.jpg) Miljanić asRed Star Belgrade manager in 1971 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Miljan Miljanić | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1930-05-04)4 May 1930 | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bitola,Kingdom of Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 13 January 2012(2012-01-13) (aged 81) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Belgrade,Serbia | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Defender | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1946–1951 | Red Star Belgrade | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1951–1952 | Red Star Belgrade | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1966 | Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1974 | Red Star Belgrade | ||||||||||||||||
| 1973–1974 | Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1974–1977 | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1982 | Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1983 | Valencia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | Qadsia | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Al Ain | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992 | Yugoslavia | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Miljan Miljanić (Serbian Cyrillic:Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was aYugoslav andSerbianfootball administrator, coach and player who played as adefender. He was the all-powerful President of theFootball Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) from 1981 to 2001.
Born inBitola,Vardar Banovina,Kingdom of Yugoslavia, to a family originating from theBanjani clan in theNikšić municipality inMontenegro, Miljanić spent the first years of his life in what would later becomeSR Macedonia withinSFR Yugoslavia and eventually present dayNorth Macedonia.
During his colourful career, Miljanić coachedRed Star Belgrade (won 10 trophies),Real Madrid (won back-to-backLa Liga titles, including a League/Cup double in the 1974–75 season),Valencia CF (disappointing stint that lasted three quarters of the 1982–83 season when he got sacked with the team in 17th place in the league), and theYugoslavia national team, of which he was a head coach in the1974 and1982World Cups.
He is equally known as the all-powerful president of theFootball Association of FR Yugoslavia (FSJ), a post he occupied for 20 years, since 1981, before leaving in 2001 and being elected eternal honorary president of the FA.
His influence on the game of football in Yugoslavia is huge as an entire generation of coaches includingĆiro Blažević,Ivica Osim,Toza Veselinović, etc. came up under his tutelage. In addition to admirers, Miljanić has his share of detractors who feel his trademark cautious and defensive tactics, as well as reliance on older players, contributed to the Yugoslavia national team's poor results and unattractive play throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2002, for his contributions to association football, Miljanić became the recipient of theFIFA Order of Merit — the highest honour awarded byFIFA.[1]
Miljanić was born in 1930 in Bitola, a town hisgeometer father Akim Miljanić had moved the family to two years earlier in 1928 after finding employment there.[2] Previously, in 1922, Akim had arrived to Belgrade from Montenegro'sBanjani region in order to study at the newly openedGeodesy School. The family also consisted of mother Zorka and sisters Mira and Nada.[2]
In 1941, withNazi Germanyinvading, conquering, and dismembering Kingdom of Yugoslavia into territories administered by newly established local collaborationist regimes or neighbouringAxis powers states, the Miljanićs were forced into fleeing Bitola by the occupyingBulgarian force that had been handed the territory of Vardar Banovina by the Nazis.[2] The fleeing family first settled in the town ofJagodina followed by relocating toKragujevac,[2] a city reeling from the October 1941massacre of more than 2,700 civilians committed by theWehrmacht force.
In 1944, in Kragujevac, 14-year-old Miljanić reportedly joined theYugoslav Partisans.[2]
Following the end ofWorld War II, the family moved to Belgrade in 1946.[2]
Miljanić had three stints as the head coach of theYugoslavia national football team, 1965–66, 1973–74 and 1979–82. He coached the national team at the1974 FIFA World Cup and the1982 FIFA World Cup.
By 1992, the team was coached by BosnianIvica Osim, during whose tenure Yugoslavia had qualified toUEFA Euro 1992. However, with his family under thesiege of Sarajevo, Osim resigned on 23 May.[3] To replace him, the Yugoslav federation called a duo of Miljanić andIvan Čabrinović, a Serb married with a Muslim woman.[4] One day later, it was announced the squad list.[5] Under Miljanić and Čabrinović, Yugoslavia played just one unofficial friendly against the clubACF Fiorentina, inFlorence, for a minor attendance and under huge protests, on 28 May. It was known by that day the rumor that Yugoslavia would be banned of the tournament due toYugoslav wars, to which Miljanić, disgusted with increasingly questions about his players origins rather than their efficiency, reacted with wet eyes: "are we not welcomed? What? They do not want us anymore?".[4] On 31 May, with the squad already inSweden, the ban was confirmed, just ten days before the opening match.[6]
Miljanić's arrival to Real during the summer 1974 transfer window came on the heels of aturbulent season that saw the famous club make a coaching change after almost 14 seasons ofMiguel Muñoz at the helm. The longtime coach's mid-season replacementLuis Molowny didn't fare well, losing 0–5 at home inEl Clásico to theJohan Cruijff-ledFC Barcelona in February 1974 and further cementing the club's league table placing away from the European spots. Right away, the club's iconic presidentSantiago Bernabéu Yeste felt it was time for major changes, initiating yet another approach to the Red Star Belgrade head coach Miljanić who had simultaneously been heading the Yugoslavia national team head coaching commission while awaiting the1974 FIFA World Cup inWest Germany. The Serb had reportedly been on Real's radar for a few years already, consistently rejecting their prior overtures.[7] This time, within weeks, by March 1974, Miljanić committed to a two-year contract with Real Madrid effective summer 1974 following the World Cup, an arrangement reportedly set to see him receiveUS$150,000 in salary compensation (US$900,000 in 2022)[8] over the agreed period.[7] Other coaches Bernabéu reportedly considered for the job at this time included Inter Milan's head coachHelenio Herrera.[7] The news of Yugoslavia head coaching commission leader Miljanić's signature with Real only a few months before World Cup was not received particularly well at home with certain press outlets calling for his sacking from the national team coaching commission.[7] He would be allowed to stay, however, and lead the national team in West Germany.
Molowny completed theongoing league season as Real's head coach knowing he'll be gone at the end of it no matter the outcome. In the end, he led the team to the eight spot in the league while winning theCopa del Generalísimoemphatically 4–0 against biggest rivals FC Barcelona. Miljanić, for his part, led Yugoslavia at the 1974 FIFA World Cup, managing to make it out of thefirst round group before losing each of the three matches in thenext round group.
On 5 July 1974, three days after ending his World Cup participation in West Germany with a loss against Sweden, Miljanić was presented as Real Madrid's new head coach.[9] The Serb's only condition was reportedly that he be allowed to bring along compatriot Srećko "Felix" Radišić as fitness coach. Radišić thus became the first fitness coach in club's history.[10] Others in Miljanić's coaching staff were the club-assigned goalkeeping coachJuan Santisteban and assistant coachAntonio Ruiz.
Incoming Miljanić initiated a number of innovative changes in the training methods at Real.[11] Insisting on optimal physical and tactical preparation, he increased the number of daily training sessions from one to three—the first two (morning and noon) focusing on fitness and the late afternoon one with the ball—thus causing an outrage within the club initially.[12] In addition to enhanced fitness training with fitness coach Radišić involvingmedicine balls, weights as well as speed and endurance tests,[13] Miljanić further insisted on Real players not having more than two touches on the ball, having them perfect the long pass game with the entire team functioning as a precise mechanism.[14] He also movedPirri from his midfield role into thesweeper defensive role while the offensive movement usually converged with crosses for target forwardsSantillana and new signing from EspanyolRoberto Martínez.[15] Furthermore, at Miljanić's disposal were goalkeeperMiguel Ángel, defensive midfielderVicente del Bosque, veteran right wingerAmancio Amaro, West German midfielderGünter Netzer, newly signed defenceman from BayernPaul Breitner, and young defender from the youth systemJosé Antonio Camacho.
Despite facing fan criticism over unattractive play, Real won the league and cup double in hisfirst season as coach.
In theCup Winners' Cup, they got eliminated at the quarterfinal stage on penalties by Miljanić's former team Red Star Belgrade. The tie took place over two legs in March 1975, and Miljanić somewhat controversially decided not to travel to Belgrade for the return leg because he reportedly couldn't bear to lead the team against his former side, saying: "I can not betray my heart".[16] Others speculated thatcontentious relations between SFR Yugoslavia and theSpanish State under the regime ofFrancisco Franco played a role in Miljanić's decision.[17] Instead, the coach invited journalists to watch the game with him on television in Madrid. Going into the return leg Real had a 2–0 first leg lead, however, led byAntonio Ruiz who stepped in for Miljanić that night,los merenegues lost 2–0 in Belgrade and then got eliminated in the penalty shootout.
As his two-year contract at Real was set to expire, Miljanić began to be courted byArsenal F.C. that was looking for areplacement for their managerBertie Mee who had put the club on notice about resigning at the end of the current season.[18] After visiting London on 20 April 1976 and receiving a reportedly lucrative offer to manage the club starting from the1976-77 season, Miljanić decided not to sign with Arsenal and eventually re-signed with Real.[19]
After ending the1976–77 season without silverware, Miljanić started hisfourth campaign as Real's coach in September 1977. However, after losing the opening match of the league season to Salamanca 1–2, Miljanić resigned his post.
Miljanić took a full year away from coaching after resigning from Real. Among the offers he considered during the period wasChelsea FC's whose chairmanBrian Mears courted the Yugoslav heavily, even flying him in to spend two weeks with the club in mid October 1978 with a view of assessing the club's potential before deciding whether to stay atStamford Bridge in some permanent capacity.[20][18] The activities Miljanić partook in while in London and Stamford Bridge included watchingChelsea come back from 0-3 down to win 4-3 in theleague versusBolton Wanderers.[21] Ultimately, not keen on fighting for survival in theEnglish League Top Division, he opted not to join the club.[18]
Within weeks of returning from London, Miljanić was appointed manager of Yugoslavia's national team.
Miljanić was married to Olivera "Vera" Reljić with whom he had two children: sonMiloš Miljanić (former footballer and current manager ofAlianza F.C. ofEl Salvador) and daughter Zorka.[22]
He died on 13 January 2012, aged 81, inBelgrade,Serbia after suffering fromAlzheimer's disease for several years. Mourning the loss of the club's former great, on 14 January, Real Madrid side coached byJosé Mourinho played their awayleague match atReal Mallorca with Madrid players wearing black armbands.
Red Star Belgrade
Real Madrid
Miljan Miljanić international tournaments | |||||||
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