Prosinecki resigns as Red Star Belgrade coach

Published Aug. 20, 2012 4:37 p.m. ET

foxsports

Former Croatia international Robert Prosinecki resigned Monday as the coach of Red Star Belgrade after a 2-2 draw against 10-men Rad Belgrade in the opening match of the Serbian league a day earlier.

''It's not only yesterday's game, but I felt I could no longer lead Red Star,'' Prosinecki said.

The 43-year-old former midfielder took on his first head coaching role in 2010.

Prosinecki played for Red Star when the Serbian club won the 1991 European Cup. He later joined Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla and Portsmouth before returning to Croatia to become an assistant coach of the national team.

Prosinecki played 117 matches for Red Star, 15 for the former Yugoslavia and 49 for Croatia.

Red Star said in a statement that it was surprised by Prosinecki's decision but wished him well in his future coaching positions.

He had faced criticism in Croatia for leading the most popular Serbian team, which had been suffering in recent years with poor results. The two former Yugoslav nations were at war in the 1990s.