Former tiger returns as coach

Former tiger returns as coach

An old boy is back at Balestier Khalsa, and his first task is to bring a top marksman to Toa Payoh Stadium.

Said former Balestier attacking midfielder Marko Kraljevic, who was on Thursday unveiled by chairman S Thavaneson as the club's new head coach: "I look at the squad and I see a lot of players who can play as a second striker, but that's not enough.

"My priority is to bring in a top finisher, whose job is only to put the ball in the net from tap-ins, from inside the box.

"You look at Yugoslav S-League strikers in the past like Paulic Goran, Jure Eres, (naturalised Singaporean Aleksandar) Duric... That's the kind of player I want to bring here.

"It's not easy to get that quality but I have a few boys in mind. I think I can bring a player like (2011 top-scorer) Mislav Karoglan here."

Last season, Qiu Li topped the scoring charts for Balestier with 12 league goals, operating mostly as a winger or advanced playmaker but he has been released.

Their next two best scorers with seven goals - South Korean pair Kim Min Ho and Park Kang Jin - also played in deep offensive roles.

The Tigers' only orthodox strikers - Patrick Paran and Brazilian Vitor Borges - combined for only a single strike all season, and both have also left the club.

PERMENANT RESIDENT

Kraljevic, 48, who played for a host of S-League clubs before retiring in 2001, became a permanent resident in 2000 and has been living and running a business in Singapore since.

He holds an Uefa A Licence and handled the youth and reserve teams of a few local clubs, but this will be his first crack at being an S-League head coach.

Thava, who added that another former player D Tokijan would also join the club as Prime League (Under-21) coach, explained that Kraljevic's familiarity with Balestier and the local football scene made him the ideal man for the Tigers.

TNP understands that several coaches had expressed their interest in the post, which Aussie coach Darren Stewart vacated last November under a cloud of controversy following a successful season where he led the team to the StarHub League Cup.

They include former Tampines Rovers coach Nenad Bacina and Aussie Scott Ollerenshaw, as well as the Indiabased duo of Moroccan Karim Bencherifa and Englishman David Booth.

But Thava said: "After looking at everything... I asked myself: Why am I looking everywhere when I have someone here who can do the job?

"Marko has played here, is familiar with the local culture and constraints of the S-League."

Kraljevic, who has played under coaches like 2002 S-League coach of the year M Karathu and former Lions coaches Robin Chan and Milous Kvacek, said he wants to get his team playing attractive football.

He said: "I've learned different things from all the different coaches, but I will use my own style because they coached 20 years ago and a lot has changed since then.

"I only have one philosophy for both players and coaches: Work hard. Sooner or later, that hard work will pay off for sure."

FACTFILE

Name: Marko Kraljevic

Date of birth: 1 Nov 1965 (48)

Place of birth: Dusseldorf, Germany

Playing career: NK Osijek (Yugoslavia), Kelantan, Rangers (Hong Kong), Balestier Central, Tampines Rovers, Jurong FC

Coaching career: Jurong (youth), Paya Lebar (youth), Balestier Khalsa (youth and Prime League), Woodlands Wellington (Prime League)


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