| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ivan Golac[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1950-06-15)15 June 1950 (age 74) | ||
| Place of birth | Koprivnica,PR Croatia,FPR Yugoslavia | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | ||
| Position(s) | Right-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1962–1968 | Partizan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1968–1978 | Partizan | 120 | (3) |
| 1978–1983 | Southampton | 144 | (4) |
| 1982 | →Bournemouth (loan) | 9 | (0) |
| 1983 | →Manchester City (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 1983–1984 | Belasica | 1 | (0) |
| 1984–1986 | Southampton | 24 | (0) |
| 1985 | →Portsmouth (loan) | 8 | (0) |
| Total | 308 | (7) | |
| International career | |||
| 1976 | Yugoslavia | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1989–1990 | Partizan | ||
| 1992 | Torquay United | ||
| 1993–1995 | Dundee United | ||
| 1997 | ÍA Akranes | ||
| 1999 | Sartid Smederevo | ||
| 2002–2003 | Karpaty Lviv | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Ivan Golac (Serbian Cyrillic:Иван Голац,pronounced[ǐvangô:lats]; born 15 June 1950) is a Serbian and Yugoslav[2] former professionalfootball player and manager.
AYugoslav internationalright-back, he is best known as a player and manager ofFK Partizan, ofBelgrade. In England he is remembered as one ofSouthampton's first foreign imports and as aScottish Cup-winning manager withDundee United.
Golac was born inKoprivnica inPR Croatia, then part ofFPR Yugoslavia, toCroat parents Ivan, who was a soldier inPresidentTito's guard, and Marija, both of whom hail fromLič inGorski Kotar.[3][2] He moved toBelgrade where he joined the youth section ofFK Partizan aged 12 and eventually graduated to the first team. He made over 350 appearances for the club and wonLeague championship medals in 1976 and 1978. During this era, he also made his debut for the national team, but that match againstAlgeria in 1976 proved to be his only one at international level.[4][5]
"The Yugoslavian League was one of the best in the world; every game was really tough. It was a kind of war because there was a lot of talent and ambition. We had a very good crowd for all the games and more or less all the clubs, especially Partizan Belgrade, Red Star Belgrade and Dinamo Zagreb. You could put them among the ten biggest derbies in the world ... we would play in front of crowds of 90–100,000"[6]
The year of 1978 would prove to be a watershed in Golac's career. He had reached the age of 28, when Yugoslavia'sCommunist authorities would allow players to move abroad;[7] it was also the year in whichEnglish football's restrictions on foreign players were lifted.
Golac was transferred toSouthampton in August 1978 for a fee of £50,000, initially on a non-contract basis until problems obtaining a work permit were resolved, before signing a permanent contract in September.[3] He made hisFootball League debut for them on 22 August 1978 againstBolton Wanderers, and he went on to play 144 League games in his first spell with the club.[8]
He immediately became the established right-back, rarely missing a game over the next four seasons.The Dell crowd soon warmed to his "swashbuckling, surging style along the touchline" and he was voted the "Saints" Player of the Year in 1981 although, according to managerLawrie McMenemy he had a tendency to "go missing" in away matches.[3]
The relationship turned sour in 1982 when a contract dispute between player and club led to Golac going out on loan toAFC Bournemouth in November 1982 andManchester City in March 1983, before his contract with Southampton was terminated.[3] After a brief spell back in Yugoslavia with minor level clubFK Belasica he returned to Southampton in March 1984, helping the Saints finish as runners-up toLiverpool in theFootball League.[9] The following season, he lost his place toMark Dennis and after another period on loan, this time atPortsmouth,[4] Golac retired in 1986, having played 197 games for Southampton, scoring four goals.[3]
Writing in theSouthern Daily Echo in April 2003, McMenemy said:
"He was a terrific professional who trained well and loved 5-a-sides particularly in the small gym at The Dell where even the best players took time to get acclimatized to the speed of the action."[3]
Of his time with Southampton, Golac said:
"Beautiful football, beautiful supporters and beautiful days. From day one, from the very first kick, I could sense a connection with the crowd. They were terrific."[10]
"There was fire on the park – The Dell was always in flames and a lot of the opponents from London, Manchester and Liverpool just couldn't stand the heat."[10]
Following the end of his playing days, Golac turned to coaching, where his laid-back, positive style led to further successes. Returning to Partizan, he became assistant to managerMomčilo Vukotić in 1989 and helped the club toYugoslav Cup success that year.
The following September, Golac had an extraordinary debut in management when Vukotić was taken ill on the eve of aCup Winners' Cupfirst round tie againstCeltic inGlasgow, with Partizan leading 2–1 from the first leg. An astonishing match saw Golac's team progress on away goals after a 5–4 victory for Celtic.[7] Golac remained in charge at Partizan for the rest of the season before parting company with the club.
He still had a home inHampshire, and returned to Britain in search of work. After being unsuccessfully shortlisted for the manager's job at old adversaries Celtic, he had a brief spell in charge ofTorquay United during 1992. Then, in July 1993, he was announced as the surprise choice to succeed legendaryDundee United managerJim McLean.[7]
The Scottish sporting media quickly latched on to Golac, whosehippyish public image – he took United players to "smell the flowers" inCamperdown Park during training sessions,[11] and claimed to have learnedEnglish from listening toRolling Stones records – was in pointed contrast to the austere reputation of his predecessor, McLean. Against the odds, Golac's confident approach led underdogs United to Scottish Cup success[12] at the end of his first season in charge, defeating hot favouritesRangers 1–0 in the final. It was the first time Dundee United had won the trophy, having lost in the final six times under McLean.[11]
Despite the Cup triumph, poorLeague form and the fraught relationship between Golac and McLean (who remained club chairman) led to his departure from the club less than a year later. Since then, he has held several managerial posts around Europe without recording any significant achievements, having been in charge atÍA Akranes[13] from Iceland in 1997,Sartid Smederevo in Serbia andKarpaty Lviv in Ukraine.[11] In January 1994, he had been linked with Southampton for a possible return as manager following the departure ofIan Branfoot, but the job went toAlan Ball instead.[14]
Outside of football, Golac also had a spell running a chocolate factory in Belgrade.[12] He is married to Bratislava, with daughters Andrijana and Ivana, and they have homes in Belgrade and Vienna.[10]
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Partizan
Southampton
Dundee United
