Velimir Sombolac facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Velimir Sombolac | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 February 1939 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Banja Luka, Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 22 May 2016 (aged 77) | |||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina | |||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defender | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1955–1957 | BSK Banja Luka | |||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||
| 1957–1959 | Borac Banja Luka | |||||||||||||||
| 1959–1965 | Partizan | 102 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1965–1970 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 70 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1970–1971 | Orijent Rijeka | |||||||||||||||
| 1971–1973 | Borac Banja Luka | |||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||
| 1958–1959 | Yugoslavia U21 | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1960 | Yugoslavia Olympic | 2 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1960 | Yugoslavia | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| Teams managed | ||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Sloga Gornji Pogradci | |||||||||||||||
| 1974–1976 | Borac Banja Luka (assistant) | |||||||||||||||
| 1976–1979 | Kozara Gradiška | |||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | Republika Srpska | |||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Velimir Sombolac (born February 27, 1939 – died May 22, 2016) was a famous Serbian footballer and coach. He was a key player for the Yugoslav team that won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
Contents
Playing Football: Velimir Sombolac's Career
Club Teams: From Youth to Professional Play
Velimir Sombolac started his football journey in his hometown club, FK BSK Banja Luka. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Petar. With his youth team, they surprisingly finished third in the Yugoslav national youth championship.
After this success, BSK coach Aco Mastala moved to the city's main club, FK Borac Banja Luka. He brought some of his best players with him, including Velimir Sombolac. Velimir's great performances at Borac quickly got noticed. He started playing for the Yugoslav under-21 team.
Two seasons later, Velimir received an invitation to join one of Yugoslavia's biggest clubs, FK Partizan in Belgrade. There, he played alongside football stars like Milutin Šoškić, Milan Galić, and Fahrudin Jusufi. He spent six seasons with Partizan, playing 260 matches. During his time there, his team won the national championship four times!
In 1965, Velimir moved to NK Olimpija Ljubljana. He played for them until 1970. With players like Mišo Smajlović and Šoškić, they made Olimpija one of the most exciting teams in the Yugoslav First League.
In 1970, instead of moving to a foreign country like many other Yugoslav players his age, he joined NK Orijent Rijeka. This team was in the Second League. He played there for one season. After that, he returned to FK Borac Banja Luka, where he finished his playing career in 1973.
International Games: Representing Yugoslavia
Before joining the main national team, Velimir played ten matches for the Yugoslav U-21 team. He also played five games for the national "B" team.
His biggest international achievement was being part of the Olympic team. This team represented Yugoslavia at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Yugoslavia won the gold medal in football at these games! They beat hosts Italy in the semi-finals. Then, they won against Denmark with a score of 3–1 in the final. Sombolac played five matches for the Yugoslavia national football team. His last game was an Olympic match against Italy in September 1960.
Coaching Career: From Player to Mentor
Right after he stopped playing in 1973, Velimir Sombolac started his coaching career. He took charge of a small local club called FK Sloga Gornji Pogradci. This experience was very important for him.
In 1974, he returned to FK Borac Banja Luka as an assistant manager. He held this role until 1976. During these years, Borac reached a Yugoslav Cup final. They also played in the European Cup Winners Cup and moved up to the Yugoslav First League.
After that, he became the main manager of FK Kozara Gradiška. He stayed there for three seasons. Velimir then discovered his true passion: working with young players.
After Yugoslavia broke up, he worked for the Football Association of Republika Srpska. He helped create and develop all the youth football teams there. From 1998 to 2001, he was the head coach of the Republika Srpska official football team.
Achievements and Awards
Club Success
- Partizan
- Yugoslav First League (4):
- 1960–61
- 1961–62
- 1962–63
- 1964–65
National Team Success
- Yugoslavia
- 1960 Summer Olympics: Gold medal
