Robert Prosinečki facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Robert Prosinečki

Prosinečki as Montenegro manager in 2024
Personal information
Date of birth	(1969-01-12) 12 January 1969 (age 56)
Place of birth	Schwenningen, West Germany
Height	1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Montenegro (manager)
Youth career
1974–1980	Stuttgarter Kickers
1980–1986	Dinamo Zagreb
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1987	Dinamo Zagreb	2	(1)
1987–1991	Red Star Belgrade	117	(25)
1991–1995	Real Madrid	55	(10)
1994–1995	→ Oviedo (loan)	30	(5)
1995–1996	Barcelona	19	(2)
1996–1997	Sevilla	20	(4)
1997–2000	Croatia Zagreb	50	(14)
2000	Hrvatski Dragovoljac	4	(1)
2000–2001	Standard Liège	21	(4)
2001–2002	Portsmouth	33	(9)
2002–2003	Olimpija Ljubljana	23	(3)
2003–2004	NK Zagreb	26	(5)
2005	Savski Marof	4	(1)
Total		404	(84)
International career
1987	Yugoslavia U20	5	(1)
1989–1991	Yugoslavia	15	(4)
1994–2002	Croatia	49	(10)
Managerial career
2006–2010	Croatia (assistant)
2010–2012	Red Star Belgrade
2012–2014	Kayserispor
2014–2017	Azerbaijan
2018–2019	Bosnia and Herzegovina
2019–2020	Kayserispor
2020	Denizlispor
2022	Olimpija Ljubljana
2023	Rudeš
2024–	Montenegro
Medal record Men's football Representing  Yugoslavia FIFA U-20 World Cup Winner 1987 Chile UEFA European Under-21 Championship Runner-up 1990 Representing  Croatia FIFA World Cup Third 1998 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Robert Prosinečki (born 12 January 1969) is a professional football manager and former player. He played as a midfielder. Born in West Germany, he played for Yugoslavia and later Croatia. He is currently the manager of the Montenegro national team.

Early in his playing career, he was part of the Red Star Belgrade team. They won three Yugoslav First League titles and the European Cup in 1991. Prosinečki then spent several years in Spain. He played for rival clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona. He also played for Oviedo and Sevilla. Later, he won three Croatian league titles with Dinamo Zagreb. He also played in Belgium, England, and Slovenia.

Internationally, Prosinečki was voted the best player when Yugoslavia won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was also the runner-up with the under-21 team at the 1990 European Championship. He was voted Best Young Player at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He played 49 matches for Croatia between 1994 and 2002. He played at UEFA Euro 1996 and the World Cups in 1998 and 2002. He helped Croatia finish third in 1998.

After retiring as a player, Prosinečki became an assistant manager for the Croatia national team from 2006 to 2010. He then became the manager of Red Star Belgrade in December 2010. He later managed Turkish club Kayserispor. Internationally, Prosinečki was the head coach of the Azerbaijan national team from 2014 to 2017. He also managed Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2018 to 2019. He has since managed Kayserispor again, Denizlispor, Olimpija Ljubljana, and Rudeš.

Early Life and Football Start

Robert Prosinečki was born in Schwenningen, West Germany. His family moved to Nürtingen near Stuttgart. When he was five, his father, who loved football, signed him up for the Stuttgarter Kickers youth team. His father watched all his practices and games closely.

In 1979, when Robert was ten, his family moved back to Croatia. There, his father enrolled him in the youth setup of Dinamo Zagreb. Robert continued to improve his football skills.

Club Career Highlights

Starting at Dinamo Zagreb

Prosinečki joined the senior team at Dinamo Zagreb during the 1986–87 season. He was 17 years old when he scored in his first league game on 2 November 1986. The coach at the time, Miroslav Blažević, famously said he would "eat his coaching diploma" if Prosinečki ever became a good player. This quote became well-known.

Success with Red Star Belgrade

In 1987, 18-year-old Robert joined Red Star Belgrade. He quickly became a key player. He helped Red Star win three Yugoslav First League titles and one Yugoslav Cup.

His biggest achievement with Red Star was winning the 1991 European Cup. This was a huge success for the club.

Becoming a World Youth Champion

In October 1987, Prosinečki was part of the Yugoslav youth team. They won the World Youth Championship in Chile. Prosinečki was named the best player of the tournament, winning the Golden Ball award.

Time in Spain: Real Madrid and Barcelona

In 1991, Prosinečki joined Spanish giants Real Madrid. He was a very expensive signing, but he faced many muscle injuries. His first season was difficult, as he played only three league matches. However, he did score a free-kick goal against Barcelona in El Clásico.

His second season at Real Madrid was better, with 29 league appearances. His best season there was 1993–94, where he scored six league goals.

Loan to Oviedo

In 1994, Real Madrid loaned Prosinečki to Real Oviedo. He played his best season in Spain there. He even helped Oviedo win a league match against his former club, Real Madrid. He felt much better physically and mentally during this time.

Playing for Barcelona

In 1995, Prosinečki signed with Barcelona. However, he again suffered from muscle injuries. When he recovered, the coach, Johan Cruyff, did not play him often. He only played 19 games in the 1995–96 season.

He left Barcelona in December 1996 and moved to Sevilla.

Return to Croatia: Dinamo Zagreb

In 1997, Prosinečki returned home to play for Croatia Zagreb (which was Dinamo's name then). Fans were very happy to see him back at the club where he started.

In his first season, he helped the team win both the league and the cup. He also played a key role in their European matches. For the next two seasons, Prosinečki was the team's captain. He led Dinamo Zagreb to win the league twice more. They also played in the UEFA Champions League for two seasons in a row. Fans remember his great performances against Celtic and Manchester United.

Later Career Clubs

After Dinamo Zagreb, Prosinečki played for Hrvatski Dragovoljac in 2000. In 2001, he moved to Standard Liège in Belgium.

Time at Portsmouth

In 2001, 32-year-old Prosinečki joined Portsmouth in England. He signed a one-year deal. His goals and assists were very important in helping the team avoid being moved down to a lower league. A memorable moment was when he scored three goals in one game against Barnsley. This was the only time he scored a hat-trick in his career.

Prosinečki is still seen as a hero by Portsmouth fans. In 2008, readers of The News newspaper chose him for their all-time best Portsmouth team. He was the only non-British player in that selection.

Final Years as a Player

After Portsmouth, Prosinečki played for Olimpija Ljubljana in Slovenia. He won his last trophy there, the 2002–03 Slovenian Cup. He even scored a goal in the final match.

In 2003, Prosinečki returned to Croatia to play for NK Zagreb. He ended his playing career with a smaller club, Savski Marof, in 2005.

International Football Career

Prosinečki played 49 matches for Croatia and scored 10 goals. He also played 15 matches for Yugoslavia, scoring four goals.

In 1987, he was named the best player at the World Youth Championship in Chile. He played alongside other famous Croatian players like Zvonimir Boban and Davor Šuker.

Prosinečki played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup. He then played for Croatia at Euro 1996 and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups. At the 1998 World Cup, Croatia achieved a historic third-place finish. Prosinečki scored two goals in that tournament. He scored one in a group match against Jamaica. He also scored in the third-place match against the Netherlands. This made him the only player in history to score World Cup goals for two different national teams.

He played a total of nine World Cup matches: three for Yugoslavia in 1990 and six for Croatia in 1998 and 2002.

Playing Style

Prosinečki was nicknamed Žuti (the Yellow One) because of his blond hair. He was known as a very creative and skilled footballer. He usually played as a midfielder, but also as a right winger or attacking midfielder. He had excellent vision and could organize attacks with his passing.

He was good at keeping the ball and using his dribbling skills. He could also control the game's speed with his passes and find open spaces. He was known for his short passes, dribbling, and strong shots from set pieces.

His former coach, Vicente del Bosque, described him as an individual player who also needed his teammates. Prosinečki himself said that Johan Cruyff was his favorite coach.

Managerial Career

Early Coaching Roles

Prosinečki started his coaching career in 2004 as an assistant coach at NK Zagreb. In 2006, he became an assistant to Slaven Bilić for the Croatia national football team. He was part of the team at UEFA Euro 2008.

Managing Red Star Belgrade

Prosinečki during a press conference with Red Star Belgrade in 2012

In December 2010, Prosinečki became the new manager of Red Star Belgrade. This was a big deal because he was returning to the club where he had his greatest playing successes. He was also the first Croatian to coach in Serbia after the Yugoslav Wars.

His team finished second in the league in both the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons. In 2012, he won the 2011–12 Serbian Cup with Red Star. He resigned in August 2012.

Coaching Kayserispor

On 15 October 2012, Prosinečki became the manager of Kayserispor in Turkey. He helped the team improve and finish fifth in the league. However, the next season, the team struggled. Prosinečki resigned in November 2013, but the club did not accept it at first. He finally left Kayserispor at the end of 2013.

Leading Azerbaijan

On 3 December 2014, Prosinečki was named the new manager of the Azerbaijan national football team. He stayed for three years. Under his leadership, Azerbaijan played well. They had a 0–0 draw against Croatia and were undefeated against Norway. They also had a 2–0 victory over Qatar and a 5–1 victory against San Marino. This 5–1 win was Azerbaijan's biggest victory in history. Despite these good results, he left the team in November 2017.

Managing Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 4 January 2018, Prosinečki became the new manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team. On 15 November 2018, his team drew 0–0 against Austria. This result meant Bosnia and Herzegovina won their group and moved up to a higher league in the UEFA Nations League. This draw also meant Prosinečki tied a record with a 10-game unbeaten run for the national team.

His biggest win as Bosnia and Herzegovina's coach was a 5–0 home victory against Liechtenstein in September 2019. He resigned briefly after a loss to Armenia, but then decided to stay. However, after more difficult results, he and the Bosnia and Herzegovina FA agreed for him to leave in November 2019.

Recent Coaching Roles

Prosinečki returned to Kayserispor for a second time in December 2019. He left the club in August 2020. On 10 August 2020, he became the new manager of Denizlispor, but he resigned in November after a tough start to the season.

In March 2022, Prosinečki signed a two-year contract with Slovenian PrvaLiga side Olimpija Ljubljana. He left the club in July 2022.

Prosinečki with Rudeš in 2023

After a year without a club, Prosinečki became the manager of Rudeš, a Croatian top division team, on 7 June 2023. He left Rudeš in September 2023. Since February 2024, he has been the manager of the Montenegro national team.

Minifootball and Business Ventures

Prosinečki also played in Minifootball tournaments in Zagreb. He won first place several times with different teams. In 2003, he was named the best player of the tournament.

In March 2007, Prosinečki opened a restaurant in Zagreb called Prosikito. In February 2016, he partnered with another former footballer, Janko Janković, to open an indoor padel facility called Padel.hr. Padel is a sport similar to tennis and squash.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Scores and results list Yugoslavia's and Croatia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Prosinečki goal.

List of international goals scored by Robert Prosinečki

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
Yugoslavia goals
1	20 September 1989	Vojvodina Stadium, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia	Greece	2–0	3–0	Friendly
2	19 June 1990	Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, Bologna, Italy	United Arab Emirates	4–1	4–1	1990 World Cup
3	12 September 1990	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	2–0	2–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
4	16 May 1991	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Faroe Islands	2–0	7–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
Croatia goals
1	23 March 1994	Estadio Luís Casanova, Valencia, Spain	Spain	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2	25 March 1995	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	Ukraine	3–0	4–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
3	26 April 1995	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	Slovenia	1–0	2–0	Euro 1996 qualifying
4	2 April 1997	Stadion Poljud, Split, Croatia	Slovenia	1–0	3–3	1998 World Cup qualification
5	3 June 1998	Stadion Kantrida, Rijeka, Croatia	Iran	1–0	2–0	Friendly
6	6 June 1998	Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia	Australia	3–0	7–0	Friendly
7	14 June 1998	Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens, France	Jamaica	2–0	3–1	1998 World Cup
8	11 July 1998	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	Netherlands	1–0	2–1	1998 World Cup
9	5 September 2001	Stadio Olimpico, Serravalle, San Marino	San Marino	2–0	4–0	2002 World Cup qualification
10				4–0

Managerial Statistics

Honours and Awards

Player Achievements

Red Star Belgrade

• Yugoslav First League: 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91
• Yugoslav Cup: 1989–90
• European Cup: 1990–91

Real Madrid

• Copa del Rey: 1992–93
• Supercopa de España: 1993
• Copa Iberoamericana: 1994

Dinamo Zagreb

• Croatian First League: 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000
• Croatian Cup: 1997–98

Olimpija Ljubljana

• Slovenian Cup: 2002–03

Yugoslavia National Team

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1987
• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1990

Croatia National Team

• FIFA World Cup third place: 1998

Individual Awards

• FIFA U-20 World Cup Golden Ball: 1987
• FIFA World Cup Best Young Player: 1990
• Yugoslav Footballer of the Year: 1990
• Večernji list football player of the year: 1990, 1997
• ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1990
• Bravo Award: 1991
• 1991 FIFA World Player of the Year: 4th place
• 1991 Ballon d'Or: 5th place
• Croatian Footballer of the Year: 1997
• Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport (2): 1997, 1998
• PFA First Division Team of the Year: 2001–02
• Portsmouth F.C. All-time XI
• Only non-British player to be voted into all-time best Portsmouth eleven
• 6th Zvezdina zvezda

Managerial Achievements

Red Star Belgrade

• Serbian Cup: 2011–12

Orders

• Order of Danica Hrvatska with the face of Franjo Bučar: 1995
• Order of the Croatian Trefoil: 1998

Personal Life

In June 1999, Prosinečki married Vlatka. They have two daughters together.

See also

In Spanish: Robert Prosinečki para niños