Damir Krznar Explained

Damir Krznar
Height:1.77 m[1]
Birth Date:10 July 1972
Birth Place:Zabok, SR Croatia, Yugoslavia[2]
Position:Left midfielder
Years1:1992–1995
Caps1:83
Goals1:4
Years2:1995–2004
Caps2:122
Goals2:7
Years3:2004–2010
Caps3:134
Goals3:1
Totalcaps:339
Totalgoals:12
Nationalyears1:1998
Nationalteam1:Croatia
Nationalcaps1:1
Nationalgoals1:0
Manageryears1:2010–2011
Managerclubs1:Inter Zaprešić (assistant)
Manageryears2:2011–2016
Managerclubs2:Dinamo Zagreb (assistant)
Manageryears3:2013
Managerclubs3:Dinamo Zagreb (interim)
Manageryears4:2016–2017
Managerclubs4:Al Nassr (assistant)
Manageryears5:2017–2019
Managerclubs5:Al Ain (assistant)
Manageryears6:2019
Managerclubs6:Al Hilal (assistant)
Manageryears7:2020–2021
Managerclubs7:Dinamo Zagreb (assistant)
Manageryears8:2021
Managerclubs8:Dinamo Zagreb
Manageryears9:2022
Managerclubs9:Dinamo Zagreb II
Manageryears10:2022–2023
Managerclubs10:Maribor
Manageryears11:2023–2024
Managerclubs11:Celje

Damir Krznar (born 10 July 1972) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player.

Playing career

Club

Krznar spent his career playing for Varteks, Dinamo Zagreb and Inter Zaprešić.[2]

International

He made his international debut coming in as a second half substitute for Robert Jarni against Poland on 22 April 1998, which was his only appearance for the Croatia national team.[2] [3]

Managerial career

Career as assistant

In the period between 2010 and 2021, Krznar worked as an assistant coach to Ilija Lončarević at Inter Zaprešić, to Krunoslav Jurčić, Ante Čačić, Branko Ivanković and Zoran Mamić at Dinamo Zagreb, and to Mamić at Al Nassr, Al Ain and Al Hilal.[4]

He served as Dinamo interim manager on two occasions; from August to September 2013,[5] and from July to September 2015.[6]

Dinamo Zagreb

After Zoran Mamić was sentenced to five years in prison on 15 March 2021, he resigned on the same day and was succeeded by Krznar, who made his debut as Dinamo head coach on 18 March in a 3–0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Stadion Maksimir, thus qualifying for the quarter-finals of the 2020–21 UEFA Europa League for the first time in the history of the club. Furthermore, Krznar became the first ever manager to eliminate Spurs head coach José Mourinho from the Europa League (the Portuguese took part in the competition two more times before–in 2002–03 coaching Porto, and in 2016–17 coaching Manchester United–winning both editions).[7] [8] [9] [10] However, Dinamo went on to lose their quarter-final fixture against Villarreal 3–1 on aggregate.[11]

On 9 May 2021, Dinamo secured its 22nd Croatian First League title with a 5–1 victory over Rijeka, and the 32nd national league title in total.[12] Ten days later, Dinamo also won the Croatian Cup title, with a victory against Istra 1961 by a scoreline of 6–3.[13]

Krznar left Dinamo on 1 December 2021 after being eliminated by Rijeka in the quarter-finals of the Croatian Cup.[14] However, the next month, he took over the reserve team of Dinamo,[15] playing in the Croatian Second League, where he stayed until the team was dissolved following the 2021–22 season.[16]

Maribor

On 16 August 2022, Krznar took charge of the reigning Slovenian PrvaLiga champions Maribor, signing a two-year contract.[17] At the time of his arrival, Maribor was sitting in last place in the league with only three points out of five games.[17] He led the club to third place in the league and also reached the cup final, earning a contract extension until 2026.[18] However, after a poor start to the 2023–24 season, Krznar terminated his contract by mutual consent and left the club on 2 October 2023. In total, he led Maribor in 55 matches and achieved 28 wins, 13 draws and 14 defeats.[19]

Celje

On 11 October 2023, Krznar was appointed manager of another Slovenian PrvaLiga side, Celje, after Albert Riera left the club to manage Girondins de Bordeaux.[20] With Celje, he won the 2023–24 Slovenian PrvaLiga title, but left the club on 28 July 2024 along with his staff after his contract was terminated by mutual consent when Riera became available again following Bordeaux's financial collapse.[21]

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure
ClubFromToRecord
Dinamo Zagreb (interim)22 August 2013 2 September 2013
Dinamo Zagreb15 March 20211 December 2021
Dinamo Zagreb II7 January 202216 August 2022
Maribor16 August 20222 October 2023
Celje11 October 202328 July 2024
Total

Honours

Player

Dinamo Zagreb

Manager

Dinamo Zagreb

Celje

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Damir Krznar. worldfootball.net. 7 February 2019.
  2. Web site: Damir Krznar - Povijest Dinama . GNK Dinamo Zagreb . 11 August 2021 . hr. 11 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210811112000/http://povijest.gnkdinamo.hr/popis-igra%C4%8Da/damir-krznar.html.
  3. Web site: Damir Krznar, international football player . eu-football.info . 1 October 2022 . en.
  4. Web site: Pomoćnik dolazi na Mamićevo mjesto i vodi utakmicu protiv Mourinha . Croatian Radiotelevision . 16 March 2021 . 11 August 2021 . hr.
  5. Web site: Nakon samo osam utakmica na klupi, Branko Ivanković više nije trener Dinama! . evarazdin.hr . 22 October 2013 . 11 August 2021 . hr.
  6. Web site: Hina . Vođenje momčadi Dinama preuzeo prvi pomoćnik i pomoćni trener Damir Krznar . Novi list . 5 July 2015 . 11 August 2021 . hr.
  7. Web site: Čudo na Maksimiru! Dinamo izbacio Tottenham iz Europske lige. Croatian Radiotelevision. 18 March 2021. 18 March 2021. hr.
  8. Web site: UEFA.com. Dinamo Zagreb vs Tottenham: UEFA Europa League background, form guide, previous meetings. UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 18 March 2021.
  9. Web site: Sorry Tottenham stunned by Dinamo Zagreb in Europa League exit. BBC Sport. 18 March 2021. 18 March 2021.
  10. Web site: Hina. 19 March 2021. ‘Ovo je raspad u Hrvatskoj!; Pa ovo je neprihvatljivo! ‘Sramotni Spursi‘; ‘Veličanstveni Oršić...‘. live. 19 March 2021. Sportske novosti. hr-hr. https://web.archive.org/web/20210319083643/https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/nogomet/europska-liga/ovo-je-raspad-u-hrvatskoj-pa-ovo-je-neprihvatljivo-sramotni-spursi-velicanstveni-orsic-15059053 . 19 March 2021 .
  11. Web site: Antolić. Dražen. 16 April 2021. Nakon ispadanja iz Europske lige postoji nešto za čime Modri imaju razloga najviše žaliti. live. 16 April 2021. Sportske novosti. hr-hr. https://web.archive.org/web/20210416085134/https://sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/nogomet/europska-liga/nakon-ispadanja-iz-europske-lige-postoji-nesto-za-cime-modri-imaju-razloga-najvise-zaliti-15065809 . 16 April 2021 .
  12. Web site: Dinamo obranio naslov prvaka Hrvatske! . GNK Dinamo Zagreb . 9 May 2021 . 21 July 2021 . hr.
  13. Web site: Dinamo je pobjednik Hrvatskog nogometnog kupa! . GNK Dinamo Zagreb . 19 May 2021 . 21 July 2021 . hr.
  14. Web site: Damir Krznar više nije trener Dinama . index.hr . 16 August 2022 . hr . 1 December 2021.
  15. Web site: Početak priprema Dinamove B momčadi . gnkdinamo.hr . 16 August 2022 . hr-HR . 7 January 2022.
  16. Web site: Kdo je Damir Krznar? Spisal je enega največjih Dinamovih evropskih preobratov in porazil Mourinha . Nogomania . 16 August 2022 . sl . 16 August 2022.
  17. Web site: M. R. . Uradno: Novi trener Maribora je Damir Krznar . . 16 August 2022 . sl . 16 August 2022.
  18. Web site: Krznar pred finalom pokala podaljšal z vijoličastimi do leta 2026. A. G.. . 2 October 2023 . sl . 5 May 2023.
  19. Web site: Damir Krznar ni več trener NK Maribor . . 2 October 2023 . sl . 2 October 2023.
  20. Web site: Kresnik . Dejan . Damir Krznar novi trener nogometašev Celja . . 28 July 2024 . sl . 11 October 2023.
  21. Web site: S. J. . Krznar že zapustil prvake, Riera blizu vrnitve . . 28 July 2024 . sl . 28 July 2024.