Nenad Gračan Explained

Nenad Gračan
Fullname:Nenad Gračan
Birth Date:23 January 1962
Birth Place:Rijeka, PR Croatia, Yugoslavia
Position:Midfielder
Currentclub:Croatia (women) (manager)
Youthclubs1:Rijeka
Years1:1979–1986
Years2:1979–1980
Years3:1986–1989
Years4:1989–1993
Years5:1995–1996
Clubs2:Orijent (loan)
Clubs5:Rijeka
Caps1:136
Caps3:25
Caps4:90
Caps5:10
Totalcaps:261
Goals1:31
Goals3:2
Goals4:1
Goals5:1
Totalgoals:35
Nationalyears1:1984
Nationalteam1:Yugoslavia Olympic
Nationalcaps1:6
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalyears2:1984–1986
Nationalteam2:Yugoslavia
Nationalcaps2:10
Nationalgoals2:2
Manageryears1:1995–1996
Manageryears2:1998–2000
Manageryears3:2001
Manageryears4:2002–2003
Manageryears5:2003
Manageryears6:2003–2004
Manageryears7:2004
Manageryears8:2005–2006
Manageryears9:2007
Manageryears10:2008
Manageryears11:2009
Manageryears12:2009–2010
Manageryears13:2010–2011
Manageryears14:2013–2019
Manageryears15:2021–
Managerclubs2:Rijeka
Managerclubs12:Rijeka
Managerclubs13:Rijeka
Managerclubs14:Croatia U-21
Managerclubs15:Croatia women

Nenad Gračan (born 23 January 1962) is a Croatian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He is the coach of the Croatia women's national football team.

Club career

Born in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia, Gračan started playing professionally for hometown's NK Orijent and, soon thereafter, HNK Rijeka, amassing nearly 150 official appearances. He then moved to another club in his native Croatia, HNK Hajduk Split. During his first match at Hajduk Gračan was injured while playing against his former club by Mladen Mladenović who nearly broke Gračan's leg. Because of this injury he appeared intermittently for Hajduk over the course of four full seasons.[1]

Late into 1989, Gračan signed with La Liga club Real Oviedo. Joined by compatriots Janko Janković and Nikola Jerkan in his second season, he helped the Asturians finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Cup by contributing with 26 matches, and eventually appeared in more than 100 games overall.

Aged almost 31, Gračan left Oviedo and returned to his country, now independent. After two years of inactivity he played a handful of games with first professional club Rijeka, but retired shortly after. In the following decade, he took up coaching, starting with his last team as a player, but he rarely settled.

International career

Gračan made his debut for Yugoslavia in a March 1984 friendly match against Hungary and earned a total of 10 caps, scoring 2 goals. He never attended any major international tournament. In 1984, the then 21-year-old helped the Olympic squad win the bronze medal in Los Angeles, featuring in all games but one and scoring in the quarterfinals against West Germany (5–2). His final international was a May 1986 friendly away against Belgium.[2]

International appearances

Yugoslavia national team
YearAppsGoals
198430
198540
198632
Total102

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition[3]
130 April 1986Arruda, RecifeFriendly
219 May 1986Heizelstadion, BrusselsFriendly

Managerial career

In June 2001, he was named manager of Hajduk Split.[4] Gračan was dismissed as manager of Pula in May 2007[5] and he took charge of Rijeka for a third time in November 2009.[6]

Personal life

Gračan married former miss Croatia Daniela Mihalic in 1999. The couple have three daughters.[7]

Career statistics

As a player

[8] [9] [10]

Club performanceLeagueCupContinentalTotal
SeasonClubLeagueApps GoalsApps GoalsApps GoalsApps Goals
YugoslaviaLeagueYugoslav CupEuropeTotal
1979–80NK RijekaYugoslav First League300030
1980–8100
1981–8212400114
1982–8331542367
1983–8431831349
1984–852971040347
1985–8630710317
1986–87NK Hajduk SplitYugoslav First League110011
1987–88200020
1988–8916010170
1989–90611071
SpainLeagueCopa del ReyEuropeTotal
1989–90Real OviedoLa Liga23100231
1990–9126000260
1991–9216000160
1992–9325041291
CroatiaLeagueCroatian CupEuropeTotal
1995–96HNK RijekaPrva HNL10130131
Country HNK Rijeka146321234016235
NK Hajduk Split2522000272
Real Oviedo9014100942
Total261351844028339

Managerial statistics

[11]

Club

ClubFromToCompetitionRecord
PWDLWin %
HNK Rijeka26 November 199522 May 1996Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
HNK Rijeka15 March 199811 November 2000Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Cup
HNK Rijeka Total
Hajduk Split25 July 200121 November 2001Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
UEFA Champions League
UEFA Cup
Hajduk Split Total
Sport Line Koper14 July 200230 March 2003PrvaLiga
Slovenian Cup
Sport Line Koper Total
NK Osijek10 May 200331 May 2003Prva HNL
NK Osijek Total
NK Kamen Ingrad26 July 200328 August 2004Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
UEFA Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Kamen Ingrad Total
Dinamo Zagreb11 September 200420 November 2004Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
UEFA Cup
Dinamo Zagreb Total
Pomorac Kostrena21 August 200526 November 2006Druga HNL
Croatian Cup
Pomorac Kostrena Total
Pula Staročeško17 February 200712 May 2007Prva HNL
Pula Staročeško Total
NK Nafta Lendava1 March 200822 March 2008PrvaLiga
NK Nafta Lendava Total
NK Croatia Sesvete12 September 20097 November 2009Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
NK Croatia Sesvete Total
HNK Rijeka21 November 200913 May 2010Prva HNL
HNK Rijeka24 July 20106 November 2010Prva HNL
Croatian Cup
HNK Rijeka Total
Totals

National team

*Dates of first and last games under Gračan; not dates of official appointments

Honours

Player

Hajduk Split

1987

Yugoslavia
Individual

1985–86

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Mladenović Gračanu slomio nogu. index.hr. 12 October 2017.
  2. Web site: Player Database. 27 July 2022. EU-football.
  3. https://web.archive.org/web/20151004130430/http://www.fifa.com/fifa-tournaments/players-coaches/people=50183/index.html Nenad Gračan Statistics
  4. https://sportnet.hr/vijesti/179448/nogomet/nenad-gracan-novi-trener-hajduka/ Nenad Gračan novi trener Hajduka
  5. https://dnevnik.hr/vijesti/sport/nenad-gracan-vise-nije-trener-pule.html Nenad Gračan više nije trener Pule
  6. https://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/nenad-gracan-opet-novi-trener-rijeke-2866319 Nenad Gračan opet novi trener Rijeke!
  7. https://story.hr/Celebrity/a241038/Rijetko-pojavljivanje-Daniele-i-Nenada-Gracana.html RIJETKI IZLAZAK DANIELE GRAČAN I SUPRUGA: U braku su 23 godine i imaju tri kćeri, a ona oduševljava mladolikim izgledom
  8. News: Nenad Gračan statistics. bdfutbol.com. 12 October 2017.
  9. News: HNK Rijeka. nk-rijeka.hr . 12 October 2017.
  10. News: Fudbal ex-YU 1945.-1992.. zerodic.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20090305093718/http://www.zerodic.com/autor/fudbal_1945-1992/igraci/igraci_g.htm. 8 October 2019. 5 March 2009.
  11. News: Nenad Gračan's Managerial statistics in Prva HNL . hrnogomet.com. 12 October 2017 . 12 October 2017.