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
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 ...

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

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