Ivan Jovanović ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Јовановић; born 8 July 1962) is a

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 ...

professional

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 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

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who is the manager of the Greek National Team.

Playing career

Jovanović played for Rad in the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

during the 1987–88 and 1988–89 seasons. The next season, he transferred to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

side Iraklis, where he played until the end of his career. During his spell in Iraklis, Jovanović evolved into one of the highest quality foreign players who ever played for the team.

Managerial career

Early career

Ivan Jovanović began his managerial career in 2001 at Greek side Niki Volos. He then coached Iraklis and

Panachaiki Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece. The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...

APOEL

During his managerial career at APOEL he won nine trophies: four

Championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

, one

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

and four Super Cups. He also helped APOEL to qualify for 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 ...

group stages for the first time in their history in 2009. Two years later, he repeated his achievement and just not only helped APOEL to qualify for the group stages of the

2011–12 UEFA Champions League The 2011–12 UEFA Champions League was the 57th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 20th season in its current Champions League format. As part of a trial that started in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa Lea ...

, but achieved also to qualify for the

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

by topping their group, beating

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

in the last 16 on penalties, before being knocked-out by

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 ...

in the quarter-finals. He is considered as the most successful manager in the history of APOEL. During his seven-year spell at APOEL he has been awarded the "Coach of the Season" award by

Cyprus Football Association The Cyprus Football Association (CFA) (, ) is the governing body of football in Cyprus and is based in Nicosia. It organises Cyprus's football championships, whose top league is the Cypriot First Division. It also organises the Cypriot Cup, the ...

six times. He has also been awarded the " Serbian Coach of the Year" award by

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 ...

in 2011. On 30 April 2013, APOEL announced that Ivan Jovanović decided to leave at the end of the 2012–13 season, after five-and-a-half consecutive (and seven in total) successful years in the club.

Al Nasr

On 18 June 2013, Jovanović was announced as the new head coach of the Emirati club Al Nasr, having signed a two-year contract. On 19 May 2014, Jovanović led his team to a 2–1 victory over

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 ...

in the 2014 GCC Champions League final and won his first trophy as Al Nasr's manager. On 29 October 2016, Al Nasr sacked Jovanović from the technical command of the first football team, after failing to adjust the repeated technical errors. On 19 January 2018, Al Nasr re-appointed Jovanović to replace

Cesare Prandelli Claudio Cesare Prandelli (; born 19 August 1957) is an Italian former football coach and former player. Playing career Prandelli was a midfielder who moved from Atalanta to Juventus in 1979. His first game for Juventus was in the 1979–80 Eur ...

. On 2 December 2018, Jovanović was sacked for a second time after a mixed start of the 2018–19 UAE Pro-League season.

United Arab Emirates

On 22 December 2019, Ivan was appointed as the new coach of the UAE national team. On 6 April 2020 the Emirati FA announced the termination of his contract.

Panathinaikos

On June 17, 2021, it was announced that Jovanović had been appointed as head coach of Panathinaikos under a one-year contract. He earned victory in his first

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

game for the Greens, beating Apollon Smyrnis 4–0. Under his management the team managed to reach its major goal, which was returning to European Competitions, after finishing 4th in the

. On May 18th 2022, he signed a two years extension with the club. Three days later, the team won the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

, the first title for the team in eight years against

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

with a penalty kick. In the 2022–23 season, they were eliminated in the third qualifying round of the

UEFA Europa Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual association football, football competition organised since 2021 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European foot ...

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in t ...

, failing the club's aim to return to European groups after a six-year absence. In the

, Panathinaikos finished first in the regular season, but second in the play-offs, and eliminated in the

, by

in the quarter-finals. In the 2023–24 season, they reached the

play offs knocking out

Dnipro Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, only to be eliminated by

Braga Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...

and continue in the group stage of 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 ...

for the first time since the 2016–17 season. In the group stage, they finished in fourth place with four points and were left out of UEFA European Competitions, while in the

, after the 3–2 defeat by Atromitos, Jovanović was rumoured to be sacked by the board. After a 3–0 win against

Volos Volos (; ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia regional unit of the Thessaly Region. Volos ...

in late December, he was relieved of his duties, with Panathinaikos sitting in second place. He was replaced by

Fatih Terim Fatih Terim (born 4 September 1953) is a Turkish people, Turkish professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is the manager of Saudi Pro League club Al Shabab FC (Riyadh), Al-Shabab ...

Greece

Jovanović signed for

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 2024 with the intention of staying until the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

. In the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League, Greece upset

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, beating them 2-1 at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in the London Borou ...

, earning praise by the media.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager Niki Volos *

Delta Ethniki Delta Ethniki () was the fourth level of Greek football championship. During the period of its existence, it was the lowest national division of the Greek championship. It was founded in the 1982–83 season and abolished in the 2012–13 season, ...

: 2001–02 APOEL *

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...

: 2003–04, 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2012–13 *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association. First held in 1934, it i ...

: 2007–08 *

Cypriot Super Cup The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is ...

: 2004, 2008, 2009, 2011 Al-Nasr *

GCC Champions League The AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League (), formerly known as the GCC Champions League, is a regional association football, football competition governed by the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation (AGCFF) for clubs from its Arab Gulf Cup Football Feder ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

UAE President's Cup The UAE President's Cup, or simply the President Cup, is a association football, football tournament that takes place in United Arab Emirates, between Football team, clubs in the UAE Pro League and the UAE First Division League. The winner qualifi ...

: 2014–15 *

UAE League Cup The UAE League Cup () is a knockout tournament for clubs in the UAE Pro-League. The first edition of the tournament was played in the 2008–09 Etisalat Emirates Cup, 2008–2009 season. In the 2008–09 season, UAE League Cup replaced the UAE Fed ...

: 2014–15 Panathinaikos *

: 2021–22 Individual *Manager of the Season (

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

): 2003–04, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13 * Serbian Manager of the Year: 2011 * Super League Greece Manager of the Season: 2021–22 *Gazzetta Awards Manager of the Year in Greece: 2022

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanovic, Ivan 1962 births Living people Footballers from Loznica Men's association football midfielders People from Loznica Yugoslav men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro men's footballers FK Loznica players FK Rad players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbia and Montenegro expatriate men's footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbia and Montenegro football managers Serbian football managers Niki Volos F.C. managers Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) managers APOEL FC managers Panachaiki F.C. managers Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) managers United Arab Emirates national football team managers Panathinaikos F.C. managers Greece national football team managers UAE Pro League managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Greece Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Serbian expatriate football managers Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Serbian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates