Zoran Vulić

Zoran Vulić (born 4 October 1961) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. He is most notable for having managing Hajduk Split five separate times between 1998 and 2018, which is a record among all Hajduk managers.

Zoran Vulić
Vulić as a manager at Luch-Energiya in 2008
Personal information
Full name Zoran Vulić
Date of birth (1961-10-04) 4 October 1961
Place of birth Split, FPR Yugoslavia
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1988 Hajduk Split 167 (25)
1988–1991 Mallorca 95 (11)
1991–1993 Nantes 65 (10)
1993–1995 Hajduk Split 21 (4)
Total 348 (50)
National team
1986–1991 Yugoslavia 25 (1)
1990–1993 Croatia 3 (0)
Teams managed
1998 Hajduk Split
2000–2001 Hajduk Split
2002–2004 Hajduk Split
2006–2007 Hajduk Split
2008 Luch-Energiya
2009 Rijeka
2010 Istra 1961
2010–2011 Istra 1961
2012–2013 RNK Split
2014 Croatia U19
2014–2015 RNK Split
2015–2016 Sheriff Tiraspol
2016–2017 Atyrau
2017 Apollon Smyrni
2018 Hajduk Split
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Vulić was born in Split, FPR Yugoslavia. He is the son of Ante Vulić, a famous goalkeeper for Hajduk Split in the 1950s. Zoran Vulić joined Hajduk Split as a stopper with a powerful shot, and played for the club for nine seasons. He played a total of 167 league games and scored 25 goals. He successfully continued his career abroad, with stints at RCD Mallorca and FC Nantes in the following five years. He was instrumental in Mallorca's return to the La Liga during his debut season. He played 35 matches and scored five times.

Vulić returned to Hajduk in 1993 and retired after two years with the club, at the age of 34. In his first stint with the club, he conquered two Yugoslav Cups in 1984 and 1987, and his second stint two Croatian Leagues in 1994 and 1995, and one cup in 1995.

Vulić won 25 caps for Yugoslavia, scoring once, and participated at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, where he played four of the team's five matches.[1] His national team debut was on 30 April 1986, when Yugoslavia lost 4–2 to Brazil in a friendly match.

Managerial career

In 1998, Vulić continued his career as a manager, with his first four spells all at Hajduk Split. His biggest success as Hajduk manager was winning the 2000–01 Croatian First League and the 2002–03 Croatian Cup. In 2004, he was sacked three rounds before the end of the 2003–04 Croatian First League season even though the team was sitting at the top of the table, and he was replaced by the new manager, Petar Nadoveza, who ended up winning that championship with Hajduk.

In January 2008, Vulić moved to Russian Premier League club FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok. He returned to Croatia in 2009, taking over HNK Rijeka. In February 2010, he took charge of NK Istra 1961. Vulić also managed RNK Split on two occasions. His biggest success with that team was reaching the final of the 2014–15 Croatian Cup where they were beaten on penalties by Dinamo Zagreb.

In 2015, he took over Sheriff Tiraspol and managed to win the 2015–16 Moldovan National Division. He left the club in June 2016.

On 14 December 2016, Vulić was appointed as the manager of FC Atyrau. On 11 April 2017, FC Atyrau announced a mutually agreed contract termination, as Vulić wanted to return to Croatia. He was then manager of Apollon Smyrni from September to December 2017, when he was sacked after a poor run of results. His final stint with Hajduk was from 9 September to 27 November 2018, when he was sacked after having won only 3 of the 9 league matches.[2][3]

Additionally, Vulić also served as the assistant manager of the Croatia national team.

Honours

Player
Hajduk Split

Manager
Hajduk Split
Sheriff Tiraspol

References
  1. Zoran Vulić – FIFA competition record
  2. "ZORAN VULIĆ NOVI JE TRENER HAJDUKA!". hajduk.hr (in Croatian). 9 September 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  3. "ZORAN VULIĆ VIŠE NIJE TRENER HAJDUKA, KLUPU PREUZIMA SINIŠA OREŠČANIN". hajduk.hr (in Croatian). 27 November 2018. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
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