Dragomir "Dragan" Okuka (; born 2 April 1954) is a Serbian professional

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

and former

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...

. As a player, he was predominantly associated with his time with Velež Mostar where he won the 1981

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

before joining Swedish club

Örebro SK Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn ...

, the place his son, professional footballer Dražen, was born before ending his career soon after. Starting his management career with

FK Bečej FK or fk may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block * Funky Kong, a video game character Place * F ...

, Okuka would win his first coaching honours with

FK Obilić Fudbalski klub Obilić (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Обилић) is a Serbian football club based in Vračar, a neighbourhood of Belgrade. It was named after medieval Serbs, Serbian hero Miloš Obilić, a legendary 14th-century ...

when he won the 1997–98 Yugoslav league title with them. Since then he has achieved success with Polish club

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

and managed the Serbia and Montenegro under-21 team to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship. He has also managed several other clubs.

Playing career

Okuka, born in

Porija Porija ( sr-cyrl, Порија) is a village in the Municipalities of Republika Srpska, municipality of Kalinovik, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina.Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by muni ...

(a village in the Herzegovinian town of

Kalinovik Kalinovik ( sr-cyrl, Калиновик) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 1,093 inhabitants, while the municipality has 2,029 inhabitants. The municipality adjoins th ...

), started his football career playing for Velež Nevesinje.Book: "Rođeni - Prvoligaške generacije 1952 - 1991" by Zoran Mrđenović, pag. 37 However, he reached his affirmation at

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

club Velež Mostar and in his debut season was part of the squad that narrowly missed out on winning the 1973–74 league title on goal difference to

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

. After several seasons within Velež Mostar's midfield Okuka would go on to win the 1981

and

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...

with the club, while also gaining a BA in Law from the

University of Mostar The University of Mostar ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Sveučilište u Mostaru, Свеучилиште у Мостару; ) is a List of universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, public university located in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The university ha ...

. Having spent the majority of his career in Velež Mostar (11 years, except one season he spent on loan at Leotar Trebinje), Okuka would join Swedish football Division 2 side

for a short period before ending his career with Swedish lower league side Motala AIF. He represented Yugoslavia at the

1979 Mediterranean Games The 1979 Mediterranean Games, officially known as the VIII Mediterranean Games, and commonly known as Split 1979, were the 8th Mediterranean Games. The Games were held in Split, Croatia, Split, SFR Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia, from 15 to 29 September ...

(winning gold) and played four matches (scoring one goal) for the Yugoslavia national under-21 team. Okuka was the captain of the under-21 side at the

1980 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 1980 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1978–80) had 25 entrants. Cyprus and the Netherlands competed in the competition for the first time. 1978 entrants Austria did not enter. Due to 'irregularities', Turkey's fi ...

where Yugoslavia (led by a coaching duo of Ivan Toplak and Stevan Vilotić) reached the semi-final where they lost to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Coaching career

After he retired, he would move back to Yugoslavia and return to his first club Velež Mostar, where he took the position of general manager within the team by 1990. His time at the club was short-lived, and he would soon have to face challenges outside football when his life would be disrupted by the

Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incid ...

in 1992, however in early 1995 Okuka would make his first foray into management when he was hired by struggling Yugoslavian team

and lead them to fourth within the 1994–95 league season. This would be enough for Okuka to lead the team to the

1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup The 1995 UEFA Intertoto Cup was the first edition of the tournament administered by the UEFA. It saw Strasbourg and Bordeaux win their semi-finals to advance to the first round of the UEFA Cup, the latter eventually finishing runners-up. It also ...

, where the club were knocked out in the group stages; however, despite this, Okuka would soon attract the interests of

FK Čukarički Fudbalski klub Čukarički () is a Serbian professional football club from Belgrade, more precisely from the Čukarica municipality, that currently plays in the Serbian SuperLiga, the top tier of Serbian football. Founded in 1926, the club spe ...

, who he stayed with for one season. Still regarded as one of the country's most promising coaches, he would join highly ambitious football club

despite the questionable ownership of career criminal

Željko Ražnatović Željko Ražnatović (, ; 17 April 1952 – 15 January 2000), better known as Arkan (), was a Serbian warlord, mobster and head of the Serbs, Serb paramilitary force called the Serb Volunteer Guard during the Yugoslav Wars, considered one of the ...

. While at the club he would employ a 3-5-2 formation as the club won the 1997–98 league title for the first time. Okuka would only stay with the club for one season, as Željko Ražnatović's ownership of the club came into question, and, despite having the chance to manage in the

1998–99 UEFA Champions League The 1998–99 UEFA Champions League was the 44th season of the UEFA Champions League, Europe's premier club football tournament, and the seventh since it was renamed from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The competition was w ...

, Okuka decided to join

FK Budućnost Podgorica Fudbalski Klub Budućnost Podgorica (Cyrillic: Будућност Подгорица, , ) is a Montenegro, Montenegrin professional association football, football club from Podgorica, Montenegro. It is competing in the Montenegrin First League. ...

the following season. After a short stint with

FK Vojvodina Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Serbia, the second large ...

in 2000, Okuka would move away from the Yugoslavian league and join top tier Polish side

, where he would soon get them to play in a 3-4-1-2 formation and eventually aid them to the 2001–02 Ekstraklasa league title at the end of the season. The following season wasn't so happy for Okuka, as Legia Warsaw were knocked out early within the

2002–03 UEFA Champions League The 2002–03 UEFA Champions League was the 11th season of UEFA's premier European club association football, football tournament, the UEFA Champions League, since its rebranding in 1992, and the 48th European Cup tournament overall. The competi ...

while also having an underwhelming league season, which saw him replaced by Dariusz Kubicki at the end of the season. After spending eighteen months out of coaching, he was offered the chance to manage the Serbia and Montenegro under-21 team, where he used a 4-4-2 formation to help guide the team to the

2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 15th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Championship. In December 2005, Portugal was selected to host the finals of the competition, which took place from 23 May–4 June 2006. The tournament was w ...

. At the tournament he would go on to guide the club to a semi-final position as the team narrowly missed the final in a penalty shoot-out against

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

. Once the tournament finished Okuka would return to club football with Polish side

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

, who were looking for someone to improve upon their last season's result of second within the league. Already several games into the season expectations were still high despite the previous manager

Dan Petrescu Daniel "Dan" Vasile Petrescu (; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian football manager and former player who is currently in charge of Liga I club CFR Cluj. As a player, Petrescu was deployed as a full-back or a winger and began his career a ...

being fired after a slow start; however, Okuka was not the manager to change the club's fortunes and was fired two months later after only eight games, with the club languishing in mid-table. Okuka would move around Europe, first with Cypriot side

AC Omonia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia (; ''Athlitikós Sýllogos Omónoia Lefkosías''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia (also Romanization of Greek, transliterated as Omonoia), is a Cyprus, Cypriot professional multi-sport club, esta ...

, where he played a 4-2-3-1 formation with little success before leaving the club after only several months. He wouldn't wait too long before joining Bulgarian side

Lokomotiv Sofia FC Lokomotiv Sofia () is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Sofia, which currently plays in the First League, the top tier of Bulgarian football. Founded as Railway Sports Club in 1929, and refounded in 2015, following ...

in June 2008; however, the highlight of his reign was a short stint within the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup association football, football tournament. The 2009 UEFA Cup Final, final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe S.K. (football), F ...

, and, after being unable to mount a title challenge during his time with the club, they decided not to renew his contract. This saw him move to Greek side Kavala F.C., but he only stayed with the club for five mouths and was replaced with Henryk Kasperczak. Deciding not to stay within Europe, Okuka would accept the management position from Chinese top-tier club Jiangsu Sainty, who he joined half-way through their 2011 league season and within his debut season guided the club to their best-ever finish of fourth at the end of the campaign.Okuka follows in the footsteps
at ''Sportske.net'' He would strive to make Jiangsu Sainty the Chinese Super League runner-up in 2012, with only 4 points to equal

Marcello Lippi Marcello Romeo Lippi (; born 12 April 1948) is an Italian former professional association football, football player and manager, who led the Italy national football team, Italy national team to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was appoin ...

Guangzhou Evergrande Guangzhou Football Club (), previously Guangzhou Evergrande (), was a Chinese professional football club based in Guangzhou, Guangdong. Historically, Guangzhou FC played its home matches at various grounds in their home city, most notably at T ...

at the end of the season. Okuka would receive the honour of Chinese FA Coach of the Year for his wonderful coaching performance in 2012 and he was to gain popularity among soccer fans throughout China. Okuka won his first title for Jiangsu in the 2013 Chinese FA Super Cup bu beating

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

and

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

winners Guangzhou Evergrande 2–1. However, Jiangsu Sainty spent most time in struggling at the edge of relegation in the 2013 season and finally avoided relegation by beating

Qingdao Jonoon Qingdao Hainiu Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Qingdao, Shandong, that competes in . Qingdao Hainiu plays its home matches at the Qingdao Youth Football Stadium, located within Chengyang District. Their curren ...

just one point. The club decided not to extend his contract at the end of the season.

Honours

Player

Velež Mostar *

: 1981 *

: 1981

Manager

Obilić *

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro () was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed as the First League of FR Yugoslavia following the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992, ef ...

: 1997–98 Legia Warsaw *

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

: 2001–02 * Polish League Cup: 2001–02 Jiangsu Sainty * Chinese FA Super Cup:

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

Individual *

Chinese Football Association The Chinese Football Association (), abbreviated as CFA (), is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China). The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams an ...

Coach of the Year:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

* Serbian Coach of the Year: 2012

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okuka, Dragan 1954 births Living people People from Kalinovik Footballers from Foča Region Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's under-21 international footballers Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Yugoslavia Competitors at the 1979 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football FK Velež Mostar players FK Leotar players Örebro SK players Motala AIF players Yugoslav First League players Division 2 (Swedish football) players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Sweden Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Sweden Serbia and Montenegro football managers Serbian football managers FK Bečej managers FK Čukarički managers FK Obilić managers FK Budućnost Podgorica managers FK Vojvodina managers Legia Warsaw managers Serbia national under-21 football team managers Wisła Kraków managers AC Omonia managers FC Lokomotiv 1929 Sofia managers Kavala F.C. managers Jiangsu F.C. managers Changchun Yatai F.C. managers Tianjin Jinmen Tiger F.C. managers First League of Serbia and Montenegro managers Ekstraklasa managers Cypriot First Division managers First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) managers Super League Greece managers Chinese Super League managers Serbian SuperLiga managers China League One managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Poland Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Poland Serbian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate football managers in Bulgaria Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Expatriate football managers in Greece Serbian expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate football managers in China Serbian expatriate sportspeople in China University of Mostar alumni