Dušan Zinaja (23 October 1893 – 26 September 1948) was a Croatian and Yugoslav cross-country skier and football striker and coach. Dusan Zinaja at 1924 Winter Olympics Chamonix

Dusan Zinaja at 1924 Winter Olympics Chamonix

Zinaja was born in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

(at the time

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

). He was member of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

team at the inaugural

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games (french: Iers Jeux olympiques d'hiver) and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 ( frp, Chamôni 1924), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, Franc ...

Chamonix Chamonix-Mont-Blanc ( frp, Chamôni), more commonly known as Chamonix, is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of southeastern France. It was the site of the first Winter Olympics in 1924. In 2019, it had ...

where he took part in both cross-country skiing events.

Football career

Zinaja spent his entire career with

HAŠK HAŠK ''(full name Hrvatski akademski športski klub, en, Croatian Academic Sports Club)'' was a Croatian football club established in Zagreb in 1903 which ceased operating in 1945. The club was one of the most successful sides in Zagreb and th ...

(Croatian Academic & Sports Club). As member of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes national football team, he has played only once, on 10 June 1923 in Bucharest against Romania. Zinaja became first player in Yugoslav football history to be appointed a national team coach. He led national team as coach from 28 September 1924 to 4 November 1925, during which time team of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes played three matches.

Death

Zinaja died on 26 September 1948 in a traffic accident near the village of Poklek on Mt. Žumberak, near

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 ...

, Croatia (at the time

FPR 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 Yu ...

References

External links

*
Olympics at Sports-Reference.comPlayer profile on Serbia National Team page
* Olimpics in Croatia, Libera Editio d.o.o., 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zinaja, Dusan 1893 births 1948 deaths Sportspeople from Budapest Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers HAŠK players Yugoslav football managers Yugoslavia national football team managers Croatian male cross-country skiers Yugoslav male cross-country skiers Olympic cross-country skiers for Yugoslavia Cross-country skiers at the 1924 Winter Olympics Road incident deaths in Yugoslavia