Mladen Bartolović (born 10 April 1977) is a Bosnian 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 ...

coach and former player.

Club career

Born in Zavidovići, Bartolović played basketball until the age of 16. However, as basketball came to a standstill during the Bosnian war, he turned to football. He began his professional career in 1996 at Segesta Sisak and moved to Croatian Football League club Cibalia Vinkonci two years later. In the 2000–01 season, he went to German club 1. FC Saarbrücken in the 2. Bundesliga for a season-long loan and scored six goals in 33 appearances for the club. He then returned to Cibalia. He played for Dinamo Zagreb in the 2003–04 season and won the 2003–04 Croatian Football Cup with the club. In the following two seasons, he played for city rivals NK Zagreb. From 2006 to 2009, he played for Hajduk Split. He moved to Foolad Khuzestan in summer 2009, becoming a player in the starting lineup for the team in his first season in the Iran Pro League. After one year, he returned to Cibalia until 2015, when he decided to end his playing career. He scored 78 goals in 338 Croatian Football League matches.

International career

Bartolović made his debut for

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 ...

in a June 2003 European Championship qualification match away 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 ...

. Between 2003 and 2008, he earned a total of 17 caps. His final international game was a November 2008

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

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

Coaching career

After his playing career, Bartolović initially worked as a youth coach at Cibalia. Prior to the 2016–17 season, he was appointed as the coach of third division club Bedem Ivankovo. In March 2017, he became head coach of Cibalia Vinkovci's first team, taking over from Peter Pacult, who had previously been sacked after five games without a win. At the time Bartolović took over, Cibalia were threatened with relegation from the Croatian Football League, as they were in last place and seven points behind the relegation play-off spot. By the end of the 2016–17 season, the team had won eleven points under Bartolović and qualified for the relegation play-offs. The play-off matches against HNK Gorica were won 2:0 and 3:1 and Cibalia successfully avoided relegation. He was sacked in March 2018 after a 5-1 defeat to HNK Rijeka, but continues to work for Cibalia Vinkovci as head scout and youth coordinator. In 2021 it was reported that Bartolović is fighting a serious illness.

Career statistics

Club

International goals

References

External links

* 1977 births Living people People from Zavidovići Footballers from Zenica-Doboj Canton Men's association football wingers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers Bosnia and Herzegovina men's international footballers HNK Segesta players HNK Cibalia players 1. FC Saarbrücken players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players NK Zagreb players HNK Hajduk Split players Foolad F.C. players Croatian Football League players First Football League (Croatia) players 2. Bundesliga players Persian Gulf Pro League players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Iran Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers HNK Cibalia managers {{HNK Cibalia managers