| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1942-04-09)9 April 1942 | ||
| Place of birth | Šibenik,Kingdom of Italy | ||
| Date of death | 19 March 2023(2023-03-19) (aged 80) | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Šibenik | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1963 | Šibenik | 65 | (30) |
| 1963–1973 | Hajduk Split | 217 | (108) |
| 1973–1975 | Lokeren | 45 | (15) |
| Total | 327 | (153) | |
| International career | |||
| 1967 | Yugoslavia | 1 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1982–1984 | Hajduk Split | ||
| 1985–1986 | Šibenik | ||
| 1988–1989 | Hajduk Split | ||
| 1992 | Bizertin | ||
| 1995–1996 | Olimpija Ljubljana | ||
| 2000 | Hajduk Split | ||
| 2004 | Hajduk Split | ||
| 2004 | Cerezo Osaka | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Petar Nadoveza (9 April 1942 – 19 March 2023) was a Croatian professionalfootball player and manager. During his playing spell atHajduk he was nicknamed "Pere, splitski Pele" which meant "Pete, thePelé fromSplit".
Nadoveza started his youth and senior career atHNK Šibenik. In Šibenik's youth academy he was under the guidance of Stojan Mileta who created a lot of talented footballers from that region. At that timeSlavko Luštica was the manager of Šibenik and with him Šibenik was a fierce club in theYugoslav Second League.
In 1963 Nadoveza moved toHajduk Split where he would spend the next ten years of his career. He was a real "killer" on the field. He had amazing speed and a real instinct for the goal. Nadoveza was not a very disciplined player which resulted in many arguments with his managers, especially withBranko Zebec but on the pitch he showed his commitment to the club and to the game. He was loved by the fans and the club personnel. His famous incident was in 1964 when he assaulted a football referee called Strmčeg. This resulted in a six-month ban from playing football.
During the 1960s Hajduk was not doing so well in theYugoslav First League and many times they were facing relegation to the second league. In the1965–66 Yugoslav First League Hajduk was accused of match fixing and was facing relegation. The match fixing case was dropped but Hajduk was still facing relegation in the league. Thanks to Nadoveza who scored 21 goals that season[1] Hajduk was saved and managed to stay in the first league. Nadoveza became the top goalscorer that season.In 1967, he helped Hajduk win their firstYugoslav Cup. He played in the1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup which was Hajduk's first real participation in a UEFA competition.
At the end of the 1960s many young talented players such asJerković,Džoni andMužinić joined the club and alongside the "old guard" with Nadoveza they managed to create a new Hajduk. Their first success was the1970–71 Yugoslav First League which they won dramatically. The most famous game that season was againstFK Partizan inBelgrade where Hajduk needed 2 points to secure the trophy. Hajduk was losing 0–3 but in the second half Nadoveza managed to score two goals and motivate his team to turn the result around. Hajduk won the game 4–3 and secured the championship. Nadoveza also became the top goalscorer that season with 20 goals. Nadoveza won his second Yugoslav Cup in 1972. In his last season for the club he won his third Yugoslav Cup and helped Hajduk reach the1972–73 European Cup Winners' Cup semi-final where they lost toLeeds United.
In 1973, after ten years with Hajduk, he left the club and went to play forLokeren. Nadoveza made 460 appearances for Hajduk in which he scored 296 goals which makes him the 5th best goalscorer in Hajduk history. He retired in 1975.
Nadoveza made his debut forYugoslavia in a May 1967European qualification match away againstAlbania, his sole international appearance.[2]
Nadoveza started his managerial career at Hajduk Split in 1982. During his 2-year spell as manager there he won theYugoslav Cup in 1984, finished second in the1982–83 Yugoslav First League and made his way to the1983–84 UEFA Cup semi-final where he was kicked out byTottenham after a 2–2 aggregate. In 1996, he won theSlovenian Cup withOlimpija.
In 2000, he started his third stint with Hajduk[3] and won theCroatian Cup where his team defeated Hajduk's biggest rivalsDinamo Zagreb. In 2003, he went to theHNK Hajduk Split Academy where he worked with youngsters. In May 2004, he replacedZoran Vulić on the Hajduk seat 3 rounds before the end of the season. He managed to secure stability and morale in the team and so he won the2003–04 Prva HNL. In July 2004, he became Hajduk's Academy director. In 2006, he also worked as the sporting director at Hajduk.
Nadoveza died on 19 March 2023, at the age of 80.[4]
Hajduk Split
Hajduk Split
Olimpija Ljubljana
