Leeds United in the EFL: How is Darko Milanic getting on these days? | OneFootball

Last Friday marked eight years since Leeds United appointed Darko Milanic as the club’s head coach.

Leeds had a terrible start to the 2014/15 season under Dave Hockaday before Neil Redfearn’s first spell in temporary charge steadied the ship. He wasn’t awarded the full-time job until later in the season as Milanic was appointed on a two-year contract.

Of that two-year contract, Milanic would last only 32 days after failing to win any of his opening six fixtures, setting a new record for the fastest sacking in Leeds’ history.

Three draws and three defeats, plus the previous success Redfearn (three wins and a draw) had, allowed fans to accept the decision to remove Milanic, yet it was still typical of Massimo Cellino to pull the trigger early.

A couple of years after leaving Leeds, Milanic returned to Maribor, one of his previous clubs. Slovan Bratislava was his next adventure, before a stint with Pafos.

In June 2022, Milanic moved onto his fourth club since Leeds, taking charge of Anorthosis Famagusta FC in the Cypriot First Division, staying in the Greek top-flight. It’s thought that the 54-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the club.

Luckily for Milanic, he’s enjoyed a positive start to the league season. Olympiakos Nicosia and Karmiotissa have been beaten so far, whilst there was a point picked up against Akritas in the club’s last fixture. The only defeat so far has been against APOEL.

It leaves Milanic’s latest club sitting seventh in the table having collected seven points so far.

That’s a fairly decent return but, still, you wonder whether that would’ve been enough to keep him in a job at Leeds back in 2014. Cellino was hardly a patient owner and that was a trend that continued on the back of Milanic leaving.

Eight years is a long time in football – far longer than 32 days. Leeds fans know that all too well.