Branko Horjak

Branko Horjak (born 11 September 1950 in SFR Yugoslavia)[1][2] is a retired Yugoslav football player and manager. He is considered as one of the greatest players who played for Slovenian club Maribor, where he played during nine seasons, between 1970 and 1979.[1] He is the second all-time top goalscorer for Maribor with 117 goals in 268 official appearances.[1] During his final seasons as a player he represented smaller Austrian teams where he took on the role of manager.[1][2] In Slovenia he coached Aluminij, Železničar Maribor and managed Maribor on four different occasions.[1][2] During his coaching career he has also managed Maribor's youth squads.[1][2]

International career

Horjak has never been capped by Yugoslavia at full international level, however, he was a part of the country's under-21 football team.[2]

Coaching career

Horjak knew he would once like to become a football coach even during high school.[2] He began and completed his coaching licence in Austria and took the role of managing an amateur football club from Poljčane.[2] In 1993 he became a head coach of Maribor for the first time and led the team into the second round of the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, where his side was narrowly defeated by the German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund (2–1 aggregate).[2][3] During the same season Horjak won his first trophy as a coach, after winning the 1993–94 Cup.[2][3] However, after finishing third in the national league he was surpisingly sacked.[2] In the next decade he coached Železničar Maribor, Aluminij Kidričevo and was involved with Maribor on several different occasions, either as the coach of the main squad or the club's youth side.[2][3] With Železničar (two years) and Aluminij (three years) he competed in the Slovenian Second League and came close to qualifying into the top division with both clubs.[3]

Personal life

Horjak is married and has two daughters.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 NK Maribor. "Igralci z največ nastopi v posameznih desetletjih" (in Slovenian). NK Maribor official website. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Drago Soršak. "Šport - Branko Horjak: Življenje v vijoličnem" (in Slovenian). revijakapital.com. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Slobodan Pejić (21 September 2004). "Kek je bil presenečen" (in Slovenian). Večer. Retrieved 26 March 2013.


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