Otto Baric
Encyclopedia
Otto Barić is a Croatian
-Austria
n football manager.
club Germania Wiesbaden
and moved after one season to Austria
n club Wacker Innsbruck
, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions titles before moving to LASK Linz
in July 1972. After two seasons with Linz, he went on to coach Croatia
n club NK Zagreb
and spent two seasons there before moving to Dinamo Zagreb
in July 1976. In the late 1970s, he was also the head coach of the Yugoslav amateur national team, a team that consisted of players from the Yugoslav Second League
, and won two regional and one continental title with the team between 1976 and 1978. At the same time, he spent almost four seasons at Dinamo Zagreb before returning to Austria in March 1980 to coach Sturm Graz
. He spent one and a half season with Sturm and was then unemployed for a year before starting to coach Rapid Wien
in July 1982. He led Rapid to three champions titles in the Austrian Bundesliga
in 1982, 1983 and 1987 as well as to three Austrian Cup
titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985. In 1985, he also led Rapid to the final match of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
, but lost the title with a 3–1 defeat against Everton
.
Barić left Rapid for German club VfB Stuttgart
in the summer of 1985 and coached the team until March 1986. After three months without a job, he returned to Rapid in June 1986 and went on to coach the team in the following two seasons, winning another Austrian Cup title in 1987. After leaving Rapid in June 1988, he was unemployed for five months before eventually continuing to work as the head coach of Sturm Graz between November 1988 and June 1989.
, another team of the Austrian Bundesliga, for the 1990–91 season. In July 1991 he was engaged by Austria Salzburg. He led Austria Salzburg to two consecutive champions titles in the Austrian Bundesliga in 1994 and 1995, and also managed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League
in 1994, thus making Austria Salzburg the first Austrian club to do that. The team finished third in their group behind Ajax Amsterdam
and AC Milan. In the previous 1993–94 season, he led the club to the two-legged final of the UEFA Cup
, but lost the title to Inter Milan with a 2–0 defeat on aggregate. He coached the Salzburg team until August 1995 and then he left due to differences of opinion between him and some players.
He was jobless for a short time after leaving Austria Salzburg and then he worked as an assistant coach in the Croatian national team
until the end of the 1996 European Championship. In July 1996, he became the head coach of Dinamo Zagreb and led the club to titles in both the Croatian First League
and Croatian Cup
in only one season he coached the team. In June 1997, he left Dinamo for Turkish
club Fenerbahçe, where he worked until March 1999. Barić was then unemployed for a couple of months after leaving Fenerbahçe and subsequently returned to his international career as the head coach of the Austrian national team
between 1999 and 2001, giving up his position after Austria failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup
finals.
was dismissed due to unsuccessful campaign of the team at the 2002 World Cup finals.
and was given a task to bring the Croatian national team to the finals of the 2004 European Championship. His first match as coach of the Croatian national team was a friendly against Wales
on 21 August 2002 in Varaždin
. The match ended with a 1–1 draw, which was quite a disappointment. His competitive debut in the qualifying session for the 2004 European Championship was even less successful with a goalless draw against Estonia
and one month later the team went on to lose 2–0 against Bulgaria
. With diminished chances for advancement to the final tournament, Croatia now had to win as many matches as possible. The start in the year 2003 was successful, with an impressive 4–0 win over solid Belgium at home in Zagreb
, followed by three consecutive wins, twice against the group underdogs Andorra
and once against Estonia. The team had to achieve an away win against Belgium to secure at least a place in the play-offs, but failed to do that by losing 2–1. Nevertheless, they won the last match against Bulgaria by 1–0 and grabbed the second place due to a better goal difference from that of the Belgian team. In the play-offs, Croatia came to a 2–1 win on aggregate against Slovenia
and qualified for the finals in Portugal
.
At the finals, Croatia was drawn into a tough group with defending champions France
, England
and Switzerland
, and advancement to the quarterfinals was relatively unlikely. The team put all their hopes on the opening match against Switzerland, but failed to win as the match ended with a goalless draw. The second match against France started bad for the Croatian team as they were 1–0 down on the halftime after Igor Tudor
scored an own goal
, but a strong start into the second half and goals from Milan Rapaić
and Dado Pršo
put them 2–1 up in the first seven minutes. Nevertheless, France equalised with David Trézéguet
's goal twelve minutes later and the final score was 2–2. Croatia had to win against England in the last group match to advance to the quarterfinals and managed to achieve a good start when Niko Kovač
scored the opening goal after only four minutes, but England managed to switch the lead 2–1 until the end of the first half with goals from Paul Scholes
and Wayne Rooney
in the last five minutes. In the second half, England went 3–1 up with another goal from Rooney and Croatian chances to put themselves in the lead once again were down to a minimum. Croatia managed to decrease England's lead when Igor Tudor scored for 3–2, but it took only six minutes before Frank Lampard
scored the final goal of the match, leading England to a 4–2 win and eliminating the group third-placed Croatia from the tournament. Although the Croatian team's elimination was expected in such competition, Barić's contract was not extended and he left as coach of the Croatian national team in July 2004.
in June 2006, after Hans-Peter Briegel
was not extended his contract with the team. Barić will stay as coach of Albania until the 2008 European Championship with hopes to take the team to the final tournament for the first time. Unlike his predecessor, Barić will live in Tirana
to closely watch the Albanian First Division
(Kategoria Parë) and its players.
He debuted with a 2–2 draw against Belarus
on 2 September. Then Albania went to lose 2–0 at home against Romania, but tha draws against Bulgaria and Slovenia and the wins 6–0 on aggregate against Luxembourg, showed the good work of the coach. Albania might had even won with the Netherlands in Tirana if an own goal of Dutch defender Melchiot would have not been disallowed by the referee. Baric values were shown even when he promised to renew the Albanian national team and somehow managed to do that. He left out of the squad captain Igli Tare, even though he was a player of Lazio. But he proved this decision right because the team managed to do really well without him. He also gave their debut to Tirana 19-year old player, Jahmir Hyka, and 20-year old Besa Kavaje player, Andi Lila. Not to mention 21-year old Kristi Vanglei, who plays for Aris i Greece. But the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign ended in shame for Albania, following two heavy losses against Belarus (2–4 at home) and Romania (1–6 in Bucharest). Although Baric was suspended for these two matches and both were not directed by him, but by his assistant, he couldn't accept his players's behavior and announced his withdrawal although he had agreed to an extension of his contract some days before.
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
-Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n football manager.
1970s to 1980s
Barić started his coaching career in 1969 at West GermanWest Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
club Germania Wiesbaden
Germania Wiesbaden
SG Germania Wiesbaden is a German association football club from the city of Wiesbaden in Hesse.The clubs two most notable achievement came when it won the tier-one Kreisliga Hessen in 1920 and, almost 50 years later, reached as the Germany's second division for one season in 1966–67.- 1903–1945...
and moved after one season to Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n club Wacker Innsbruck
FC Wacker Innsbruck
FC Wacker Innsbruck was Austrian association football club from Innsbruck, Tyrol.- History :The Fußball-Club Wacker Innsbruck was established in 1915 by Jakob Hanspeter, Benedikt Hosp, Josef Leitner, Josef Albrecht and other now unknown football enthusiasts and adopted club colours of black and...
, where he spent next two seasons and won two consecutive league champions titles before moving to LASK Linz
LASK Linz
LASK Linz is an Austrian association football club, from the Upper-Austrian state capital Linz. It is the oldest football club hailing from that region, and currently plays in the Austrian Football First League. The club's colours are black and white...
in July 1972. After two seasons with Linz, he went on to coach 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 club NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb
NK Zagreb is a Croatian football club, from the Croatian capital of Zagreb.NK Zagreb's home is the Stadion Kranjčevićeva with capacity of 8,850. The club's fans are known as the White Angels...
and spent two seasons there before moving to 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...
in July 1976. In the late 1970s, he was also the head coach of the Yugoslav amateur national team, a team that consisted of players from the Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav Second League was the second tier football league of SFR Yugoslavia. The top clubs were promoted to the top tier, the Yugoslav First League....
, and won two regional and one continental title with the team between 1976 and 1978. At the same time, he spent almost four seasons at Dinamo Zagreb before returning to Austria in March 1980 to coach Sturm Graz
SK Sturm Graz
SK Sturm Graz is an Austrian association football club, based in Graz, Styria, playing in the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1909 and the club colours are black and white....
. He spent one and a half season with Sturm and was then unemployed for a year before starting to coach Rapid Wien
SK Rapid Wien
The Sportklub Rapid Wien is an Austrian football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid is the most popular club in Austria and also record title holder having won the Austrian national football title 32 times...
in July 1982. He led Rapid to three champions titles in the Austrian Bundesliga
Austrian Bundesliga
The Austrian Football Bundesliga is the highest-ranking national league club competition in Austrian football. It is the competition which decides the Austrian national football champions, as well the country's entrants for the various European cups run by UEFA.The Austrian Bundesliga, which began...
in 1982, 1983 and 1987 as well as to three Austrian Cup
Austrian Cup
The Austrian Cup, in German: ÖFB-Cup is an annual football competition held by the Austrian Football Association, the ÖFB.It has been held since 1919, with the exception of the time of the Anschluss between 1939 and 1945 and the period between 1950 and 1958 when the competition was deemed of...
titles in 1983, 1984 and 1985. In 1985, he also led Rapid to the final match of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...
, but lost the title with a 3–1 defeat against Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
.
Barić left Rapid for German club VfB Stuttgart
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart, is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club is best known for its football team, which has participated in all but two Bundesliga seasons...
in the summer of 1985 and coached the team until March 1986. After three months without a job, he returned to Rapid in June 1986 and went on to coach the team in the following two seasons, winning another Austrian Cup title in 1987. After leaving Rapid in June 1988, he was unemployed for five months before eventually continuing to work as the head coach of Sturm Graz between November 1988 and June 1989.
1990s
After leaving Sturm, Barić became head coach of SK Vorwärts SteyrSK Vorwärts Steyr
SK Vorwärts Steyr is an Austrian association football club based in Steyr. It was founded in 1919. They play at the Vorwärts Stadium.- Current squad :*On loan from Westside Strikers FC...
, another team of the Austrian Bundesliga, for the 1990–91 season. In July 1991 he was engaged by Austria Salzburg. He led Austria Salzburg to two consecutive champions titles in the Austrian Bundesliga in 1994 and 1995, and also managed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League
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 1994, thus making Austria Salzburg the first Austrian club to do that. The team finished third in their group behind Ajax Amsterdam
Ajax Amsterdam
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax , also referred to as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam or simply Ajax , is a professional football club from Amsterdam, Netherlands...
and AC Milan. In the previous 1993–94 season, he led the club to the two-legged final of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
, but lost the title to Inter Milan with a 2–0 defeat on aggregate. He coached the Salzburg team until August 1995 and then he left due to differences of opinion between him and some players.
He was jobless for a short time after leaving Austria Salzburg and then he worked as an assistant coach in the Croatian 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...
until the end of the 1996 European Championship. In July 1996, he became the head coach of Dinamo Zagreb and led the club to titles in both the Croatian First League
Croatian First League
The Prva HNL , also known as 1. HNL or for sponsorship reasons the MAXtv Prva Liga, is the top Croatian football league competition, established in 1992. The winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League...
and Croatian Cup
Croatian Cup
The Croatian Cup is an annually held football tournament for Croatian football clubs and is the second most important competition in Croatian football after the Prva HNL league championship. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation and usually runs from late August to May...
in only one season he coached the team. In June 1997, he left Dinamo for Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
club Fenerbahçe, where he worked until March 1999. Barić was then unemployed for a couple of months after leaving Fenerbahçe and subsequently returned to his international career as the head coach of the Austrian national team
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents the country of Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association ....
between 1999 and 2001, giving up his position after Austria failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
finals.
2000s
In January 2002, he went on to coach Austria Salzburg for four months and was then jobless for two months until July 2002, when he was named the head coach of the Croatian national team after his predecessor Mirko JozićMirko Jozic
Mirko Jozić is a retired Croatian football player and currently an active football manager.As a coach, he won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile, with the Yugoslavia U-20 national team composed of names such as Robert Prosinečki, Zvonimir Boban and Davor Šuker.He coached Chilean club...
was dismissed due to unsuccessful campaign of the team at the 2002 World Cup finals.
Croatian national team and Euro 2004
In July 2002, Barić signed a two-year contract with the Croatian Football FederationCroatian 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...
and was given a task to bring the Croatian national team to the finals of the 2004 European Championship. His first match as coach of the Croatian national team was a friendly against Wales
Wales national football team
The Wales national football team represents Wales in international football. It is controlled by the Football Association of Wales , the governing body for football in Wales, and the third oldest national football association in the world. The team have only qualified for a major international...
on 21 August 2002 in Varaždin
Varaždin
Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...
. The match ended with a 1–1 draw, which was quite a disappointment. His competitive debut in the qualifying session for the 2004 European Championship was even less successful with a goalless draw against Estonia
Estonia national football team
The Estonia national football team represents Estonia in international association football. Team members are selected by the head coach of Estonian Football Association . Estonia play their home matches at the A. Le Coq Arena in Tallinn, Estonia....
and one month later the team went on to lose 2–0 against Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...
. With diminished chances for advancement to the final tournament, Croatia now had to win as many matches as possible. The start in the year 2003 was successful, with an impressive 4–0 win over solid Belgium at home in Zagreb
Zagreb
Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...
, followed by three consecutive wins, twice against the group underdogs Andorra
Andorra national football team
The Andorra national football team represents Andorra in association football and is controlled by the Andorran Football Federation, the governing body for football in Andorra. The team has enjoyed very little success due to the Principality's tiny population, the fourth smallest of any UEFA...
and once against Estonia. The team had to achieve an away win against Belgium to secure at least a place in the play-offs, but failed to do that by losing 2–1. Nevertheless, they won the last match against Bulgaria by 1–0 and grabbed the second place due to a better goal difference from that of the Belgian team. In the play-offs, Croatia came to a 2–1 win on aggregate against Slovenia
Slovenia national football team
The Slovenia national football team is the national football team of Slovenia and is controlled by the Football Association of Slovenia. The team played their first match in 1992 after the split of Yugoslavia in 1991....
and qualified for the finals in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
.
At the finals, Croatia was drawn into a tough group with defending champions France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
, England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
and Switzerland
Switzerland national football team
The Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
, and advancement to the quarterfinals was relatively unlikely. The team put all their hopes on the opening match against Switzerland, but failed to win as the match ended with a goalless draw. The second match against France started bad for the Croatian team as they were 1–0 down on the halftime after Igor Tudor
Igor Tudor
Igor Tudor is a Croatian former football defender. He was considered one of Croatia's best defenders in the period between the late 1990s and mid-2000s....
scored an own goal
Own goal
An own net occurs in goal-scoring games when a player scores a goal that is registered against his or her own team. It is usually accidental, and may be a result of an attempt at defensive play that failed or was spoiled by opponents....
, but a strong start into the second half and goals from Milan Rapaić
Milan Rapaic
Milan "Miki" Rapaić was a Croatian football midfielder who last played for HNK Trogir after his contract with Standard Liège ended in July 2007....
and Dado Pršo
Dado Pršo
Miladin "Dado" Pršo is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a striker.Pršo played for seven different teams and made over 300 league appearances as a professional...
put them 2–1 up in the first seven minutes. Nevertheless, France equalised with David Trézéguet
David Trézéguet
David Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
's goal twelve minutes later and the final score was 2–2. Croatia had to win against England in the last group match to advance to the quarterfinals and managed to achieve a good start when Niko Kovač
Niko Kovac
Niko Kovač is a former Croatian footballer who last played as a midfielder for Red Bull Salzburg. He was the long-standing captain of Croatia before retiring from international football in January 2009...
scored the opening goal after only four minutes, but England managed to switch the lead 2–1 until the end of the first half with goals from Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes
Paul Scholes is a retired English footballer, a one-club man who played his entire professional career for Manchester United.Born in Salford, but later moving to Langley, Scholes excelled in both cricket and football in school. He first trained with Manchester United at the age of 14 after being...
and Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney
Wayne Mark Rooney is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team...
in the last five minutes. In the second half, England went 3–1 up with another goal from Rooney and Croatian chances to put themselves in the lead once again were down to a minimum. Croatia managed to decrease England's lead when Igor Tudor scored for 3–2, but it took only six minutes before Frank Lampard
Frank Lampard
Frank James Lampard is an English professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Chelsea and the England national team. He also holds the position of vice-captain for his club side...
scored the final goal of the match, leading England to a 4–2 win and eliminating the group third-placed Croatia from the tournament. Although the Croatian team's elimination was expected in such competition, Barić's contract was not extended and he left as coach of the Croatian national team in July 2004.
Albanian national team
After being without a job for nearly two years, Barić returned to coaching as he was named the head coach of the Albanian national teamAlbania national football team
The Albania national association football team is the national association football team of Albania and is controlled by the Football Association of Albania...
in June 2006, after Hans-Peter Briegel
Hans-Peter Briegel
Hans-Peter Briegel is a former German football player and manager.One of the most popular players in his days, Hans-Peter Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in various events such as long jump , triple jump and specifically in heptathlon-forerunner pentathlon...
was not extended his contract with the team. Barić will stay as coach of Albania until the 2008 European Championship with hopes to take the team to the final tournament for the first time. Unlike his predecessor, Barić will live in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
to closely watch the Albanian First Division
Albanian First Division
The Albanian First Division is the second level of association football in Albania. The league was first created with the name Kategoria e Dytë and has also been named Kategoria A2 in recent years....
(Kategoria Parë) and its players.
He debuted with a 2–2 draw against Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
on 2 September. Then Albania went to lose 2–0 at home against Romania, but tha draws against Bulgaria and Slovenia and the wins 6–0 on aggregate against Luxembourg, showed the good work of the coach. Albania might had even won with the Netherlands in Tirana if an own goal of Dutch defender Melchiot would have not been disallowed by the referee. Baric values were shown even when he promised to renew the Albanian national team and somehow managed to do that. He left out of the squad captain Igli Tare, even though he was a player of Lazio. But he proved this decision right because the team managed to do really well without him. He also gave their debut to Tirana 19-year old player, Jahmir Hyka, and 20-year old Besa Kavaje player, Andi Lila. Not to mention 21-year old Kristi Vanglei, who plays for Aris i Greece. But the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign ended in shame for Albania, following two heavy losses against Belarus (2–4 at home) and Romania (1–6 in Bucharest). Although Baric was suspended for these two matches and both were not directed by him, but by his assistant, he couldn't accept his players's behavior and announced his withdrawal although he had agreed to an extension of his contract some days before.