Martin Novoselac is a former Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

n footballer known best for his solid defensive

Defender (football)

Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 skills in clubs throughout Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. Novoselac began his career at Second League club Dinamo Vinkovci

HNK Cibalia

HNK Cibalia, or just Cibalia, is a Croatian football club from the town of Vinkovci in eastern Croatia. Cibalia currently play in the Prva HNL, Croatia's top flight. Their stadium is located in the south part of their home town and can hold 12,000 spectators...

, but in 1972 he moved Yugoslav First League

Yugoslav First League

The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...

 club Vojvodina Novi Sad

FK Vojvodina

FK Vojvodina is a football club from Novi Sad, Serbia. The club currently competes in the Serbian SuperLiga. FK Vojvodina is the third oldest football club in Serbia's SuperLiga, after OFK Beograd which was founded in 1911 and FK Javor which was founded in 1912.-History:FK Vojvodina was founded...

 where he impressed so quickly, he earned a spot on the SFR Yugoslavia National Team. Larger clubs soon came calling, as Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb

Dinamo Zagreb

GNK Dinamo Zagreb, commonly referred to as Dinamo Zagreb , or by their nickname Modri are a Croatian football club based in Zagreb. They play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Croatian football, having won thirteen Croatian championship titles, ten...

 acquired the defender for 3 seasons before he caught the eye of Olympiacos CFP

Olympiacos CFP

----Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, , , transliterated Olympiakos Sindesmos Filathlon Pireos, is the most popular multisport club and the most successful in Greece, based in Piraeus....

. With the Piraeus

Piraeus

Piraeus is a city in the region of Attica, Greece. Piraeus is located within the Athens Urban Area, 12 km southwest from its city center , and lies along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf....

 club, Novoselac won 2 Greek Championships

Super League Greece

The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

 and got to showcase his skills in the European Club Championship

UEFA Champions League

The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

. In 1984, he retired with Dinamo Vinkovci.

After retiring from playing the game, Novoselac established an incredible career coaching and developing youth football in Croatia. For a long while, Novoselac coached the Croatia national under-21 football team

Croatia national under-21 football team

The Croatia national under-21 football team, also known as Croatia under-21 or Croatia U21 is a youth association football national team which represents Croatia at this age level and is a feeder team for the Croatia national football team....

, guiding them to such tournaments as the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship

1999 FIFA World Youth Championship

The 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Nigeria between April 3 and April 24, 1999. The 1999 championship was the 12th contested.- Qualification :The following 24 teams qualified for the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship.-Squads:...

 and the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship

UEFA U-21 Championship 2004 was the 14th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Germany between 27 May and 8 June 2004.Italy U-21s won the competition for the fifth time...

. Achieving great success, Novoselac was even considered for the Croatia National Team

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...

 job.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/euro_2004/croatia/3878529.stm Currently, he is the head of the Croatian Football Federation

Croatian Football Federation

The Croatian Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIFA and UEFA, and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the game of football in Croatia...

's youth development program.

External links

• Profile on Serbian federation official site