Zoran Zekić
Croatian football manager (born 1974)
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Zoran Zekić (pronounced [zǒran zěːkitɕ]; born 29 April 1974) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who was most recently the manager of Bosnian Premier League club Sarajevo.
|
Zekić in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 29 April 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Osijek, SR Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| 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 | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Managerial 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.
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]
On 30 April 2019, Zekić came back to manage Sheriff.[3] He managed to lead the side to another league and cup triumph, before leaving the club in October 2020.[4]
In January 2021, Zekić was appointed manager of Hungarian Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Diósgyőr.[5] Following Diósgyőr, he also worked at Slaven Belupo, Partizani and again at Osijek.[6]
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]
Managerial statistics
- As of match played 3 August 2025[17]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 14 August 2014 | 26 May 2015 | 23 | 16 | 3 | 4 | 69.57 |
| Osijek | 1 September 2015 | 29 March 2019 | 152 | 69 | 40 | 43 | 45.39 |
| Sheriff Tiraspol | 30 April 2019 | 21 October 2020 | 44 | 34 | 6 | 4 | 77.27 |
| Diósgyőr | 7 January 2021 | 9 May 2021 | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 35.00 |
| Slaven Belupo | 31 August 2021 | 30 June 2023 | 72 | 23 | 20 | 29 | 31.94 |
| Partizani Tirana | 12 June 2023 | 10 October 2023 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 50.00 |
| Osijek | 13 October 2023 | 21 May 2024 | 27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 44.44 |
| Sarajevo | 12 June 2024 | 5 August 2025 | 48 | 25 | 16 | 7 | 52.08 |
| Total | 400 | 193 | 100 | 107 | 48.25 | ||
Honours
Player
Kamen Ingrad
Maccabi Haifa
Manager
Sheriff Tiraspol
Sarajevo
