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Edward "Eddie" Krncevic is a former player and coach, who had two stints as South Melbourne coach; first in the National Soccer League, and then in the Victorian Premier League. He is also the father of former South Melbourne striker Jesse Krncevic, whom he coached during the 2011 season.

Bio[]

As a player, Krncevic was one of Australia's most accomplished strikers during the 1980s. A member of the first generation of Australian players to have extended success in Europe - itself a turning point in Australia soccer becoming an exporter rather than an importer of talent - Krncevic's best years came while in Belgium, especially with Anderlecht.[1]

By the time his playing career had finished in Australia with Gippsland Falcons, Krncevic had won championships in Australia (with Marconi), Yugoslavia (with Dinamo Zagreb), and Belgium (with Anderlecht).

After retiring from playing, Krncevic took up coaching. He was the inaugural coach of Carlton, leading them to the grand final in the first season, which they lost to South Melbourne. After coaching former club Marconi, Krncevic was hired as South coach for the 2001-2002 season in the wake of the sudden off-season departure of Mike Petersen and several players to the Football Kingz.

The side struggled for the first half of that season, before going on a winning run inspired by Con Boutsianis - one of the players who had crossed to the Kingz, but who returned midway through the season. The side eventually lost to the eventual title winner Sydney Olympic in the finals,[2] and Krncevic's contract was not renewed for the following season.

After intermittent coaching work with several lower-level clubs in Victoria, Krncevic was brought back to South in late 2010, following the surprise decision by the club to not renew Vaughan Coveny's contract. South still had two games to play that year, its two-legged Singapore Cup quarter-final against Bangkok Glass. After the 6-4 aggregate loss in that tournament, Krncevic was retained for the 2011 season.

That year proved to be chaotic on several fronts. A pre-season falling out between Krncevic and captain Ramazan Tavsancioglu saw the latter walk-out on the club before the season started. Ill-discipline and injuries saw the team's form fluctuate wildly, exacerbated by the mid-season acquisition of Ljubo Milicevic. After using 35 different players in the senior team, the side managed to secure a finals spot with a chaotic 3-3 draw against Northcote City in the final round of the home and away season.

An elimination final win over Heidelberg United pushed South one step closer to an unlikely championship, but a 1-0 loss to Oakleigh Cannons the following week saw the end of South's season, and the end of Krncevic's second stint as South Melbourne coach.

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