- Branko Ivanković
-
Branko Ivanković 
Branko Ivanković in 2008Personal information Full name Branko Ivanković Date of birth 28 February 1954 Place of birth Čakovec, SFR Yugoslavia Club information Current club Ettifaq (head coach) Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1979–1990 Varteks 263 (31) Teams managed 1991–1995 Varteks 1995–1996 Segesta 1996–1997 Rijeka 1997–1999 Croatia (assistant) 1999–2000 Hannover 96 2001–2002 Iran (assistant) 2002–2003 Iran U23 2002–2006 Iran 2006–2008 Dinamo Zagreb 2009–2011 Shandong Luneng 2011– Ettifaq * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Branko Ivanković (Croatian pronunciation: [ˈbraːŋkɔ ˈiʋaːŋkoʋitɕ]; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian football coach and former player. After a 12-year playing career at Varteks Varaždin, Ivanković started his coaching career at the same club in 1991. He led the Iranian national football team at the 2006 World Cup. As of 2011[update], Ivanković is managing Ettifaq FC in Saudi Professional League.
Contents
Playing career
Ivanković spent his entire 12-season-long playing career at Varteks Varaždin, appearing in a total of 263 matches[1] and scoring 31 goals. He then continued to work at the club by first being their secretary and then starting his coaching career. Ivanković holds a PhD in physical education.[citation needed]
Managing career
He was the head coach of Varteks Varaždin between 1991 and 1995. He then moved for one season to Segesta Sisak, and went on to coach Rijeka in the 1996–97 season.
Croatian national team
Ivanković then became the assistant coach to Ćiro Blažević, who led the Croatian national team to a sensational third-place finish at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals in France.[2]
In the 1999–2000 season, he coached German club Hannover 96, which was playing in the Second Bundesliga at the time. He briefly returned to the Croatian national team as the assistant to Mirko Jozić during the qualifications for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, before he took over the Iranian national team where he replaced Blažević, who had managed them since 2001.
Iranian national team
Ivanković was appointed to the head of the Iranian team on 29 January 2002. Under Ivanković, Iran's U23 football team won the 2002 Asian Games in Pusan.[3] He remained the coach of the national team until the end of 2002, when he was replaced by Homayun Shahrokhi.[3]
Ivanković had became very popular in Iran and the public media demanded a contract renewal, but the Football Federation was initially reluctant to appoint him as the head coach. Finally after a period of negotiations he was reappointed as the head coach of Iran on 3 October 2003.[3]
Ivankovic led Iran to 2004 AFC Asian Cup third place.[4] They lost only to the hosts, China, in penalties in a very controversial match in which the Chinese luckily avoided multiple red cards.[citation needed]
Ivanković also led Iran to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, the third time in the country's history (they had previously been eliminated in the first round in 1978 and 1998).[4]
Despite him being the most successful coach of the Iranian National Team in terms of winning percentage, Ivankovic was not liked by the Iranian government who deliberately tried to replace him with a native coach.
The Ministry for Physical Education which is a governmental watchdog on sports, tried to replace the coach before the World cup in Germany, however the Iranian Football Federation resisted the pressure and kept Ivankovic for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.
World Cup 2006
Iran, at their opening game at the World Cup, showed a scintillating first half performance against Mexico, but conceded two goals. The second match against Portugal was not successful either, with Iran conceding two late goals to lose 2–0 and being left without any chances of advancing to the second stage of the tournament, as Mexico drew against Angola on the previous evening and left Iran unreachable four points behind. So, the third group match against Angola became insignificant for Iran. Angola put themselves into the lead with the opening goal after one hour of playing. The Iranians managed to equalise fifteen minutes later, eventually scoring their only point at the 2006 World Cup since the match ended in a 1–1 draw. This point was, however, only enough for Iran to occupy the last place in their group.
After the World Cup, MPE removed the Head of the Football federation of Iran, replacing Branko Ivanković with Amir Qalenoei.[5] This in turn resulted a FIFA suspension for Iran's football due to political interference.[6]
Dinamo Zagreb
On 6 November 2006, Ivanković replaced Josip Kuže as the head coach of Croatian club Dinamo Zagreb. He led the club to the Double in 2007 without losing a single competitive match. On 14 January 2008, Branko resigned as a coach of Dinamo mostly due to his differences with the club's executive vice-president Zdravko Mamić.[7]
Ivanković returned as manager of Dinamo Zagreb on 21 May 2008. He is replacing Zvonimir Soldo, who resigned immediately after Dinamo won the domestic double.[8]
In July 2009, Ivankoviće was offered the role of Persepolis manager in Iran, but he rejected the offer.[9][10]
Shandong Luneng
On 17 December 2009, Ivanković was appointed as the new head coach of Chinese giant Shandong Luneng.[2] In his first season, he led the team to the 2010 Chinese Super League winners with a record 63 points. The team secured the qualification for 2011 AFC Champions League. But Shandong were eliminated in the first round with 7 points. Due to poor result in the Champions League, he was dismissed on 10 May 2011 seven days before crucial game with Cerezo Osaka 0–4 .
Ettifaq
On 22 July 2011, He was signed an one year contract with Ettifaq FC to lead club in 2011–12 Saudi Professional League and return club to the AFC Champions League.[11]
Coaching career statistics
- As of 1 November 2011
Country Team From To Record G W D L Win % GF GA +/- 
NK Varaždin July 1991 June 1995 116 44 34 38 37.93% 153 130 +23 HNK Rijeka 1996 1997 30 13 7 10 43.33% 44 32 +23 
Hannover 96 July 1999 February 2000 34 12 8 14 35.24% 56 56 0 
Iran February 2002 September 2002 14 4 8 2 28.5% 16 12 +4 Iran U-23 September 2002 October 2002 6 4 2 0 66.6% 16 2 +14 Iran October 2003 July 2006 42 28 7 7 66.6% 101 40 +61 NK Dinamo Zagreb Nov 2006 Jan 2008 33 30 2 1 93% 84 22 +62 
Shandong Luneng April 2010 July 2011 36 21 10 5 58.3% 67 42 +25 
Ettifaq July 2011 Present 9 7 2 0 93% 16 2 +14 Honours
- Croatia (as assistant coach)
- 1998 FIFA World Cup Third place: 1
- Iran (as assistant coach)
- Iran-U23
- Asian Games Winner: 1
- 2002
- Iran
- AFC/OFC Cup Challenge winner:1
- 2003
- West Asian Football Federation Championship winner: 1
- 2004
- Asian Cup
- Third Place: 1
- China
- 2010 Chinese Super League winner:1
- 2010
References
- ^ "Ivanković za Index: Spreman sam, radim taj posao 12 godina" (in Croatian). Index.hr. 16 July 2006. http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/ivankovic-za-index-spreman-sam-radim-taj-posao-12-godina/322263.aspx. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
- ^ a b "Iran's former football coach Branko Ivankovic takes over at Shandong". Daily News and Analysis. Reuters. 17 December 2009. http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/report_iran-s-former-football-coach-branko-ivankovic-takes-over-at-shandong_1324624. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ a b c "Ivanković ponovno izbornik Irana" (in Croatian). Index.hr. 2003-10-01. http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/ivankovic-ponovno-izbornik-irana/162120.aspx. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ^ a b "Iran - Group D". World Cup 2006. CBC.ca. http://www.cbc.ca/sports/worldcup2006/groups/teams/iran.html. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ^ "Iran replace Ivankovic with league winner". The Times (Malta). Reuters. 2006-06-18. http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20060718/sport/iran-replace-ivankovic-with-league-winner.47296. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ^ "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". FIFA.com. 2006-11-23. http://www.fifa.com/aboutfifa/federation/administration/news/newsid=107889.html. Retrieved 2011-09-13.
- ^ http://www.24sata.hr/nogomet/zdravko-mamic-izvrijeao-i-otjerao-branka-ivankovica-90349
- ^ "Ivankovic returns as Dinamo Zagreb coach". ESPN Soccernet. 21 May 2008. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=537480&cc=5901. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ "Ook Rijsbergen in beeld bij Persepolis" (in Dutch). Goal.Com. 12 July 2009. http://www.goal.com/nl/news/1067/azi%C3%AB/2009/07/12/1377738/ook-rijsbergen-in-beeld-bij-persepolis. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ "Croatia’s Branko snubs Persepolis offer". Tehran Times. 13 July 2009. http://www.tehrantimes.com/index_View.asp?code=198724. Retrieved 17 July 2009.
- ^ Branko Ivanković becomes head coach of Saudi Al-Itifaq FC
Iran Coach of the Year 1969: Rajkov · 1970: Dehdari · 1971: Rajkov · 1972: Ranjbar · 1973: Rogers · 1974: Rogers · 1975: Rajkov · 1976: Mohajerani · 1977: Vatankhah · 1978: Mohajerani · 1979: Habibi · 1989: Dehdari · 1990: Pourheidari · 1992: Karimi · 1993: Karimi · 1994: Zolfagharnasab · 1995: Zolfagharnasab · 1996: Poklepović · 1997: Poklepović · 1998: Hejazi · 1999: Talebi · 2000: Parvin · 2001: Pourheidari · 2002: Parvin · 2003: Kazemi · 2004: Jalali · 2005: Denizli · 2006: Ivanković · 2007: Bonačić · 2008: Daei · 2009: Ghotbi · 2010: Ghalenoei · 2011: Ghalenoei
Chinese Football Association Coach of the Year 1994: Zhang Honggen | 1995: Xu Genbao | 1996: Chi Shangbin | 1997: Chi Shangbin | 1998: Xu Genbao | 1999: Santrač | 2000: Lee Jang-Soo | 2001: Kosanović | 2002: Zhu Guanghu | 2003: Wu Jingui | 2004: Zhu Guanghu | 2005: Petrović | 2006: Tumbaković | 2007: Gao Hongbo | 2008: Tumbaković | 2009: Tang Yaodong | 2010: Ivanković | 2011: Ma LinBranko Ivanković international tournaments Iran squad – 2004 AFC Asian Cup Third Place 
Iran squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Mirzapour • 2 Mahdavikia • 3 Bakhtiarizadeh • 4 Golmohammadi • 5 Rezaei • 6 Nekounam • 7 Zandi • 8 Karimi • 9 Hashemian • 10 Daei (c) • 11 Khatibi • 12 Roudbarian • 13 Kaebi • 14 Teymourian • 15 Borhani • 16 Enayati • 17 Kazemian • 18 Navidkia • 19 Sadeghi • 20 Nosrati • 21 Madanchi • 22 Talebloo • 23 Shojaei • Coach: IvankovićBranko Ivanković managerial positions Iran national football team – managers Sadaghiani (1941–51) · Salimi (1951–52) · Mészáros (1957–59) · Fekri (1962–66) · Szűcs (1966–67) · Bayati (1967–69) · Rajkov (1969–70) · Netto (1970–71) · Dehdari (1971–72) · Ranjbar (1972) · Bayati (1972–74) · McLennan (1974) · O'Farrell (1974–76) · Mohajerani (1976–78) · Habibi (1979–82) · Aboutaleb (1982) · Cheraghpour (1982–84) · Yavari (1984) · Ebrahimi (1984–85) · Asgharzadeh (1985–86) · Dehdari (1986–89) · Vatankhah (1989) · Monajati (1989) · Parvin (1989–93) · Poklepović (1993–94) · Mayeli Kohan (1995–97) · Vieira (1998) · Ivić (1997–98) · Talebi (1998) · Pourheidari (1998–00) · Talebi (2000–01) · Braga (2001) · Blažević (2001–02) · Ivanković (2002–06) · Ghalenoei (2006–07) · Ebrahimzadeh (caretaker) (2008) · Daei (2008–09) · Ghotbi (2009–11) · Queiroz (2011–)
GNK Dinamo Zagreb – managers Bukovi (1945–1947) · Kokotović (1947) · Jazbinšek (1948) · Mütsch (1948) · Knežević (1948–49) · Hügl (1950–52) · Antolković (1952–53) · Jazbinšek (1953–55) · Cuvaj (1956) · Antolković (1957) · Lechner (1957–58) · Antolković (1959–60) · Bukovi (1960–61) · Antolković (1961–64) · Konjevod (1964–65) · Zebec (1965–67) · Horvat (1967–70) · Čajkovski (1970–71) · Jerković (1971–72) · Bobek (1972) · Kapetanović (1973) · I. Marković (1973–74) · Bazić (1974–77) · Belin (1977–78) · V. Marković (1978–80) · I. Marković (1980) · Blažević (1980–83) · Belin (1983) · V. Marković (1983) · Zebec (1984) · Ivić (1984–85) · Kobeščak (1985) · Blažević (1986–88) · Skoblar (1988–89) · Belin (1989) · Kuže (1989–90) · V. Marković (1990–91) · Kobeščak (1991–92) · V. Marković (1992) · Blažević (1992–94) · Bedi (1994) · Kranjčar (1994–96) · Barić (1996–97) · Vlak (1997–98) · Kranjčar (1998) · Bedi & Braović (1998) · Zajec (1998–99) · Lončarević (1999) · Ardiles (1999) · Vlak (1999–00) · Braović (2000–01) · Lončarević (2001–02) · Vlak (2002) · Blažević (2002–03) · Jurčević (2003–04) · Bago (2004) · Gračan (2004) · Lončarević (2005) · Cvetković (2005) · Kuže (2005–2006) · Ivanković (2006–08) · Soldo (2008) · Ivanković (2008) · Vlak (2008–09) · Jurčić (2009–10) · Zajec (2010) · Halilhodžić (2010–11) · Jurčić (2011–)
Categories:- 1954 births
- Living people
- People from Čakovec
- Croatian footballers
- NK Varaždin players
- Yugoslav football managers
- Croatian football managers
- 2004 AFC Asian Cup managers
- 2006 FIFA World Cup managers
- Hannover 96 managers
- Expatriate football managers in Iran
- Iran national football team managers
- HNK Rijeka managers
- GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers
- HNK Segesta managers
- NK Varaždin managers
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
