Luka Bonačić

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Personal information
Luka Bonačić

Full name	Luka Bonačić
Date of birth	March 21, 1955 (1955-03-21) (age 53)
Place of birth	Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia
Playing position	Midfielder (retired)
Club information
Current club	Al-Nasr
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1969-1974 1974-1975 1979-1980 1980-1985 1985-1986 1986	Hajduk Split Grasshopper-Club Zürich VfL Bochum CD Málaga Footscray JUST Melbourne Croatia	? 10 (0) ? 9 (3) 0 (0)
Teams managed
1988-1989 1991-1992 1992-1994 1995-1996 1997-1998 1998-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006 2006-2008 2008-	Central AFC NK GOŠK Dubrovnik NK Pazinka NK Varteks Hajduk Split NK Slaven Belupo NK Mura NK Hrvatski dragovoljac Foolad Esteghlal Ahvaz KS Dinamo Tirana Hajduk Split Sepahan Al-Nasr
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Luka Bonačić (Persian: لوکا بوناچیچ, born March 21, 1955 in Split, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia) is a Croatian football coach and former player. He currently is Head Coach of Al-Nasr in the UAE League, But Sepahan's management denied his contract with Al-Nasr.

[edit] Career

Bonačić is known as coach who gives chance to young talented players. In the 1992/93 when he was NK Pazinka coach he launched the career of Dado Prso, the former Rangers and Monaco striker. Also whilst at Slaven Belupo he started the career of young central defender Ivica Križanac who currently plays for FC Zenit in Russia.

He was voted Croatian Coach of the Year in 1996 when he has reached the final of the Croatian Cup with middle-class Croatian club NK Varteks. In 1996 with his team Varteks he won against Dinamo Zagreb 4-3. During this match the referee helped Dinamo Zagreb on a few occasions however Varteks was the better team. After many dishonest referee's decisions in favour of Dinamo Zagreb, coach of Varteks Luka Bonacic has had verbal conflict with Franjo Tudjman, the then President of Croatia and fan of Dinamo Zagreb.

Bonacic said to Tudjman :"Mr President, can you tell to this dishonest referee to stop helping your favourite team. Despite of this dishonest referee my team will beat your club Dinamo Zagreb".

Also in 1996 on the last match day of season 1995/96 his club NK Varteks was in the race for title with top Croatian club NK Dinamo Zagreb but on the last match day of playoff in Split against other top Croatian club Hajduk Split, his club Varteks was stolen of a great triumph against Hajduk Split because of the referee who refused to give a penalty to Varteks in the first half and the assistant referee who gave 11 offsides to Varteks' strikers. It was big scandal as many say that it was the referees alone that stole the 1995-96 league title from Varteks.

Thanks to his great success with middle-class Croatian club NK Varteks Varazdin, in the 1997/1998 season he became head coach of top Croatian club Hajduk Split. Soon after Bonacic's appointment however the management board named famous coach Tomislav Ivic as Bonacic's assistant. It is known that Tomislav Ivic prefers ultra defensive football and young coach Bonacic preferred ultra-attacking football. As a result the team had a conflict of tactics.

After 10 match days Bonacic's Hajduk was the leading team of Croatian Championship with 8 points advantage ahead of 2nd Dinamo Zagreb. In Bonacic's first 10 matches he won 9 and lost 1, a great record for any coach.

But, then suddenly, Management Board of Hajduk Split (controlled by Franjo Tudjman's assistants decided to fire Bonacic and named Tomislav Ivic for head coach of team. After 2 months, Hajduk lost many points under Ivic and the management sacked Ivic and asked Bonacic to return, which he did but due to the points lost under Ivic Bonacic could only manage a respectable 2nd under Dinamo Zagreb.

In 2006 he was attacked by a group of people whilst returning to his flat in Split. According to the press he was attacked by Hajduk fans, but after a few months Croatian press stated that Croatian football agents had hired out men to harm Bonacic as Bonacic made clear his dislike of agents.

It is a known fact that Croatian player’s agents give transfer bungs to Croatian as a gift for signing contract with theirs players. When Bonacic was coach of Hajduk, some Croatian player’s agents have offered him transfer bungs under the condition that his club Hajduk signed contracts with players represented by them. Yet Bonacic never accepted transfer bungs

So, Bonacic has refused to deal / cooperate with these football agents close friends to Croatian underground (mafia) and after few months he was attacked by Croatian football mafia dangerous men sent by these Croatian players agents. According to Croatian press coach Bonacic has not wanted to put few players on the starting eleven (first team) of Hajduk because he has thought that their quality is not enough good for Hajduk and because of it he was attacked by few agents which players have been substitutes during Bonacic' stay in Hajduk. [1]

A few months after this incident he has decided to leave Hajduk and he has told for Croatian press that he will never more return to Hajduk.

In 2006 Bonacic accepted an offer as head-coach of Iranian side Sepahan F.C.. He has been highly successful with Sepahan so far winning the Hazfi Cup in 2006 and 2007. Also in 2007 he managed to take Sepahan to the AFC Champions League final but unfortunately lost to Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 on aggregate.

Bonacic's club Sepahan has become the first Iranian football club who became the first Iranian team to ever make it to the knockout stage and now to the final, absorbed all the pressure to book another trip to Japan after their quarterfinal triumph over Kawasaki Frontale. It is one of the greatest successes in the history of Iranian football. [2]

Bonacic is known as coach who doesn't like officials of clubs to decide which player will be in the starting eleven. On a few occasions he has left Croatian and foreign clubs when some presidents of clubs have tried to impose him which players "must" play in first team. He has refused their orders and left theirs clubs. His temperament and character are specific.

In January 2008 Bonacic signed a 18-month contract with Al-Nasr Sports Club.