Srečko Katanec facts for kids
.jpg)
Katanec in 2015
|
||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 16 July 1963 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, Yugoslavia |
|||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder, centre-back |
|||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1981 | Ljubljana | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1981–1985 | Olimpija | 81 | (10) | |||||||||||||
| 1985–1986 | Dinamo Zagreb | 21 | (3) | |||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Partizan | 58 | (9) | |||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | VfB Stuttgart | 26 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| 1989–1994 | Sampdoria | 87 | (12) | |||||||||||||
| Total | 273 | (35) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| Yugoslavia U21 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1990 | Yugoslavia | 31 | (5) | |||||||||||||
| 1994 | Slovenia | 5 | (1) | |||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1998 | Gorica | |||||||||||||||
| 1998–2002 | Slovenia | |||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Olympiacos | |||||||||||||||
| 2006–2009 | Macedonia | |||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | United Arab Emirates | |||||||||||||||
| 2013–2017 | Slovenia | |||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Iraq | |||||||||||||||
| 2021–2025 | Uzbekistan | |||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Srečko Katanec (born 16 July 1963) is a famous Slovenian football manager and former player. He played for both the Yugoslavia and Slovenia national teams.
Katanec was a midfielder who could also play as a defender. Many people consider him one of the best Slovenian footballers ever. He played for Yugoslavia in the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics. He also played in UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After Slovenia became an independent country, Katanec played five games for the new Slovenian national team before he stopped playing professionally.
During his time playing for clubs, Katanec won a Yugoslav League championship with FK Partizan. He was also a runner-up in the 1988–89 UEFA Cup with VfB Stuttgart. He spent five years with Sampdoria in Italy. There, he won the Serie A championship, the Coppa Italia, and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He also reached the final of the 1992 European Cup final, where his team lost to Barcelona.
As a manager, Katanec led the Slovenian national team to its first-ever major tournaments. These were the 2000 European Championship and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
Contents
Playing Career Highlights
Srečko Katanec had an amazing career as a football player. He started playing when he was very young and went on to play for some big clubs and his national teams.
Starting His Club Journey
Katanec began playing football at age seven with NK Ljubljana. In 1981, he joined Olimpija. He then moved to Dinamo Zagreb in 1985. The next year, he signed with Partizan and helped them win the Yugoslav First League championship in 1987.
Playing in Germany and Italy
In 1988, Katanec moved to Germany to play for VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. His team reached the 1989 UEFA Cup final, but they lost to Diego Maradona's Napoli. Katanec played only one season for Stuttgart.
In 1989, he joined the Italian team Sampdoria in Serie A. In his first season, he won the European Cup Winners' Cup. In 1991, Sampdoria became champions of Serie A, winning the Scudetto. The next year, in 1992, the club reached the 1992 European Cup final, but they lost to Barcelona. In 1994, he also won the Coppa Italia with Sampdoria.
International Matches
Katanec was part of the Yugoslavia national team for the 1984 European Championship in France. However, he has fonder memories of the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. There, the Yugoslavia team won a bronze medal.
He played very well in the qualifying games for the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. This made him only the third Slovenian player to ever play at a FIFA World Cup. He played in three of Yugoslavia's five matches at that World Cup. These were his last three games for Yugoslavia. Overall, he played 31 matches for Yugoslavia and scored 5 goals.
After Slovenia became independent, Katanec played five more matches for the new Slovenia national team. He scored one goal for them. Only one of these was an official match. It was a qualifying game for the 1996 European Championship on 7 September 1994, in Maribor against Italy. Soon after, his contract with Sampdoria ended, and he retired from playing professional football.
Managerial Career
After his playing career, Srečko Katanec became a successful football manager, leading several national teams and clubs.
Early Coaching Roles
Between 1996 and 1997, Katanec worked as an assistant manager for the Slovenia under-21 team. In December 1997, he became the head coach of Gorica. In July 1998, he was announced as the manager of the Slovenian national team.
Leading Slovenia to Major Tournaments
With Slovenia, Katanec achieved something amazing. He led the country to its first-ever major tournament by qualifying for the 2000 UEFA European Championship. At the tournament, Slovenia drew games against FR Yugoslavia and Norway, and lost to Spain.
Slovenia also managed to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. At the World Cup, they lost all three matches against Spain, South Africa, and Paraguay. Katanec resigned right after the World Cup.
Managing Clubs and Other National Teams
On 2 November 2002, Katanec became the new manager of Olympiacos in Greece. However, his time there was short, and his contract was ended in February 2003 due to poor results.
On 17 February 2006, Katanec was appointed as Macedonia's head coach. He resigned from this position in April 2009. On 23 June 2009, he became the new head coach of the United Arab Emirates national team. He was let go in September 2011 after two losses in the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Second Time with Slovenia and Beyond
On 31 December 2012, Katanec accepted an offer to manage Slovenia for the second time. He officially started on 4 January 2013. He resigned in October 2017 after his team did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
On 4 September 2018, Katanec was appointed as head coach of the Iraq. He led Iraq to the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time in his managerial career at the 2019 AFC Asian Cup. Iraq reached the round of 16 before losing to the eventual champions Qatar. Under his leadership, Iraq also had a notable 2–1 win over neighbor Iran in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. He left Iraq in July 2021.
On 27 August 2021, Katanec became the head coach of Uzbekistan. With Uzbekistan, he reached the quarter-finals of the 2023 AFC Asian Cup. His team was eliminated on penalties by the eventual champions Qatar. Katanec resigned as Uzbekistan head coach in January 2025 due to health problems and announced his retirement from football.
Personal Life
Srečko Katanec was born in Ljubljana. His parents were from Međimurje in Croatia. He has two sons named Svit Oliver and Ian Oskar.
Honours and Achievements
Srečko Katanec won many awards and championships during his playing career.
Club Achievements
- Partizan
- Yugoslav First League: 1986–87
- VfB Stuttgart
- UEFA Cup runner-up: 1988–89
- Sampdoria
- Serie A: 1990–91
- Coppa Italia: 1993–94
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1991
- Cup Winners' Cup: 1989–90
- European Cup runner-up: 1991–92
See also
In Spanish: Srečko Katanec para niños
