Ivan "Ico" Hitrec (13 April 1911 – 11 October 1946) 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 ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player. He was the first technical officer and in his office in the Zagreb power-works in Gundulićeva Street, the best players from Građanski met and discussed forming a new club with blue shirts which later became

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 ...

Club career

The centre-forward became a legend after scoring twice against then famous Spanish keeper

Ricardo Zamora Ricardo Zamora Martínez (; 14 February 1901 – 8 September 1978) was a Spanish footballer and manager. He played as a goalkeeper for, among others, RCD Espanyol, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. As an international he played for both the Catala ...

during the first night game 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 ...

between Zagreb and

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

in 1931. As one of the first Croatian international players, he went on to play for

Grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and "

Kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

", at the time the foremost sports journal in Europe, chose him as a member of the European elite 11.

International career

Hitrec was a goal-scorer for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia national team. He appeared in 14 international games and scored 9 goals in 7 of them. He was one of seven Croatian players to boycott the Yugoslavia national team at the

1930 FIFA World Cup The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 to 30 July 1930. FIFA, football's international governing body, selected Uruguay as host nation ...

after the

Football Association of Yugoslavia The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) ( sr, Фудбалски савез Југославије, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije, hr, Nogometni savez Jugoslavije; bs, Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije; sl, Nogometna zveza Jugoslavije; mk, Фуд ...

was moved from

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...

.Career story at Serbian Federation site
/ref> His final international was an October 1939

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

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Style of play

Hitrec's play was characterized by excellent technique and dribbling skills. He was able to

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

100 meters in under 12 seconds in football conditions making him one of the fastest footballers of the era. He was also known for very powerful kicks, and was quoted as saying jokingly that he did not like to perform 11 m penalty kicks because they were "too close" (to the goal).

Severino Minelli Severino Minelli (6 September 1909 – 23 September 1994) was a Swiss footballer who played as a defender. He participated in the 1934 FIFA World Cup and the 1938 FIFA World Cup. He played a total of 80 matches for Switzerland. He played as a ...

, his Grasshopper teammate, reminisced about Hitrec: "I played many matches where Hitrec was brilliant, the best. But, above all, I remember his kicks. Frightful! Goalkeepers would move away from his balls, I'm not exaggerating, that's indeed how it was."

Honours

Grasshopper Club Zürich

Swiss Cup The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup tournament that has been organised annually since 1925–26 by the Swiss Football Association. Since 1999 the winner earns the chance to qualify for the UEFA Europa League or the UEFA Europa Conference L ...

(1932)

HAŠK

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, ...

( 1937/1938)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitrec, Ico 1911 births 1946 deaths Footballers from Zagreb Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers HAŠK players Grasshopper Club Zürich players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery