Slaven Zambata facts for kids
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 24 September 1940 | ||
| Place of birth | Sinj, Banovina of Croatia, Kingdom of Yugoslavia | ||
| Date of death | 29 October 2020 (aged 80) | ||
| Place of death | Zagreb, Croatia | ||
| Playing position | Forward | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Junak Sinj | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1958–1959 | Junak Sinj | ||
| 1959–1969 | Dinamo Zagreb | 171 | (92) |
| 1969–1971 | Waregem | 34 | (16) |
| 1971–1972 | Crossing Club | 23 | (3) |
| 1972–1973 | Dinamo Zagreb | 3 | (0) |
| 1973 | WSG Radenthein | ||
| Total | 231 | (111) | |
| National team | |||
| 1963 | Yugoslavia U21 | 2 | (2) |
| 1962–1968 | Yugoslavia | 31 | (21) |
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Slaven Zambata (born September 24, 1940 – died October 29, 2020) was a fantastic Croatian football player. He was best known for his amazing time playing as a forward for Dinamo Zagreb in the 1960s. He played in 171 matches for them in the Yugoslav First League. Slaven also played for the Yugoslav national team, scoring 21 goals in 31 games!
Contents
Slaven's Football Journey
Starting His Club Career
Slaven Zambata began his football journey at his hometown club, Junak Sinj. In 1959, when he was eighteen, he joined the famous Croatian team, Dinamo Zagreb. He stayed with Dinamo for ten years, until 1969.
During his time at Dinamo, Slaven played in a total of 393 games. He scored an incredible 267 goals! This included 93 goals in the Yugoslav First League.
Winning Trophies with Dinamo
Slaven was a key player for Dinamo Zagreb. He helped them win the Yugoslav Cup four times. These victories happened in 1960, 1963, 1965, and 1969.
He also led his team as captain to a huge victory in the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. This was a very important European competition. Slaven scored six goals during that winning campaign. Dinamo also reached the Cup final two other times, in 1964 and 1966. They were also runners-up in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in 1963.
Later Years and Retirement
After leaving Dinamo in 1969, Slaven played for a few seasons in Belgium. He played for clubs like KSV Waregem and Crossing Club. He briefly returned to Dinamo Zagreb in 1972.
Slaven stopped playing football in 1973. This was due to some serious injuries. He had surgery on both of his knees before he retired.
Slaven's Goal-Scoring Records
As of 2009, Slaven Zambata was the 8th highest goal-scorer in Dinamo's history. He was also one of only two players to score a hat-trick (three goals in one game) in a Yugoslav Cup final. He achieved this against Hajduk Split on May 26, 1963.
Even though Dinamo never won the Yugoslav championship during his time, they finished as runners-up five times. This shows how successful the team was during the 1960s with Slaven Zambata.
Playing for His Country
Representing Yugoslavia
Slaven Zambata was seen as one of the best forwards in Yugoslavia during the 1960s. He played two games and scored two goals for the Yugoslavia U-21 team.
He made his debut for the main Yugoslavia national team on September 16, 1962. This was in a friendly match against East Germany.
Captaining the Olympic Team
Overall, Slaven played 31 games for Yugoslavia and scored 21 goals. During his international career, he was the captain for Yugoslavia at the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo. His team finished sixth out of 16 teams in that tournament. His last international game was on October 27, 1968, against Spain.
Achievements
- Yugoslav Football Cup: 1960, 1963, 1965, 1969
- Inter-Cities Fairs Cup: 1966–67
