Slaviša Jokanović

Slaviša Jokanović (Славиша Јокановић, ; born 16 August 1968) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player.

A physical player considered strong in the air, he impressed at Partizan, before spending seven seasons in La Liga at the service of three clubs, appearing in 208 matches and scoring 31 goals, mainly for Tenerife.

Born in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, SFR Yugoslavia, Jokanović started playing with his hometown club FK Novi Sad, and made his senior debut with neighbouring FK Vojvodina, helping it win its second national title in the 1988–89 season, with four goals in 24 matches.

In 1990, Jokanović joined Belgrade's FK Partizan.

In his second year he helped the team win the domestic cup and, in his third, he scored 13 league goals (a career best), being one of several players to net in double digits – the team scored 103 in 36 matches – en route to the league conquest.

After his displays at Partizan, Jokanović signed for Oviedo in Spain.

During his two-year spell, he partnered compatriots Janko Janković, Nikola Jerkan and Robert Prosinečki and, subsequently, he joined fellow La Liga club Tenerife, being instrumental in their domestic and European consolidation.

Jokanović played six times for SFR Yugoslavia, his debut coming on 27 February 1991 in a friendly with Turkey, when he played the last ten minutes after replacing Željko Petrović.

He then appeared in some UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying matches, helping the national team to top its group; he was selected for the final tournament, but the team would be suspended due to the Yugoslav Wars.

During the last official game ever that SFR Yugoslavia played on the 28th of May 1992 against ACF Fiorentina in Florence, Jokanovic scored the only goal for his team and subsequently became the last man to score a goal for Yugoslavia. Fiorentina made a comeback and won the game 2-1.

The match was played just two days before the announcement of United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 which forbade Yugoslavia to participate at UEFA Euro 1992.

He also played for two years with Chelsea towards the end of his career, and represented Yugoslavia at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000, earning 64 caps and scoring ten goals in an eleven-year international career.

Jokanović represented FR Yugoslavia in a further 58 matches, appearing for the nation at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000.

In the former competition, he scored his first two international goals in an 8–1 away win over the Faroe Islands in qualification before playing four complete matches as the national team reached the round-of-16; in the latter he appeared three times, being sent off against Spain in a 3–4 loss, with the team reaching the quarter-finals.

In the summer 1999, Jokanović signed for Deportivo La Coruña at the insistence of coach Javier Irureta, who deployed him in a partnership with Brazilians Donato and Mauro Silva.

The trio combined for 85 matches and five goals, as the Galicians won their first ever league title.

After only one season with Deportivo, Jokanović signed with Chelsea in October 2000, for £1.7 million.

Under coach Claudio Ranieri, he appeared 39 times for the Blues over two consecutive Premier League seasons, and played a total of 53 matches.

He was released in July 2002, at nearly 34.

He subsequently retired from professional football, after playing just three months in the Spanish second division with Ciudad Murcia.

Jokanović began his managerial career in 2007, winning two consecutive doubles with Partizan, the 2012 Thai Premier League with Muangthong United, and leading Watford and Fulham to promotion to the Premier League in 2015 and 2018 respectively.

Jokanović was living in Madrid when, in September 2007, he joined the technical staff of Tercera División club CA Pinto.

However, three months later, he became the head coach of Partizan, replacing Miroslav Đukić, who left to take the reins of the national team.

His family (wife and three children) remained in the Spanish capital.

In May 2008, under Jokanović's management, Partizan won the double (league and cup).

He was also selected as the year's "Best Coach in Serbia" by the Football Association of Serbia, but refused to receive this award due to Partizan's poor results in the group stage of the UEFA Cup.

Jokanović led Partizan to another double in his first full season, winning the league by a margin of 19 points over former team Vojvodina.

Thus, he became the first coach in the club's history to successfully defend the title; on 5 September 2009, however, he left the post by mutual consent, bidding farewell through an open letter.

On 28 February 2012, Muangthong United introduced Jokanović as their new head coach, and he signed a one-year contract, with an option for a further two years.

In his first and only season, he led the team to the third Thai Premier League title in their history, going undefeated in the process.

In mid-July 2013, Jokanović replaced Nikolay Mitov as manager of Bulgarian team Levski Sofia.

He was relieved of his duties in October, due to poor results, but club supporters claimed that he should have been given time to change things around.

On 5 May 2014, Hércules appointed Jokanović as coach until the end of the season, replacing Quique Hernández, who had been sacked with the team in last place in the Segunda División table.

He only managed one win in his five matches in charge, in an eventual relegation.

On 7 October 2014, Jokanović was appointed on a short-term contract at the helm of English Championship club Watford, their fourth coach in five weeks.

Under his leadership, the Hornets were promoted to the Premier League with one match to spare, sealing it with a 2–0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion on 25 April 2015 for their 15th win in twenty matches; the team was also minutes away from winning the league title in the final match, but conceded an injury-time equaliser to Sheffield Wednesday that allowed Bournemouth to overtake them.

On 5 June, after failing to agree to a new deal, Jokanović left and was replaced by Quique Sánchez Flores.

On 14 June 2015, Jokanović was appointed as coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv.

On 25 August, he led the club to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League for the first time in eleven years, after ousting Basel on the away goals rule.