Jurčić replaces Vlak in Dinamo upheaval
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Article summary
NK Dinamo Zagreb coach Marijan Vlak has paid the price for surrendering the Prva Liga top spot to rivals HNK Hajduk Split, with replacement Krunoslav Jurčić the "unanimous choice" of the club's executive board.
Article top media content
Article body
NK Dinamo Zagreb have replaced head coach Marijan Vlak with Krunoslav Jurčić after slipping to second place behind HNK Hajduk Split in Croatia's Prva Liga.
Short tenure
Vlak's third spell as Dinamo coach had only started on 24 November and he was in charge for just four league games, three of which he won. The other match, however, ended in a 2-0 defeat at Hajduk on 22 February, a result that enabled Dinamo's arch-rivals to overtake them in the standings. Jurčić has been out of work since leaving NK Slaven Koprivnica at the end of the 2007/08 campaign, fresh from guiding them to a best ever runners-up finish in the Croatian top flight. The 39-year-old was also a member of the Croatia team that came third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
'Unanimous choice'
"He was the unanimous choice of the members of our executive board," said Dinamo president Mirko Barišić. "Our aim is to achieve the style and quality of play needed to be successful in European competitions." The board have also decided to terminate the contracts of veteran forwards Boško Balaban and Tomislav Šokota.
