Dragutin Vabec, most commonly known as ''Drago Vabec'' (born 26 October 1950 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 ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yug ...

) is 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 left winger who played for

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb ( en, Dinamo Zagreb Citizens' Football Club, link=yes, italics=yes), commonly referred to as GNK Dinamo Zagreb or simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo ...

and

Stade Brestois Stade Brestois 29 or simply Brest, is a French football club based in Brest. It was founded in 1950 following the merger of five local patronages, including Armoricaine de Brest, founded in 1903. In its early years, the club made a rapid rise ...

. He is considered one of the best players in

history and the best player in

history. He left Brest in 1983. His family originates from

Čakovec Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, sm ...

Međimurje County Međimurje County (; hr, Međimurska županija ; hu, Muraköz megye) is a triangle-shaped Counties of Croatia, county in the northernmost part of Croatia, roughly corresponding to the historical and geographical region of Međimurje (region), ...

, and he spent most of his time there.

Playing career

International

Vabec made his debut for

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

in a September 1973

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

and earned a total of 7 caps, scoring 1 goal. His final international was an April 1976 European Championship qualification match against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. While playing for

during a match against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on 10 October 1975 he scored a fantastic goal, which was for years screened at the beginning of the sports program.

Playing style

Although Vabec played mostly as a left winger, he was an excellent right winger too, and could also play at a high level as a midfielder or a defender. The football experts deem him the most versatile player in Dinamo's history. Vabec was described as a highly intelligent player, with superb technique and passing skills, and equally adept with both feet.

Managerial career

In October 2006, he was appointed head coach at relegation-threatened Croatian second division side

NK Čakovec Nogometni Klub Čakovec ( en, Čakovec Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Čakovec or simply Čakovec, was a Croatian football club based in Čakovec, in the northern part of the country. The club folded in 2011. The club's arguably big ...

. He remained at the position until the end of the season, but failed to save the club from relegation.

References

External links

*
Drago Vabec profile
at the

Serbia national football team The Serbia national football team ( sr, Фудбалска репрезентација Србије, Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in men's international football competition. It is controlled by the Football Association of ...

website
NASL statsBiography in the Croatian Football Lexicon
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vabec, Drago 1950 births Living people Sportspeople from Čakovec Footballers from Zagreb Association football forwards Association football wingers Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers GNK Dinamo Zagreb players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Stade Brestois 29 players Yugoslav First League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Ligue 1 players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in Canada Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Yugoslav football managers