Samsunspor Reach Agreement in Principle with Nenad Bjelica: Croatian Returns to the Süper Lig

Samsunspor have announced that an agreement in principle has been reached with Nenad Bjelica to take charge as head coach until the end of the season. The Black Sea club said the 55-year-old Croatian coach would travel to Samsun by private jet together with his staff. Bjelica, who previously managed Trabzonspor, will return to the Süper Lig once the official signatures are in place. The experienced coach, whose last job was at Dinamo Zagreb, had been out of work since December 2024.

Nenad Bjelica's first coaching spell in Turkey came when he took over at Trabzonspor in April 2023. The Croatian, who stayed with the claret-and-blues until October 2023, averaged 1.50 points per game across 16 Süper Lig matches. After leaving Trabzonspor, Bjelica took charge of Bundesliga side Union Berlin in November 2023 and ended that spell in May 2024.

Bjelica enjoyed the most successful periods of his coaching career at Dinamo Zagreb, winning two league titles, one Croatian Cup and one Croatian Super Cup with the Croatian side. In his first spell at Dinamo Zagreb, the experienced coach averaged 2.31 points per game across 100 league matches in charge. His second spell at Dinamo Zagreb, which began in September 2024, lasted around three months and ended in December 2024.

Bjelica, who has also coached clubs including Lech Poznan, Spezia, Austria Wien and Osijek, predominantly favours a 4-2-3-1 formation with his teams.