Zvonimir Soldo
Zvonimir Soldo (born 2 November 1967) is a Croatian football manager and a former player. During his playing career, he mostly played as defensive midfielder. Club career. Early career. After studying law for six semesters at the University of Zagreb, Soldo's parents convinced him to pursue a career as professional football player. Soldo's professional career began with NK Dinamo Zagreb which he left for NK Zadar after two years. 1991 through 1994, he played for NK Inter Zaprešić before returning to his former club, now named NK Croatia Zagreb. Runner-up in both Croatian league and  cup in his first season back at Zagreb, the next campaign saw Soldo's side complete a domestic double in 1995/96. After achieving all he could in domestic football, Soldo headed for German side VfB Stuttgart. VfB Stuttgart. Soldo made his Bundesliga debut on 17 August 1996 against FC Schalke 04. This was the beginning of his time in Stuttgart which would last for ten years and during which he would lead the VfB Stuttgart on the pitch as captain nearly 200 times. During this period, Soldo played another 300 times in the Bundesliga and 47 times in European competitions , won the German cup in 1997 and reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1998, as well as finishing as runner-up in the 2002/03 campaign. After being an exemplary sportsman and role model for younger players all these years, Soldo played his last Bundesliga match for Stuttgart on 6 May 2006. In recognition of his merits, Soldo received the Staufer medal, a decoration awarded by the state of Baden-Württemberg. International career. Soldo was also a long-time member of the Croatian national team, with notable appearances in the Euro 96, 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2002 FIFA  World Cup. He was capped a total of 61 times, scoring three goals, and was an important member of the squad that finished third in the 1998 World Cup. After the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Soldo retired from international football. Coaching career. Dinamo Zagreb. On 14 January 2008 Zvonimir was appointed as a new manager of Dinamo Zagreb after Branko Ivanković's resignation. Prior to that he was managing Dinamo's youth team. He became Prva HNL Champion and Croatian Cup Winner. He offered his resignation in the night after the cup final to make space to old/new manager  Branko Ivanković. 1. FC Köln. From June 2009 to October 2010, Soldo was the manager of German Bundesliga club, 1. FC Köln (Cologne) after the club's former coach Christoph Daum surprisingly left to sign for Fenerbahçe. Admira Wacker. On 13 September 2020, he resigned as manager of Admira Wacker, following a 1–4 loss to Rapid Wien. Tractor S.C.. On 14 November 2021, he was appointed as coach of Tractor. Honours. Player. Inker Zaprešić Dinamo Zagreb VfB Stuttgart Croatia Manager. Dinamo Zagreb