Branko Smiljanić (born 27 September 1957) is a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager and former player.

Playing career

In 1978, Smiljanić signed a one-year contract with Mercator Ljubljana. He moved to

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...

in 1979. In 1981, he signed a long-term contract with

FK Sloboda Užice FK or fk may refer to: 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 * F ...

. He first moved out of Serbia in 1983 to Sweden where he signed a contract with Kalmar AIK FK. After a two-year spell with the Kalmar-based club, he signed a contract with FC Mönsterås. In 1988, he moved back to Serbia and signed with

FK Obilić Fudbalski klub Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Обилић) is a Serbian football club based in Vračar, a neighbourhood of Belgrade. It was named after medieval Serbs, Serbian hero Miloš Obilić, a legendary 14th-century ...

and played there for the next 5 years.

Managerial career

Smiljanić received the

UEFA Pro Licence The UEFA coaching licences are documents testifying credentials of manager (association football), managers/ coach (sport), coaches among members of UEFA. The governing body for association football, football in Europe mandates several licences, e ...

in 2007 from the

Football Association of Serbia The Football Association of Serbia () is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia national football team, as well as the Second Leagues. FSS was ...

. He also holds the UEFA A License (from the

Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro The Football Association of Serbia and Montenegro (Serbo-Croatian: / ) was the governing body of football in Serbia and Montenegro, based in Belgrade. It organized the First League, the national team, the domestic cup as well as the Second Lea ...

since 2005), UEFA B License (from the

Swedish Football Association The Swedish Football Association (, SvFF) is the governing and body of football in Sweden. It organises the football leagues – Allsvenskan for men and for women – and the men's and women's national teams. It is based in Solna and is a ...

since 1988) and also the UEFA C License (from the Swedish Football Association since 1987). He has also obtained a graduate degree in Physical Education in 1996 from the

University of Novi Sad The University of Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Универзитет у Новом Саду, Univerzitet u Novom Sadu; ) is a public university in Novi Sad, Serbia. Alongside nationally prestigious University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad is ...

. He began his professional managerial career with the U-20 team of

in 1993. In 1995, he was appointed the assistant coach of the first team. In his one-year spell with the club, he helped them achieve the runners-up position in the 1994–95 FR Yugoslavia Cup. In 1996, he was appointed the head coach of

FK Mladi Radnik Fudbalski klub Mladi Radnik 1926 ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Млади Радник 1926) is a Serbian football club based in Požarevac. They play in the Serbian League West. History FK Mladi Radnik was formed in 1926 and it was init ...

. In 1997, he was appointed the head coach of

FK Sloga Kraljevo Fudbalski klub Sloga Kraljevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Слога Краљево) is a Serbian football club based in Kraljevo. History In 1909 former cavalry captain Mr. Delić came to Kraljevo from Šibenik and brought the ...

. In 1998, he was appointed the head coach of

FK Borac Čačak Fudbalski klub Borac 1926 (), commonly known as Borac Čačak, is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia. The home ground is Čačak Stadium, which has seating capacity of 8,000. As of 2024–25 season, the club competes in secon ...

and helped the club win the

1998–99 Second League of FR Yugoslavia 1998–99 Second League of FR Yugoslavia () consisted of two groups of 18 teams. The season was stopped on 14 May 1999, because of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing camp ...

(West). In 1999, he was appointed the head coach of

FK Milicionar FK Milicionar () is a defunct Association football, football club based in Makiš, Belgrade, Serbia. History Founded in 1946, the club was operated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Serbia), Ministry of Internal Affairs. They won the Second L ...

. He first moved out of Serbia to Jordan in 2001 where he was appointed manager of the Jordan national team. In 2002, he moved back to FR Yugoslavia where he was appointed the head coach of

FK Sutjeska Nikšić Fudbalski klub Sutjeska (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Сутјеска) is a professional association football club from Nikšić, Montenegro, currently competing in the Montenegrin First League. The club was established in ...

. In 2003, he moved back to Jordan and to the capital city,

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

where he was appointed the head coach of

Jordan League The Jordanian Pro League () is a Jordanian professional league for men's football clubs and represents the top flight of Jordanian football. The championship consists of twelve competing teams in a home and away league system. The league was not ...

club,

Al-Faisaly SC Al-Faisaly Sports Club () is a Jordanian professional Association football, football club based in Amman. Founded in 1932, the club competes in the Jordanian Pro League, the top flight of Football in Jordan, Jordanian football. Nicknamed "the B ...

. In his one-year spell with the Amman-based club, he helped them secure the second position in the 2003–04 Jordan League, win the 2004

Jordan FA Cup The Jordan FA Cup (), also known as the Jordan Cup – CFI () for sponsorship reasons, is Jordan's premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout tournament in men's football (soccer), Al-Faisaly FC (Amman), Al-Faisaly have the record for the mos ...

and the 2004

Jordan Super Cup The Jordan Super Cup () is a Jordanian football championship contested by the winners of Jordan Premier League and the Jordan FA Cup. In the event that a team wins both League and the Cup, the runners up of the Cup play against the winner of Lea ...

. In 2004, he moved back to Serbia where he was appointed the head coach of

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Serbia, the second large ...

. In 2005, he moved back to Jordan and his former club, Al-Faisaly SC. He again helped them secure the second position in the

2005–06 Jordan League The 2005–2006 Jordan League was the 54th season of Jordan Premier League, the top-flight league for Jordanian association football clubs. Shabab Al-Ordon won the championship for the first time, while Kfarsoum was relegated and Shabab Al-Hussei ...

and win the 2005 Jordan FA Cup. In 2006, he moved to the

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and more accurately to Libya where he was appointed the head coach of

Libyan Premier League The Libyan Premier League () is the men's top professional football division of the Libyan football league system. Administered by the Competition Organizing Committee in the Libyan Football Federation, Libyan Premier League is contested by 22 t ...

club, Al-Ittihad Club. In his two-year spell with the

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

-based club, he helped them win the 2006–07 Libyan Premier League, 2006 Libyan Super Cup, 2007 Libyan Al-Fatih Cup, 2007–08 Libyan Premier League and the 2007 Libyan Super Cup. He also helped the club to reach the Semi-finals of the

2007 CAF Champions League The 2007 CAF Champions League was the 43rd occurrence of the CAF Champions League, the most prestigious club football competition in Africa. Étoile du Sahel of Tunisia became champions for the first time, beating Al Ahly SC of Egypt 3–1 in a t ...

which is till-date the best performance of the club in the competition. In 2008, he was appointed the head coach of Libya national under-20 football team. During his one-year spell with the U20 national team, he helped them achieve the bronze medal in the

2009 Mediterranean Games The 2009 Mediterranean Games, officially the XVI Mediterranean Games () and commonly known as Pescara 2009, was a multi-sport event held in Pescara, Italy, from 26 June to 5 July 2009. It was governed by the International Committee of Mediterran ...

. His team first topped the Group C with two draws against Montenegro U20 and with the help of a 4–2 penalty shootout win over the Europeans in the second match. In the semi-finals, they were defeated 1–0 by Italy U20 and in the third place match they won 8–7 on penalties against France U20 after the match had ended 0–0 at normal time. After a successful stint with the Libya national U-20 team, he was appointed the head coach of the Libya national team on a three-year contract. In October 2011, he was one of a number of managers the candidates for the vacant Rwanda national team manager role. In 2012, he moved back to Jordan where he was appointed the head coach of

Al-Wehdat SC Al-Wehdat Sports Club () is a Jordanian sports club founded in 1956. They compete in the Jordanian Pro League, the top flight of Jordanian football. The club is based in and represents the Amman New Camp, a Palestinian refugee camp also kno ...

, fierce rivals of his former club, Al-Faisaly SC. He helped the Amman New Camp-based club reach the quarter-finals of the

2012 AFC Cup The 2012 AFC Cup was the ninth edition of the AFC Cup, a football competition organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for clubs from "developing countries" in Asia. Al-Kuwait from Kuwait won their second AFC Cup title in four year ...

. On 31 August 2012, he was sacked by the club after a 2–0 defeat against

Al-Arabi (Irbid) Al-Arabi Irbid Sports Club () is a football club based in Irbid, Jordan which currently competes in the Jordanian First Division League, the second tier of Jordanian football. History Al-Arabi Sports Club's origins began when a group of 22 y ...

, the club's second defeat in the past three matches. In 2013, he moved back to Libya and to his former club, Al-Ittihad on a one-year contract. In 2014, he returned to Serbia where he was appointed the head coach of

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League (), also known as Mozzart SuperLiga for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Serbia and the highest level of the Serbian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a sys ...

club

FK Napredak Kruševac Fudbalski klub Napredak Kruševac (), commonly known as Napredak Kruševac, is a Serbian professional football club based in the city of Kruševac. The word ''Napredak'' means "progress" in Serbian. The club's nickname is the Čarapani which ...

On 20 November 2014, he arrived in

Muscat, Oman Muscat (, ) is the capital and most populous city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the population of the Muscat Governorate in 2022 was 1.72 million. ...

and then moved to

Saham Saham () is a coastal town in Al Batinah North Governorate, in northeastern Oman Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in West Asia and the Middle East. It shares land ...

where on 22 November 2014, he signed a six-month contract to be appointed the head coach of

Saham Club Saham Club () is an Football clubs of Oman, Omani sports club based in Saham, in northeastern Oman. The club currently plays in the Oman Professional League, top division of Oman Football Association. Their home stadium is Sohar Regional Sports C ...

Oman Professional League The Oman Professional League (; 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, and was officially created in 1976. Curren ...

. In February 2016, he was appointed manager of

Thai League 1 The Thai League (, pronounced as ') or Thai League 1 (, pronounced as '), often referred to as T1, is the highest level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai L ...

club

BEC-Tero Sasana Police Tero Football Club (), formerly known as BEC-Tero Sasana, is a Thai professional association football, football club based in Lak Si district, Lak Si, Bangkok. The club finished runners-up in the inaugural AFC Champions League competition ...

. On 27 November 2016, he moved back to his former club, Al-Faisaly SC. In 2017, he moved back to Montenegro where he was appointed the head coach of

Mladost Podgorica OFK Titograd ( Montenegrin Cyrillic: ОФК Титоград) is a professional football club based in Podgorica, Montenegro. Founded in 1951, they play in the Third League of Montenegro. The team has one league trophy and two Montenegrin Cup tr ...

. On 9 November 2018, Smiljanić was named the head coach of

Al Ahli SC (Tripoli) Al Ahli Sports Club ( ; ), also known as Al Ahli Tripoli, is a Libyan professional football (soccer), football club based in Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli. It is the second most successful Libyan club in history after Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), Al-I ...

. On 23 March 2018, he left the club by mutual consent.

Personal life

His son,

Milan Smiljanić Milan Smiljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Смиљанић, ; born 19 November 1986) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Early life Smiljanić was born in Kalmar, Sweden, as his father Branko, who was also a pr ...

is a professional footballer who has played for top European clubs like

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

RCD Espanyol Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as RCD Espanyol, is a Spanish professional sports club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The club competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spa ...

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting is a Spanish professional association football, football club from Gijón, Principality of Asturias. Founded on 1 July 1905, it plays in the ...

Gençlerbirliği S.K. Gençlerbirliği Spor Kulübü (pronounced ), commonly known as Gençlerbirliği, is a Turkish sports club based in Ankara. Formed in 1923, Gençlerbirliği are nicknamed ''Ankara Rüzgârı'' (The Wind of Ankara) or simply ''Gençler'' (The Yo ...

Maccabi Netanya Maccabi Netanya F.C. () is an Israeli professional football club based in Netanya. Established in 1934, the club was a founding member of the Israeli League in 1949. After winning their first championship in 1971, the club's golden period last ...

and

. Branko is fluent in English,

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * Pertaining to Serbia in Southeast Europe; in particular **Serbs, a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans ** Serbian language ** Serbian culture **Demographics of Serbia, includes other ethnic groups within the co ...

and Swedish.

Honors

Borac Čačak *

Second League of FR Yugoslavia The Second League of Serbia and Montenegro was the second tier of the football league system in Serbia and Montenegro, one level below the First League of Serbia and Montenegro. History Formed in 1992 after the breakup of Yugoslavia, it consisted ...

: 1998–99 (West) Al-Faisaly *

runners-up: 2003–04, 2005–06 *

: 2004, 2005 *

: 2004 *

AFC Cup The AFC Champions League Two (abbreviated as the ACL Two or ACL2) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation. It is the second-tier competition of Asian club football, ranked below the AFC C ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

Al-Ittihad (Tripoli) *

: 2006–07, 2007–08 *

Libyan Cup The Libyan Cup is the main knock-out competition for football clubs in Libya. History *The Libyan Cup competition started in 1976. *From the year 1978 to the year 1995 the Libyan Cup was played only 3 times, The LPL's runner-up was named (''non ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

* Libyan Super Cup:

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

semi-finals:

Libya U-20 *

Mediterranean Games The Mediterranean Games is a multi-sport event organised by the International Committee of Mediterranean Games (CIJM). It is held every four years among athletes from countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea in Africa, Asia and Europe. The fi ...

third place:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

References

External links

Branko Smiljanić – GOAL
*
Branko Smiljanić – SOCCER PUNTER
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smiljanic, Branko 1957 births Living people Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers OFK Beograd players GFK Sloboda Užice players FK Obilić players Serbian football managers Serbia and Montenegro football managers FK Borac Čačak managers Jordan national football team managers FK Sutjeska Nikšić managers Al-Faisaly SC managers FK Vojvodina managers Al-Ittihad Tripoli managers Libya national football team managers Al-Wehdat SC managers FK Smederevo 1924 managers FK Napredak Kruševac managers Saham SC managers Branko Smiljanic OFK Titograd managers Oman Professional League managers Serbian expatriate football managers FK Mladi Radnik managers Expatriate football managers in Jordan Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Jordan Expatriate football managers in Montenegro Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Montenegro Expatriate football managers in Libya Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Libya Expatriate football managers in Oman Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Oman Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Jordan Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Kalmar AIK Fotboll players