Antun Pogačnik


Antun "Toni" Pogačnik was a Croatian footballer who played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia. He is notable for being a manager of Indonesia between 1954 and 1963 and is considered one of the best in the history of the Indonesian national football team.

Club career

Pogačnik started his football career in SAŠK Sarajevo in 1931. In 1934 he was transferred to Građanski Zagreb and then in 1938 to Concordia Zagreb where he ended his club career.

International career

Pogačnik played two matches for Yugoslavia, one against Turkey and the other against Romania. Both matches were played in Belgrade. He also played one match for Croatia against Germany in Vienna on 15 June 1941.

Manager career

Pogačnik led arguably the most successful Indonesian national team. Under him, Indonesia held the Soviet Union to a 0–0 draw in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics quarter final game before losing 0–4 in the replay two days later. It was a strong Soviet team captained by the great Lev Yashin which then went on to win the gold medal.
As the Dutch East Indies, Indonesia competed in the 1938 World Cup but since then has not appeared in a world tournament at a senior level. Antun Pogačnik is the only coach who has been able to take the Indonesian national team to the Olympic Games. He is remembered very fondly in Indonesian football circles.
He later became a manager, with Metalac Zagreb, FK Partizan, Grasshopper Club Zürich.