanović Aljoša Asanović (born 14 December 1965) is a Croatian football coach and former player who played as a midfielder. He was regarded as one of the best players in the Yugoslav First League, emerging as one of five top scorers during the 1989–9 ...

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

and

Robert Jarni Robert Jarni (born 26 October 1968) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a left winger or wingback. Jarni started his professional career with Hajduk Split in 1986, and went on to spend 10 years playing for various clubs ...

. After which, he decided to move abroad and play for

Cercle Brugge Cercle Brugge Koninklijke Sportvereniging () is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Their matricule number is 12. The club plays home games at the 29 ...

(1989–1993). There he was a part of the Croatian trio –

Jerko Tipurić Jerko Tipurić (born 14 June 1960 in Konjic) is a Croatian retired football defender and football manager. He also has Belgian nationality since 1998. He is known as a somewhat eccentric person. For example, he taught his players in which ang ...

Josip Weber Josip Weber, nicknamed Joske, (born Josip Veber; 16 November 1964 – 8 November 2017) was a professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented Croatia and Belgium at international level. Club career Weber began his senior career ...

and he. They were the star players in the late 1990s and made a historic impact. Karačić was elected in the top 11 in the history of

. In 1993, he moved to

Gent Gent is a shortened form of the word gentleman. It may also refer to: * Ghent ( Dutch: Gent), a Belgian city ** K.A.A. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** K.R.C. Gent, a football club from Ghent ** Gent RFC, a rugby club in Ghent ** .gent, ...

where he played for 2 years after which he moved to Austria to play for

FC Linz FC Stahl Linz is an Austrian football club, based in Linz, Upper Austria. They currently play in 2. Klasse Mitte, the eighth tier of Austrian football. History SV Eisen und Stahl, SK VÖEST Linz and SK VOEST Linz It was founded on 30 June 194 ...

where

Zlatko Kranjčar Zlatko "Cico" Kranjčar (; 15 November 1956 – 1 March 2021) was a Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. Kranjčar started his career as a player with GNK Dinam ...

was the head coach and the famous Hugo Sanchez played as a forward. His last club was Saint-Gilloise (1996–1997) from the 2nd league in Belgium where he played for half and a year, and then finished his career as a professional footballer.

International career

During his playing career, Karačić was feared for his passing and

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

abilities and was known for having excellent technique and first touch. He had an amazing oversight of the game and was the definition of a classic playmaker. He also made an appearance for the Olympic team of Yugoslavia while he was playing at Osijek.

Managerial career

After retiring from active football he first held the post of

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

(1997–1998) and then, after gaining his coaching diploma – UEFA PRO, went on to coach a number of

Prva HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...

clubs. His first coaching job was assisting

Ivo Šušak Ivo Šušak (born 10 June 1948) is a Croatian football manager. He was the head coach of Dinamo Vinkovci, Zagreb, Osijek, Maribor, and Dinamo Tbilisi. He was also the head coach of Croatia under-21 team and the Georgian national team. Career ...

NK Zagreb Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian football club based in the capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of Croatian footbal ...

(1999–2000), before taking over himself in the 2000–01 season. In his first season as the head coach, he managed to finish on the 4th place and reached semi-final of the

Croatian Cup Croatian Cup may refer to: *Croatian Football Cup *Croatian Football Super Cup *Croatian Women's Football Cup *Croatian Basketball Cup, also known as Krešimir Ćosić Cup *Croatian Handball Cup *Croatian Water Polo Cup The Croatian Water Polo C ...

. He then went on to coach Marsonia, with which he earned a promotion to the Prva HNL. He took over Osijek in 2003, his first club as a professional football player, finishing again on the 4th place in the competition and reaching the quarter-finals of the Croatian Cup. In 2010 he once again became the coach of Osijek. After accepting an offer from

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo (), often referred to as Slaven Belupo, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Koprivnica in the north of Croatia. They play their home matches at Gradski stadion in Koprivnica. They play in ...

in 2004, he managed to finish on the 6th place and qualified for the

Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from , "between" and , " betting pool"),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition between European clubs. The competition was discon ...

where the club played against

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

. This was the first international appearance in his career as the coach. During the 2005–06 he managed the team of

Cibalia Hrvatski nogometni klub Cibalia, commonly known as Cibalia Vinkovci or simply Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva NL, Croatia's second-tier league. Their stadium ...

finishing on the 9th place in Prva HNL. After a 1-year absence of coaching, he accepted the project Slavonac CO, which he managed from 2007 to 2009. With the club he made a historic result qualifying for the Prva HNL, although they have never played in it due to financial reasons. When he took over

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 the 2009–10 season, he managed to put down the best result in the club's history finishing on the 4th place in domestic competition and playing the final of the

against

. They qualified for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, where they successfully passed the 1st round of qualifications. They then played against Cyprian powerhouse

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta.

. In 2011, Karačić became the manager of

Široki Brijeg Široki Brijeg () is a city and the regional capital of West Herzegovina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. the town itself had a population of 6,149 and the municipality of 28,929. Name ...

in the

Bosnian Premier League The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; sr-Cyrl, Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football leagu ...

. There, he also reached the final of the

Bosnian Cup The Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kup Bosne i Hercegovine, Куп Босне и Херцеговине) is a knock-out football competition contested annually by clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The winner ...

and finished as runner-ups in the competition. In the 2013–14 season, he achieved his best result yet as a manager, when he won Bosnian Premier League with

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) ** ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *H ...

, although they were considered underdogs throughout the whole season. They earned the right to play in the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

where they played against

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

. In December 2014, Karačić was sacked. During the 2015–16 season, Karačić managed

Vitez Vitez ( sr-cyrl, Витез) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 6,329 inhab ...

, and during late 2016 he managed Široki Brijeg. In October 2018, Karačić became the new manager of

Varaždin Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011). The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...

. On 18 May 2019, he got Varaždin promoted to the Prva HNL after the club beat Šibenik 3–1 at home. In June 2019, Karačić left the club. He left

Sesvete Sesvete () is the easternmost city district of Zagreb, Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwe ...

in December 2021 after leading them in only 12 matches. On 23 March 2023, Karačić returned to the Bosnian Premier League, becoming the new manager of

Posušje Posušje () is a town and municipality in the West Herzegovina Canton, a federal unit of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Name The name Posušje is derived from ''suša'' ( Croatian for drought). Th ...

. He finished the

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

with the side in 10th place, managing to avoid relegation. Following the end of the season, Karačić extended his contract with Posušje until June 2024. He was sacked as manager by the club on 30 December 2023.

Style of managing

Karačić as a manager is well known for his tactical knowledge, iron discipline and an attacking style of playing. He is fond of giving young talented players a chance and promoted a number of high quality players in his teams -

Ognjen Vukojević Ognjen Vukojević (born 20 December 1983) is a Croatian football manager and former professional player. He is currently the manager of the Croatia national under-20 team, an assistant manager of Ukrainian Premier League club Dynamo Kyiv, and a ...

Danijel Pranjić Danijel Pranjić (born 2 December 1981) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. Being a versatile left-footed player, he could play all across the left wing and could also be used as a central midfielder. Pranjić had the ...

Arijan Ademi Arijan Ademi (; born 29 May 1991) is a professional association football, footballer who plays for Croatian Football League club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. Ademi started his professional career at HNK Šibenik, Šibenik, debuting for the ...

Ermin Zec Ermin Zec (born 18 February 1988) is a Bosnian former professional footballer who played as a forward or as a winger. Club career In 2007, Zec signed for Šibenik where he quickly established himself in the first team. He was voted best youn ...

, Marko Babić and

Antonio Franja Antonio Franja (born 8 June 1978) is a retired Croatian professional footballer who played as a left winger. Club career Franja been through football school NK Dinamo Zagreb. As a junior he signed with NK Croatia Zagreb (Dinamo ). He later went ...

Honours

Manager

Marsonia *

Druga HNL The Prva nogometna liga (), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Second League. The 1. NL is ope ...

- North: 2002–03 Zrinjski Mostar *

: 2013–14 Varaždin *Druga HNL: 2018–19

References

External links

Branko Karačić
at ''Nogometni leksikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Karacic, Branko 1960 births Living people Footballers from Vinkovci Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Croatian men's footballers NK Osijek players HNK Hajduk Split players Cercle Brugge K.S.V. players K.A.A. Gent players Royale Union Saint-Gilloise players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players 2. Liga (Austria) players Challenger Pro League players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Croatian expatriate men's footballers Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Austria Croatian football managers NK Zagreb managers NK Marsonia managers NK Osijek managers NK Slaven Belupo managers HNK Cibalia managers HNK Šibenik managers NK Široki Brijeg managers HŠK Zrinjski managers NK Vitez managers NK Varaždin (1931–2015) managers NK Sesvete managers HŠK Posušje managers Croatian Football League managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina