Bojan Hodak

Bojan Hodak

Personal information
Full name	Bojan Hodak
Date of birth	(1971-05-04) 4 May 1971 (age 53) [1]
Place of birth	Zagreb, Croatia
Position(s)	Centre-back
Team information
Current team	Persib Bandung (head coach)
Youth career
1984–1990	Trnje
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1990–1994	Vrapče
1995	Hrvatski Dragovoljac
1996	Ponikve
1997	Balestier Central
1998–1999	Jurong
1999	Hong Kong Rangers
2000–2001	Jurong
2002	Trnje
Managerial career
2006–2009	UPB-MyTeam
2010–2011	Phnom Penh Crown
2011–2012	Shandong Taishan (assistant coach)
2012–2013	Kelantan
2014–2015	Johor Darul Ta'zim
2016	Penang (CEO)
2017–2019	Malaysia U19
2020	PSM Makassar
2021–2023	Kuala Lumpur City
2023–	Persib Bandung
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Bojan Hodak (born 4 May 1971) is a Croatian professional football coach and former player. He is currently coaching Liga 1 club Persib Bandung. ^[2]

Early life

Hodak was born and raised in Zagreb, Croatia, as the second child in a family with a strong military background. His father and brother were both army officers. In his early years, he spent most time playing basketball and football, not preferring one over the other as he excelled in both. There was neither a prominent figure that encouraged him, nor was there any history of sportsmen in his family, but Hodak carried on for fun, joining his friends. However at the age of 16, his local club NK Trnje began paying him for his services and he duly gave up basketball to focus his time and energy in football. ^[3]

Managerial career

UPB-MyTeam

Hodak's coaching career began in Malaysia in 2006 with the now-defunct UPB-MyTeam, where he guided them to promotion into the Malaysian Super League. There he was responsible for the development of UPB-MyTeam's very young squad, which produced many Malaysian national players, including Norshahrul Idlan Talaha, Shakir Shaari, Bunyamin Umar, Syed Adney Syed Hussein, Stanley Samuel, Azmi Muslim, Nazrin Nawi and Azamuddin Akil.

Phnom Penh Crown

With Phnom Penh Crown, he won the Cambodian League and qualified for the AFC President's Cup Final Round for the first time in Cambodian football history.

Shandong Taishan

With Shandong Taishan, he won the Reserve CSL and he was assistant coach in the First team that lost the Chinese FA Cup final 2–1 to Tianjin Teda.

Kelantan

Hodak was appointed manager and head coach of Kelantan in February 2012. ^{[4] [5]} He made Kelantan history during his debut season, guiding them to a historic treble of the Malaysian FA Cup, Malaysian Super League and Malaysia Cup. The team also qualified for the 2012 AFC Cup quarter-finals where they lost to Arbil FC of Iraq, 3–6 on aggregate. ^[6] In his second season with Kelantan, despite losing six key players, the team managed to retain the FA Cup, but lost the league championship to LionsXII and Malaysia Cup final to Sri Pahang. He left the team after the conclusion of the 2013 season. ^[7]

Johor Darul Takzim

With Johor Darul Ta'zim, he won the 2014 Malaysia Super League and qualified for the AFC Cup. The team collected 44 points from 22 matches and beat Sarawak 1–0 at Stadium Negeri Sarawak, Kuching. In January 2015, he guided JDT to the Charity Shield after JDT beat Pahang 2-0.

Penang

Hodak was appointed CEO of Penang in May 2016 with the target to save Penang from relegation. Penang were bottom of the Malaysian Super League with only 6 points from 11 matches. He signed Nenad Baćina as head coach, changed three players and the team started improving. In the second half of the season, Penang was one of the best teams, winning 16 points, with only Johor Darul Ta'zim and Kedah Darul Aman winning more points in these 11 matches.

The team managed to stay in Malaysian Super League in 2016. After Hodak left at the end of the 2016 season, Penang was relegated the next season, after collecting only 12 points From 22 matches.

Malaysia U19 National Team

With Malaysia U-19, Hodak achieved best results in the history by winning AFF U-19 Championship in 2018. Before that, in 2017 he was runner Up in same age group and manage to qualify for AFC U-19 Championship 2017.

PSM Makassar

On the last day of 2019 (31 December 2019), PSM Makassar officially announced Bojan Hodak as their new coach for the upcoming 2020 season. ^[8]

Kuala Lumpur City

Bojan helped the City Boys reached their first cup final after 22 years (since 1999 Malaysia FA Cup).

On top of that, Kuala Lumpur City put an end to the 32-year drought of Malaysia Cup (last won in 1989) by winning the 2021 Malaysia Cup final by beating the overwhelming favourites JDT 2–0 at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium.

As title holders of the Malaysia Cup, Kuala Lumpur City qualified to play in the 2022 AFC Cup campaign via cup competition after Malaysia FA Cup was abandoned due to COVID-19 pandemic. Bojan led the team to the final, where they have to finish as the runner-up after losing 0–2 to Omani club Al-Seeb.

Bojan's last match for the team was the final of the 2023 Malaysia FA Cup against Johor Darul Ta'zim which ended in their loss of 0–2. In 26 July 2023, four days after the match, Bojan announced his resignation.

Persib Bandung

In the same day of Bojan's resignation announcement from Kuala Lumpur City, Persib Bandung introduced him as the new head coach to replace Luis Milla. ^[9] At the moment of his arrival, Maung Bandung was struggling in their 2023–24 Liga 1 campaign. They were down in the relegation zone, positioned 16th out of 18 teams.

Under Bojan, Persib had managed to breach out of the bottom and managed to qualify for the championship series after finishing second in the regular series standings.

Persib was finally able to emerge as champions after winning 6–1 in aggregate against Madura United in the finals. Bojan made club history as the first foreign head coach to win a league title. In addition, he was awarded as the season's Best Coach. ^[10]

Honours

UPB MyTeam

• Malaysia Premier League runner-up: 2007

Phnom Penh Crown

• Cambodian League: 2011

Kelantan

• Malaysia Super League: 2012
• Malaysia FA Cup: 2012, 2013
• Malaysia Cup: 2012; runner-up: 2013
• Malaysia Charity Shield runner-up: 2013

Johor Darul Ta'zim

• Malaysia Super League: 2014
• Malaysia Charity Shield: 2015
• Malaysia Cup runner-up: 2014

Malaysia U19

• AFF U-19 Youth Championship: 2018; runner-up: 2017

Kuala Lumpur City

• Malaysia Cup: 2021
• AFC Cup runner-up: 2022
• Malaysia FA Cup runner-up: 2023

Persib Bandung

• Liga 1: 2023–24

Individual

• Malaysia Super League 2021 Best Coach Award
• Liga 1 Coach of the Month: October 2023, November 2024
• Liga 1 Best Coach: 2023–24 ^[11]

Managerial stats

As of match played 18 December 2024

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win%
UPB-MyTeam		1 November 2006	21 June 2009	81	37	15	29	045.68
Phnom Penh Crown		1 October 2010	31 May 2011	14	10	3	1	071.43
Kelantan		27 February 2012	31 December 2013	90	53	21	16	058.89
Johor Darul Ta'zim		26 February 2014 [12]	1 May 2015 [13]	38	23	9	6	060.53
Malaysia U19		1 August 2017 [14]	31 July 2019 [15]	17	11	4	2	064.71
PSM Makassar		1 January 2020 [16]	1 April 2020 [17]	8	4	3	1	050.00
Kuala Lumpur City		7 January 2021 [18]	26 July 2023	90	37	29	24	041.11
Persib Bandung		26 July 2023 [19]	Present	54	29	19	6	053.70
Total				392	204	103	85	052.04

References

1. "Croatia – B. Hodak – Profile with news, career statistics and history – Soccerway". my.soccerway.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
2. "Behind the Scenes Reveals Bojan Hodak's Impactful Team Talk Before Persik Clash". Persib World. 30 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
3. Mugonopak (29 February 2012). "Kenali Bojan Hodak, jurulatih baru Kelantan". Mugonopak (in Malay). Archived from the original on 13 October 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
4. "Bojan sah jurulatih baru Kelantan". The Red Warriors Club (in Malay). DARUL MULTIMEDIA. 4 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014.
5. Rizal Abdullah (25 October 2012). "Hodak wants better contract". Sports 247. SPORTS247.MY. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013.
6. Keeshaanan Sundaresan (8 February 2013). "Five outstanding South-east Asian clubs: Kelantan". Goal. Goal.com. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
7. Ajitpal Singh (27 October 2013). "Hodak to bid farewell". New Straits Times . The New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) Berhad. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
8. Robert. "Mantan Pelatih Malaysia Resmi Tangani PSM Makassar". Bolalob – Situsnya Anak Futsal!. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
9. "Persib Tunjuk Bojan Hodak Jadi Pelatih, Dikontrak Semusim". detik.com. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
10. "Bojan Hodak Pelatih Asing Pertama yang Membawa Persib Bandung Juara". kompas.com. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
11. Baskoro, Bayu (31 May 2024). "Penghargaan Liga 1 2023/2024: Rivera Best Player, Da Silva Top Skor". Detik.com (in Indonesian).
12. "Bojan Hodak appointed as JDT team manager | Goal.com".
13. "Stop blaming poor results on coaches – Bojan Hodak | Goal.com".
14. "NFDP boys in Hodak's long term plans". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
15. "FAM to pick bones with Bojan Hodak over irresponsible statement | Goal.com".
16. "Bojan Hodak Appointed Coach of PSM Makassar". 31 December 2019.
17. "Covid-19: Small football clubs face grim future | New Straits Times". 2 April 2020.
18. "Hodak signs with Kuala Lumpur United". 10 January 2021.
19. "PERSIB Football Club". www.persib.co.id. Retrieved 26 July 2023.