BIOGRAPHY
Irfan Smajlagic was born in Banja Luka in Yugoslavia, in what is now Bosnia and Herzgovina. He spent his formative years playing for Borac Banja Luka before moving to Zagreb in 1987.
Smajlagic’s club career from then on was spent in Croatia and France, and he picked up a number of domestic titles in both countries.
In 1988 Smajlagic played for Yugoslavia as they won bronze at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games; after the fall of Communism and the break-up of the republic in 1992 he began representing Croatia, and was part of the team during a strong period in which they won European bronze, world silver and Olympic gold medals.
Smajlagic won a number of individual awards during his career too - he was named All-star right wing at the 1995 World Championship, when Croatia won silver, and at the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.
Following his retirement in 2001, Smajlagic began a coaching career that has seen him lead several clubs and national teams. He led Egypt to gold at the 2008 African Championship and was assistant to Lino Cervar as Croatia won gold at the 2003 World Championship and Athens 2004 Olympic Games. Smajlagic was in charge of Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2022 and early 2024.
