Damir Milinović


Damir Milinović is a Croatian football manager and former player.

Playing career

Born in Rijeka, Milinović spent most of his career in his local club, Rijeka, before moving to Dinamo Zagreb in 1997. He failed to impress in Dinamo so he returned to Rijeka in next season. After an impressive season with Rijeka during which Rijeka lost the title in last match, Milinović left for Germany in summer of 2000, signing with VfL Bochum. As Bochum finished last in the Bundesliga and were relegated, Milinović returned to Rijeka after only one season. He spent half a season in Rijeka before joining eventual season champions NK Zagreb. In January 2003, Milinović returned to Rijeka for the third and final time, spending there one and a half season before joining Dinamo Zagreb once again. He left Dinamo after only half a season, joining Austria Salzburg just few months before club was rebranded as Red Bull Salzburg. Milinović returned to Croatia after only half a season in Austria, signing for second division side Pomorac Kostrena. After two seasons with Pomorac, Milinović announced his retirement in summer of 2007.

International career

Milinović made four appearances for the Croatia national football team.

Managerial career

A few months after he announced his retirement, Milinović was appointed as a manager of his last club, Pomorac Kostrena. In Pomorac he was quite successful, finishing amongst top clubs in second division and reaching quarterfinals of Croatian cup. He left Pomorac in 2010 and took over third division side NK Grobničan. With Milinović in charge, Grobničan went from mediocre third division club to one of the best clubs in the league. They were on the edge of promotion to second division two years in a row but were financially incapable to take that step. In May 2012, Milinović was appointed coach of HNK Gorica. Milinović spent only six months in Gorica; he resigned in November 2012 after disappointing results in the first half of the season. In January 2013, Milinović took over third division side Novigrad.
He signed for HNK Gorica on 9 September 2015, but got sacked on 30 March 2017.
In August 2017, Milinović became a manager of Slovenian club FC Koper.

Career statistics

Club

International appearances

Managerial statistics

Honours

As a player

NK Zagreb