Kosta Runjaic is the new coach of Udinese Calcio. The 53-year-old German, born in Vienna, succeeds world champion Fabio Cannavaro at the Serie A club. Runjaic has a number of successful years behind him
After five Italian coaches, Udinese Calcio are once again relying on a foreign coach: on Friday morning, the north-east Italian side announced that Kosta Runjaic will take over as head coach for the new season. Udine did not disclose the duration of the contract.
In its press release, the club praised its new coach for the “modern, proactive and high-intensity soccer” he plays. The ability to develop talent also played a role in the selection process.
Runjaic had worked for Legia Warsaw until the beginning of April, when he unexpectedly parted ways. At the time, the club was fifth in the Ekstraklasa and seven points off the top of the table. In the end, under successor Goncalo Feio, it was enough to finish third and thus qualify for the Conference League once again
Cannavaro’s contract not extended
In July 2023, shortly after the Polish Cup triumph, Runjaic extended his contract in Warsaw until 2026. In the past Conference League season, he caused a stir with victories over Aston Villa (3:2) and AZ Alkmaar (2:0). These were only made possible by a spectacular 5:3 in the second leg of the qualifying round at Austria Vienna.
These performances obviously also left an impression on those responsible in Udine. They had only hired Fabio Cannavaro, the 2006 world champion, at the end of April when the club was in acute danger of relegation and managed to save the team with two wins and three draws from six games. However, it was not enough to extend the 50-year-old’s contract.
Runjaic worked for Pogon Szczecin for more than four and a half years before his time in Warsaw. In Germany, he made a name for himself at SV Darmstadt 98, MSV Duisburg, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and 1860 Munich.
