Marcel Žigante (1929 – 8 March 2015) was a Yugoslav and later Croatian professional
football manager
''Football Manager'' (also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008) is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game bega ...
and former
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who ...
.
Playing career
Born in
Rijeka,
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...
, present day
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 ...
, Žigante's
football career began in a small club called Šparta Zagreb in 1943. After the end of
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 opposing ...
, he started playing for
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 ...
in 1945. He did not stay there for long though. First, Žigante went to
Čapljina
Čapljina ( sr-cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea.
The ...
and then, in 1949, he joined
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...
. He played there until 1955, during which time he collected 96 league appearances. Žigante then played with
Radnički Beograd as they reached 3rd place in the
1955–56 Yugoslav First League
The 1955–56 Yugoslav First League season was the tenth season of the First Federal League (Serbian: ''Prva savezna liga'', Croatian: ''Prva savezna liga''), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishme ...
season.
His next club was Sarajevo's fierce
city rival Željezničar. He played in 41 league games and scored 11 goals for the club during his three-year tenure. Žigante decided to end his playing career in 1960 after leaving Željezničar. He is remembered as one of the best
right winger
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
s during the 1940s and 1950s in Yugoslavia.
Managerial career
Although he was a geography teacher as well, Žigante stayed in football as a manager. He was first manager of
Famos Hrasnica (1962–1964) during which time they got promoted to the
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to:
* Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name:
** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...
. After that, he was the manager of
Rudar Kakanj (1964–1965) and
Leotar (1965–1966). In 1966, Žigante returned to
Željezničar where he was one of the creators of a great generation of players that won the
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, ...
in 1972 alongside
Milan Ribar
Milan Ribar (21 November 1930 – 26 May 1996) was a Bosnian professional football manager and former player.
He is the only manager in Željezničar history to have won the Yugoslav First League.
Playing career
Ribar played for hometown club ...
. He worked as the manager of Željezničar in the
1966–67 and
1967–68 seasons.
In 1968, he became the new manager of
Bor (1968–1972), which he promoted to the
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, ...
in 1972. Žigante then managed
Rijeka (1972–1973) and
Čelik Zenica (1974–1975), with whom he won the
UEFA Intertoto Cup in
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
.
Death
Žigante died on Sunday, 8 March 2015, in his hometown of
Rijeka,
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 ...
.
Honours
Manager
Bor
*
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to:
* Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name:
** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...
: 1971–72 (East)
Čelik Zenica
*
UEFA Intertoto Cup:
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
(Joint Winner)
References
External links
*
Marcel Žiganteat nogomet.lzmk.hr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zigante, Marcel
1929 births
2015 deaths
Footballers from Rijeka
Men's association football wingers
Yugoslav men's footballers
GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
HNK Čapljina players
FK Sarajevo players
FK Radnički Beograd players
FK Željezničar Sarajevo players
Yugoslav First League players
Yugoslav Second League players
Yugoslav football managers
FK Famos Hrasnica managers
FK Rudar Kakanj managers
FK Leotar managers
FK Željezničar Sarajevo managers
FK Bor managers
HNK Rijeka managers
HNK Orijent managers
NK Čelik Zenica managers
Yugoslav First League managers