Bruno Akrapović (born 26 September 1967) 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 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

Starting his career in his native

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, at the time part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, Akrapović spent the majority of his career playing for various clubs in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

and 2. Bundesliga, among others

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

and

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

. He played alongside

Jürgen Klopp Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German football executive and former Manager (association football), manager and Football player, player. He is widely regarded as one of the best football managers in the world. Klopp has been ...

at Mainz between 1994 and 1997.

International career

Akrapović made his senior debut for

in a March 2000

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

and has earned a total of 14 caps, scoring one goal. His final international was a September 2002 European Championship qualification match against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

Managerial career

On 16 January 2010, Akrapović received his

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 the

Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Nogometni/Fudbalski Savez Bosne i Hercegovine (N/FSBiH); Ногометни/Фудбалски Савез Босне и Херцеговине (Н/ФСБиХ), (FSBiH); unified abbreviation N/FS ...

's educational facility in Jablanica. Akrapović managed Shkëndija in the

Macedonian First League The Macedonian First Football League (), also called Macedonian First League, 1. MFL, and Prva Liga, is the highest professional football competition in Macedonia. It is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of t ...

and RNK Split in Croatia, before relocating to Bulgaria in 2017 to become the manager of

Lokomotiv Plovdiv PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv (), commonly known as Loko Plovdiv, is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Plovdiv. Lokomotiv's home ground is the Stadion Lokomotiv (Plovdiv), Lokomotiv Stadium which is situated in Lauta Park and ha ...

where he won the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup () is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament's format is ''single-elimination'', with all matche ...

twice in a row in the seasons 2018–19 and 2019–20, as well as the

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup () is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and the holder of the Bulgarian Cup at that time. ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

. On 14 June 2022, Akrapović was appointed as manager of

Saudi Pro League The Saudi Pro League (SPL), also known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL) for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Saudi Arabia and the highest level of the Saudi football league system. The SPL is regarded as th ...

club Al-Wehda. On 20 October 2022, he was sacked after only two wins in eight matches. On 30 December 2022, Akrapović was appointed as manager of Cypriot side

Akritas Chlorakas Akritas Chlorakas () is a Cypriot football club based in Chloraka, Paphos. The club was founded in 1971 and currently plays in the Cypriot Second Division. Akritas' colours are green and white, and they play their home games at the Chloraka M ...

. On 27 February 2023, he was sacked after only two months. On 8 January 2024, Akrapović became the manager of his native

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 ...

club Željezničar, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract. His first game in charge of Željezničar was a 0–0 home draw against Zrinjski Mostar on 17 February 2024. He suffered his first defeat as Željezničar manager on 26 February, losing 2–0 away to

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 ...

. He was victorious in his first

Sarajevo derby The Sarajevo derby (, ), also known as the Eternal derby (), is the name given to any football match between rival clubs Željezničar and Sarajevo, the two primary clubs in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the most viewed annual sporting ...

, beating rivals

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

3–0 at home on 3 March 2024. Following a series of poor results, and with Željezničar sitting in the relegation zone with four points from their previous six games, Akrapović and the club mutually terminated his contract on 20 April 2024.

Personal life

Akrapović's wife is Italian and their son Aaron Akrapović used to represent the Italy U17 national team.

Career statistics

International

:''Scores and results list Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Akrapović goal.''

Managerial

Honours

Player

TeBe Berlin *

Regionalliga Nordost The Regionalliga Nordost is the fourth tier of German football league system, German football in the states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia. These comprise the states of former East Germany ...

: 1997–98

Manager

Europa * Gibraltar Premier Cup: 2014–15 Shkëndija * Macedonian Cup: 2015–16 Lokomotiv Plovdiv *

: 2018–19, 2019–20 *

References

External links

* * *
Profile
at Soccerpunter.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Akrapovic, Bruno 1967 births Living people Footballers from Zenica Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's international footballers NK Čelik Zenica players SV Arminia Hannover players TuS Celle FC players VfL Wolfsburg players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Tennis Borussia Berlin players FC Energie Cottbus players FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players Kickers Offenbach players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Bundesliga players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in West Germany Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers KF Shkëndija managers RNK Split managers PFC Lokomotiv Plovdiv managers PFC CSKA Sofia managers Al Wehda FC managers FK Željezničar Sarajevo managers Croatian Football League managers First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) managers Saudi Pro League managers Cypriot First Division managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Gibraltar Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Gibraltar Expatriate football managers in North Macedonia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in North Macedonia Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in Cyprus