Branko Zebec

Branko Zebec a adăugat o fotografie

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R.I.P
Branko

Branislav "Branko" Zebec (17 May 1929 – 26 September 1988) was a Croatian footballer and manager who played for Yugoslavia. In his heyday, Zebec fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan he won 3 Yugoslav Cups (1952, 1954, 1957). With Red Star Belgrade he won the national championship in 1960. As coach he led Hajduk Split, Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV to success. A highly versatile player noted for his physical abilities and understanding of the game, Zebec was world-class whether on the left wing or in the more defensive role of left fullback, although he was capable of playing almost every outfield position on the pitch. He was particularly well known for his pace, having been able to run 100 meters in 11 seconds with football boots.

Branko Zebec a adăugat o fotografie

ieri

R.I.P
Branko

Playing career In his youth days Zebec played for a number of teams in his hometown: Građanski Zagreb, Poštar Zagreb, Lokomotiva Zagreb and Borac Zagreb. In 1951 he had the call from Partizan, one of the capital city teams dominating Yugoslav football. His quality and speed soon secured him a place on the left wing of the team, and almost as soon with the national team, in which he would feature 65 times, scoring 17 goals. In 1952 he won his first title, the national cup. In the same year, the Summer Olympics in Helsinki provided a great international stage for him. Yugoslavia had to settle for the silver medal, because this tournament was also the birthplace of the Hungarian miracle team of the 1950s. With seven goals Zebec was to secure for himself the honour of top scorer of the event. At the club level, his successful career continued. 1954 saw Partizan finishing second in the championship and again winning the cup. Zebec secured an invitation for the 1954 FIFA World Cup in Switzerland. There Yugoslavia overcame the group stage with a win against France and a draw against Brazil thanks to a goal by Zebec. In the quarterfinals,…Citește mai mult

Branko Zebec a lăsat un gând

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Coaching career Branko Zebec got his first coaching assignment soon after he finished playing. In 1965 he became joint coach of the Yugoslav first division side Dinamo in his hometown Zagreb. He held the office together with Ivica Horvat, who later too would enjoy success in Germany. The team was to qualify for the Inter Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor of the UEFA Cup. Initially, things were not looking promising in this campaign. The aggregate result in the first round encounters with Czech side Spartak Brno was 2–2, and only the toss of a coin saw Dinamo advancing. After Dunfermline and Dinamo Piteşti were eliminated, Juventus were their opponents in the quarterfinals, but were overcome 2–2 and 3–0. In the semifinals Dinamo managed one of the great comebacks in the history of European competitions. After a 0–3 defeat in Frankfurt against Eintracht Dinamo outclassed the Germans in Zagreb 4–0. In the finals the club had to face Leeds United then with Peter Lorimer and Billy Bremner in the team. The home leg was won 2–0, thus a nil-all draw in England was sufficient.

Branko Zebec a lăsat un gând

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Bayern Munich This was an opportunity for Zebec to grab attention beyond the Yugoslav borders and in 1968 he was hired by Bayern Munich to follow in the footstep of his compatriot "Czik" Čajkovski, himself a former Dinamo player and a teammate of Zebec in the days of the 1952 Olympics and 1954 FIFA World Cup. The team around the young Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller had won two national cups and the European Cup Winners' Cup. He curbed the offensive style of the team and reinforced the defence. In his first season, Zebec won with them the German championship, the club's first in 37 years. To boot, the team also won the cup, and thus also achieved the first double in the history of the German Bundesliga. The next season began with problems. Bayern was ousted in the first round of the European Cup of Champions at the hands of AS Saint-Etienne. Already early in the season Zebec announced that he would not extend his contract at the end of the year. As Bayern experienced a spell of three matches with only one point mid-way through the second half of the season and fell back five points behind the…Citește mai mult

Branko Zebec a lăsat un gând

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Return to Germany: Eintracht Braunschweig Eintracht Braunschweig, in 1967 still champions of Germany, were relegated in 1973 – the year they pioneered advertising on jerseys – but returned to the Bundesliga inside a year. The club, which then had a liquor manufacturer on a spending spree as main sponsor, engaged Zebec in search of better times. Zebec hired two fellow Yugoslavs, the entertaining right winger Danilo Popivoda and midfielder Aleksandar Ristić. Coupled with national team goalkeeper Bernd Franke and other notable players this side played refreshing quality football and often featured right on top of the table. Inside three years Eintracht worked itself up from 9th to 3rd, then just missing out on the championship by one point. In his fourth and last year with the club the 1974 FIFA World Cup winner Paul Breitner joined the team coming from Real Madrid. Even thus reinforced, the team could not maintain the trend and finished a disappointing 13th. By then Zebec's efforts had been successful enough to attract interest elsewhere.

Branko Zebec a lăsat un gând

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Hamburger SV and after The European Cup Winners' Cup winner from 1977 was ambitious and longed for its first championship since 1960 but ended up only 10th in the 77/78 season. Zebec was the right man for the job. In his first season, he formed a competitive unit around wing back Manfred Kaltz, striker Horst Hrubesch. Most important was that he facilitated the integration of "Mighty Mouse" Kevin Keegan who failed to convince in his first season. By the end of Zebec's first year at the helm, Hamburg were champions and Keegan their most prolific striker. A year later the team progressed all the way into the European Cup final to face Nottingham Forest. A lacklustre Hamburg lost 0–1. Zebec and his coaching methods were widely blamed. Zebec, besides being a strict disciplinarian, believed that when a team plays successfully it can take more training. As it was, the players complained about the harsh training at that late stage of the season, and critics said that it was the reason why Hamburg inside four days of the final also lost a decisive match which consigned them to runners-up in the league. At the beginning of his third season with Hamburg…Citește mai mult