Zvonimir Soldo (born 2 November 1967) is a Croatian football manager and former player. During his playing career, he mostly played as defensive midfielder.
Club career
Early career
After studying law for six semesters at the University of Zagreb, Soldo's parents convinced him to pursue a career as professional football player.
Runner-up in both Croatian league and cup in his first season back at Zagreb, the next campaign saw Soldo's side complete a domestic double in 1995/96. After achieving all he could in domestic football, Soldo headed for German side VfB Stuttgart.
VfB Stuttgart
Zvonimir Soldo at his Bundesliga farewell match
Soldo made his Bundesliga debut on 17 August 1996 against FC Schalke 04. This was
the beginning of his time in Stuttgart which would last for ten years and during which
he would lead VfB Stuttgart on the pitch as captain nearly 200 times.
During this period, Soldo played another 300 times in the Bundesliga and 47 times in European competitions, won the German cup in 1997 and reached the European Cup Winners' Cup final in 1998, as well as finishing as runner-up in the 2002–03 campaign.
After being an exemplary sportsman and role model for younger players all these years, Soldo played his last Bundesliga match for Stuttgart on 6 May 2006.
In recognition of his merits, Soldo received the Staufer medal, a decoration awarded by the state of Baden-Württemberg.
International career
Soldo was also a long-time member of the national team and made his debut for Croatia in an April 1994 friendly match away against Slovakia, coming on as a 46th-minute substitute for Slavko Ištvanić. He earned a total of 61 caps, scoring 3 goals[1] and was an important member of the squad that finished third in the 1998 World Cup and also made notable appearances at the Euro 96 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. His final international was a June 2002 FIFA World Cup match against Italy[2] and Soldo retired from international football after that tournament.
Coaching career
Dinamo Zagreb
On 14 January 2008 Zvonimir was appointed as a new manager of Dinamo Zagreb after Branko Ivanković's resignation. Prior to that he was managing Dinamo's youth team. He became Prva HNL Champion and Croatian Cup Winner. He offered his resignation in the night after the cup final to make space to old/new manager Branko Ivanković.
1. FC Köln
From June 2009 to October 2010, Soldo was the manager of German Bundesliga club, 1. FC Köln (Cologne) after the club's former coach Christoph Daum surprisingly left to sign for Fenerbahçe.[3]
