[Nicky91]

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Miroslav “Ciro” Blazevic, who coached the Croatian national soccer team to the semifinals of the 1998 World Cup in France, has died. He was 87.

His family and friends said Blazevic died at a Zagreb hospital on Wednesday after a long battle with prostate cancer.

The “coach of all coaches,” as he was known in his home country of Croatia, led four national teams and several domestic and foreign clubs during his career.

Born into a Catholic family in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Blazevic was an average player. His successful coaching career started in the 1960s, in the same place where his playing days ended — at Swiss club Vevey.

Blazevic also led the national teams of Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Switzerland. Among the clubs he coached were Dinamo Zagreb, Nantes, Grasshopper Zurich, Sion, Shanghai Shenhua, PAOK Thessaloniki and Hajduk Split.

The pinnacle of his coaching career came at the 1998 World Cup in France when Croatia finished in third place only a few years after emerging from the bloody breakup of former Yugoslavia.

“The whole country was proud, but I was sad,” Blazevic said recently about the 1998 success. “If I had the experience I have now, we would have been the world champions.”

He won over the crowds in France by wearing a policeman’s hat on the bench in honor of a French officer who was put in a coma by German hooligans early on in the tournament.

A colorful public persona, Blazevic — who was known in the 1980s for always wearing a white scarf when in public — also had a stint in politics by unsuccessfully running for Croatia’s presidency in a 2005 election when he won less than 1% of the vote.

“Some people from high politics have persuaded me to run for the presidency as they are sure I could win,” Blazevic, a fierce right-wing sympathizer, said at the time. “As for the 10,000 signatures necessary to endorse my bid, I could collect them simply by turning up at any soccer game and ask the fans to sign their names.”

He was to celebrate his 88th birthday on Thursday.

https://apnews.com/article/sports-so...4c39ece2ecdecf

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...te-cancer.html

[Nicky91]

regarding well known croatian team player Robert Prosinecki

At the end of the 1986–87 season at Dinamo Zagreb, Blažević sent eighteen-year-old prospect Robert Prosinečki away from the club, famously stating he "would eat his coaching diploma if Prosinečki ever became a real [quality] football player". In the summer of 1987, Prosinečki moved to Yugoslav First League rivals Red Star Belgrade where he would go on to develop into one of the best players in Yugoslavia, winning three league titles, one cup trophy, and the European Cup title over the course of the following four years followed by a prominent transfer to Real Madrid and later Barcelona.[42]

During his head coaching tenure with Croatia, Blažević frequently called up Prosinečki as the player became a crucial part of the team and the two seemingly mended fences.

Their ambivalent relationship took a turn for the worse again at Croatia's 1998 FIFA World Cup semi-final match against France when Blažević did not let twenty-nine-year-old Prosinečki enter the contest until the 89th minute with Croatia down 1–2 after leading at the start of the second half and being tied until the 70th minute. Many sports journalists and supporters have claimed that Croatia would have reached the final had Prosinečki been given meaningful playing time in the match. Blažević has since claimed that Prosinečki "feigned picking up an injury" during training the day before the match.[43] Prosinečki commented on the match in 2014 by saying: "We are on good terms today, I appreciate him [Blažević] because he is unique. A man like him is born once in a lifetime, that's for sure. He has his flaws just like we all have, but he has his virtues too. For some reason, he always had problems with me. Had I played the match against France for at least half an hour I believe I would have, at the very least, been able to do something [positive]. Maybe we could have been champions, I don't know! I'm not angry, that would not be an accurate description of my feelings [on this]. Let's just say that I think of it as his mistake that he has to deal with.

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he also had some work as an actor in the balkans

having starred in normal length film, two docu films, 1 short film, 1 tv movie




his career honours

as a player
Lokomotiva Zagreb

Yugoslav Second League: 1955–56
Sarajevo

Yugoslav Second League: 1957–58
Sion

Swiss Cup: 1965


as a manager
Vevey

1. Liga: 1969–70
Sion

Swiss Cup: 1974
Dinamo Zagreb

Yugoslav First League: 1981–82
Yugoslav Cup: 1982–83
Prva HNL: 1992–93, 2002–03
Croatian Cup: 1993–94
Croatian Super Cup: 2002
Grasshopper

Swiss Super League: 1983–84
Hajduk Split

Croatian Super Cup: 2005
Sloboda Tuzla

First League of FBiH: 2013–14
Croatia

FIFA World Cup third place: 1998
Individual
Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 1998 (two awards), 2007
Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year: 2009

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he received two national orders

Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar (1995)
Order of Duke Branimir with Necklace (1998)

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