Double appointment in Croatia

Drazen Besek has been appointed as the new coach of NK Varteks today after the resignation of Branko Janzek.

Cup final defeat
Janzek left the club following their 2-1 defeat against NK Dinamo Zagreb in the Croatian Cup final at the beginning of May and the club went on to finish fourth in the Prva HNL, 21 points behind the eventual champions HNK Hajduk Split.

Former Varteks player
Besek, 39, a former Varteks and Dinamo midfield player, returns to the club that he led to the final of the HNS Kup in 1998, where they lost to Dinamo. The following year they made it to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup before going out to the Spanish side RCD Mallorca.

Another appointment
Also today, Mladen Mladenovic was named as the new coach of HNK Rijeka and he was given a brief to rebuild the team for next season after a difficult campaign. Rijeka avoided relegation from the Croatian Premier League on goal difference this year after finishing level on points with second-from-bottom NK Hrvatski Dragovoljac.

Romic returns
Mladenovic, 36, has been coaching second division team NK Zminij. After an impressive playing career, which included international appearances in the successful EURO 96™ campaign in England, Mladenovic retired to become a referee, before moving into management. To support Mladenovic, Rijeka have appointed a former team-mate, Mladen Romic, as his sports director.