Bernard "Bajdo" Vukas (1 May 1927 – 4 April 1983) was a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n football player during

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

Biography

Vukas played as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

/ forward and is mostly remembered for his extraordinary

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

ability. In 2000, he was voted by the Croatian Football Federation as the best Croatian player of all Time, and in a poll by

Večernji List ''Večernji list'' (also known as ''Večernjak''; ) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb. History and profile ''Večernji list'' was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its ancestor ''Večernji vjesnik'' ("Evening Courier") appeared for the ...

, he was voted the best Croatian athlete of the 20th century. Vukas started his career in the youth ranks of

Concordia Zagreb Concordia may refer to: * Concordia (mythology), the Roman goddess who embodies agreement in marriage and society Businesses and organizations Educational institutions * Concordia University (disambiguation), for Concordia University, Concor ...

. After WW2, he spent some time in NK Amater Zagreb before moving to Hajduk Split in 1947. He stayed in Hajduk until 1957, playing 202 games and scoring 89 goals. With Hajduk, Vukas won the

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League ( Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

title on three occasions, in 1950, 1952 and 1955, and he was the league's top scorer in the 1954–55 season with 20 goals. In 1950, Vukas helped Hajduk win the

undefeated, a record which has never been broken. In 1957, he moved to

Bologna F.C. 1909 Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. The club have won seven top-flight titles, two Co ...

, where he stayed for two years playing 48 games and scoring two goals, but his time there was overshadowed by serious illness. He returned to Hajduk in 1959 and remained until 1963, playing 65 games and scoring 5 goals. He spent his last days as a football player in Austria, playing for Austria Klagenfurt,

Grazer AK Grazer AK, founded 18 August 1902 as Grazer Athletiksport Klub (in Austria the abbreviation GAK is more common), is an Austrian sports club, from the city of Graz in the federal state of Styria (''Steiermark''). The football section used to be on ...

and

Kapfenberger SV Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. They won the 2007–08 Austrian Football First League and advanced to the Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as ''Kapfenberger SC''. The club was renamed ...

. Counting friendlies, Vukas played a total of 615 games for Hajduk Split and scored 300 goals. On 23 October 1953, Vukas, along with

Branko Zebec Branislav "Branko" Zebec (17 May 1929 – 26 September 1988) was a Croatian footballer and manager who played for Yugoslavia. In his heyday, Zebec fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan ...

Vladimir Beara Vladimir Beara (; 26 August 1928 – 11 August 2014) was a Yugoslav football goalkeeper and manager. He played the vast majority of his professional club career for Hajduk Split and Red Star Belgrade in the Yugoslav Federal League and for the Yu ...

and Zlatko Čajkovski, played for FIFA's 'Rest of the World' team against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

– in a match to celebrate 90 years of

English Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

. The match ended 4–4, with Vukas assisting in two goals and being awarded a penalty. Two years later, on 13 August 1955, Vukas was invited to play for the UEFA Team in a friendly match against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

played in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, where Vukas scored a hat trick. With

he won 2 silver medals in the Olympic games. He died on 4 April 1983, aged 55. There are streets in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...

and

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...

named after him.

International career

He played 59 games between 1948 and 1957 for the Yugoslav national team and scored 22 goals. He was also a part of the Yugoslavian team in the 1950 and 1954 FIFA World Cups.

Honours

* In Hajduk, Vukas won

Yugoslav league The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

titles three times, 1950, 1952 and 1955, whereupon the championship of 1950 was achieved without a defeat. This record is still alive. * Twice the Yugoslav national team including Bernard Vukas won the silver medal at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

(1948 and 1952). * In the 1954–55 season, he led the Yugoslav league as the top goalscorer, with 20 goals. * He played 615 games for Hajduk Split and scored 300 times. * On 21 October 1953, he played in Wembley for the "

Rest of the World Within sports and games played at the international competitive level, the Rest of the World refers to a team of players from many countries of origin that compete against a single individual or a team from a single group, such as a club or countr ...

" team against

. The final result was 4–4. * On 13 August 1955, he was invited to play for the UEFA team (Continental Team) in Belfast against

. The game ended 4–1 with a hat trick by Vukas. * He was also a part of the Yugoslavia team in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the fourth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. The planned 1942 and 1946 World Cups were ...

and

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

. * In 2000, he was elected for the best Croatian football player of all times. Spomenik Bernardu Vukasu, Poljud, Split 20131015 123448

References

Sources

*
Profile at Serbian football federation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukas, Bernard 1927 births 1983 deaths Bologna F.C. 1909 players Croatian footballers 1950 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1952 Summer Olympics 1954 FIFA World Cup players HNK Hajduk Split players NK Zagreb players Grazer AK players Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia Olympic silver medalists for Yugoslavia Footballers from Zagreb Yugoslav footballers Yugoslav expatriate footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Croatian expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Austria Yugoslav First League players Serie A players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Kapfenberger SV players Association football forwards Olympic medalists in football Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery