Bruno Akrapović

Bruno Akrapović (born 26 September 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player.

Club career Starting his career in his native Bosnia and Herzegovina, at the time part of Yugoslavia, Akrapović spent the majority of his career playing for various clubs in the Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga, among others VfL Wolfsburg, Mainz 05 and Energie Cottbus. He played alongside Jürgen Klopp at Mainz between 1994 and 1997.

International career Akrapović made his senior debut for Bosnia and Herzegovina in a March 2000 friendly match against Macedonia and has earned a total of 14 caps, scoring one goal. His final international was a September 2002 European Championship qualification match against Romania.

Managerial career On 16 January 2010, Akrapović received his UEFA Pro Licence in the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina's educational facility in Jablanica.

Akrapović managed Shkëndija in the Macedonian First League and RNK Split in Croatia, before relocating to Bulgaria in 2017 to become the manager of Lokomotiv Plovdiv where he won the Bulgarian Cup twice in a row in the seasons 2018–19 and 2019–20, as well as the Bulgarian Supercup in 2020.

On 14 June 2022, Akrapović was appointed as manager of Saudi Pro League club Al-Wehda. On 20 October 2022, he was sacked after only two wins in eight matches. On 30 December 2022, Akrapović was appointed as manager of Cypriot side Akritas Chlorakas. On 27 February 2023, he was sacked after only two months.

On 8 January 2024, Akrapović became the manager of his native Bosnian Premier League club Željezničar, signing a one-and-a-half-year contract. His first game in charge of Željezničar was a 0–0 home draw against Zrinjski Mostar on 17 February 2024. He suffered his first defeat as Željezničar manager on 26 February, losing 2–0 away to Široki Brijeg. He was victorious in his first Sarajevo derby, beating rivals Sarajevo 3–0 at home on 3 March 2024. Following a series of poor results, and with Željezničar sitting in the relegation zone with four points from their previous six games, Akrapović and the club mutually terminated his contract on 20 April 2024.

Personal life Akrapović's wife is Italian, and their son Aaron Akrapović used to represent the Italy U17 national team.

Career statistics International + Appearances and goals by national team and year

Honours Player TeBe Berlin Regionalliga Nordost: 1997–98

Manager Europa Gibraltar Premier Cup: 2014–15

Shkëndija Macedonian Cup: 2015–16

Lokomotiv Plovdiv Bulgarian Cup: 2018–19, 2019–20 Bulgarian Supercup: 2020