Name Branko Horjak | Role Football player | |
Branko Horjak (born 11 September 1950 in SFR Yugoslavia) is a retired Yugoslav football player and manager. He is considered as one of the greatest players who played for Slovenian club Maribor, where he played during nine seasons, between 1970 and 1979. He is the second all-time top goalscorer for Maribor with 117 goals in 268 official appearances. During his final seasons as a player he represented smaller Austrian teams where he took on the role of manager. In Slovenia he coached Aluminij, Železničar Maribor and managed Maribor on four different occasions. During his coaching career he has also managed Maribor's youth squads.
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International career
Horjak has never been capped by Yugoslavia at full international level, however, he was a part of the country's under-21 football team.
Coaching career
Horjak knew he would once like to become a football coach even during high school. He began and completed his coaching licence in Austria and took the role of managing an amateur football club from Poljčane. In 1993, he became a head coach of Maribor for the first time and led the team into the second round of the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, where his side was narrowly defeated by the Borussia Dortmund (2–1 on aggregate). During the same season Horjak won his first trophy as a coach, after winning the 1993–94 Slovenian Cup. However, after finishing third in the national league he was sacked. In the next decade he coached Železničar Maribor, Aluminij and was involved with Maribor on several different occasions, either as the coach of the main squad or the club's youth side. With Železničar (two years) and Aluminij (three years) he competed in the Slovenian Second League and came close to qualifying into the top division with both clubs.
Personal life
Horjak is married and has two daughters.