The death of the former Croatia coach Zlatko
Former Croatia coach Zlatko Kranichar has died at the age of 64, the Croatian Football Association announced Monday.
"The Croatian soccer legend, Kranichar, has died in Zagreb," said a statement issued by the local federation of the game.
Kranichar was admitted to hospital last month, suffering from liver problems, according to the local news agency HINA.
Kranichar played for Dynamo Zagreb from the late 1970s until 1984 before joining the Austrian Rapid Vienna, where he was crowned twice in the local league, before playing another season with the Austrian club Bolten as well.
After his retirement as a player, he entered the training ground and took over the supervision of his former team, Dynamo Zagreb, and led him to the local double in 1996 and 1998.
He supervised the Croatian national team from 2004 to 2006, before he was dismissed from his post after his team failed to reach the second round of the World Cup in Germany in 2006.
Then he supervised the Montenegro national team from 2010 to 2011, then Iranian Sepahan and Al-Ahly Saudi.
It is reported that his son Niko Kranichar, 36, is also a former football player.
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