Zoran Zekić

Zoran Zekić
Zekić in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-04-29) 29 April 1974
Place of birth Osijek, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position Striker
Team information
Current team
 Sarajevo (manager)
Youth career
Osijek
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1992–1996 Osijek 6 (2)
1996–1998 Cibalia 32 (16)
1998–1999 Pfullendorf 7 (0)
2000 Otok 24 (14)
2000 Sarajevo 7 (2)
2001 Kamen Ingrad 25 (25)
2001–2002 Zadar 28 (13)
2002–2003 Kamen Ingrad 41 (27)
2004 Maccabi Haifa 9 (0)
2004 Dinamo Zagreb 5 (0)
2005 Inter Zaprešić 14 (6)
2005 Rijeka 10 (1)
2006 Inter Zaprešić 14 (1)
2006–2007 Cibalia 24 (12)
2007–2008 Istra 1961 15 (7)
2008 Segesta 10 (2)
2009 Moslavina 14 (9)
2009–2010 Lučko 16 (4)
2010–2011 Maksimir 29 (17)
Total 330 (158)
Managerial career
2010–2013 Maksimir
2013–2014 Sheriff-2 Tiraspol
2014–2015 Sheriff Tiraspol
2015–2019 Osijek
2019–2020 Sheriff Tiraspol
2021 Diósgyőr
2021–2023 Slaven Belupo
2023 Partizani
2023–2024 Osijek
2024–2025 Sarajevo
2026– Sarajevo
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zoran Zekić (pronounced [zǒran zěːkitɕ]; born 29 April 1974) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is currently the manager of Bosnian Premier League club Sarajevo.

Managerial career

Early career

In July 2010, Zekić was appointed manager of Zagreb-based local football club Maksimir, which he managed until 2013. One year later he moved to Moldova, where he managed Sheriff-2 Tiraspol in 2014, after which he became Sheriff Tiraspol manager. He won the double with Sheriff in the 2014–15 season, winning the Divizia Naţională and the national cup.

Osijek

On 1 September 2015, Zekić was appointed manager of hometown club Osijek in the Croatian Prva HNL, signing a three-year contract until June 2018.[1] In the 2016–17 season, Osijek finished in fourth place, earning a spot in the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League first qualifying rounds. Osijek drew Santa Coloma, Luzern and PSV Eindhoven. Osijek beat PSV with 2–0 on aggregate (0–1, 1–0), being promoted to the play-off round, where the club lost to Austria Wien on away goals. On 29 March 2019, following a string of poor results in the league, Zekić parted ways with Osijek.[2]

Return to Sheriff Tiraspol

On 30 April 2019, Zekić came back to manage Sheriff Tiraspol.[3] He led the side to another league and cup triumph, before leaving Sheriff in October 2020.[4]

Diósgyőr, Slaven Belupo and Partizani

In January 2021, Zekić was appointed manager of Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Diósgyőr.[5] Following Diósgyőr, he also worked at Slaven Belupo, Partizani, before returning to Osijek.[6]

Sarajevo

On 12 June 2024, Zekić was announced as the new manager of Bosnian Premier League club Sarajevo.[7] He signed a two-year contract with the option of extending for a further year.[8] In his first game in charge, Sarajevo beat Aktobe in the 2024–25 UEFA Conference League first qualifying round on 11 July 2024.[9] Sarajevo was eliminated in the second qualifying round by Spartak Trnava 3–0 on aggregate.[10] On 4 August 2024, Zekić earned victory in his first match of the league season, as Sarajevo defeated Sloboda Tuzla 3–1 at home.[11] He guided the side to a cup triumph in May 2025, defeating Široki Brijeg 5–1 on aggregate in the final.[12]

Sarajevo started off the 2025–26 season in the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round against Universitatea Craiova.[13] Following a 2–1 victory in the first leg, Sarajevo was ultimately eliminated after suffering a 4–0 defeat in the second leg.[14] Zekić's side started off the league season with a 4–4 draw against Radnik Bijeljina on 3 August 2025, only narrowly escaping defeat with a late equaliser despite initially being 3–0 up.[15] Subsequently, Zekić resigned as manager on 5 August.[16]

Return to Sarajevo

Zekić returned as Sarajevo manager on 9 June 2026, on a contract until June 2027, succeeding compatriot Mario Cvitanović.[17]

Managerial statistics

As of match played 21 August 2026[18]
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Sheriff Tiraspol 14 August 2014 26 May 2015 231634069.57
Osijek 1 September 2015 29 March 2019 152694043045.39
Sheriff Tiraspol 30 April 2019 21 October 2020 443464077.27
Diósgyőr 7 January 2021 9 May 2021 20758035.00
Slaven Belupo 31 August 2021 30 June 2023 72232029031.94
Partizani Tirana 12 June 2023 10 October 2023 14743050.00
Osijek 13 October 2023 21 May 2024 271269044.44
Sarajevo 12 June 2024 5 August 2025 4825167052.08
Sarajevo 9 June 2026 Present 4121025.00
Total 404194102108048.02

Honours

Player

Kamen Ingrad

Maccabi Haifa

Manager

Sheriff Tiraspol

Sarajevo

References

  1. ↑ "Besek razriješen, Zekić novi trener!" (in Croatian). NK Osijek. 1 September 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Zorane, hvala ti!" (in Croatian). NK Osijek. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  3. ↑ "Bivši fudbaler Sarajeva pronašao novi trenerski angažman" (in Bosnian). Sport1.ba. 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  4. ↑ "Zoran Zekić nakon 14 pobjeda u nizu napustio Sheriff" (in Bosnian). Sport Klub. 21 October 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  5. ↑ "DVTK: Geri Gergely távozott, az Eszék korábbi edzője az új tréner - hivatalos". Nemzeti Sport. 7 January 2021.
  6. ↑ Zdravko Barišić (21 May 2024). "Osijek potvrdio: Zoran Zekić dobio je otkaz, poznato je tko će ga mijenjati do kraja sezone..." 24sata.hr (in Hebrew). Retrieved 21 May 2024.
  7. ↑ D.P. (12 June 2024). "Zoran Zekić je novi trener FK Sarajevo!" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Admin Čaušević (16 June 2024). "FK Sarajevo objavio detalje ugovora sa Zoranom Zekićem" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 16 June 2024.
  9. ↑ E.B. (11 July 2024). "Sarajevo eurogolom u 90. minuti pobijedilo Aktobe u prvom evropskom susretu ove sezone" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 11 July 2024.
  10. ↑ Edmir Škorić (31 July 2024). "Sarajevo zaustavljeno u Trnavi: Spartak kaznio sve slabosti Bordo tima" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  11. ↑ K.K. (4 August 2024). "Sarajevo primilo gol, pa dominiralo i sigurno savladalo Slobodu" (in Bosnian). oslobodjenje.ba. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  12. ↑ D.P. (14 May 2025). "Nogometaši Sarajeva osmi put osvojili Kup BiH za novi rekord bh. nogometa" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  13. ↑ "Sarajevo vs Universitatea Craiova". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  14. ↑ "Universitatea Craiova vs Sarajevo". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  15. ↑ N.K. (3 August 2025). "Nevjerovatna utakmica na Koševu: Sarajevo vodilo 3:0 protiv Radnika pa spašavalo bod" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Edmir Škorić (5 August 2025). "Zekić potvrdio: Dao sam neopozivu ostavku" (in Bosnian). sportsport.ba. Retrieved 5 August 2025.
  17. ↑ "FK Sarajevo imenovao Zorana Zekića za novog trenera". reprezentacija.ba (in Bosnian). 9 June 2026. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Zoran Zekić". Sofascore. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
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