Stanko Poklepović: Europe's oldest top-flight coach

Until a couple of months ago, Miroslav Blažević, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, was the oldest top-flight coach in Europe. Though he has since left NK Zadar, his mantle has passed on to another Croatian.

Stanko Poklepović, 76, recently returned to the HNK Hajduk Split helm for the fourth time in his career, 31 years after his first appointment. Poklepović has inherited a similar group of young, hungry players to those he oversaw in the 1980s, but he can now call on three more decades of experience, with more than ten clubs and two national teams. Not that he is showing any sign of wear and tear: Poklepović was still yelling and running on to the pitch during his first training session back at Hajduk.

"My age is a fact, but what's the problem?" said the former Croatia and Iran coach. "Look at the fantastic Ćiro [Miroslav Blažević] – he is a football god. We need to let the young learn from us older ones – for me, it's time to pass on my knowledge. However, I am also aware of emerging trends. I watch everything. The last World Cup taught me new things. I have a lot of young players here and I believe I will make them better."

'Ćiro – he is a football god'©AFP

Poklepović has always been there when Hajduk needed him. When he returned in 1991, he won the Croatian top flight; when he came back in 2010, he lifted the Croatian Cup. "It's like I never left the club – everything is familiar and I love this job," he said. "I am not someone who says empty words like: 'We will do our best.' I want results straight away. I don't need months to improve. I am going straight down to the details."

Coming from a man who has won six major trophies in his coaching career, these are certainly anything but empty words. "My most memorable success was winning my first Croatian championship in 1992, with Igor Štimac, Aljoša Asanović, Slaven Bilić, Milan Rapaić … they all grew up with me and ended up in the Croatia national team as top-class players."

How has the game changed since his first job with RNK Split in the late 1960s and early 70s? "In the old days, football was played with players in wide formations," he said. "Today, there are a lot of players compressed into a smaller space and the game is played at maximum speed. You have to be fast and accurate or there's no point."

And what will Poklepović demand from his modern-day Hajduk team? "I want chivalry, civilised behaviour and cultured football."