Mirko Braun (20 August 1942 – 22 March 2004) 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 ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player.

Club career

Born in

Hrvatska Dubica Hrvatska Dubica is a village and a municipality in central Croatia in the Sisak-Moslavina County. It is located on the northern bank of the river Una, east of Hrvatska Kostajnica and southwest of Jasenovac and Novska. The town of Bosanska Dubica ...

, Braun began playing as a youngster for the local club NK Una. While playing for Una in Bjelovar he was spotted by

NK 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 ...

's scouts who invited the talented

left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

to come 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 ...

for a trial in late 1960. After impressing Dinamo's manager

Márton Bukovi Márton Bukovi (10 December 1903 – 2 February 1985) was a Hungarian association football player and manager. After playing for Ferencvárosi TC, FC Sète and Hungary he became a coach, most notably with Građanski Zagreb, MTK Hungária, Ol ...

he signed for the Blues and quickly went on to establish himself as a regular member of the team's defensive line in the 1961–62 season. By 1964 Braun had 57 appearances and 2 goals for the club in 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, ...

and was an important member of the squad which won the 1963

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

and reached the

1962–63 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup The fifth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1962–63 season. There were five representative teams for some major European cities, four of which lost out in the first round. Valencia CF, Valencia defeated GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb ...

final, in which they lost to Valencia CF 4–1 on aggregate. Led by the prolific goalscorer

Slaven Zambata Slaven Zambata (24 September 1940 – 29 October 2020) was a Croatian professional football player best known for his time at Dinamo Zagreb in the 1960s, for whom he appeared in 171 Yugoslav First League matches. He was also a Yugoslav interna ...

the team also finished runners up in the

1962–63 Yugoslav First League The 1962–63 Yugoslav First League season was the 17th season of the First Federal League ( hbs, Prva savezna liga), the top level association football league of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. Fourteen teams contested the compet ...

. In December 1963 he played in Dinamo's

1963–64 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1963–64 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Sporting CP in a replayed final victory against MTK Budapest. First round Bye: Tottenham Hotspur , Motor Zwickau , Linfield F.C. 1 Olymp ...

first round second leg win over Celtic F.C. at Maksimir Stadium – although Celtic progressed through due to the Scots' earlier 3–0 win in Glasgow. In early 1964 Braun was seriously injured in a car accident. He then spent the entire 1964–65 and 1965–66 seasons recovering away from the pitch. He tried to return to football in the following season and even had 15 appearances in the

1966–67 Yugoslav First League The 1966–67 Yugoslav First League season was the 21st season of the First Federal League ( sh, Prva savezna liga), the top level association football league of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. Sixteen teams contested the competi ...

, but his good form never returned. After a single league appearance in 1967–68 Braun decided to retire from the game in his mid-twenties.

International career

Braun's good performances earned him a call-up for the

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 ...

and he had his international debut in a crucial 1964 European Nations' Cup qualifier against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

on 18 September 1963. Although Braun's club teammate Zambata scored to put Yugoslavia 1–0 up in the opening minutes, the game eventually ended in a 3–2 defeat. Nevertheless, Braun earned his second and third cap in friendlies against

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

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

in October and November.

References

External links

*
Mirko Braun profile
at the

Serbia national football team The Serbia national football team ( sr, Фудбалска репрезентација Србије, Fudbalska reprezentacija Srbije) represents Serbia in men's international football competition. It is controlled by the Football Association of ...

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Mirko 1942 births 2004 deaths People from Hrvatska Dubica Association football defenders Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers GNK Dinamo Zagreb players Yugoslav First League players Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery