Off the back of a debut Australia Cup appearance, O’Connor Knights Head Coach Miro Trninic has cemented his position as one of the most respected names in ACT football history, after playing a vital role in transforming his side into a regular title challenger.

The 62-year-old’s impact has been reflected across both Canberra-based sides, such as Canberra Croatia and Queanbeyan City, and also abroad in Switzerland, however, his love of football began in humbler surroundings.

“I was born in former Yugoslavia, but my part of that country doesn’t exist anymore, I am Croatian,” Trninic said. “It started on the streets like always, I was born in a communist country, and it was a country that was poor at that time, and one ball made many people happy.”

Trninic began playing football at six years old and continued at his childhood club Cibalia Vinkovci for the early part of his senior career.

“It was from a small town, [it had] around 40 000 people and we were promoted in 1982 to the first Yugoslavian division at that time…I was by far the youngest player,” he said.

Off the back of 18 months’ worth of service in the army, at 25 Trninic’s football journey took a new turn after moving to Switzerland, where he not only continued his playing career but received his first taste of coaching.

“In 1987 I moved to Switzerland to play in the first and second division, my best years… I played 512 games as a professional over there,” he said. “I started my coaching career in 1994, [where] I started to play with a fourth division club as a player-coach.

“I was [there] for six years, [and] we managed to get promoted twice in a row… that is one moment I will never forget, a small village club going from the fourth division to play in the second division, it was a big success.”

Leaving mid-way through the season, Trninic arrived in Australia in 1999 and was quickly sought after by the local football community.

“I started playing here with Queanbeyan City, and because some people got my contact information, I don’t know how,” he said. “I started to be a player and a coach [for them].”

After less than one year in charge of Queanbeyan then President of Canberra Croatia Marko Vrkic was made aware of Trninic’s arrival onto the Canberra football scene, and upon recognising his name, immediately showed interest in acquiring his talents.

“[He] asked me if I was interested in coaching the first team of Canberra Croatia,” Trninic recalled. “And then he said that he remembered watching me play in his hometown, Rijeka, which is one of the towns on the coast, [because] with my club, I came over there to play a few times.”

Having accepted the position, Trninic went on to achieve great success as both a coach and technical director at the club from 2003 to 2013, across three different spells, in which he oversaw several undefeated seasons and numerous trophies. This came in between a stint back at Queanbeyan City in 2006 and 2007, where he won the club promotion to the top tier before overseeing Woden-Weston in 2014, and later Tuggeranong United.

However, it was in 2018 when Trninic first became involved with his much-loved O’Connor Knights, after a deal sealing his return to Canberra Croatia fell through at the last minute.

“I got a very good contract, all the paper was signed, [but] at that time they changed the committee, and the committee decided that they wanted another coach, and then I approached O’Connor Knights because I was eager to coach,” he explained.

From the outside looking in, such a successful coach moving to a small second-tier side was unexpected, however Trninic had a vision for the club’s transformation.

“They were a pub team, they had three teams, one women’s, and two men’s teams, the first and reserves team,” he explained. “I met the committee members, Stipe Radić, Stipe Rezo, Nikola Šporčić, I talked to them, and I said listen, I would like to build the juniors and I would like to build the women’s program, if you agree [with] that I will be very happy to come, and they said ‘we’re going to do best [that] we can’”

Now, seven years into the project, it is safe to say that Trninic has had a monumental impact on the club, having coached them to promotion in 2021, achieved a top four finish in 2022, before winning the league in 2023 for the first time, alongside Australia Cup Qualifying success this year.

July’s Australia Cup Round of 32 tie, saw the Knights go toe to toe with A-League side Macarthur FC at GIO Stadium, in an experience that capped off a fantastic few years for Trninic with the club.

With the score ending 2-1 to the away side, the coach says that his squad performed admirably.

“My boys should be proud of how they played,” he said. “I said to them before that game, if we play them ten times, they can’t beat us ten times, we’re going to beat them once, maybe tonight is going to be that one time.

“I am very happy for them most of all, that they could have that feeling… we were happy to play against opposition like Macarthur FC, they were very good to us, it was very friendly before the game, and during the game.

“Thank you to the players, more than half of my team were offered more money to go to other clubs, and they wanted to stay loyal to us because we have got a very good club culture and atmosphere in the club, it’s a community club.”

Having amassed around 30 years of coaching experience Trninic can reflect on his time involved with football, a career that despite all his achievements, has been highlighted by the transformation he helped achieve at his current employers.

“My [greatest] work which I am most happy with, has been working with the people at O’Connor Knights,” he said. “We went from nothing, from scratch, to building the champion of the ACT in five years, and it was lots of work.

“It was my idea, [but] the idea is one thing, to get there is not just done by one person like me, it’s the committee members and the [volunteers], they contributed to that more than me… that’s why I am very much stuck with them and like to be with them, because they are good to me and I think I am good to them, we are now starting to be like family.”

Looking ahead to the rest of his coaching career and life, Trninic is very much set on maintaining his involvement in football.

“My goal is to coach as long as I can walk because I like football very much and I like to be on the field,” he said. “Everyone says when I pass away, [I’m] going to pass away on the football field.”

Words: Sam Watson