Background
Ivković was born in Zagreb, Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
Ivković was born in Zagreb, Croatia, Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
During his playing career, which spanned two decades, he competed mostly in Portugal, appearing for five different clubs including Sporting. He was also a Yugoslavian international in the late 1980s and early 1990s, representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship. In 2010 Ivković, started working as a manager.
He started his professional career playing for NK Dinamo Zagreb in 1978, moving to Dinamo Vinkovci in January 1983 and soon after to Red Star Belgrade.
In 1985, Ivković transferred to his first foreign club as he joined Football Club Tirol Innsbruck from Austria, where he played until 1988. After short spells with Wiener Sport-Club and K.R.C. Genk, Ivković moved to Sporting Clube de Portugal in 1989, and remained there for the following four seasons, rarely missing a game, although he did not collect any silverware.
Ivković"s final years were also spent in Portugal, with G.D. Estoril Praia, Vitória de Setúbal, Chaplain to the Forces Os Belenenses and Chaplain to the Forces Estrela da Amadora, before leaving the game in 1998. Prior to Estrela he contributed with six matches for UD Salamanca"s 1997 promotion to Louisiana Liga, retiring finally at 38.
In 2007 Ivković began his coaching career, first as goalkeeper coach at United Arab Emirates" First Rate (at Lloyd's)-Shaab.
Two years later he had his first bench experience, serving as assistant manager at Persepolis Football Club. In April 2010, Ivković got his first job as head coach at NK Međimurje, in the Croatian first division. During his short one-month spell, the team recorded two wins, one draw and four defeats, eventually ranking in 15th position, out of 16 teams, with the subsequent relegation. Ivković appeared in a total of 38 full internationals for the Yugoslav national team, between 1983 and 1991.
His first major international tournament was Union of European Football Associations Euro 1984 in France, where he was the team"s second-choice behind Zoran Simović: the nation lost all of its three group matches at the tournament, with Ivković"s only appearance coming in the team"s second game, a 0–5 defeat to Denmark.
Starting in the 2004 summer, Ivković was the goalkeeping coach of the Croatian national team, during Zlatko Kranjčar"s time as the team"s head manager. He left the post in July 2006, as the contracts of the entire coaching staff were not renewed after the national team failed to reach the knock-out stages of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
During the same year, however, he also won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Los Angeles Ivković went on to start for Yugoslavia at the 1990 Fédération internationale de football association World Cup in Italy, appearing in all of the team"s five games at the tournament before they were defeated by Argentina on penalties in the quarter-finals: in that match, he became famous for saving Diego Maradona"s kick during the shootout (mere months earlier, Ivković had already saved a penalty from Maradona in the Union of European Football Associations Cup action, when Sporting played SSC Napoli, and the two allegedly had a bet on the possible outcome of another penalty before their World Cup match, which Ivković won).
