1. Ivan Leko was born on 7 February 1978 and is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who is currently head coach Belgian Pro League side Standard Liege.
14 Facts About Ivan Leko
1. 2.
In January 2005, Ivan Leko returned for a brief stint with Hajduk; in the summer he joined Club Brugge.
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Ivan Leko made his debut for Croatia in a June 1999 Korea Cup match against Egypt, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute for Mario Cvitanovic, and earned a total of 13 caps, scoring no goals.
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Ivan Leko was called up to the squad to participate in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but played no part in the tournament, as Croatia exited in the group stage.
5.
Ivan Leko's final international was a June 2006 friendly against Spain.
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Ivan Leko made his debut as a manager in 2014, with OH Leuven, but he managed club for a season.
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Ivan Leko celebrated Jupiler Pro League and Belgian Super Cup in his first season in Brugge.
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Also, Ivan Leko won the title of Professional Manager of the Year.
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In December 2019, Ivan Leko left club Al Ain after a disastrous home defeat against Al Dhafra.
10.
On 20 May 2020, Ivan Leko was appointed the manager of Royal Antwerp.
11.
In December 2020, Ivan Leko left Royal Antwerp and moved to Shanghai Port, where he took up his new post with the Chinese team, under a two-year contract worth five million euros.
12.
In February 2021, Ivan Leko was introduced as the new head coach of Shanghai Port at the SAIC Motor Pudong Arena.
13.
In October 2018, while at Club Brugge, Ivan Leko was interrogated by Belgian police as part of a corruption investigation.
14.
In June 2019, Ivan Leko was interrogated all day as part of the investigation into fraud in Belgian football, but was later released.