Srečko Katanec

Srečko Katanec
Katanec in 2015
Personal information
Date of birth (1963-07-16) 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
Representing  Yugoslavia
Men's football
Olympic Games
1984 Los AngelesTeam
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Srečko Katanec (pronounced [ˈsretʃkɔ kaˈtanɛts] ; born 16 July 1963) is a Slovenian retired football manager and player. At international level, he was capped for both the Yugoslavia and Slovenia national teams.

A former midfielder, who was also capable of playing as a defender, Katanec is regarded as one of the greatest Slovenian footballers of all time, having represented Yugoslavia at the 1984 and 1988 Summer Olympics, UEFA Euro 1984 and the 1990 FIFA World Cup. After Slovenia's independence, Katanec made five appearances for the newly formed Slovenia national team before retiring from professional football.

During his club career, Katanec won a Yugoslav League championship with FK Partizan and was a runner-up of the 1988–89 UEFA Cup with VfB Stuttgart. In his five-year spell with Sampdoria, he won the Serie A championship, the Coppa Italia and the European Cup Winners' Cup, as well as finishing as a runner-up in the 1992 European Cup final, losing to Barcelona.

As manager of Slovenia, Katanec led the country to its first major tournament in history after qualifying for the 2000 European Championship and the 2002 FIFA World Cup.