Darije Kalezić (born 1 November 1969) is a Bosnian/Dutch professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player.

Playing career

Kalezić was born in Pfäffikon,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. He started his career still in Yugoslavia, then Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he played for 4th tier FK Lokomotiva Mostar when sports director

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...

brought him to Velež Mostar. When the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

broke out, he left Mostar and earned a contract with Croatian side

NK Neretva Nogometni klub Neretva Metković (), commonly referred to as NK Neretva or simply Neretva, is a Croatian professional football club based in the town of Metković, in the region of Dubrovnik-Neretva County. The club's first name was NK Narona. O ...

and played for them during the

Croatian War of Independence The Croatian War of Independence) and (rarely) "War in Krajina" ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Рат у Крајини, Rat u Krajini) are used. was an armed conflict fought in Croatia from 1991 to 1995 between Croats, Croat forces loyal to the Governmen ...

. He fled war-torn Croatia for the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 1994 and as player being member of

FC Den Bosch FC Den Bosch () is a professional football club from 's-Hertogenbosch, They currently compete in the Eerste Divisie. They were founded 18 August 1965, as FC Den Bosch/BVV. They are the successor of BVV (1906) and Wilhelmina (1890). Their stadiu ...

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional association football, football club based in Waalwijk. They currently play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie i ...

AGOVV Apeldoorn AGOVV () is a Dutch association football club based in Apeldoorn. It was established on 25 February 1913. The club played in professional football from 1954 to 1971 and from 2003 to 2013. AGOVV's men's first squad plays in 2024–25 in the Derde ...

, and

De Graafschap Vereniging Betaald Voetbal De Graafschap, simply known as De Graafschap () is a professional association football club based in Doetinchem, Netherlands. The team competes in the , the second level of the Dutch football league system. Founded o ...

. He retired in 2006, at

Personal life

Kalezić's father is from

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

and his mother is from

Sanski Most Sanski Most ( sr-cyrl, Сански Мост, ) is a town and municipality located in the Una-Sana Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of the Sana River in northwes ...

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 ...

. His parents were guest workers in Switzerland when he was born, but they moved back to the Balkans, settling in Mostar when Darije was a child.

Managerial career

After his retirement from football as a player, Kalezić accepted to stay at

as a reserve/youth team coach from 2006 to 2008, and later on being promoted as

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

De Graafschap

On 25 February 2009, he was appointed interim manager of

after previous manager Henk van Stee was dismissed due to poor results. Even though the team relegated at the end of the season, Kalezić was confirmed as head coach for the new season, in which he led the promptly bounce back into the

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start o ...

by claiming the

2009–10 Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie 2009–10 was the 54th season of the Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1956. The previous year's winners were VVV-Venlo; they, with runner-up RKC Waalwijk, after a promotion/relegation playoff win over De Graafschap, ...

title. He saved the team from relegation in 2010–11, leaving the club at the end of the season.

Zulte Waregem

In June 2011, Kalezić was announced as new head coach of

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

club Zulte Waregem. On 27 December 2011, Kalezić was fired with Zulte Waregem in 14th place and two places above relegation.

Stockport County

On 24 January 2013, Kalezić was announced as manager of

Stockport County Stockport County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1883 as Heaton ...

. Kalezić held this position until 20 March 2013 at which point he left the club via mutual consent.

Jong PSV

Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Kalezić was appointed manager of

Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively fo ...

, the reserve side of

PSV Eindhoven Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...

, for their first season in the

Eerste Divisie The Eerste Divisie (; ) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the Keuken Kampioen Divisie due to sponsorship reasons, while ...

finished the

2013–14 Eerste Divisie The 2013–14 Eerste Divisie, known as Jupiler League for sponsorship reasons, was the fifty-eight season of Eerste Divisie since its establishment in 1955. It began on 2 August 2013 with the first matches of the season and ended on 26 May 2014 ...

in 10th place. Kalezić guided the

to a 14th-place finish in the 2014/15 Eerste Divisie..

Roda JC

On 11 June 2015, Kalezić was appointed manager of newly promoted

Roda JC Sportvereniging Roda Juliana Combinatie Kerkrade (; ), shortly as Roda JC Kerkrade () or commonly Roda JC or simply Roda, is a Dutch professional football club based in Kerkrade, Netherlands. Roda JC Kerkrade plays in the Eerste Divisie. The c ...

on a two-year contract.

finished 14th, 5 points above relegation, on their return to the

. Kalezić was sacked on 10 May 2016 after making critical comments against the club's technical director,

Ton Caanen Ton Caanen (born 18 March 1966) is a Dutch football manager. Managerial career Caanen was born in Geleen, Netherlands. Aside from a few years in the amateur Dutch leagues, he never played professional football. He got his start as a manager i ...

Al-Taawoun

On 2 June 2016, Kalezić was appointed as manager of Saudi club Al-Taawoun. Kalezić was sacked on 15 October 2016 after five league games in charge.

Wellington Phoenix

On 7 June 2017, Kalezić was announced as manager of

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

club

Wellington Phoenix Wellington Phoenix Football Club is a professional football club based in Wellington, New Zealand. It competes in the Australian A-League Men, under licence from Football Federation Australia. Phoenix entered the competition in the 2007–08 ...

. On 1 March 2018, Wellington Phoenix announced that Kalezić would be departing the club at the end of the season after they were not able to come to an agreement on how the club proceeds forward for the next season. A further announcement on 8 March 2018 confirmed he was leaving the club.

MVV Maastricht

In June 2020, Kalezić was appointed new head coach of Dutch

club

MVV Maastricht Maatschappelijke Voetbal Vereniging Maastricht (), commonly known as MVV Maastricht (, ) or simply as MVV, is a Dutch professional Association football, football club from the city of Maastricht. Founded on 2 April 1902, MVV Maastricht currently ...

. He signed a two-year contract. Kalezić has ensured the reconstruction of

Jong FC Utrecht

On 28 May 2021, Kalezić was appointed new head coach of Dutch

club

Jong FC Utrecht Jong FC Utrecht (U23) is a Dutch football team, based in Utrecht. It is the reserve team of FC Utrecht and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2016–17 Eerste Divisie season. Current squad Out on loan Techni ...

. He signed a three-year contract. Kalezić left

in June 2023.

ADO Den Haag

On 29 June 2023, Kalezić was appointed as new head coach of Dutch

club

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation ...

. He signed a two-year contract. After his contract expired, Darije left the club in 2025.

FK TSC

On 16 June 2025, Kalezić was appointed as the new head coach of Serbian club

FK TSC FK TSC ( sr-Cyrl, ФК ТСЦ), commonly known as TSC, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bačka Topola. Its initial founding date in 1913 as Topolyai Sport Club makes it currently the second-oldest football club in the Serbian Supe ...

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Neretva * Croatian Second League: 1993–94 (South)

Manager

De Graafschap *

: 2009–10 PSM Makassar *

Piala Indonesia Piala Indonesia () is the professional annual cup competition for football clubs in Indonesia. Its origins date back to the start of the semi-professional football era in 1985 as Piala Liga, which ran until 1989 under Galatama competition. The Fo ...

: 2018–19 Individual *

Manager of the year: 2009–10

References