Damir Mulaomerović


Damir Mulaomerović is a Croatian professional basketball coach and former player. He currently serves as a head coach for Sloboda Tuzla of the ABA League and the Bosnian League, as well as an assistant coach for the Croatia national team.

Professional career

Mulaomerović started his career with Sloboda Dita in 1990. Not too long after the start of the Bosnian War, he fled to Zagreb and where he joined Cibona Zagreb. Mulaomerović played there until the end of the 1997–1998 season. He left Cibona, to join Fortitudo Bologna. He also played with Real Madrid.
In Greece, he left a big mark. He won the EuroLeague championship with Panathinaikos, in 2001–02. While he played with PAOK and Panellinios, he was one of the Greek League's leading assist and point scoring players. At the start of the 2006–2007 season, he had been signed by Olympiacos, in order to fill the void created in the team by Arvydas Macijauskas' start of the season severe injury. But in Olympiacos, he did not get along with head coach Pini Gershon, and before the end of season, he got an early termination of his contract.
After Olympiacos, he was signed by Bruesa GBC, on 22 January 2007, but because of an injury, he did not play as expected. During the summer of 2007, he was in serious contract discussions with Cedevita Zagreb, from Croatia, but after Cibona approached him, he did not have to think twice about which team he was to join. He signed a 1-year contract with his former team, Cibona.
After 9 years, he returned to Cibona Zagreb. Saying that he was, "excited about his return, and that it had always been a privilege and commitment to play for Cibona". He was brought to them by the special insistence of the new Cibona head coach, former Croatian basketball player, Josip "Joke" Vranković. He expressed his desire to finish his career with Cibona.
In January 2009, he joined another basketball club from the Croatian capitol, KK Zagreb. Although being a veteran, he was a key player in Zagreb's first ever Croatian League championship title, won in 2011. The next season, as Zagreb was eliminated on a title defending path in May 2012, Mulaomerović announced his retirement.

International career

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Being born in the Bosnian city of Tuzla, which he left as a refugee at the outbreak of the Bosnian War, Mulaomerović wanted to represent the newly formed Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

Croatia

The Bosnian team failed to see potential in Mulaomerović, so he accepted the call from Petar Skansi, then senior Croatia's head coach. Mulaomerović represented Croatia at the 1996 Summer Olympics, EuroBasket 1997, EuroBasket 1999, EuroBasket 2001 and EuroBasket 2003.

Coaching career

Mulaomerović started his basketball coaching career soon after his retirement from playing professional basketball, taking over as the head coach his hometown club, Sloboda Tuzla, in 2013.
On 7 December 2015, Mulaomerović was appointed the head coach for Cibona. In June 2017, after reaching the finals of the Croatian League and the Cup, which Cibona losing both to Cedevita, he parted ways with the club.
In 2016, the Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina named Mulaomerović as the new head coach of the senior Bosnia and Herzegovina national team, but Bosnia did not qualify to EuroBasket 2017 finals, so Mulaomerović was sacked.
In August 2018, Mulaomerović took over the senior Kosovo men's national team. Two months later, he was named the head coach for KB Prishtina, the most prominent club playing in the Kosovo Basketball Superleague.
On 29 November 2019, he moved back to Sloboda Tuzla as the head coach. In February 2020, shortly before the EuroBasket 2021 qualification tournament, Mulaomerović joined Croatia's coaching staff under the head coach Veljko Mršić.