Krunoslav "Kruno" Jurčić (; born 26 November 1969) is a Croatian professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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 ...

. He is currently the head coach of

Egyptian Premier League The Egyptian Premier League (), also known as the Nile League () for sponsorship reasons, after the addition of title sponsor Nile Developments, is a professional association football league in Egypt and the highest level of the Egyptian football ...

club

Pyramids FC Pyramids Football Club ( or ) is an Egyptian professional football club based in New Cairo, Cairo that competes in the Egyptian Premier League, the highest league in the Egyptian football league system. Formed in 2008 as Al Assiouty Sport in Ass ...

Playing career

Club

Jurčić started his professional career at

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

in 1988, before moving to Inker Zaprešić in 1991 and Istra in 1993. He joined Belgian side

Beveren Beveren () is a former municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders which comprises the towns of Beveren, Doel, Haasdonk, Kallo, Kieldrecht, Melsele, Verrebroek and Vrasene. The port of the Waasland (Dutch: ''Waaslandhaven'') ...

in 1995, but returned to Dinamo Zagreb after one season following Beveren's relegation from the top flight. He subsequently spent three seasons with Dinamo Zagreb, also playing for them in the group stage of the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

in 1998. He then went on to spend three seasons in Italy with

Torino Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

and Sampdoria, before returning to Croatia by signing with Slaven Belupo in 2002. He finished his career with Slaven in 2004.

International

Jurčić made his debut for

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

in a June 1997

Kirin Cup The is an association football tournament organised in Japan by the Kirin Brewery Company. The host, Japan national football team, Japan, is a participant in every edition. The tournament was founded in 1978 then known as Japan Cup (Internatio ...

match against hosts

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute for

Nenad Pralija Nenad Pralija (born 11 December 1970) is a Croatian former professional association football, football midfielder, who most notably played for HNK Hajduk Split, Hajduk Split and the Croatia national football team, Croatia national team. Club ca ...

, and earned a total of 21 caps, scoring no goals. He played three full matches at the

1998 FIFA World Cup The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...

finals, where Croatia finished in third place. His final international was a September 2000 World Cup qualification match away against

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Managerial career

Jurčić started his managerial career at Croatian First League side

Pula Pula, also known as Pola, is the largest city in Istria County, west Croatia, and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, seventh-largest city in the country, situated at the southern tip of the Istria, Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, wi ...

. In his first season as head coach, Pula finished the 2005–06 season in sixth place, which was the highest ever top division placement for the club. In 2007, he was offered the head coaching position at Slaven Belupo. They finished the season in second place (best ever league position in club history) and qualified for 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 ...

. He left the club in 2008 and went on to join the reigning Croatian champions and his former club,

, on 5 March 2009. With Dinamo he won his first managerial titles by winning the 2008–09 and 2009–10 Prva HNL and Croatian Cup in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

. On 19 May 2010 Krunoslav Jurčić resigned as the coach of Dinamo Zagreb. He returned to Dinamo after

Vahid Halilhodžić Vahid Halilhodžić (; born 15 May 1952) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the most controversially successful Bosnian football managers, due to his successful tenure in coaching various nation ...

resigned in 2011 and remained manager until December of the same year, when he was fired after Zagreb's final group game of the

against

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, having failed to pick up any points. After appearing as a football pundit in various sports papers and during football matches broadcasting, Jurčić was included in

Igor Štimac Igor Štimac (; born 6 September 1967) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player. In his playing career, Štimac had three spells with Hajduk Split and also played for Cádiz in Spain, and for Derby County and West Ham Un ...

's staff that took charge of

Croatia national football team The Croatia national football team () represents Croatia in men's international Association football, football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEF ...

after

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. In late November 2012 Jurčić once again returned to Dinamo Zagreb, replacing sacked

Ante Čačić Ante Čačić (; born 29 September 1953) is a Croatian professional Manager (association football), football manager who was most recently manager of Croatian Football League club GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb. Čačić graduated from the Fac ...

. On 22 August 2013, Jurčić was sacked after Dinamo Zagreb lost 2–0 at home to

Austria Wien Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (), known in English as Austria Vienna, and Austria Wien in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian professional association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the most trophies of any Aust ...

in the Europa League play-off round. On 29 February 2016, he was sacked from

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

after a 1–0 home defeat against

Celje Celje (, , ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, third-largest city in Slovenia. It is a regional center of the traditional Slovenian region of Styria (Slovenia), Styria and the administrative seat of the City Municipality of Celje. Th ...

. Jurčić was appointed manager of Turkish club

Adanaspor Adanaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional Association football, football club based in Adana; currently, they play in the TFF First League. The club was founded in 1954 by middle-class merchants and artisans in response to their perceived ali ...

on 28 August 2016 on a two-year contract. In November 2017, Jurčić signed a contract with the

Saudi Arabian Football Federation The Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF; ) is the association football, football Sport governing body, governing body of Saudi Arabia. Founded in 1956, It's responsibilities include administration of club competitions and national teams. The ...

to become the new head of youth player development. In February 2018, he signed with Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr. On 28 May 2018, he was named the head coach of Baniyas Club. In October 2019, Jurčić moved back to the UAE where he was appointed as the head coach of Al-Nasr. In February 2021, Jurčić left Al Nasr despite winning the UAE League Cup, due to mediocre results in the league. In February 2024, Jurčić was appointed head coach of

side

. He quickly made an impact by guiding the club to their first-ever domestic title with a 1–0 victory over ZED in the Egypt Cup final. In the 2024–25 season, Jurčić led Pyramids FC to the Champions League final and secured the club's first-ever continental triumph, defeating

Mamelodi Sundowns Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club (simply known as Sundowns) is a South African professional football club based in Mamelodi, Pretoria in the Gauteng province that plays in the Premiership, the first tier of South African football league syste ...

3–2 on aggregate.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

*Inter Zaprešić ** Croatian Cup:

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

*Dinamo Zagreb ** Croatian First League: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000 ** Croatian Cup: 1997, 1998

Manager

*Dinamo Zagreb ** Croatian First League: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2012–13 ** Croatian Cup:

** Croatian Supercup:

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 ...

*Al Nasr ** Emirati League Cup: 2019–20 *Pyramids **

Egypt Cup The Egypt Cup (also known as the Egyptian FA Cup and formerly as the King Farouk Cup) is the main knockout football cup competition in Egypt. It is the oldest club competition in Africa. The first team to win the trophy was Zamalek in 1922. Al A ...

: 2023–24 **

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

: 2024–25

Orders

* Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar – 1995 * Ribbon of an Order of the Croatian Trefoil

Order of the Croatian Trefoil The Order of the Croatian Trefoil () is the sixteenth most important medal given by the Republic of Croatia. The order was founded on 1 April 1995. The medal is awarded for excellence in war, direct war danger or in extraordinary circumstances in ...

– 1998

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jurcic, Krunoslav 1969 births Living people Sportspeople from Ljubuški Footballers from West Herzegovina Canton Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's international footballers 1998 FIFA World Cup players GNK Dinamo Zagreb players NK Inter Zaprešić players NK Istra players K.S.K. Beveren players Torino FC players UC Sampdoria players NK Slaven Belupo players Croatian Football League players Belgian Pro League players Serie A players Serie B players Croatian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Croatian football managers NK Istra 1961 managers NK Slaven Belupo managers GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers NK Lokomotiva Zagreb managers NK Maribor managers Adanaspor managers Saudi Arabia national football team managers Al-Nassr FC managers Baniyas SC managers Al-Nasr SC (Dubai) managers Pyramids FC managers Croatian Football League managers Slovenian PrvaLiga managers Saudi Pro League managers UAE Pro League managers Croatian expatriate football managers Egyptian Premier League managers Expatriate football managers in Slovenia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia Expatriate football managers in Turkey Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia Expatriate football managers in the United Arab Emirates Croatian expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in Egypt Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Egypt