Velibor Vasović

Infobox Football biography
playername = Velibor Vasović


fullname =
dateofbirth = birth date|1939|10|03
cityofbirth = Požarevac
countryofbirth = Kingdom of Yugoslavia
dateofdeath = birth date|2002|03|04 (aged 62)
cityofdeath = Belgrade
countryofdeath = FR Yugoslavia
height =
position = Defender
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1958–1963
1963–1964
1964–1966
1966–1971
clubs = FK Partizan
Red Star Belgrade
FK Partizan
AFC Ajax
caps(goals) =
nationalyears = 1961-1966
nationalteam = Yugoslavia
nationalcaps(goals) = 32 (2)
manageryears = 1971–1973

1975–1976
1976–1977
1978–1979
1983
1986–1988
1989
managerclubs = FK Partizan
FK Proleter Zrenjanin
Angers SCO
Paris Saint-Germain FC
Paris Saint-Germain FC
Ethnikos Piraeus F.C.
Red Star Belgrade
AC Bellinzona

Velibor Vasović (born October 3, 1939 in Požarevac, Danube Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia — died March 4, 2002 in Belgrade, Serbia, FR Yugoslavia) was a Serbian footballer.

He transferred to Ajax Amsterdam after he had lost 2-1 to Real Madrid with Partizan Belgrade in European Champions Cup (scoring the only goal for his team). He did the same (4-1 loss to AC Milan, scoring from the spot) in 1969 final, before leading Ajax as captain to a 2-0 victory over Panathinaikos in 1971 final.

Vasović's career was relatively short. He only played 11 professional seasons due to the asthmatic condition he was suffering from.

He played 5 seasons for the Dutch giants (1966-1971) and was the first foreign captain in club's history.

Before that he spent five and a half seasons at Partizan (1960-December 1962, 1963-1966), and even spent a half-season (January '63 to June '63) playing for archrivals Red Star Belgrade.

He played 32 games for Yugoslavia national football team.

Post-football career

Coaching

After ending his career as a player in 1971, he coached FK Partizan (second part of 1971/72 season, full 1972/73, and the first part of 1973/74), Proleter Zrenjanin, Angers SCO (1975-1976), Paris St. Germain (first part of 1976/77 and the first part of 1978/79 seasons) [cite web
publisher = RSSSF
title = France - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
url=http://www.rsssf.com/players/trainers-fran-clubs.html
accessdate=2008-08-24] , Ethnikos Piraeus (1983), Red Star Belgrade (1986-1988), and AC Bellinzona (1989) [cite web
publisher = RSSSF
title = Switzerland - Trainers of First and Second Division Clubs
url=http://www.rsssf.com/players/trainers-zwit-clubs.html
accessdate=2008-08-24] before returning home to Belgrade and working as a lawyer. He died in 2002 following a heart attack at the age of 62 ^{[http://www.uefa.com/news/newsId=18634,printer.htmx]} .

Family

Velibor Vasović was married twice, first with Mirjana Vasović, and then to Branka Zorić. He had two sons, both with his first wife, Vladimir (1963) and Aleksandar (1968).

Other endeavours

Vasović was one of the strongest and most persistent critics of the Yugoslav FA, especially its longtime president Miljan Miljanić. Vasović's criticism particularly intensified after the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia.

On October 10, 2000, 5 days after the overthrow of Milošević's regime in Serbia, Vasović and about a dozen bodyguards broke into the FA offices at Terazije square in downtown Belgrade. It was not clear what exactly he was hoping to achieve, although the widely circulated unofficial story was that he attempted to use the post-overthrow chaos and confusion in order to gain an upper hand on the expected FA leadership change. [ [http://www.svetlost.co.yu/arhiva/2000/264/264-2.htm] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.reprezentacija.co.yu/cgi-bin/index.pl?str=igraci&strana=Vasovic_Velibor Profile at Serbian football association]