Indian Super League club FC Pune City announced in a press release on Monday that they had appointed Ranko Popovic as their new head coach for the upcoming season
The Serbian began his managerial career in 2001 with Austrian club TuS FC Arnfels followed by a stint with another Austrian club FC Pachern from 2004 to 2006. In 2006, he took the reins of Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the J1 League for a year before heading back home to coach FC Spartak Subotica in the Serbian SuperLiga until 2009.
Popovic returned to Japan managing Oita Trinita, FC Machida Zelvia, FC Tokyo to eventually managing Cerezo Osaka, one of the strongest teams in Japanese league football. It was during his managerial stint when the club signed Uruguayan star Diego Forlan.
In 2014-’15, he went to Spain to coach Segunda Division club Real Zaragoza where he led the team to finals of the La Liga play-offs. A season later, he joined Thai Premier League Champions Buriram United FC where he won the Thai League Cup and Mekong Club Championship.
Gaurav Modwel, CEO of FC Pune City, said, “In Ranko, we have a Manager with distinguished coaching career spanning 15 years. His successful stints in different leagues vastly differing in cultural environment and football ecosystem, especially in Asia, make him very relevant for a Club like ours.”
“I am delighted to be joining FC Pune City. The people at the club, their vision and their values together with the opportunity to develop and build this team to its full potential made this an offer that was difficult to turn down. I can’t wait to get started,” said Popovic.
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