Joseph "Uncle Joe" Vlasits (1921 – 23 April 1985) was a Hungarian football player and manager who coached the Australian national side from 1967 to 1970.

Early life and playing career

Vlasits was born in 1921 in

Budapest, Hungary 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 of ...

. 1939/40 he played for Budapest First Division club Nemzeti but his career was cut short by injury and he moved to Australia in the late 1940s.

Managerial career

In Australia, Vlasits moved into management, and coached New South Wales Division One side

Canterbury-Marrickville The Canterbury Bankstown Football Club is a soccer club based in Bankstown, New South Wales. The club currently plays in the NSW League Two after being relegated from the formerly NPL NSW 2 in 2019.(from 2022 known as NSW League One) Canterbury ...

from 1958 to 1960, winning titles in 1958 and 1960 and winning the Ampol Cup in '58. He then coached

Sydney Prague The Sydney Football Club Prague, commonly known as ''Sydney Prague'' or just ''Prague'', was a former association football club formed in 1951 by predominantly Czech Australians, which participated in the NSW State League from its foundation in ...

and

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 ...

in 1961 and '62 respectively, winning the Division One title with both clubs. He then took over at fellow Division One side Pan-Hellenic for 1963 and '64, but could only manage fourth- and sixth-place finishes. He then dropped down a league to Division Two side

Bankstown Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, hav ...

, which placed sixth in his only year of management, 1965. He returned to Division One in 1966 with strugglers

SSC Yugal SSC Yugal (Sydney Soccer Club Yugal), also known as Yugal, Yugal Ryde, Ryde-Yugal, Yugal-Prague, Auburn Yugal, Liverpool Yugal, is a defunct soccer club from Sydney, Australia. The club, formed by Yugoslav immigrants in the mid-1950s, was or ...

, which came third-last that season. A two-year stint at Melita Eagles-Newtown saw the club finish third-last in both the 1967 and '68 Division One seasons. He coached the Australian national side from 1967 to 1970, and coached the team to victory in the

1967 Quoc Khanh Cup The 1967 South Vietnam Independence Cup ( vi, Cúp Quốc Khánh 1967) was an invitational men's association football tournament hosted by South Vietnam and played in Saigon during the Vietnam War by national teams from mostly anti-communist natio ...

, winning all five matches they played. It was Australia's first international footballing honour. He coached Australia for a total of 23 games — 13 wins, seven draws, and three losses. In 1970 he took an Australian side to the Friendship Cup in Saigon, Vietnam. Later that year

Rale Rasic Zvonimir "Rale" Rasic Order of Australia, OAM (/Zvonimir Rale Rašić; born 26 December 1935) is an Australians, Australian former association football player, coach and media personality. Playing career Club Born in Dole (Ljubuški), Dole, Lit ...

was appointed his successor. Vlasits is credited having elevated Jonny Warren to Australian captain. He returned to Pan-Hellenic for the 1972 season, and the team came seventh in Division One. He then managed Northern Districts to the Division Three title in 1974. Joe Vlasits became in 1999 one of the original inductees to the

Football Australia Hall of Fame The aims of the Football Australia Hall of Fame are to celebrate and highlight the achievements of retired players and other participants who have contributed significantly to the game. These are made up of either Australian and/or non-Austral ...

Death

Vlasits died at the age of 64 on 23 April 1985.

Honours

As a manager

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Northern Districts

* New South Wales Division Three: 1974

Managerial statistics

References

External links

Joe Vlasits
Football Australia

on ozfootball.net * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vlasits, Joe Australia men's national soccer team managers 1921 births 1985 deaths Hungarian expatriate football managers Hungarian men's footballers Footballers from Budapest Men's association football players not categorized by position