Djukic · Biography

Miroslav Đukić won his first trophy in 1995, when Deportivo de La Coruña lifted the Copa del Rey after beating Valencia in the final. Born on 19 February 1966 in Šabac, in the former Yugoslavia, he was a 1.85-metre centre-back who played as a sweeper for much of his career. He spent thirteen seasons in Spanish football with Deportivo, Valencia and Tenerife, and between 2006 and 2020 he coached in Serbia, Belgium, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.

Early years in Yugoslavia

He came through at Mačva Šabac, the club from his home town, and played for them in the late 1980s. In 1989 he joined Rad Belgrade, where he stayed until 1991. That spell earned him an international call-up: on 27 February 1991 he made his Yugoslavia debut in a 1-1 friendly against Turkey in İzmir. Later that year he moved to Spain.

Deportivo de La Coruña (1991-1997)

Đukić arrived at Riazor in 1991, the year Deportivo returned to the Spanish top flight. He quickly became a fixture at the heart of the defence and, over six seasons, made 271 competitive appearances and scored 12 goals. With the Galician club he won the 1995 Copa del Rey and, in the same year, the Spanish Super Cup. His name, however, is tied to the season before.

The 1994 penalty

The 1993-94 La Liga title went down to the final day. In May 1994 Deportivo hosted Valencia at Riazor knowing a win would make them champions. With the score at 0-0 and the match in its closing minutes, referee López Nieto awarded the home side a penalty. Đukić took it and Valencia goalkeeper José Luis González saved it. The draw left Deportivo level on points with Barcelona, who had beaten Sevilla 5-2 and took the title on head-to-head record.

Valencia and Tenerife (1997-2004)

In 1997 he signed for Valencia, where he spent six seasons and made 213 competitive appearances, scoring six goals. At Mestalla he won the 1998 Intertoto Cup, the 1999 Copa del Rey and that year’s Spanish Super Cup. The team reached two consecutive Champions League finals, against Real Madrid in 2000 and Bayern Munich in 2001, and lost both. The league title that had slipped away at Riazor finally came in 2001-02, when Valencia won La Liga for the first time since 1971. In 2003 he moved to Tenerife in the Spanish second division and played 28 matches there before retiring in 2004.

Yugoslavia national team

After that 1991 debut, Đukić became a regular in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s defence. He scored twice, both times in World Cup qualifiers: on 29 October 1997 in Budapest, in a 7-1 win over Hungary, and on 15 August 2001 in Belgrade, in a 2-0 win over the Faroe Islands. He was named in the squad for the 1998 World Cup in France, though injury kept him from playing, and he featured in all four of his side’s matches at Euro 2000, where Yugoslavia reached the quarter-finals.

Coaching in Serbia and Belgium

His coaching career began with Serbia’s under-21 side, whom he led to the final of the 2007 European Championship, lost to the Netherlands. That year he also took charge of Partizan Belgrade and was named Serbian coach of the year. In December 2007 he became head coach of the Serbia senior team, a post he held until August 2008, and he led the Olympic side at the 2008 Beijing Games, where they went out in the group stage with one point. In 2009 he coached Belgian club Mouscron between June and October.

From Valladolid to Gijón

He returned to Spain in March 2011 to coach Hércules, who were relegated. In July that year he took over at Real Valladolid: the team finished third in the second division and beat Alcorcón 2-1 on aggregate in the play-off final, earning promotion to La Liga in 2012. He oversaw 88 matches at Valladolid before leaving in June 2013 for Valencia, who sacked him on 16 December 2013, the day after a 3-0 defeat to Atlético Madrid, after 23 games. Between October 2014 and March 2015 he coached Córdoba. In 2017 he managed Al Shabab of Dubai until the club merged into Shabab Al Ahli, and in June that year he went back to Partizan, winning the 2017-18 Serbian Cup; he was dismissed in August 2018. His next job was at Sporting de Gijón, whom he joined in December 2019 and led to 13th place in the second division; he left the club in July 2020.