 Velić began his coaching career as assistant manager to Fernando Santos.Their collaboration began at AEK Athens in the 2001-2002 season, and continued at Panathinaikos (2002-2003) and Sporting CP (2003-2004), before they returned for a second spell at AEK Athens (2004-2005).In the 2006-2007 season, Velić was hired as a scouter for Panathinaikos, but after the sacking of Hans Backe, he was appointed as head coach, managing to make the club return to the UEFA Cup Group Stages.