Darko Milanič


Darko Milanič is a Slovenian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor.
As a player, he represented both Yugoslavia and Slovenia at international level. He also captained Slovenia at UEFA Euro 2000.

Club career

Born in Izola, Milanič began his football career with local side NK Izola. In the 1986–87 season, he joined Partizan. During his time at Partizan, he won the Yugoslav First League and the Yugoslav Cup twice.
After the 1992–93 season he moved to the Austrian side Sturm Graz, where he played for eight seasons and won eight trophies, including two Austrian Bundesliga titles, three Austrian Cups and three Austrian Supercups.
In 2000, at the age of 32, he retired early due to injury and to pursue a coaching career in football.

International career

During his spell at Partizan, he earned five caps for Yugoslavia. Even after the independence of Slovenia, he, as being a player of a Serbian club, was included by Yugoslavia for the UEFA Euro 1992, but the nation would be suspended due to the Yugoslav Wars.
He later represented Slovenia, earning 42 caps. He captained his country at the UEFA Euro 2000, including a match against his former national side, Yugoslavia, which ended in a 3–3 draw.

Coaching career

After his football career, he turned to coaching. He started his coaching career at his hometown club Izola. After that, he was appointed manager of Primorje and an assistant coach at Sturm Graz under Franco Foda during the 2006–07 season.

Gorica

At the start of the 2007–08 season he was appointed as the head coach of Gorica, where he helped guide them to a third-place finish in the Slovenian PrvaLiga. In the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, the team was knocked out in the first qualifying round after losing over two legs to Rabotnički.

Maribor

On 1 June 2008 he was appointed as the head coach of Maribor by Director of Football Zlatko Zahovič. He won the Slovenian PrvaLiga during his first year in the 2008–09 season. In May 2010, Maribor won the Slovenian Cup. After winning this trophy, Milanič became the first coach that have won all three domestic trophies in Slovenian club football, having won the Slovenian League and the Slovenian Supercup before that. He has achieved that in only two seasons.
At the beginning of the 2012–13 season, Maribor played in their fourth successive Supercup. The club defeated their "eternal rivals" Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1 to clinch their second Supercup title. In January 2013, Milanič was selected as the Slovenian Manager of the Year for 2012 by winning the league, cup and supercup.
Milanič led Maribor to the group stages of the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League as one of the losers in the play-off round of the 2012–13 UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Dinamo Zagreb. This was the second season in a row in which Maribor qualified to the Europa League main stages. They managed to get four points out of six matches, defeating Panathinaikos and drawing with Tottenham Hotspur, both at home. On 9 November 2012, Maribor suffered a 3–1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur after a hat-trick by Jermain Defoe. In the final game of Group J, Maribor suffered a 4–1 defeat to Lazio.
Maribor confirmed their eleventh league title on 11 May 2013 after defeating Olimpija Ljubljana 2–1. In the 2013 Cup Final, Maribor defeated Celje 1–0, thus securing their fourth "double" in the club's history.

Sturm Graz

On 4 June 2013, he became a manager of Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga, with Novica Nikčević as his assistant. One of his first signings was Robert Berić, whom he signed from his former club, Maribor. Sturm Graz were knocked out of the Europa League after losing 1–0 on aggregate in the second qualifying round to Breiðablik UBK. He led his side to a fifth-place finish during his first season during the 2013–14 season.
On 21 September 2014, during a press conference, Sturm Graz revealed that Milanič would be leaving the club to join an English side Leeds United after agreeing to buy out his contract at Sturm Graz to make the move.

Leeds United

On 23 September 2014, Milanič was appointed as manager of Leeds United on a two-year deal, replacing Dave Hockaday. He was joined at Leeds by his Sturm Graz Assistant Novica Nikčević. Milanič appointment meant he also became the first non-British or Irish manager to be in charge of Leeds in their entire history. Milanič parted company on 25 October 2014, minutes after a 2–1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers,
just 32 days after taking over, for failing to win any of his six games in charge.

Return to Maribor

On 2 March 2016, Milanič returned to the Slovenian PrvaLiga club Maribor. He became the Slovenian champion with the team in the 2016–17 season. Milanič led Maribor to the group stages of the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League after eliminating Zrinjski Mostar, Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar, and Hapoel Be'er-Sheva in the qualifying rounds. In the 2018–19 season, he won his sixth league title with Maribor. He resigned in March 2020 after a 2–1 home defeat against Bravo.

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

;Partizan
;Sturm Graz
;Maribor