Josip Višnjić (

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

: Jocип Bишњић; born 17 November 1966) is a Serbian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, and a coach. His first name has also been spelled as Josif. After starting out at Radnički Niš, he went on to spend the vast majority of his career in Spain, as both a player and manager. In

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, he represented Rayo Vallecano and Hércules.

Playing career

In his country,

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

-born Višnjić played for FK Radnički Niš and

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 ...

. At nearly 25 he moved abroad, going on to spend the remaining years of his career in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, with three clubs: he started out with

CP Mérida Club Polideportivo Mérida was a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team based in Mérida, Spain, Mérida, in the autonomous community of Extremadura. Having played twice in La Liga (1995–96 La Liga, 1995–96 and 1997–98 La Li ...

in the second division, then achieved both one

promotion and relegation Promotion and relegation is used by sports leagues as a process where teams can move up and down among divisions in a league system, based on their performance over a season. Leagues that use promotion and relegation systems are sometimes call ...

from

with

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

's Rayo Vallecano. In 1995, Višnjić signed with

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

Alicante Alicante (, , ; ; ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean port. The population ...

, playing 30 matches in his first season which ended in top flight promotion, followed by immediate relegation. After the club's demotion into the third level in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, the 32-year-old retired one year later, having appeared in 88 games in the Spanish top division (238 with both major levels accounted for).

Coaching career

Višnjić started coaching one year after retiring, starting with the reserves of his last club (he also briefly managed the first team) and working mainly in Spain, never in higher than division three. In the 2004–05 campaign, he worked with former Hércules teammate Manolo Alfaro at

RSD Alcalá Real Sociedad Deportiva Alcalá is a Spanish football team based in Alcalá de Henares in the Community of Madrid. Founded in 1929 it plays in Tercera División RFEF – Group 7, holding home matches at ''Estadio Municipal del Val'', with a capac ...

. Višnjić returned to manage Hércules in 2018.

Managerial statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Visnjic, Josip 1966 births Living people Serbian people of Croatian descent Footballers from Belgrade Serbian men's footballers Yugoslav men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav First League players FK Radnički Niš players FK Partizan players La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players CP Mérida footballers Rayo Vallecano players Hércules CF players Serbian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Spain Serbian football managers Segunda División B managers Hércules CF managers RSD Alcalá managers UD Las Palmas managers Granada CF managers UD Logroñés managers CF Fuenlabrada managers CD Toledo managers Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Spain