Several Balkan managers have been able to thrive at the European elite
clubs.
Balkan managers seem to be overlooked today. There have been very few of
them who manage to thrive at the top level.
Recently, AS Roma has appointed Ivan Juric to replace Daniel de Rossi. The
Croatian boss is a surprising name since he has yet to win any silverware.
However, Juric’s stint with Hellas Verona and Torino didn't go unnoticed. Yet,
taking charge of the midtable sides is entirely different from being at the
helm of an elite team as Roma. Giallorossi is keen on returning to the
Champions League, something that even the Special One, Jose Mourinho, could not
achieve, despite winning the UEFA Conference League, their first continental
trophy, in 2021.
Unfortunately, Roma’s campaign in Europe has already been dented by a
shocking loss to Sweden’s Elfsborg in the Europa League this week. Juric might
not be under pressure yet, but the former Crotone boss needs to turn things
around before being dismissed.
Beside Juric, there have been other active Balkan managers who actually have
had better results than him. The likes of Vladimir Petkovic, Niko Kovac, and
Igor Tudor are the most recent examples. Sadly, two of them are without a club
at the moment. Petkovic, who won Coppa Italia with Lazio in 2013, is in charge
of the Algeria national team. Niko Kovac was just dismissed from VFL Wolfsburg
last summer, whereas Igor Tudor departed from Lazio last summer after failing
to reach an agreement with the club on transfer targets.
Such is rather ironic, as Balkan once produced the top gaffers in the past.
Here are the best Balkan bosses at the top level throughout history.
Radomir Antic
The Serbian boss was one of the few best Balkan figures in the dugout. He
was the only manager who had been in charge of three La Liga elites, Real
Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico Madrid. Although he did not win any silverwares
nor stayed long in the two Spanish archivals, Antic was able to lift double
domestic trophies with Los Rojiblancos. The former Luton defender toppled
Blaugrana and Los Blancos in the 1995/96 season. La Liga and Copa Del Rey
remain his only notable titles at the club level.
On the international stage, he guided his nation to qualify for the 2010
FIFA World Cup. While the Serbs' campaign ended too soon as they saw the exit
at the group stage, Dejan Stankovic and Co did secure a stunning, noteworthy
1-0 win over the favourite Germany. It was their last notable victory in the
final round.
|
Elite clubs |
Best results |
|
Real Madrid (1991-1992) |
1st place in La Liga (January 1992) |
|
Atletico Madrid (1995-2000) |
La Liga and Copa del Rey winner (1996) |
|
Barcelona (2003) |
6th place finish |
Branko Zebec
His name may have been forgotten, but he is still one of the most notable and underrated managers in Bayern Munich. Zebec was a part of the club's history, having led Die Roten to their first Bundesliga title and DFB Pokal in 1969. His team at the time included the young Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller. The former Red Star Belgrade manager also led Hamburg SV to another league title in 1979, as well as to the European Cup final the following season. Unfortunately, Kevin Keegan and his team were narrowly defeated by Brian Cough's Nottingham Forest. His continental trophy is the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, which preceded the UEFA Cup. Zebec won it in 1967 with his first and last club in charge, Dinamo Zagreb, after beating Leeds United 2-0 on aggregate in the summit.
|
Elite clubs |
Best results |
|
Bayern Munich (1968-1970) |
Bundesliga and DFB Pokal winner (1969) |
|
Hamburg SV (1978-1980) |
Bundesliga winner (1979) European Cup finalist (1980) |
|
Borussia Dortmund (1981/82) |
6th place finish |
Vujadin Boskov
He was known as one of the greatest managers in Italian Serie A. Boskov spent
14 years of his managerial career there with five clubs, Ascoli, Sampdoria, AS
Roma, Napoli and Perugia. The Begec-born gaffer made his mark in Genoa with the
dark horse and his former club, Sampdoria. During his reign, he guided Roberto Mancini and Co to clinch their first and only league title so far in 1991,
Winners Cup 1990 and two Coppa Italia titles. He also led Il Samp to European
Cup final in 1992 before losing 1-0 to Barcelona on extra time. His spells in
Roma and Napoli were not as successful as the one with the Genoa side.
However, his name was, as a matter of fact, already
well-known prior to his arrival in Ascoli. Boskov had won domestic double with
Real Madrid in 1980 and brought Los Blancos to 1981 European Cup final. Unfortunately,
they suffered a devastating narrow defeat to Liverpool. Previously, he also
snatched a KNVB Cup with the minnow, ADO Den Haag in 1975. The former Real
Zaragoza boss also guided his country, Yugoslavia, to reach quarterfinal in
EURO 2000 before being hammered by the host 6-1.
|
Elite clubs |
Best results |
|
Feyenoord (1976-1978) |
4th place finish (1977) |
|
Real Madrid (1979-1982) |
La Liga and Copa del Rey winner (1980) European Cup finalist (1981) |
|
AS Roma (1992/93) |
10th place finish |
|
Napoli (1994-1996) |
7th place finish |
Tomislav Ivic
He was one of the Balkan gaffers who had been at the helm of several elite
clubs around the continent from the Netherlands, France, Portugal, Spain,
Turkey, Belgium, and roaming in the Middle East. Ivic was known as a journeyman boss with multiple stints in the same clubs, such as FC Porto, Olympique Marseille,
Standard Liege, and his hometown side, Hadjuk Split.
His first success abroad was with Ajax Amsterdam, as he brought the Dutch powerhouse
to win the league in 1977. After returning to Split, followed by his reign at
Anderlecht and brief spells with Galatasaray, Panathinaikos, and Avellino, Ivic
snatched his next silverware in Porto as the successor of Artur Jorge, who
guided them in the 1987 European Cup. The Croatian boss instantly lifted two
trophies for his new club with the UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup in
the same year, plus a domestic double at the end of the season.
Such success brought him to move to several top teams from PSG, Atletico
Madrid, and Benfica, plus Olympique Marseille. Unfortunately, Ivic failed to
replicate his glory days in Porto and Ajax, as he only led them to finish
second in each and every one of the clubs above.
At the international stage, the Split-born manager was once in charge of
Yugoslavia, Croatia, and Iran. Yet he was never named among the managers of the
qualified teams in the final round.
|
Elite clubs |
Best results |
|
Ajax Amsterdam (1976-1978) |
Eredivisie winner (1977) |
|
FC Porto (1987-88) |
Domestic double (1988) UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup (1987) |
|
PSG (1988-1990) |
2ns place finish (1989) |
|
Atletico Madrid (1990/91) |
2nd place finish |
|
Marseille (1991 & 2001) |
(caretaker) |
|
Benfica (1992/93) |
2nd place finish |
Stefan Kovacs
Little did the fans know that Ajax’s three consecutive success in the
European Cup during the early 1970s was not entirely under the tutelage of the
legendary Rinus Michels. He was only at the helm of Johan Cryuff and Co in
their first glory in 1971, whereas the other two were achieved under the
Romanian gaffer, Stefan Kovacs.
The former Steaua Bucharest boss was appointed by the Amsterdamers in 1971
as Rinus Michels opted to move to Barcelona. Kovacs managed to continue their total football dominance in the following two seasons, in 1972 and 1973. He
also won the league in the same campaign. His success attracted FFF to sign him
for rebuilding Les Blues in 1973. Kovacs failed to guide France to qualify for
the 1974 World Cup, but his idea was developed by his deputy and successor,
Martin Hidalgo, who was able to lead Michel Platini and Co to a semifinal in
the 1982 World Cup and lift their first EURO trophy in 1984.
The Romanian manager then left France in 1975 and took charge of his own
nation without leaving any respectable mark as they were unable to seal one
berth in major competition. Kovacs’s last club was AS Monaco in the 1986/87
season and only finished fifth at the end of the season.
|
Elite clubs |
Best results |
|
Ajax Amsterdam (1971-1973) |
Eredivisie winner & European Cup (1972 and 1973) Intercontinental Cup and UEFA Super Cup (1972) KNVB Cup (1972) |
|
France national team (1973-1975) |
- |
|
Monaco (1986/87) |
5th place finish |
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