Miroslav Buljan (born December 18, 1955) is Croatian retired professional football

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

and former player. He particularly managed various Croatian clubs in the

1.HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva ...

, 2.HNL, and 3.HNL, as well as

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

in the

Bosnian Premier League The m:tel Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( bs, m:tel Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine / м:тел Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), also known as Liga 12, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and He ...

Playing career

Born in

Slavonski Brod Slavonski Brod (), commonly shortened to simply Brod, is a city in eastern Croatia, near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Being one of the principal cities in the historical regions of Slavonia and Posavina, Slavonski Brod was the 7th large ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yu ...

, present day

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, Buljan began playing football in the youth levels of hometown club Marsonia in 1964. In 1974, he joined the youth team of

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinam ...

, but a year later, in 1975, he signed his first professional contract with Marsonia, and played at the club until 1983.

Managerial career

During his tenure as a player with Marsonia, Buljan managed to achieve a

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

coaching license, and received his first coaching experience in 1996 with Marsonia in the

1. HNL The Hrvatska nogometna liga () ( en, Croatian football league), also known as HNL or for sponsorship reasons the SuperSport HNL, is the top Croatian professional football league competition, established in 1992. Previously, it was called Prva H ...

. Following the relegation of Marsonia he remained in the top tier after managing

Slaven Belupo Nogometni klub Slaven Belupo ( en, Slaven Belupo Football Club), often referred to as NK Slaven Belupo, Slaven Belupo or simply Slaven, and known internationally as NK Slaven Koprivnica, is a Croatian professional football club based in the cit ...

in 1997. In 1999, Buljan went to Bosnia and Herzegovina t0 manage

Široki Brijeg , , nickname = , motto = , image_map = BiH municipality location Široki Brijeg.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location o ...

. After two seasons at Šrioki Brijeg, he returned to Croatia where he had several managerial stints in the 3. HNL with Sloga,

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagr ...

, and

Ogulin Ogulin () is a town in north-western Croatia, in Karlovac County. It has a population of 7,389 (2021) (it was 8,216 in 2011), and a total municipal population of 12,251 (2021). Ogulin is known for its historic stone castle, known as Kula, and the ...

. In 2006, Buljan began managing in the

2. HNL The Prva nogometna liga ( en, First football league), commonly Prva NL or 1. NL, is the second tier of the football league system in Croatia. The league was formed in 1991 with the breakup of Yugoslavia and the dissolution of the Yugoslav Seco ...

with

Belišće Belišće () is a town in Croatia, located in the region of Slavonia, Osijek-Baranja County, at the altitude of 93 m. The population of the town is 6,518 (2011), with 10,825 in the municipality. In 2011 census, the majority were Croats. This indus ...

, and with

Koprivnica Koprivnica () is a city in Northern Croatia, located 70 kilometers northeast of Zagreb. It is the capital and the largest city of the Koprivnica-Križevci county. In 2011, the city's administrative area of 90.94 km2 had a total popu ...

in 2007. He went abroad once more in 2008 to the Canadian Soccer League to manage

Toronto Croatia Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

. In 2010, he returned to the 2. HNL where he managed MV Croatia. Buljan was appointed manager in 2011 of

King Faisal Babes King Faisal Football Club is a professional association football club based in Kumasi, Ashanti, Ghana. The club competes in the Glo Premier League. They were represented at the 2006 FIFA World Cup by left-back Habib Mohamed. The club have never ...

in the

Ghanaian Premier League The is the top professional association football division of the football league system in Ghana. Officially formed in 1956 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition (which began in 1933 and ended in 1953–54), ...

. After a season in Africa, he returned to MV Croatia and managed the club in 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buljan, Miroslav 1955 births Living people Footballers from Slavonski Brod Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers NK Marsonia players Croatian football managers NK Marsonia managers NK Slaven Belupo managers NK Široki Brijeg managers NK Karlovac 1919 managers NK Belišće managers Toronto Croatia coaches King Faisal Babes F.C. managers Croatian Football League managers Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers Canadian Soccer League (1998–present) coaches Croatian expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina Expatriate soccer coaches in Canada Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate football managers in Ghana Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Ghana