 Ivanković in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1954-02-28)28 February 1954 (age 71) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Varaždin,PR Croatia,Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1979–1990 | Varteks | 269 | (83) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1995 | Varteks | ||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Segesta | ||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Rijeka | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | Croatia (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Hannover 96 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Iran (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Iran U-23 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2006 | Iran | ||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2008 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2011 | Shandong Luneng | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Al-Ettifaq | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Al-Wahda | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Dinamo Zagreb | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2019 | Persepolis | ||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | Al-Ahli | ||||||||||||||||
| 2020–2024 | Oman | ||||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | China | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Branko Ivanković (Croatian pronunciation:[brâːŋkoǐʋaːŋkoʋitɕ];[1][2] born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian formerfootballmanager and player who played as amidfielder.After a 12-year playing career atVarteks, Ivanković started his coaching career at the same club in 1991. Prior to his appointment as the manager of Oman, Ivanković's most high-profile managerial positions were at the most successful Croatian and Iranian clubs respectively,Dinamo Zagreb andPersepolis as well as one of the most successful Chinese clubsShandong Luneng. He additionally served as both assistant coach and manager of theIran national team, leading the team at the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
Ivanković spent his entire 12-season playing career atVarteks, appearing in a total of 263 matches[3] and scoring 31 goals.[citation needed] He then continued to work at the club by first being their secretary and then starting his coaching career.
Ivanković then became an assistant manager toMiroslav Blažević, who led theCroatia national team to a sensational third-place finish at the1998 World Cup finals in France.[4]
In the 1999–2000 season, he coached German clubHannover 96, which was playing in the2. Bundesliga at the time. He briefly returned to the Croatia national team as the assistant toMirko Jozić during the qualifications for the2002 World Cup, before he took over theIran national team, where he replaced Blažević, who had managed them since 2001.
Ivanković was appointed to the head of the Iranian team on 29 January 2002. Under Ivanković, Iran's U23 football team won the2002 Asian Games inPusan.[5] He remained the coach of the national team until the end of 2002, when he was replaced byHomayun Shahrokhi.[5]
Ivanković had become very popular inIran and the public media demanded a contract renewal, but the Football Federation was initially reluctant to appoint him as the head coach. Finally after a period of negotiations he was reappointed as the head coach of Iran on 3 October 2003.[5]
Ivanković led Iran to2004 AFC Asian Cup third place.[6]
Ivanković also led Iran to qualify for the2006 World Cup, the third time in the country's history (they had previously been eliminated in the first round in 1978 and 1998).[6]
Iran, at their opening game at the World Cup, matched evenly againstMexico in the first half, but conceded two goals in the second. The second match againstPortugal was not successful either, with Iran conceding two late goals to lose 2–0 and being left without any chances of advancing to the second stage of the tournament, as Mexico drew againstAngola on the previous evening and left Iran unreachable four points behind. So, the third group match against Angola became insignificant for Iran. Angola put themselves into the lead with the opening goal after one hour of playing. The Iranians managed to equalise fifteen minutes later, eventually scoring their only point at the 2006 World Cup since the match ended in a 1–1 draw. This point was, however, only enough for Iran to occupy the last place in their group.
After the World Cup, MPE removed the Head of the Football Federation of Iran, replacing Ivanković withAmir Qalenoei.[7] This in turn resulted a FIFA suspension for Iran's football due to political interference.[8]
On 6 November 2006, Ivanković replacedJosip Kuže as the head coach of Croatian clubDinamo Zagreb. He led the club to theDouble in 2007 without losing a single competitive match. On 14 January 2008, he resigned as the coach of Dinamo Zagreb, mostly due to his differences with the club's executive vice-presidentZdravko Mamić.[9]
Ivanković returned as the manager of Dinamo Zagreb on 21 May 2008. He replacedZvonimir Soldo, who resigned immediately after Dinamo won the domestic double.[10]
In July 2009, Ivanković was offered the role ofPersepolis manager in Iran, but he rejected the offer.[11][12]
On 17 December 2009, Ivanković was appointed as the new head coach of Chinese giantShandong Luneng.[4] In his first season, he led the team to the2010 Chinese Super League winners with a record 63 points. The team secured the qualification for2011 AFC Champions League, but Shandong were eliminated in the first round with 7 points. Due to poor result in the Champions League, he was dismissed on 10 May 2011, seven days before crucial game withCerezo Osaka, which they lost by a score of 0–4.
On 22 July 2011, Ivanković signed a one-year contract withEttifaq to lead the club in the2011–12 Saudi Professional League and return club to theAFC Champions League.[13] He was sacked on 29 April 2012 after finishing the 2011–12 season in fourth.[14]
In May 2012,UAE Pro-League sideAl-Wahda said it signed a two-year contract with Ivanković and that he would take charge at the club in the 2012–13 season, but his contract was terminated on 27 April 2013, after a 3–4 loss toAjman Club.[15] At the time of his dismissal, Al Wahda was ranked at the 7th place.
On 2 September 2013, Ivanković returned toDinamo Zagreb, the club he led from 2006 to 2008. However, he was sacked on 21 October 2013, after just five games.[16]
On 5 April 2015, Ivanković was confirmed as the new manager ofPersepolis, signing a1+1⁄2-year contract with the club.[17] After good performances with the club, which left the team in the first place with six matches remaining, Ivanković extended his contract with Persepolis in April 2016 to the end of the 2017–18 season and in 2017 to the end of the 2019–20 season. After the end of the 2018–19 season, it was reported that he was signed for Ahli Jeddah[18] before returning to Croatia for his annual vacation. Ivanković announced that he will leave Persepolis on 11 June 2019.[19]
On 18 June 2019, he was confirmed signing a two-year contract withAl-Ahli.[20] On 16 September 2019, Ivanković was officially sacked after just five games due to poor results.[21][22]
On 19 January 2020, Ivanković was announced as the head coach of theOman national team to succeedErwin Koeman after the latter's dismissal.[23] Under Ivanković, Oman pulled off a historic win overJapan in thefinal round of the2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[24] In December 2021, he extended his contract with Oman until 2023.[25]
Following Oman's group stage exit from the2023 AFC Asian Cup without a single win, Ivanković was sacked by theOman Football Association.[26]
On 24 February 2024, Ivanković was announced as the head coach ofChina national football team, replacing former Yugoslav compatriotAleksandar Janković.[27] This disappointed some fans who were expectingJoachim Löw as the new head coach. Under his tenure, China only managed to reach thethird round of the World Cup qualification by the slimmest margin, thanks to China's superior head-to-head record against Thailand after both teams were equal on points, goals scored and goal difference.
Following China’s elimination in the third round of World Cup qualification, Ivanković was sacked by theChinese Football Association.
On 30 October 2025, Ivanković announced his retirement from management in a social media post.[28]
Branko is the younger brother ofZlatko Ivanković, who has also coached various teams in theMiddle East.[29]
| Team | From | To | Record | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||||
| Varteks | July 1991 | June 1995 | 116 | 44 | 34 | 38 | 037.93 | |||
| Rijeka | August 1996 | March 1998 | 30 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 043.33 | |||
| Hannover 96 | July 1999 | February 2000 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 035.29 | |||
| Iran | February 2002 | September 2002 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 040.00 | |||
| Iran U-23 | September 2002 | October 2002 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 066.67 | |||
| Iran | October 2003 | July 2006 | 42 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 066.67 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | November 2006 | January 2008 | 110 | 78 | 14 | 18 | 070.91 | |||
| Shandong Luneng | April 2010 | July 2011 | 36 | 21 | 10 | 5 | 058.33 | |||
| Ettifaq | July 2011 | April 2012 | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 042.86 | |||
| Al-Wahda | July 2012 | April 2013 | 34 | 18 | 3 | 13 | 052.94 | |||
| Dinamo Zagreb | September 2013 | October 2013 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 040.00 | |||
| Persepolis | April 2015 | June 2019 | 175 | 98 | 49 | 28 | 056.00 | |||
| Al-Ahli | June 2019 | September 2019 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 040.00 | |||
| Oman | January 2020 | January 2024 | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 047.83 | |||
| China | February 2024 | June 2025 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 028.57 | |||
| Total | 701 | 368 | 157 | 172 | 52.50 | |||||
Iran U23
Iran
Dinamo Zagreb
Shandong Luneng
Persepolis
Individual
Brȃnko
Ìvānković
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Iran Pro League Winning Manager 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19 | Succeeded by |
International tournaments | |||||||||||||||||||
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