ZEKIC’S 3 YEARS AS COACH

Zoran Zekic has coached Osijek for 3 years as of this month. He took over at the start of September 2015 and has coached Osijek for 129 matches, setting an actual record. Osijek won 58 times out of those 129 in 3 competitions (HNL, Cup, Europe), tied 34 times and lost 37 times. Zekic isn’t quite fond of anniversaries because his 50^th match was a loss against Dinamo (0-2) and the 100^th was a loss against Hajduk in Gradski Vrt (1-3).

Only 3 Original Players Left Since He’s Coach

He succeeded Drazen Besek as Coach when Osijek was second-to-last on the ladder, after 4 consecutive losses (0-12). His debut was against Inter (3-1 for Osijek). The only ones left from that roster today are Tomislav Sorsa, Mile Skoric and Alen Grgic, while Josip Spoljaric went to Osijek II. 672 spectators attended that match and witnessed 2 goals by Antonio Perosevic and one goal by Goran Roce. The roster back then was: Mikulić, Šorša, Škorić, Lukić, D. Mihaljević, Ugarković, Špičić, Šarić, Perošević, Roce & Mandić. Subs on that day were: Grgic, Arsenic and Culjak, while those on the bench were Zitnjak, Tcveiba, Spoljaric and Aganspahic.

Brought about Change

Many things changed since Zekic’s arrival, with Osijek not only returning from a kind of vegetative state, but also transcending into the top 3 clubs as of now. Zekic broke many a record with his squad in the national championship, he broke some uncomfortable spells that plagued Osijek and entered club history. 2 of the arguably biggest victories Osijek had were achieved under his wing: against PSV. We are grateful for his passion for NK Osijek, which will surely outlive us all.