Speaking from his home in Bosnia, Stimac does not hold back when describing his Zrinjski Mostar side’s victory over bitter rivals Velez Mostar, which kept his team in the WWIN Liga title race.
"To win games like this, it takes much more than just to have quality on the pitch, because we, once again, during this season, played against 14 men on the field," Stimac began, referring to what he sees as unfair officiating.
It’s already been a successful season for Stimac and Zrinjski. The former Croatian international, who won bronze with his national side at the 1998 World Cup, took over the role last summer and guided the team through the Conference League league phase, eventually bowing out to Crystal Palace in the play-off round.
It marked a return to club management for Stimac after eight years away. He has seemingly stuck to the path less travelled, spending five years as India’s head coach between 2019 and 2024, and before that managing in Iran as well as Qatar.
Asked why he decided to take the role in Mostar, he remarked: “I was missing doing my job, the job I loved
"The call came at the right time when I was available. Of course, it was not similar to what I was doing for the last five and a half years with the Indian national team.
"It's a totally different job because it's on a daily basis; you work with the players, you can influence your team much more, your ideas, and everything you have in your mind.
"So I was very excited, especially because at the end of the day, it was only after 2004-2005 when I was in the club management with the club which had aspirations for the titles and for the trophies, which was Hajduk Split."
Silverware has already been won in his time with Zrinjski. They won the Bosnian Super Cup and are favourites to lift the domestic cup, too, before the season’s end.
With nine rounds to go in the league, Stimac’s side sit nine points behind leaders Borac Banja Luka, and although their title ambitions remain faint, the 58-year-old still believes it’s a successful campaign for the club, even if they don’t win the league title for a second-straight season.
He continued: "We made history with qualifying in the Conference League (league phase) and then playing Crystal Palace, two fantastic games against a team which is valued 100 times more than Zrinjski.
"Our team is worth 5-6 million and Crystal Palace 550 million. So it was an amazing experience for my players, witnessing that we can play against them, actually, and create chances and put them in difficult situations.
"And now, after we won the Super Cup here in Bosnia, we are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup in Bosnia. Also, still challenging and trying to get closer to winning the championship.
"(It is a) very successful season I would say, and with all the resources which are not big and difficulties we are facing because, as the best team in the league, everybody's playing against you to the best of their abilities."
Premier League memories
For most, seeing Stimac on the touchline at Selhurst Park earlier this year would have been a nostalgic moment. During his playing career as a no-nonsense defender, he was best known for his stints at Derby County and at West Ham.
With the Rams, he helped them get promoted to the Premier League under the tutelage of Jim Smith, alongside the likes of Paulo Wanchope, which included an impressive unbeaten run in the first season at the club.
A move to Upton Park followed after 84 appearances over four years with Derby, where he would again link up with Wanchope, but also play in one of England’s most exciting sides at the time. In what was a ‘golden generation’ for the Hammers, Stimac saw the rise of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Jermain Defoe, Michael Carrick and most notably, Frank Lampard.
Speaking about his time in England, Stimac remembered fondly: “Four years with Derby County were the best years of my career, you know, because during that period it was EURO 96 and then France in 1998, medals.
"In the first season, promotion to the Premier League with Derby County. Actually, I joined the club after they played 17 games in the season '95-'96 and they were in 17th position when I joined them, and my debut created terrible memories for me because we lost to Tranmere away.
"But after that, it was 20 games unbeaten run; on Boxing Day, we defeated Sunderland at home, winning 3-1 and taking the first spot in the league. And then the club changed from the club which had a plan just refurbishing West End at the old Baseball Ground: new plans, buying the land, new stadium, new training camp, going up from season to season and playing wonderful football with all great players.
"We had a fantastic management; a great young coach at that time, assistant to Jim, Stevie (Steve McLaren).
"Stevie was brilliant. You could see immediately that he will rise up as a coach from the management very high, because I think we were the first club to use these new technologies in football.
"We were probably the first club to use sports psychologists. We had this rehabilitation room with 25 chairs for the tactical points, for the recovery sessions, and it was visible that the approach of the assistant coach was changing the club drastically, tactically and in every sense.
"Jim having and trusting Stevie at that time was a really big thing for us.
"And then two years with West Ham United - what to say? You know, playing with the young boys at that time: Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick; even younger, Joe Cole just entering the team, Jermain Defoe joining us at the training sessions and playing his first minutes in the team.
"But on the other hand, those such players like Paolo Di Canio, Trevor Sinclair - my best friend from those times - and amazing, amazing years. We played fantastic football; that was charming football. It was a joy to watch those games."
Tudor's 'terrible' ordeal
His best playing days, however, were with the national side. Croatia, in their first-ever World Cup as an independent country following the break-up of Yugoslavia, took the world by storm in 1998. They beat Germany and Romania on their way to the semi-finals, where they would ultimately lose to eventual winners, France, before beating the Netherlands in the bronze medal match.
The team had many excellent players, including Davor Suker, but it also included a teenage defender by the name of Igor Tudor.
It has been a tough and tragic time for Tudor in recent weeks. After one point from five Premier League games as Tottenham Hotspur manager, he was let go from the position via ‘mutual consent’. He also lost his father during this time, and his former teammate sympathises with his friend and colleague.
"He's going through a really difficult time, because he was really attached to his father, and it was unexpected what happened.
"I spoke to him also and gave my condolences, and was sorry not to be able to attend the funeral. But I was in touch also with him during the time in Tottenham, because Igor was my assistant when I was the Croatian national team head coach.
"He accepted the situation and took the job, which was really difficult at the time, with him taking over with so many injuries in the club, with so many players who had terrible body language, and just not giving enough confidence with their body language to anyone watching them.
"It's a terrible thing, and you cannot change these things in a few days, never mind what your name is and how good a coach you are; it's a process.
"So I am not sure if he really needed that as a job; I think it was too risky. I wouldn't take the position to be honest, without making sure they give me a couple of years - even if we go down, it's not your fault. Let's do our best, but make sure we draw the line, take out players who are not worthy of being there and make sure that next season, if we go down, we are back and making a strong club.
"And in such circumstances, you are accepting the situation which someone else created, but you are the victim of the circumstances, especially with the schedule they had.
He added: "They engaged with Tudor, having in mind that he was very successful in the short-term and all that, that he can influence that, but it doesn't always work.
"If you are serious in football management, leading a club like Tottenham, which is a big club obviously - with the facilities they have, with so many supporters behind the club suffering so much, obviously, since Levy left, things are not going well there."
Football management at any level is a tough job. Full of privilege, sure, but it has the pressure and pitfalls many do not face in their day-to-day lives.
Stimac is in a unique position, having managed both club and national sides, from his own clubs like Hajduk Split and Croatia, to more left-field options like the aforementioned India and Sepahan in Iran’s Persian Gulf Pro League.
Adapting to life away from home is paramount to success, and Stimac believes more coaches should expand their horizons to take on challenges outside their comfort zones.
He concluded: "Having a capacity to adapt to various cultures, various life philosophies, to make sure that you are ready to change yourself so others can understand you and accept you.
"...If you speak English, you can handle things everywhere. Spanish, Italian, French, German - that's it for Europe. And the culture is similar; no big difference. We have differences in food - let's say England on one side and Germany, and then Italy, Spain, France on the other, but other continents - let's say Africa, Asia, that's a challenge.
"That's a challenge for the coaches. You have had many situations - let's say German coaches, they go to work in Iran, big names, they leave after two months; they expect others to adapt to them- it doesn't work like that."
