World Cup national teams Mexico (1983–86) Milutinović led Mexico to the quarter-finals at the
1986 FIFA World Cup, its highest finish. Mexico fell in the quarter-finals to
West Germany on penalty kicks.
Costa Rica (1990) Milutinović took over
Costa Rica just before the
1990 FIFA World Cup and got Costa Rica into the second round. In 1990, Milutinović was hired as head coach of Costa Rica just 90 days before the World Cup. He cut the captain and other starters. Costa Rica managed to beat
Scotland and
Sweden and lost to
Brazil, 1–0, before losing 4–1 to
Czechoslovakia in the second round.
United States (1991–95) Hank Steinbrecher, general secretary of the
U.S. Soccer Federation, conducted the job interviews for the
U.S. national team head coach position. American coaches had not proved their worth on the international stage, as the United States had lost all three games in the 1990 World Cup finals under
Bob Gansler. When the USSF's search began in 1991, the emphasis was not so much on experience, but on finding a coach who could squeeze the last drop of potential out of a lightly regarded team, and Milutinović's name came up again and again. He had coached first Mexico, then Costa Rica to surprising World Cup success. Milutinović left no doubts about who ran the team, cutting two U.S. players,
Peter Vermes and
Desmond Armstrong, board members of the national federation, from his World Cup team. Milutinović further cut
Bruce Murray, the all-time leading U.S. goal scorer. When
Alexi Lalas first showed up at training camp, Milutinović told him to get a haircut or get off the team.
Nigeria (1997–98) Milutinović coached the
Nigerian team at the
1998 FIFA World Cup in France. Nigeria won its group, notching a notable 3–2 upset win over
Spain, and reached the knockout rounds. This was the fourth team that Milutinović had taken to the knockout rounds of the World Cup, a coaching record.
China (2000–02) Under Milutinović's coaching, for the first time ever, the
China national team qualified to be among the 32 finalists for the World Cup in
2002. He was hailed as a hero in China, ending a 44-year drought, and was popularly known as
Milu. However, unlike his previous forays, Milutinović could not take the Chinese team past the first round due to their inexperience at the world stage.
Other national teams Honduras (2003–04) In the summer of 2003, Milutinović was in serious negotiations to finally take over the national team at his native
Serbia. Despite heavy, month-long persuasion from Serbian football officials, Milutinović turned down the offer and soon signed on to the
Honduras national team. He led the team to the first round of
CONCACAF qualifiers before resigning on 30 June 2004. He cited "the prevailing bad atmosphere, created by comments made by the country's managers, officials and press" as the reason for his leaving during World Cup qualifying.
Jamaica (2006–07) On 16 November 2006, Milutinović was announced as head coach of
Jamaica. On 9 November 2007, following a string of six consecutive friendly defeats, he was fired by the Jamaican FA.
Iraq (2009) Milutinović led the
Iraq national football team in group play in the
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup for two draws and one loss, failing to reach the knockout stage.
Club teams Milutinović's managerial career at club level has seen more mixed success. His longest managerial spell for a single club was his tenure with
UNAM of Mexico from 1977 to 1983. Several of his Pumas players ended up playing for Mexico at the 1986 World Cup. Since then, he has managed briefly for several club teams. He managed
Udinese of the Italian
Serie B for nine matches in 1987. He then managed the
MetroStars of
Major League Soccer to the worst record in league history in
1999. He also had a brief stint in the
Qatar Stars League with
Al-Sadd in the
2004–05 season.
Managerial statistics ==Personal life==