Nikola Jurčević

Nikola Jurčević (born 14 September 1966) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is head coach of the Lebanon national team.

Playing career
Club career
He started his career at Dinamo Zagreb. There he played alongside with Robert Prosinečki and Zvonko Boban. After a conflict with Dinamo's youth coach Belji he went to Royal Antwerp as an 18-year-old. After one year in  Belgium he returned and played for FC Zagreb.

In the summer of 1991he signed with Austrian Bundesliga club SV Austria Salzburg. He was Austrian champion with Salzburg in 1994 and 1995 . In  1994 he scored 14 goals and was together with Heimo Pfeifenberger Austrian top scorer. With Salzburg he reached the UEFA Cup final in the 1993/94 season. Another success was the entry into the UEFA Champions League in the following season. FC Salzburg Wiki (German)

After his successful years in Austria, he moved to SC Freiburg in the German Bundesliga for two years. There he made 45 appearances and scored 5 goals. After his stay in Germany he went back to Salzburg for a year.

He played 211 matches  and scored 51 goals. Most of them he played for SV Austria Salzburg (161 matches-46 goals).

International
He made his debut for Croatia in a December 1990 against Romania. He came as a 66th-minute substitute for Ivan Cvjetković. He played 19 matches for Craoatia (2 unofficial) and  scored 2 goals. Because Croatia was still officially part of Yugoslavia at the time, his first two games were unofficial. His final match was in December 1996   against Morocco.

Managerial career
He started his coaching career in 2003 at his home club Dinamo Zagreb. In 2005 he became coach of his former club SV Austria Salzburg . After the  Red Bull take over he was replaced as coach after just two games by Manfred Linzmaier. Then he coached the Croatian first division club NK Slaven Belupo Koprivnica till 2006.

From 2006 to 2017 Jurčević was an assistant to former Croatian national coach Slaven Bilić . (Croatia national team 2006–2012;  Lokomotiv Moscow 2012–2013;  Beşiktaş Istanbul 2013–2015 ; West Ham United 2015–2017). 2018 he was head coach at Dinamo Zagreb.
2018/19 he was coach of the Azerbaijan national football team. He was dismissed due to Azerbaijan's poor performance during the qualifiers for the 2021 European Championship.azerbaycan24.com

On 2 October 2023, Jurčević was appointed head coach of the Lebanon national team ahead of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup and 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification.https://the-lfa.com.lb/news/NT_Coach_JURECEVIC.php

Honours
As a player
NK Zagreb
Yugoslav Third League (West): 1989–90
Yugoslav Second League: 1990–91

Austria Salzburg
Austrian Bundesliga: 1993–94, 1994–95
UEFA Cup Runner-up: 1993–94

Individual
Austrian Bundesliga top scorer: 1993–94

As a manager
Dinamo Zagreb
Croatian Super Cup: 2003
Croatian Cup: 2004
Other websites

References

Category:Living people
Category:1966 births
Category:Association football midfielders
Category:Association football forwards
Category:Croatian footballers
Category:FC Red Bull Salzburg players
Category:Bundesliga players
Category:Croatian football managers
Category:FC Red Bull Salzburg managers
Category:Austrian football champions
Category:Austrian Football Bundesliga top scorers