Gustav Lechner (17 February 1913 – 5 February 1987) was a
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...
who represented both the
Yugoslavian and
Croatian national sides.
Club career
Born in
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 ...
and nicknamed ''Lembika'',
[Gustav Lehner](_blank)
at Reprezentacija.rs he spent his early career with
Slavija Osijek Slavija () may refer to:
* the Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian and '' Slovene'' ''(?)'' name for ''Slavia'', a general term for an area inhabited by Slavs
* Slavija Osijek, a former football club from Osijek, Croatia
* Slavija Square, a public square ...
and
BSK Belgrade
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, ...
; while playing with the latter he won 3 Yugoslav titles and graduated from law school.
In 1941 he and teammate
Ernest Dubac
Ernest Dubac (15 February 1914 – 27 February 1985) was a Croatian and Yugoslav professional football player and football manager.
Club career
Born in Osijek, Dubac started his career with Hajduk Osijek before moving to JŠK Slavija Osijek. ...
joined
Građanski Zagreb. At the end of the war, he became player-manager of
Proleter Osijek
Nogometni klub Osijek ( en, Osijek Football Club), commonly referred to as NK Osijek or simply Osijek (), is a Croatian professional football club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav ...
.
International career
Lechner 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 an August 1931
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
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
and earned a total of 44 caps scoring no goals.
He then played 12 matches under the flag of the
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...
, a
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
-era
puppet state
A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
of
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. His final international was an April 1944 friendly against
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
.
Coaching career
After retiring as a player in 1949, Lechner became a coach and managed
Metalac Osijek,
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 ...
,
Vojvodina Novi Sad
Sportsko društvo Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Спортско друштво Војводина, lit=Vojvodina Sports Society), commonly abbreviated as SD Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, СД Војводина, link=no), formed in 1914, is a multi-sport club ...
,
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 ...
,
Velež Mostar,
Slavonija Požega and
NK Zagreb
Nogometni klub Zagreb (''Zagreb Football Club''), commonly known as NK Zagreb or simply Zagreb (), is a Croatian amateur football club based in the Croatian capital city of Zagreb. It currently competes in the fifth tier league competition of ...
.
Death
Lechner died on 5 February 1987 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 ...
, and was buried on 11 February at the Saint Anne Cemetery in his hometown of
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 ...
.
Honours
;BSK Belgrade
*
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, ...
:
1934–35,
1935–36,
1938–39
*
Serbian League
The Serbian League () is the third level football league in Serbia. It consists of four groups, namely Belgrade, East, Vojvodina, and West. The winner of each group earns promotion to the Serbian First League.
History
1992–1995
In the summer of ...
:
1940–41
;Građanski Zagreb
*Independent State of Croatia championship: 1943
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lehner, Gustav
1913 births
1987 deaths
Sportspeople from Osijek
Croatian people of German descent
Yugoslav people of German descent
Association football midfielders
Yugoslav footballers
Yugoslavia international footballers
Croatian footballers
Croatia international footballers
Dual internationalists (football)
NK Osijek players
OFK Beograd players
HŠK Građanski Zagreb players
Yugoslav First League players
Yugoslav football managers
NK Osijek managers
FK Vojvodina managers
GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers
FK Velež Mostar managers
NK Zagreb managers
Burials at Saint Anne Cemetery