Ljubomir "Ljubo" Benčić (2 January 1905 – 24 February 1992) 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 ...

n and Yugoslav

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.

Playing career

Club

Spending his entire career at

Hajduk Split Hrvatski nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split () or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, t ...

, Benčić was a renowned right winger and centre forward. He started playing top-flight football in 1921 and by 1923 he became the club's best all-time scorer with a total of 43 goals. In 1925 he played his 100th game for the Whites, and in 1930 he scored his 300th goal for Hajduk. Until his retirement in 1935 he scored an amazing 355 goals in 353 official games for Hajduk, which makes him currently Hajduk's third all-time goalscorer (behind

Frane Matošić Frane Matošić (25 November 1918 – 29 October 2007) was a Croatian football player and coach who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of Hajduk Split's greatest players and he is the club's all-time leading goalscorer. Playing career ...

with 729 and

Leo Lemešić Leo Lemešić (8 June 1908 in Sinj – 15 August 1978 in Split) was a Croatian football striker and later a football manager. He became a referee in his later years. Club career He spent his entire club career with Hajduk Split. In total, Lem ...

with 445 goals). With Hajduk he won two Yugoslav championship titles, in 1927 and 1929, and was also the league's top scorer in 1928, scoring 8 goals in 5 games.

International

Between 1924 and 1927 Benčić earned 5 caps and scored 2 goals for

Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team; hr, Jugoslavenska nogometna reprezentacija; sl, Jugoslovanska nogometna reprezentanca; mk, Фудбалска репрезентација на Југославија, Fudbalska reprezentacija na Jugosl ...

. He debuted on 28 September 1924 against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

and his last game for the national team was on 28 October 1927 against

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

. The game ended in a disastrous 7–1 defeat, and Benčić scored the only goal for Yugoslavia. He was also part of Yugoslavia's team at the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from ...

, but he did not play in any matches.

Managerial career

After he stopped playing in 1935 he stayed in football and had two stints as manager of Hajduk: from 1939 to 1941 (the last two seasons before

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 ...

, during the war, and then the first few seasons after the war from 1946 to 1948. When he moved to

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 ...

he managed NK Milicioner (which later merged with NK Borac to form

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 ...

). In 1957 he managed

Bologna FC Bologna Football Club 1909, commonly referred to as Bologna (), is an Italian association football, professional football club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna that plays in Serie A, the top flight of Football in Italy, Italian football. The club ...

with

Bernard Vukas Bernard "Bajdo" Vukas (1 May 1927 – 4 April 1983) was a Croatian football player during Yugoslavia. Biography Vukas played as a left winger/ forward and is mostly remembered for his extraordinary dribbling ability. In 2000, he was voted by t ...

. Upon returning to Croatia he managed

NK Trešnjevka Nogometni klub Trešnjevka is a professional association football club from the city of Zagreb that is situated in Croatia. Formed in 1926 under the name Panonija, since 1929 the clubs has been known as Trešnjevka. It was promoted to the Yugo ...

and

NK Zadar Nogometni klub Zadar ( en, Football Club Zadar), commonly referred to as NK Zadar or simply Zadar, was a Croatian football club based in Zadar, a city on the Adriatic coast, best known for playing in the top flight of Croatian football for alm ...

. Benčić died in 1992 in Zagreb.

Honours

* Yugoslav championship (2): 1927, 1929 *Yugoslav championship top scorer: 1928

References

External links

*
Profile
at the

Football Association of Serbia The Football Association of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски савез Србије, ФСС / ) is the governing body of football in Serbia, based in Belgrade. It organizes Serbian football leagues, namely the Serbian Superliga, the Serbia n ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Bencic, Ljubo 1905 births 1992 deaths People from Stari Grad, Croatia People from the Kingdom of Dalmatia Association football forwards Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia Footballers at the 1928 Summer Olympics HNK Hajduk Split players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav football managers HNK Hajduk Split managers HNK Rijeka managers NK Zagreb managers Bologna F.C. 1909 managers NK Zadar managers Yugoslav expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Italy Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Italy