Drago "Mišo" Smajlović (; born 28 October 1938) is a Bosnian retired 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
Club
Smajlović began his career in Sloga, a small amateur club from
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 ...
. In 1955 he moved to the youth team of
Željezničar. Two years later, Smajlović signed a professional contract with Željezničar for whom he played more than 400 games and scored 241 goals. He was handed his debut by
Miroslav Brozović
Miroslav "Meho" Brozović (26 August 1917 – 5 October 2006) was a Bosnian Croat professional footballer and football manager who played international football for the Yugoslavia national team, as well as the national team fielded by the Indepe ...
. If considering only official matches, he played 190 games and scored 97 goals (with 88 goals in 166 league matches). Smajlović was the top goalscorer of 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 compe ...
season with 18 goals.
In 1967, he went abroad to Belgium to play at
Standard Liège
Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège.
They are one of the most ...
. After a season and a half in Belgium, Smajlović returned to Yugoslavia and continued playing for
Olimpija Ljubljana and
Čelik Zenica after which he ended his professional playing career.
International
Smajlović was a fine striker, one of the best in Yugoslavia at the time. He played for youth national teams and the "B team", before making his debut for the senior
Yugoslav national team in 1963. He collected four
caps
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Science and technology Computing
* CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters
* Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...
for Yugoslavia, scoring one goal. His final international was an April 1964
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
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
.
Smajlović is remembered as a great sportsman. Journalists often called him a ''gentleman in the football shoes''. Unfortunately, the fact that Smajlović did not play for one of the bigger Yugoslav clubs limited his chances of being a regular choice in the national team.
Managerial career
After his playing days were over, Smajlović dedicated himself to a managerial career. In 1988, he was invited to Canada and soon after was named
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities ...
of
Toronto Croatia
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...
in the
National Soccer League. Smajlović was the manager of his former club
Željezničar on several occasions. He also worked as a sporting director in the club. It is important to say that he was among the responsible ones for saving Željezničar going
bankrupt
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
during the
Bosnian War.
In 1997, he was elected to be a head coach of the
Bosnia and Herzegovina U21 national team. After
Faruk Hadžibegić
Faruk Hadžibegić (; born 7 October 1957) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.
Club career
During his career, Hadžibegić played for hometown club Sarajev ...
stepped down as senior
Bosnia and Herzegovina national team head coach in October 1999, Smajlović was first appointed as a caretaker head coach and several months later, in 2000, he was definitely elected as head coach of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. After the end of his contract in 2002, Smajlović never renewed it.
He ultimately decided to end his managerial career after leaving the national team.
Honours
Player
Željezničar
*
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 ...
(West):
1961–62
Čelik Zenica
Mitropa Cup
at rsssf.com
*Mitropa Cup
The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale or Central European Cup, was one of the first international major European football cups for club sides. It was conducted among the successor states of the former Austria-Hunga ...
: 1971–72
Individual
Performance
*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, ...
Top Goalscorer: 1962–63 (18 goals)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smajlovic, Miso
1938 births
Living people
Footballers from Sarajevo
Association football forwards
Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers
Yugoslav footballers
Yugoslavia international footballers
FK Željezničar Sarajevo players
Standard Liège players
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) players
NK Čelik Zenica players
Yugoslav First League players
Yugoslav Second League players
Belgian First Division A players
Yugoslav expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Belgium
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Yugoslav football managers
Toronto Croatia managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers
FK Željezničar Sarajevo managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina national under-21 football team managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team managers
Canadian National Soccer League coaches
Yugoslav First League managers
Yugoslav expatriate football managers
Expatriate soccer managers in Canada
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Canada