Oliver Bogatinov’s Career
2024 – present:
Coach at FC Koper
2023 – 2024:
Coach at NK Radomlje
2021- 2022:
Sport director at FC Koper
2020 – 2021:
Sport director at NK Maribor
2019 – 2020:
Director of the Youth School of NK Maribor
2018 – 2019:
Coach at NK Aluminij
2016 – 2018:
Director of the Academy at FC Koper
2015:
Assistant coach at NK Olimpija
2013 – 2015:
Coach at Al-Hilal U17
2012:
Coach at NK Mura
2011 – 2012:
Coach at FC Koper U-17
2009 – 2011:
Assistant coach at FC Koper
2007 – 2009:
Coach at MNK Izola
Oliver Bogatinov was born on September 26, 1978, in Jesenice. He began his football career in Jesenice and moved to Kranj at the age of 14. There, he played in the 1.SKL, 1.SML, 2.SNL, and 1.SNL leagues. He spent six football seasons at the Creina Kranj football club, which was later renamed Triglav-Creina Kranj, and is now known as Triglav 2000. During this time, he won the Slovenian youth championship and played in the final of the Slovenian youth cup. He also represented the younger national teams of Slovenia and was part of the first generation to qualify for the under-17 European Championship, which was held in Belgium.
In his first season in senior competition, Oliver was the top scorer of the championship with 32 goals in the 2.SNL and celebrated promotion to the 1.SNL. After the club was relegated, he became a professional footballer and moved to Celje, where he played for three seasons in the top-tier league.
In 2002, he gained the trust of the Canaries and signed a three-year contract to play in Koper’s top-tier league. In 2006, after his sixth leg surgery in his professional career, he ended his playing career and simultaneously started his coaching career. That same year, he graduated from the Faculty of Economics in Ljubljana. Throughout his entire football career, he played 130 official matches in the 1.SNL (7728 minutes or 85 full matches) and scored 33 goals.
Oliver began his coaching career at the end of 2006 at the Koper Football School, where he taught 6, 7, and 8-year-old children their first football steps. Simultaneously, in the second half of the season, he led the MNK Izola senior team, which competed in the 3.SNL. The following season, he started as the coach of the youth team in the 2.SML, and after the first half of the season, returned to senior football, where he remained for a year and a half as a coach/player. During this time, MNK Izola won the MNZ Koper cup and played in the Hervis cup round of 16. He then attempted to return as a football player and played in the 2.SNL for the Bonifika team. In seven autumn matches, he scored six goals and in the spring part again gained the trust of Koper’s top-tier team.
In 2009, Oliver was in Koper as an assistant coach to Okčič Nedžad. That year, the club played in the Hervis cup final. In 2010, as an assistant, Oliver won the Slovenian championship and super cup, which was FC Koper’s first title in the history of 1.SNL.
In the 2011/2012 season, Oliver led the FC Koper cadet team, which convincingly won the national championship with more than 13 points ahead of second-placed Maribor. In that year, Oliver was also the coach of the Slovenian under-16 national team under coach Borut Jarc.
In the 2012/2013 season, he led Mura 05, guiding the team in the 4th round of the Europa League against Lazio from Rome.
In August 2013, Oliver moved to Asia (Saudi Arabia) where he took over the U17 team at Al Hilal club. The Swiss-based International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) declared Al Hilal as the best club of the 20th century in Asia, underscoring the club’s greatness on the Asian continent.
In the 2015-2016 season, Oliver was an assistant to coach Marijan Pušnik at NK Olimpija. After 22 matches (out of a total of 36) and leading the league table, Oliver had to leave Olimpija.
In 2016, Oliver became the director of the academy at FC Koper Football School, where he was responsible for more than 350 children and 22 coaches. The vision and goals were set for the long term, but paths diverged after a year and a half of joint work. During this time, the youth team of Koper won the Slovenian cup under the leadership of coach Igor Božič.
In December 2017, Oliver gained the trust of the leaders in Kidričevo, where he currently serves as the head coach of the first team NK Aluminij. In the same season, the club remained in the top league and surprisingly played in the final of the Slovenian cup. In the following season, the team finished the autumn part in a high third place and sold a record number of players to stronger European leagues.
In 2019, Oliver Bogatinov was chosen by Slovenian sports journalists as the best Slovenian coach of 2018.
In June 2019, Oliver became the technical director of the football school at the most successful Slovenian football club, NK Maribor.
In March 2020, Oliver gained the trust of NK Maribor’s leadership to perform the duties of the club’s sports director. The senior team was in fourth place in the league table, with two-thirds of the season played. With the arrival of coach Sergej Jakirović, the results improved, and Maribor finished the 2020-2021 season in second place ahead of their main rival, Olimpija. In the following 2020-2021 season, Mauro Camoranesi became the coach of Maribor, and Maribor immediately became the autumn champions, which was an excellent result given the starting point. In January 2021, problems began to emerge within the club, and in February both Mauro and Oliver left the club.
In the 2021-2022 season, Oliver became the sports director at FC Koper. The previous season, Koper played a qualifying match with Krka to stay in the 1.SNL. A year later, Koper finished in second place and won the Slovenian Cup with coach Zoran Zeljković. During this time, Koper sold a player, Kaheem Parris, to Dynamo Kyiv for a record amount in the club’s history.
After a year and a half as sports director, Oliver handed over his position to Ivica Guberac, and in January 2023, Oliver became the head coach of NK Radomlje. In the autumn part, the team did not win in 16 consecutive matches and was fighting hard to stay in the top league. In the first match of the spring part, Radomlje, under Oliver’s leadership, did not lose and showed good performance against a direct competitor for survival. In the following 15 matches, they lost only once (against Olimpija, the eventual champions), which was an extraordinary and commendable result for the entire club. With such a performance, it is worth mentioning that Radomlje achieved their goal of staying in the league. Additionally, the club sold player Ester Sokler to Aberdeen in Scotland for a record amount.
In April 2024, Oliver returned home and took the position of head coach at FC Koper.
