Velimir Sombolac (
Serbian Cyrillic
The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, t ...
: Велимир Сомболац; 27 February 1939 – 22 May 2016) was a
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
n
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
and manager. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
.
Playing career
Club
Following the steps of his elder brother Petar, he started playing in his hometown club
FK BSK Banja Luka
Fudbalski klub BSK Banja Luka ( sr-cyr, Фудбалски клуб БCK Бања Лука) is a Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club based in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or ...
where he, with his team, surprisingly achieved the third place in the Yugoslav national youth championship. After this success, BSK coach Aco Mastala received a proposal to move to the city's main club
FK Borac Banja Luka, which he accepted and brought along some of the players that helped him previously, between them, obviously, Velimir Sombolac. While in Borac, Velimir's good exhibitions didn't pass unnoticed, and, beside starting to represent the
Yugoslav under-21 team, two seasons after he came there, received an invitation to move to one of the greatest Yugoslav clubs, the Belgrade's
FK Partizan
Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...
. There, playing alongside stars like
Milutin Šoškić
Milutin Šoškić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милутин Шошкић; 31 December 1937 – 27 August 2022) was a Serbian professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is considered one of FK Partizan's greatest players.
Biography
He was b ...
,
Milan Galić
Milan Galić ( sr-Cyrl, Милан Галић, ; 8 March 1938 – 13 September 2014) was a Yugoslav and Serbian professional footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics.
During ...
,
Fahrudin Jusufi
Fahrudin Jusufi ( sr-Cyrl, Фахрудин Јусуфи, ; 8 December 1939 – 9 August 2019) was a Yugoslav footballer who most notably played for Partizan, Eintracht Frankfurt and the Yugoslav national team.
Playing career Club career
Jusufi ...
, and others, he played six seasons with a total of 260 matches, being national champion on four occasions. In 1965 he moved to
NK Olimpija Ljubljana
Nogometni klub Olimpija Ljubljana (; en, Olimpija Ljubljana Football Club), commonly referred to as Olimpija Ljubljana or simply Olimpija, is a professional football club, based in the city of Ljubljana, Slovenia. The club competes in the Slo ...
where he played until 1970. Together with
Mišo Smajlović, Arslanagić and, again, Šoškić, they would make Olimpija one of the most attractive
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, ...
teams. In 1970, instead of moving abroad, as many other Yugoslav players in that period and with his age did, he moved to Second League
NK Orijent Rijeka where he would play one season, before returning to FK Borac Banja Luka where he hung up his boots in 1973.
International
After having played ten matches for the Yugoslav U-21 team, and also five for the national "B" team, he was in the Olympic team that represented Yugoslavia at the
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
held in Rome, and where
Yugoslavia won the gold eliminating hosts Italy in the semi-finals, and beating Denmark ( 3–1 ) in the final. Sombolac played five matches for the
Yugoslavia national football team, his final being a September 1960 Olympic Games match against
Italya.
Managerial career
Right after retiring, in 1973, he took charge of a small regional club called FK Sloga Gornji Pogradci, that provided him with crucial experience for returning, in 1974, to Borac, to become the assistant manager until 1976. During these years, Borac played one
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, ...
final, also played in the
European Cup Winners Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...
and gained promotion to the Yugoslav First League. Then he took charge as main manager of
FK Kozara Gradiška
Fudbalski klub Kozara Gradiška (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Koзapa Градишка) is a professional football club from the town of Gradiška, in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club played in the Premier League of B ...
. After three seasons there, he stayed in the club, but he found his true vocation, which was working with youth.
After the break-up of Yugoslavia, he worked at the
Football Association of Republika Srpska
The Football Association of Republika Srpska ( sr, Фудбалски савез Републике Српске, ФСРС / ''Fudbalski savez Republike Srpske'', ''FSRS'') is the official football association of the Republika Srpska entity of B ...
, helping to form all the youth category teams. From 1998 to 2001, he was the head coach of the
Republika Srpska official football team.
Honours
Club
;Partizan
*
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, ...
(4):
1960–61,
1961–62,
1962–63,
1964–65
National team
;Yugoslavia
*
1960 Summer Olympics
The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...
:
Gold medal
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sombolac, Velimir
1939 births
2016 deaths
Sportspeople from Banja Luka
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Association football defenders
Yugoslav footballers
Yugoslavia international footballers
Footballers at the 1960 Summer Olympics
Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia
Olympic gold medalists for Yugoslavia
Olympic medalists in football
Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics
FK Borac Banja Luka players
FK Partizan players
NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) players
HNK Orijent players
Yugoslav Second League players
Yugoslav First League players
Yugoslav football managers
FK Kozara Gradiška managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers