Blagoje "Moša" Marjanović ( sr-Cyrl, Благоје "Моша" Марјановић, ; 9 September 1907 – 1 October 1984) was a Serbian

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Early life

Born to merchant father Dimitrije and housewife mother Sofija, young Blagoje grew up on the outskirts of Belgrade in 7 Đakovačka Street with his older brother

Nikola Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...

who was also a footballer.

Playing career

Blagoje Marjanović was one of the best

forwards in the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 unt ...

. He played for BSK (1926–39), with whom he won five league titles (1931, 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1939) and three times was the best league goal scorer (1930, 1935, 1937). After returning from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, this excellent striker became (alongside his teammate Tirnanić), first professional footballer in Yugoslavia (although he had a little bit higher salary then Tirnanić). For his services at BSK Marjanović was paid

YUS Little yus (Ѧ ѧ) and big yus (Ѫ ѫ), or jus, are letters of the Cyrillic, Cyrillic script representing two Proto-Slavic, Common Slavonic nasal vowels in the early Cyrillic alphabet, early Cyrillic and Glagolitic alphabet, Glagolitic ...

1,800 per month. The exchange rate of the

dinar The dinar () is the principal currency unit in several countries near the Mediterranean Sea, and its historical use is even more widespread. The modern dinar's historical antecedents are the gold dinar and the silver dirham, the main coin of ...

against the US dollar in December 1930 was $1 = YUS56.39 meaning that his monthly salary was $32 (about $446 in 2014 dollar). He and Tirnanić formed one of the greatest partnerships in Yugoslavian football history. Although he understood Tirnanić very well, he had almost the same understanding with other teammates, from his club and from the national team. Marjanović was a highly intelligent player, and he was able to realize, how each of his teammates plays. During the game, it always seemed that he knew what to do with or without a ball (especially during goalscoring situations in the opponent's penalty box, when he was highly unpredictable and very clever). He was a very accurate shooter, but with average shot power. Moša could score from almost every position (he scored quite a few goals with his back heel, chest, and sometimes even stomach) and he didn't care if the ball came low or high, because he was, also, very good in the air. His main specialty was volley shots. Besides that, he was also one of the best free-kick takers in Yugoslavia.

International career

For the national team, he debuts on 28 June 1926 in a friendly match against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

(2–6) in

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. The first goal he scored on 15 May 1927 against

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

when in the last five minutes he scored two goals in the match. During his career, he scored 37 goals in 58 games for the national team (unbroken record, until Bobek came, and scored 38 goals in 63 games, although Marjanović has a better scoring ratio at 0,63 goals per game), and 575 goals in 14 seasons for his club BSK. He participated in the

1928 Olympic Games 1928 Olympics may refer to: *The 1928 Winter Olympics, which were held in St. Moritz, Switzerland *The 1928 Summer Olympics, which were held in Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most po ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, and in the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, in which he helped his nation win a bronze medal. He scored one goal in that tournament in a game against

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

. By an administrative decision by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

in 1986, Yugoslavia was placed in 4th place in that tournament, just behind the USA team, although the match for third place was never played. FIFA was guided by the fact that the teams of the USA and Yugoslavia had the same number of wins and losses in the championship (2–1), but the USA had a better goal difference, so FIFA officially takes the USA as third place in the 1930 World Cup. But the match for third place was not played, so the eternal question of which team was better will remain open. Marjanović scored a few

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

for his nation national, most memorably against

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

in 1934, in a friendly game in Belgrade, to help his side to an 8–4 win. Many football experts of that time showed great appreciation for "Moša's" skills, including Hugo Meisl (creator and coach of the Austrian " Wunderteam") who claimed that with Marjanović in the attacking line "Wunderteam" would be perfect. He then won back-to-back

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

s with Yugoslavia, in 1934–35 and

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

, contributing with 1 and 3 goals respectively. With 9 goals in the Balkan Cup, he is among the all-time top goalscorers in the competition's history. He played his last match for the national team on 3 April 1938 against

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

in a World Cup qualifier, going off in style as he netted the only goal of the match. According to a biography of his time, Marjanović scored more than 1,000 goals in his career.

Personal life

Marjanovic enjoyed great fame. He was a national superstar but also a playboy, up to the moment when his club played against

Hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

, in Split. On the eve of the match, he met a Dalmatian girl who supported Hajduk. They married in 1938 with great interest of the public and journalists. During the German invasion on Yugoslavia, he was captured as a truck driver of the Yugoslav Royal Army and placed in a prison camp in

Fürstenberg Fürstenberg (also Fuerstenberg and Furstenberg) may refer to: Historical states * Fürstenberg-Baar, county (1441–1559) * Fürstenberg-Blumberg, county (1559–1614) * Fürstenberg-Donaueschingen, county (1617–1698) * Fürstenberg-Fürsten ...

, Germany. In the midst of adversity, sometimes they organized football matches between "war prisoners" versus "the guardians". When the war ended, he returned to Yugoslavia and played for

Dinamo Pančevo A dynamo is a magnetic device originally used as an electric generator. Dynamo or Dinamo may also refer to: Places * Dinamo (Moscow Metro), a station of the Moscow Metro, Moscow, Russia * Dinamo (Yekaterinburg Metro), a station of the Yekaterin ...

(1945–48). His career ended in Proleter from

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

(1949).

Coaching career

During his coaching career, he first led Proleter Osijek then

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club'') is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, more precisely in Karaburma, ...

, with whom he won the national cup in 1955. After this, Marshal

Tito Tito may refer to: People Mononyms * Josip Broz Tito (1892–1980), commonly known mononymously as Tito, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman * Roberto Arias (1918–1989), aka Tito, Panamanian international lawyer, diplomat, and journ ...

honored Marjanovic with the Yugoslavian Order of Merit of the People. Also in 1955, Marjanović went on a tour to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

where he had the honor to meet Chinese People's Leader

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

. He was later a coach in the Italian league (one year in

AC Torino Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mos ...

and one year in

Calcio Catania Catania S.S.D., commonly known as Catania, is an Italian football club based in the city of Catania, Sicily, that plays in . Originally founded in 1908 as ''Associazione Sportiva pro Educazione Fisica'', the club boasts 17 appearances in the ...

). He returned to Yugoslavia and became a coach for FK Pobeda. After a match in 1961, Moša suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. He never regained his speech and the right side of his body was paralyzed. He died in 1984. In the former Yugoslavia, he was also remembered for his statement: Football is my life.

Film

In the films ''

Montevideo, God Bless You! ''Montevideo, God Bless You!'' ( sr, Монтевидео, Бог те видео!, Montevideo, Bog te video!; internationally titled ''Montevideo, Taste of a Dream'') is a 2010 Serbian film directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić about the events leading t ...

'' (2010) and ''

See You in Montevideo ''See You in Montevideo'' ( sr, Монтевидео, видимо се!/''Montevideo, vidimo se!'') is a 2014 Serbian comedy film written and directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić. It is the sequel to the 2010 film ''Montevideo, God Bless You!'' It wa ...

'' (2014), Marjanović was portrayed by actor

Petar Strugar Petar "Pero" Strugar ( sr, Петар "Перо" Стругар; born 23 May 1988) is a Serbian actor and presenter. Personal life Strugar is a close friend to fellow actor and ''Montevideo, God Bless You!'' co-star Miloš Biković. Petar was mar ...

International goals

Yugoslavia's goal tally first

Honours

Player

Club

SK Jugoslavija * Yugoslav Championship:

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

BSK Beograd * Yugoslav Championship: 1930–31, 1932–33, 1934–35, 1935–36, 1938–39 *

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

: 1934

International

;Yugoslavia *

: 1934–35 and

. * Balkan Cup runner-up: 1929–31 and

1933 Events January * January 11 – Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independence, against the wis ...

Manager

BSK Beograd *

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

References

External links

Blagoje Marjanović
at Reprezentacija.rs * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marjanovic, Blagoje 1907 births 1984 deaths Footballers from Belgrade Association football forwards Yugoslav footballers Serbian footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics 1930 FIFA World Cup players Yugoslav football managers Yugoslav expatriate football managers Serbian football managers SK Jugoslavija players OFK Beograd players OFK Beograd managers FK Čukarički players FK Dinamo Pančevo players NK Osijek players Yugoslav First League players Serie A managers Torino F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Italy