Kosta Runjaić (; born 4 June 1971) is an German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of club Udinese.
Life and club career Runjaic, whose parents are from Yugoslavia, was born in Vienna, Austria in 1971 and grew up in Rüsselsheim, Germany. He is married and has three children.
Runjaić played during his club career for Türk Gücü Rüsselsheim, SV 07 Raunheim and FSV Frankfurt in Germany.
Managerial career Germany After two years as a regional coach for the DFB, he became manager of 1. FC Kaiserslautern II in 2004. In 2006, he moved to SV Wehen Wiesbaden, initially as a youth coach, before being handed responsibility for the reserve team after a year. With this team, he secured promotion from the Oberliga Hessen to the Regionalliga Süd in 2008.
In 2008, he became assistant manager at third-tier side VfR Aalen under Jürgen Kohler and, following Kohler’s resignation, served as interim manager for one match. He remained assistant manager under Kohler’s successor, Petrik Sander.
In March 2010, he succeeded Živojin Juškić at SV Darmstadt 98, a Regionalliga side then facing the threat of relegation, and achieved the club’s goal of avoiding the drop. Following the team’s success the following season, his contract was extended in March 2011 until June 2012. A nine-match winning streak laid the foundations for promotion to the 3. Liga.
On 3 September 2012, Runjaic moved to second-division side MSV Duisburg as the successor to the sacked head coach Oliver Reck. He signed a contract running until 30 June 2014. Kosta Runjaic, who had taken charge of MSV Duisburg whilst they were bottom of the table, managed to stabilise the team and save the club from relegation. Following Duisburg’s forced relegation to the 3. Liga at the end of the 2012–13 season due to financial problems, Runjaic left the club of his own accord.
From 16 September 2013, he was head coach of 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He took over from Franco Foda, who had been sacked, and Oliver Schäfer, who had stepped in as interim coach for two matches. Following a poor start to the 2015–16 season, with just two wins from eight matches, he resigned on 23 September 2015.
Runjaic took charge of TSV 1860 Munich from the 2016–17 season onwards. On 22 November 2016, he was suspended from his duties.
Poland Runjaić moved to Poland to coach Ekstraklasa side Pogoń Szczecin from 2017 to 2022. In mid-2022, Runjaić was appointed the new manager of Legia Warsaw. He won the 2022–23 Polish Cup and 2023 Polish Super Cup with Legia, and led the team to the knockout round play-offs of the 2023–24 UEFA Europa Conference League, before being sacked on 9 April 2024.
Udinese On 14 June 2024, Runjaić was announced as the new head coach of Italian Serie A club Udinese.
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenure TeamNatFromToRecord 1. FC Kaiserslautern II (caretaker)15 August 200623 August 2006Wehen Wiesbaden II1 July 200730 June 2008VfR Aalen (caretaker)20 November 200824 November 2008SV Darmstadt23 March 20103 September 2012MSV Duisburg3 September 201230 June 20131.FC Kaiserslautern16 September 201323 September 20151860 Munich7 June 201622 November 2016Pogoń Szczecin6 November 201723 May 2022Legia Warsaw23 May 20229 April 2024Udinese1 July 2024presentTotal
Honours
Manager SV Darmstadt Regionalliga Süd: 2010–11
Legia Warsaw Polish Cup: 2022–23 Polish Super Cup: 2023
Individual Ekstraklasa Coach of the Month: October 2018, November 2018, July 2019, December 2020, August 2022 Piłka Nożna Foreigner of the Year: 2021 Serie A Coach of the Month: May 2026
References
External links