Yugoslavia national football team

Yugoslavia

Nickname(s)	Plavi ("Blues") Brazilians of Europe[1]
Association	Football Association of Yugoslavia
Most caps	Dragan Džajić (85)
Top scorer	Stjepan Bobek (38)
Home stadium	Stadion FK Crvena Zvezda
First colours Second colours
First international
Czechoslovakia 7 - 0 Yugoslavia (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920) After 1945  Czechoslovakia 0 - 2 Yugoslavia (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 9 May 1945.) Last International as SFR Yugoslavia[2]  Netherlands 2 - 0 Yugoslavia (Amsterdam, Netherlands; 25 March 1991)
Biggest win
Yugoslavia 10 - 0 Venezuela (Curitiba, Brasil; 14 June 1972)
Biggest defeat
Czechoslovakia 7 - 0 KSC&S (Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920)  Uruguay 7 - 0 KSC&S (Paris, France; 26 May 1924)  Czechoslovakia 7 - 0 KSC&S (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 28 October 1925)
World Cup
Appearances	8[2] (First in 1930)
Best result	Third Place, 1930, Fourth place, 1962
European Championship
Appearances	4[2] (First in 1960)
Best result	Runners-up, 1960 and 1968

The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1943) and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1946–1991) in association football. It enjoyed success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international competition as part of a United Nations sanction. In 1994, when the boycott was lifted, it was succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia national football team.

Serbia national football team inherited Yugoslavia spot within FIFA and UEFA and it is considered by both organisations as the only successor of Yugoslavia.^[3][4][5]

History [edit]

Kingdom of Yugoslavia original home colours.

The first national team was in the kingdom that existed between the two world wars. The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslovenski nogometni savez (and admitted into FIFA), and the national team played its first international game at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The opponent was Czechoslovakia, and the historic starting eleven that represented Kingdom of SCS on its debut were: Dragutin Vrđuka, Vjekoslav Župančić, Jaroslav Šifer, Stanko Tavčar, Slavin Cindrić, Rudolf Rupec, Dragutin Vragović, Artur Dubravčić, Emil Perška, Ivan Granec, and Jovan Ružić. They lost by a huge margin 0-7, but nonetheless got their names in the history books.

1930 World Cup [edit]

In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the football association became Fudbalski Savez Jugoslavije and moved its headquarters to Belgrade. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in third place. In its first ever World Cup match in Montevideo's Parque Central, Yugoslavia managed a famous 2-1 win versus mighty Brazil, with the following starting eleven representing the country: Milovan Jakšić, Branislav Sekulić, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milutin Ivković, Ivica Bek, Momčilo Đokić, Blagoje Marjanović, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Dragoslav Mihajlović, and Ljubiša Stefanović. The national team consisted of players based in Serbian football clubs, while the Zagreb Subassociation forbitten players from Croatian clubs to play in the World Cup due to the relocation of football association's headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade.^[6]

Silver Medal at 1948 Summer Olympics [edit]

Yugoslavia were runner-ups at the 1948 Summer Olympics in football.

Silver Medal at 1952 Summer Olympics [edit]

Having a team with many players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished as runner-ups behind the legendary Hungary national football team. Against the USSR, Yugoslavia was 5–1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go. The Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the match referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle (London, 1963): "The USSR forced the most honourable draw ever recorded! [Vsevolod] Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick. After the USSR had reduced the lead to 5–2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5–5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified." Although Bobrov's early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half. The Soviet side had been expected by Moscow to win the 1952 Games, and their defeat by Yugoslavia was not mentioned in the Soviet press until after Joseph Stalin's death the following year.

Later decades [edit]

The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II. After the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted. It was one of the founding members of the UEFA and it organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade and Zagreb. The national team participated in eight World Cups, four Euros, and won the Olympic football tournament in 1960 at the Summer Games (they also finished second three times and third once).

Dragan Džajić holds the record for the most national team caps at 85, between 1964 to 1979. The best scorer is Stjepan Bobek with 38 goals, between 1946 and 1956.

Dissolution and UN embargo [edit]

With the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end Communist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened. At the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags (owing to its resemblance to the Croatian tricolour). With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the team split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was banned from competing at Euro 92. The decision was made on 31 May 1992 - just 10 days before the competition commenced.^[7]

They had finished top of their qualifying group, but were unable to play in the competition due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Their place was taken by Denmark, who went on to win the competition. Yugoslavia had also been drawn as the top seed in Group 5 of the European Zone in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. FRY was barred from competing, rendering the group unusually weak.

Breakup [edit]

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the FRY consisted of Montenegro and Serbia. The national team of Serbia and Montenegro continued under the name Yugoslavia until 2003, when country and team were renamed Serbia and Montenegro. For the later official football teams, see:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
• Croatia national football team
• Slovenia national football team
• Republic of Macedonia national football team
• Serbia and Montenegro national football team, later
  • Serbia national football team
  • Montenegro national football team

Youth teams [edit]

The under-21 team won the inaugural UEFA U-21 Championship in 1978.

The Yugoslav under-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship 1987.

Kit History [edit]

1930

1950-1962

1974

1982

1984

1990

1994

1998

Competitive record [edit]

World Cup record [edit]

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930	Semi-finals*	3**	3	2	0	1	7	7
1934	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1938	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1950	Round 1	5	3	2	0	1	7	3
1954	Quarter-finals	7	3	1	1	1	2	3
1958	Quarter-finals	5	4	1	2	1	7	7
1962	Semi-finals	4	6	3	0	3	10	7
1966	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1970	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1974	2nd Group Stage	7	6	1	2	3	12	7
1978	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1982	Round 1	16	3	1	1	1	2	2
1986	Did Not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1990	Quarter-Finals	5	5	3	1	1	8	6
Total	8/14	2 x 4th	33	14	7	12	55	42

European Championship record [edit]

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1960	Final	2	1	0	1	6	6
1964	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1968	Final	3	1	1	1	2	3
1972	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1976	Fourth Place	2	0	0	2	4	7
1980	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1984	Round 1	3	0	0	3	2	10
1988	Did not Qualify	-	-	-	-	-	-
1992	Qualified****
Total	4/9	10	2	1	7	14	26

*It was not third place playoff, but Yugoslavia has been awarded one bronze medal^[8][9]

**Denotes draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

***Gold background color indicates that the tournament was won. Red border color indicates tournament was held on home soil.

****Qualified, but disqualified because of United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 during Yugoslav wars.  Denmark entered the competition instead (and won).

Notable players (at least 15 caps) [edit]

Most capped players [edit]

Head to head records [edit]

Opponent	P	W	D	L	%W	%D	%L
Argentina	6	2	1	3	33.33	16.67	50.00
Bulgaria	28	17	5	6	60.71	17.85	21.43
Brazil	14	2	6	6	14.28	42.86	42.86
Czechoslovakia	31	9	4	18	29.03	12.90	58.06
England	14	4	5	5	28.57	35.71	35.71
France	25	10	7	8	40.00	28.00	32.00
Germany	25	8	3	14	32.00	12.00	56.00
Greece	21	16	3	2	76.19	14.28	9.52
Italy	12	1	4	7	8.33	33.33	58.33
South Korea	3	3	0	0	100.00	00.00	00.00
Portugal	5	2	0	3	40.00	00.00	60.00
Romania	40	17	5	18	42.50	12.50	45.00
Soviet Union	17	2	4	11	11.76	23.53	64.71
Spain	16	5	4	7	31.25	25.00	43.75
Sweden	11	5	2	4	45.45	18.18	36.36
United Arab Emirates	1	1	0	0	100.00	0.00	0.00

Home venues record [edit]

This section requires expansion. (July 2012)

Head coaches [edit]

Head coach	Period	Record
		Matches	Won	Drawn	Lost
Ivica Osim	1986–1992	51	27	10	14
Ivan Toplak Ivica Osim	1986	3	1	1	1
Miloš Milutinović	1984–1985	15	7	3	5
Todor Veselinović	1982–1984	18	9	3	6
Miljan Miljanić	1979–1982	22	18	2	2
Dražen Jerković	1978	1	1	0	0
Ante Mladinić	1978	2	0	0	2
Slavko Luštica	1978	0	0	0	0
Stevan Vilotić	1978	2	0	2	0
Marko Valok Stevan Vilotić Gojko Zec	1977	6	1	2	3
Ivan Toplak	1976–1977	8	2	0	6
Ante Mladinić	1974–1976	15	9	2	4
Miljan Miljanić Milan Ribar Sulejman Rebac Tomislav Ivić Milovan Ćirić	1973–1974	11	3	3	5
Vujadin Boškov	1971–1973	27	10	12	5
Rajko Mitić	1967–1970	34	13	10	11
Aleksandar Tirnanić Miljan Miljanić Rajko Mitić Vujadin Boškov Branko Stanković	1966	4	2	0	2
Aleksandar Tirnanić Miljan Miljanić	1966	2	0	1	1
Aleksandar Tirnanić Milan Antolković Miljan Miljanić	1966	3	1	0	2
Aleksandar Tirnanić Milan Antolković Miljan Miljanić Abdulah Gegić	1965	7	2	3	2
Ljubomir Lovrić	1964	11	3	1	7
Ljubomir Lovrić Hugo Ruševljanin	1963–1964	7	5	0	2
Ljubomir Lovrić Prvoslav Mihajlović Hugo Ruševljanin	1961–1963	22	15	2	5
Dragomir Nikolić Aleksandar Tirnanić Ljubomir Lovrić	1959–1961	29	16	8	5
Aleksandar Tirnanić	1955–1958	34	13	11	10
Branko Pešić Aleksandar Tirnanić Leo Lemešić Franjo Wölfl Milovan Ćirić	1954	9	5	2	2
Milorad Arsenijević Aleksandar Tirnanić Leo Lemešić	1952–1954	18	14	2	2
Milorad Arsenijević	1949–1952	23	15	3	5
Milorad Arsenijević Aleksandar Tirnanić	1946–1948	18	12	1	5
Svetozar Popović	1940–1941	3	1	2	0
Boško Simonović	1939–1940	4	1	1	2
Svetozar Popović	1939	1	0	0	1
Boško Simonović	1939	4	1	0	3
Svetozar Popović	1937–1938	13	4	5	4
Nikola Simić	1936	4	1	1	2
Boško Simonović	1935	5	3	2	0
Ivo Šuste Mata Miodragović Petar Pleše	1934–1935	6	3	0	3
Boško Simonović	1933–1934	6	3	1	2
Branislav Veljković	1933	6	3	1	2
Boško Simonović	1930–1932	24	12	1	11
Ante Pandaković	1926–1930	19	7	2	10
Dušan Zinaja	1924–1925	3	0	0	3
Todor Sekulić	1924	1	0	0	1
Veljko Ugrinić	1920–1924	10	3	1	6

See also [edit]

Related articles

• List of Yugoslavia international footballers
• List of Yugoslavia national football team goalscorers
• Yugoslavia national football team games
• Yugoslavia national under-21 football team
• Yugoslavia national under-20 football team

Successor teams

• Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
• Croatia national football team
• Macedonia national football team
• Montenegro national football team
• Serbia national football team
• Slovenia national football team

Footnotes [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Yugoslavia national football team

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