Dinamo Zagreb appoint Jurcic in coaching U-turn

Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb announced on Thursday that they had appointed Krunoslav Jurcic as their new coach, despite having earlier stated that former boss Ilija Loncarevic would return to take up the role.

“Krunoslav Jurcic was the unanimous choice of the club’s directors,” Dinamo president Mirko Barisic told reporters.

He also added that the club would be parting company with forwards Bosko Balaban and Tomo Sakota, “for financial and sporting reasons”.

Jurcic, 39, is a former Croatian international midfielder who played for Dinamo as well as Italian sides Torino and Sampdoria before retiring in 2004.

On Thursday morning, the club had announced the departure of previous coach Marijan Vlak, who had been in charge since November 2008, and his replacement by Loncarevic.

Vlak’s tenure came to an end after bitter rivals Hajduk Split defeated Dinamo 2-0 in February and overtook the Zagreb club at the top of Croatia’s first division.

Dinamo have dominated the Croatian top flight since 2005, when Hajduk won their last title.