In the years 2016-2018, Nenad Bjelica was the coach of Lech Poznań, which he led in 78 matches. He won 41 of them, drew 26 and lost 16. Despite a good point average (1.85 points per game) failed to win the Polish championship and was dismissed. His career accelerated after leaving Lech.
Big clash in Croatia. World champion vs world champion
He managed Dinamo Zagreb, Osijek, Trabzonspor and even Union Berlin, with whom he played in Champions League. On September 26 this year, he became the coach of Dinamo Zagreb again. His adventure with this club did not last long.
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After five wins, six draws and four losses in 15 matches, he was dismissed. It happened a few days after the 3-2 win against NK Varazdin. His place was taken by… Fabio Cannavaro. A man who needs no introduction. World champion in 2006 and winner of the 2006 Ballon d'Or. However, while the Italian was an outstanding footballer, his coaching career so far has not been a success.
The most successful part of it is Asian time. Cannavaro coached: GZ Evergrande (2014-2015), Al-Nassr (2015-2016), TJ Quanjian (2016-2017), GZ Evergrande again (2017-2021), and the Chinese national team (2019).
In 2022, he took over at Benevento, but in 17 games he scored only 0.94 points per match. The adventure in… was equally unsuccessful and even shorter Udinese – lasted six meetings.
It is worth remembering that both Bjelica and Cannvaro have been involved in speculations regarding the position of the Polish national team coach in the past.
For Cannavaro, joining the Croatian league is a chance to rebuild his reputation, but also to compete with his former teammate. Hajduk's coach is Split Gennaro Gattuso – another world champion from 2006.
After 18 rounds of the Croatian league, Dinamo Zagreb is third in the table. With 29 points, he is seven points behind Rijeka in first place and Hajduk in second place.