Anton Usnik
Anton Usnik
Anton Usnik (born 17 September 1973) is a former Slovenian footballer and a current football coach.
Personal information
| Full name | Anton "Toni" Usnik |
| Date of birth | 17 September 1973 |
| Place of birth | Ljubljana, Slovenia |
| Height | 1,71m |
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder |
Club information
Youth career
National Team
| Year | Team |
| 1988-1991 | Yugoslavia U15-18 (12 games) |
| 1993-1995 | Slovenia U20-23 (13 games) |
Senior career
| Year | Team |
| 1991-1994 | 1.FC Kaiserslautern |
| 1994–1995 | NK Ljubljana |
| 1995–1996 | NK Publikum Celje |
| 1996–1997 | NK Ljubljana |
| 1997–1998 | NK Set Vevce |
| 1998–1999 | NK Domžale |
| 1999–2000 | NK Korotan |
| 2000–2001 | NK Ljubljana |
| 2001–2002 | NK ERA Šmartno |
| 2002–2003 | FC Leiftur-Dalvik (Iceland) |
| 2003–2004 | NK Bela Krajina |
| 2004–2005 | C.F.União da Madeira |
| 2005–2006 | NK Interblock |
Teams Managed
| Year | Team |
| 2006-2008 | NK Interblock (assistant) |
| 2008-2009 | NK Interblock (scout) |
| 2009-2010 | Al-Arabi,Kuwait (assistant) |
| 2011 | Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia (assistant) |
| 2011-2012 | Slovenian National Team (1st assistant) |
Youth career
As a youth player Usnik has played for the biggest Slovenian football club Olimpija Ljubljana. He was a member of the U15, U16, U18 national football team of former Yugoslavia. In the year of 1991 at the age of eighteen, Usnik signed a contract with the German champion winner of that year 1.FC Kaiserslautern, where he stayed for the next 3 years.
Playing career
Usnik, who was an offensive midfielder, played professional club football in Slovenia for the clubs FC Ljubljana, NK Publikum Celje, NK Set Vecve, NK Domžale, NK Korotan, NK ERA Šmartno, NK Bela Krajina and NK Interblock, in Germany for the football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern B, in Iceland for the football club FC Leiftur-Dalvik and in Portugal for the football club C.F.Uniao da Madeira. He was the first player from the Slovenian football league who went abroad to play football professionally.
Coaching career
After his playing career, Usnik went on to complete the study at the Slovenian Football Academy.
During his coaching career at his home club NK Interblock, Usnik secured two trophies as assistant coach, one time by winning the Slovenian Cup for the season 2007/2008 and the second one by winning Slovenian_Supercup in the same year.
In the season 2009/2010 Usnik went as assistant coach of Dragan Skocic to Al Arabi club in Kuwait. In that year Al Arabi played in two finals, the Crown Prince Cup and the Federation Cup. Al Arabi also played in the Asian Cup quarterfinals. Following Kuwait in the season 2010/2011 Usnik went as assistant coach of Skocic to Al Nassr football club from Riyad, Saudi Arabia, one of the most prominent football clubs in the Arab world. In that season Al Nassr qualified for the third round of the Champions League, after having played a successful season of competitions within the group.
In the season 2011/2012 Usnik was named by Slovenian football association as the first assistant coach of the Slovenian football national team manager Slavisa Stojanovic. Usnik left Slovenian national team at the end of year 2012.
References
- http://www.siol.net/sportal/nogomet/2011/11/s_kom_bo_sodeloval_stojanovic.aspx
- http://stara.nogomania.com/Default.asp?podrocje=5&novica=33150
- http://www.nogomanija.com/Mednarodni-Nogomet/Novica/Skocic-v-Savdski-Arabiji.aspx
- http://www.rtvslo.si/sport/nogomet/stojanovic-poleg-usnika-za-pomocnika-izbral-se-nekdanjega-trenerja-olimpije/274619