Miroslav "Meho" Brozović (26 August 1917 – 5 October 2006) was a Bosnian Croat professional footballer and football manager who played international football for the Yugoslavia national team, as well as the national team fielded by the Independent State of Croatia during World War II. He played as a defender.[2]

Miroslav Brozović
Brozović (left) at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Miroslav Brozović
Date of birth (1917-08-26)26 August 1917[1]
Place of birth Mostar, Austria-Hungary[1]
Date of death 5 October 2006(2006-10-05) (aged 89)[1]
Place of death Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina[1]
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1933–1934 JŠK Mostar
1934–1935 Zrinjski Mostar
1935–1945 Građanski Zagreb 131 (17)
1946–1948 Partizan 36 (2)
1948–1953 Sarajevo 55 (2)
International career
1940 Yugoslavia 2 (0)
1941–1944 Independent State of Croatia 15 (0)
1940–1948 Yugoslavia 17 (0)
Managerial career
1948–1952 Sarajevo
1954–1956 Sarajevo
1956–1958 Željezničar
1959–1961 Sarajevo
1966–1967 Sarajevo
1969–1970 Sarajevo
Medal record
Representing  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 1948 London Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Brozović began his career with local sides JŠK and Zrinjski Mostar before moving to Građanski Zagreb in 1935. With Građanski, he won the Yugoslav First League in seasons 1936–37 and 1939–40 and Yugoslav Cup in 1938 and 1940.

The Communist authorities disbanded Građanski Zagreb, forcing Brozović to move to the newly formed army club Partizan, with whom he won the league title in the 1946–47 season. He also won the Yugoslav Cup in 1947.

From 1948 to 1953, Brozović played for Sarajevo. In the 1948–49 season, he as a player-manager, won the Yugoslav Second League with Sarajevo. He became a club legend at the club. He ended his playing career at Sarajevo in 1953.

International career

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Brozović debuted for the Yugoslavia national team in 1940. However, with the establishment of the Independent State of Croatia in 1941, he began playing for the Croatia national team. He suited up for Croatia 17 times during the war before communist Yugoslavia came into existence after the war. [citation needed]

Brozović won a silver medal for Yugoslavia in football at the 1948 Summer Olympics.[3] He played four matches and scored no goals.[1]

His final international for Yugoslavia was an August 1948 Balkan Cup match against Poland.[4]

Managerial career

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Brozović started managing Sarajevo in 1948 as a player-manager. He won the Yugoslav Second League in the 1948–49 season. After ending his playing career in 1953, he became a full-time manager. Brozović left Sarajevo in 1956, and was immediately named manager of Sarajevo's fierce city rival Željezničar. Brozović promoted the club to the Yugoslav First League in 1957. He managed Željezničar until 1958.

In 1959, Brozović once again became the manager of Sarajevo. He stayed at the club until 1961. Five years later, in 1966, for the fourth time in his career, Brozović became the manager of Sarajevo. As manager, he won the club's historic, first ever Yugoslav First League title in the 1966–67 season. After the end of the season, he left Sarajevo in the summer of 1967. He would return to Sarajevo once again and manage the club from 1969 to 1970.

Death

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Brozović died in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2006, at the age of 89.

Honours

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Player

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Građanski Zagreb

Partizan

Sarajevo

Yugoslavia

Manager

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Sarajevo

Željezničar

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Miroslav Brozović. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ Brozović, Miroslav. national-football-teams.com
  3. ^ "Miroslav Brozović". Olympedia. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
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