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Vladimir Beara
Vladimir Beara 1953.jpg
Beara in 1953
Personal information
Date of birth (1928-08-26)26 August 1928
Place of birth Zelovo Sutinsko, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Date of death 11 August 2014(2014-08-11) (aged 85)
Place of death Split, Croatia
Height 1.84 m
Playing position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1947–1955 Hajduk Split 136 (0)
1955–1960 Red Star Belgrade 83 (0)
1960–1963 Alemannia Aachen 23 (0)
1963–1964 Viktoria Köln 23 (0)
Total 265 (0)
National team
1950–1959 Yugoslavia 59 (0)
Teams managed
1964–1966 Freiburger FC
1966–1967 Sittardia
1967–1968 Rijeka
1969–1970 SC Fortuna Köln
1970–1972 Hajduk Split (assistant coach)
Osijek
Troglav Livno
1973–1975 Cameroon
Dinara Knin
Bregalnica Štip
1979 First Vienna FC
1980–1981 RNK Split
1986–1987 BŠK Zmaj Blato
Honours
Men's Football
Representing  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Silver 1952 Helsinki Team
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Vladimir Beara (born August 26, 1928 – died August 11, 2014) was a famous Yugoslavian football goalkeeper and manager. He played most of his career for Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade. Many people thought he was one of the best goalkeepers of his time.

Early Life and Background

Vladimir Beara was born in a village called Zelovo Sutinsko, near Sinj in what is now Croatia. His parents were Jakov and Marija. He had two brothers, Ljubo and Sveto.

Playing for Clubs

Hajduk Split Success (1946–1955)

Beara played 308 games for Hajduk Split. He helped his team win the Yugoslav League title three times. They won in 1950, 1952, and 1955.

Moving to Red Star Belgrade (1955–1960)

In 1955, Beara moved to Belgrade to play for Red Star. He continued to win many titles there. With Red Star, he won the Yugoslav league four more times. These wins were in 1956, 1957, 1959, and 1960. He also won the Yugoslav Cup twice, in 1958 and 1959.

Beara was the goalkeeper for Red Star in a famous match against Manchester United. This was the last game United played before the sad Munich Air Disaster.

A Great Goalkeeper's Praise

In 1963, a very famous Soviet goalkeeper named Lev Yashin said something amazing. He believed that Vladimir Beara, not himself, was the greatest goalkeeper ever. This shows how highly Beara was regarded.

Later Career in Germany (1960–1964)

Beara finished his playing career in Germany. He played for Alemannia Aachen from 1960 to 1962. After that, he played for Viktoria Köln from 1963 to 1964.

Playing for His Country

Yugoslavia National Team (1950–1960)

Vladimir Beara played 59 games for the Yugoslavia national team. This was between 1950 and 1960. He became very well-known for his incredible saves. One of his most famous performances was against England at Highbury Stadium.

"Vladimir the Great"

Because of his amazing skills, people often called him by the nickname Vladimir Veliki. This means "Vladimir the Great."

Olympic and World Cup Appearances

Beara played in the 1952 Summer Olympic Games. His team reached the final against Hungary and won a silver medal. He also played for Yugoslavia in three World Cups: in 1950, 1954, and 1958.

In 1953, Beara was chosen for a special team called the FIFA World-Stars XI. This team played an exhibition game against England. The match ended in a 4–4 tie, and Beara only let in one goal.

Coaching Career

Becoming a Coach

In 1967, Beara finished a coaching course in Germany. He then became a coach for many clubs. He coached teams in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, and Yugoslavia. He also coached the national team of Cameroon.

Coaching Achievements

A big moment in his coaching career was winning the Yugoslav national championship with Hajduk Split in 1971. He was an assistant coach at the time. This was Hajduk's first championship win since Beara left as a player in 1955. He also won the African Cup Winners' Cup with Tonnerre Yaoundé in 1975.

Later Life and Passing

Vladimir Beara passed away on August 11, 2014, in Split, Croatia. He was buried in the Lovrinac Cemetery.

How He Played

Beara was a very athletic and confident goalkeeper. He had a unique and effective style of playing. He was excellent at catching the ball firmly and was very brave. He was great at stopping shots and also good at coming out from his goal line to challenge attackers. People nicknamed him The ballet dancer with the hands of steel. This was because he combined graceful movements with strong goalkeeping skills.

Awards and Trophies

Hajduk Split

Red Star Belgrade

  • Yugoslav First League:1955–56, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60
  • Yugoslav Football Cup: 1957–58, 1958–59

Yugoslavia

Sources

  • Player profile on Serbian National Team page
  • Nogometni leksikon (2004)
  • Vladimir BearaFIFA competition recordLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 22: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
  • Meet Yugoslavia's ballerina Beara, once the best keeper in the world, guardian.co.uk

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Vladimir Beara para niños

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