Ivan Toplak (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Toплaк; 21 September 1931 – 25 July 2021) was a Serbianfootball player andmanager. Toplak played forNK Olimpija Ljubljana andRed Star Belgrade, with whom he had much success. As a player he also represented theYugoslavia national team. As a manager he also managed Red Star, had a managing period in the United States, managed almost all levels of the Yugoslavia national team and also managed theIndonesia national team.
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Personal information | |||
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Date of birth | (1931-09-21)21 September 1931 | ||
Place of birth | Belgrade,Yugoslavia | ||
Date of death | 25 July 2021(2021-07-25) (aged 89) | ||
Place of death | Maribor,Slovenia | ||
Position(s) | Striker | ||
Youth career | |||
1945–1950[1] | Branik Maribor | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1951–1954 | Olimpija Ljubljana | 25 | (14) |
1954–1961 | Red Star Belgrade | 92 | (48) |
Total | 117 | (62) | |
International career | |||
1956 | Yugoslavia | 1 | (0) |
Managerial career | |||
1964–1966 | Red Star Belgrade | ||
1967–1968 | California Clippers | ||
1969–1971 | Stanford University | ||
1974–1975 | San Jose Earthquakes | ||
1976–1977 | Yugoslavia | ||
1978–1980 | Yugoslavia U20 | ||
1978–1980 | Yugoslavia U21 | ||
1984 | Yugoslavia U23 | ||
1986 | Yugoslavia (co-manager) | ||
1991–1993 | Indonesia | ||
Medal record | |||
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
At the1984 Summer Olympics, he guided Yugoslavia to a bronze medal.
Club career
editToplak started his career atNK Branik Maribor inMaribor, where his family moved in 1943 fromBelgrade.[2]
In 1951, he signed withNK Olimpija Ljubljana, where he spent playing the next three years.
With Olimpija, he won theSlovenian Republic League in1952.
In 1954, Toplak left Olimpija forRed Star Belgrade. He played at Red Star for seven years, until 1961. With Red Star he won theYugoslav First League in the seasons1955–56,1956–57,1958–59,1959–60. He had also won theYugoslav Cup in the1957–58 season and the1958–59 season. On international club level, he won theMitropa Cup in1958.
He left Red Star in 1961 and shortly after retired from football at the age of 30.
International career
editToplak earned one cap for theYugoslavia national team in 1956, but did not score a goal in that game.
Managerial career
editIn 1964, Toplak became the new manager ofRed Star Belgrade in theYugoslav First League. He managed the club for two years, but did not manage to win anything.
After Yugoslavia, he went to theUSA in 1967, where he managed theCalifornia Clippers from 1967 to 1968,Stanford University from 1969 to 1971 and theSan Jose Earthquakes from 1974 to 1975.
In 1976 he left the US and came back toYugoslavia, where from 1976 to 1977, he was manager of theYugoslavia national team.
After the A team, he managed theYugoslavia U20 andYugoslavia U21 sides, both at the same time from 1978 to 1980. He led the U21 side at the1980 UEFA Euro U21 Championship where he got the team to thesemi-finals.
In 1984, he led theYugoslavia U23 side at the1984 Summer Olympics. He guided the team to third place.
In 1986 he was a co-manager of the Yugoslavia national team, this time alongsideIvica Osim.
From 1991 to 1993, Toplak managed theIndonesia national team. In 1993, after leaving Indonesia, he announced his managerial retirement.
Death
editHonours
editPlayer
editOlimpija Ljubljana
Red Star Belgrade
Manager
editYugoslavia
- Summer Olympics Third place:1984
References
edit- ^Likovi istaknutih nogometašaArchived 19 January 2013 at theWayback Machine at Parapsihopatologija.com
- ^Interview in Večer at pressreader.com, 21 December 2011
- ^"Umrl legendarni Ivan Toplak".www.delo.si (in Slovenian). Retrieved26 July 2021.
- ^"Preminuo Ivan Toplak, nekadašnji centarfor Crvene zvezde".Novinska agencija Beta (in Serbian). Archived fromthe original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved26 July 2021.
External links
edit- Ivan Toplak atReprezentacija.rs(in Serbian)