Zvonimir "Rale" Rasic
OAM (/Zvonimir Rale Rašić; born 26 December 1935) is an
Australian former
association football player, coach and media personality.
Playing career
Club
Born in
Dole
Dole may refer to:
Places
* Dole, Ceredigion, Wales
* Dole, Idrija, Slovenia
* Dole, Jura, France
** Arrondissement of Dole
* Dole (Kladanj), a village at the entity line of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina-Republika Srpska
* Dole, Ljubuški, ...
,
Littoral Banovina,
Kingdom of Yugoslavia (now
Bosnia and Herzegovina) Rasic begin his career playing in Yugoslav clubs. Also known as Zvonko Rasic,
Zvonko being a usual diminutive for Zvonimir, he played with
FK Proleter Zrenjanin,
[Klubovi](_blank)
at Football Association of Zrenjanin official website FK Vojvodina,
FK Spartak Subotica
Fudbalski klub Spartak Ždrepčeva Krv () is a professional football club from Subotica, Serbia, that plays in the Serbian SuperLiga.
The club was founded in 1945 and was named after Jovan Mikić Spartak, the leader of the Partisans in Subotic ...
and
FK Borac Banja Luka
Fudbalski klub Borac Banja Luka (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Бopaц Бања Лука, ) is a Bosnian professional association football club, based in the city of Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is the major part of th ...
. He migrated to Australia in 1962, but returned to Yugoslavia after 18 months to serve in the army. His obligations met, Rasic returned to Australia, and played football in the
Victorian
Victorian or Victorians may refer to:
19th century
* Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign
** Victorian architecture
** Victorian house
** Victorian decorative arts
** Victorian fashion
** Victorian literature ...
league.
Managerial career
He revolutionised the game in Australia, he was appointed coach in 1970 at just 34 years of age, and in 1974, he led the
Australia national football team to the
World Cup as coach.
After the World Cup, the Australian Soccer Federation sacked Rasic, replacing him with Englishman
Brian Green. Rasic and others believe that he was dumped because he was not seen as being a real "Aussie." He has stated, "They took from me something that I was doing better than anyone else. I was a true-blue Aussie and nobody can deny that. I taught the players how to sing the national anthem."
He was a television presenter on
SBS, during the Australian network's
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
coverage. His biography, "The Rale Rasic Story," was published in 2006 by New Holland.
Honours
Rasic was inducted into the
Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1989.
In 2001, he was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal and the
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...
for "services to soccer" and in 2004 the Medal of the Order of Australia for "service to soccer as a player, coach and administrator."
References
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20071009172011/http://www.theworldgame.com.au/aussiesabroad/index.php?pid=st&cid=69925
* http://www.insidesport.com.au/is/index?pg=adrenalin&spg=alliknow/alliknow_rale_rasic.htm
* http://www.abc.net.au/rn/australiatalksback/stories/2006/1657496.htm
Interview with Ralé Rašić, 1974 Socceroos' coach* http://www.mvrfc.com/rr.htm
* http://www.ozfootball.net/ark/Players/R/RB.html
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rasic, Rale
1935 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Mostar
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Australian people of Serbian descent
Yugoslav emigrants to Australia
Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Australia
Association football defenders
Yugoslav footballers
FK Proleter Zrenjanin players
FK Vojvodina players
FK Spartak Subotica players
FK Borac Banja Luka players
Footscray JUST players
Yugoslav First League players
Australian soccer coaches
Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate football managers
Serbian football managers
Serbian expatriate football managers
1974 FIFA World Cup managers
Australia national soccer team managers
Marconi Stallions FC managers
Sydney Olympic FC managers
South Melbourne FC managers
APIA Leichhardt FC managers
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Recipients of the Centenary Medal
Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
Australian television presenters