Zoltan Sabo ( sr-cyr, Золтан Сабо; hu, Szabó Zoltán; 26 May 1972 – 15 December 2020) 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 professional

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 ...

who played as a defender, and later

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 ...

. He also held Hungarian citizenship.

Playing career

In his homeland, Sabo played for

Hajduk Kula FK Hajduk Kula (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Хајдук Кула) was a Serbian football club based in Kula. The club was named after a Hajduk, a much celebrated hero figure in the Serbian epic poetry. On 30 July 2013, just eleven days before start ...

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Војводина}), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital ...

, and

Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belgrade, Serbia, which includes the following clubs: **AK Partizan, athletics ** Biciklistički Klub Partizan, cycling ** Džudo Klub Partizan, judo **FK Partizan, association fo ...

, before moving abroad to South Korea and signing for Suwon Samsung Bluewings in early 2000. He left the club after two years to play for Japanese side

Avispa Fukuoka is a Japanese professional football club, currently competing in the J1 League. The team is located in Hakata, Fukuoka. "Avispa" means " wasp" in Spanish. They were originally called Fujieda Blux and based in Fujieda, Shizuoka before moving ...

. In early 2003, Sabo returned to Europe and joined Hungarian club

Zalaegerszeg Zalaegerszeg (; hr, Jegersek; sl, Jageršek; german: Egersee) is the administrative center of Zala county in western Hungary. Location Zalaegerszeg lies on the banks of the Zala River, close to the Slovenian and Austrian borders and west-south ...

until the end of the season. He also played for

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

in the 2003–04 campaign. In 2004, he returned to Serbia and signed with second-tier side Mladost Apatin. He finished his playing career in third-tier side Cement Beočin.

Managerial career

After a stint as assistant manager to Tomislav Sivić at

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( , sk, Kečkemét) is a city with county rights central part Hungary. It is the eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the capital Budapest and the country's th ...

, Sabo began his managerial career at the helm of his hometown club Radnički Sombor in October 2009. He spent the next two years at the position before leaving the side in November 2011. A month later, Sabo was appointed manager at

Death

Sabo died on 15 December 2020, aged 48, died of a heart attack.IN MEMORIAM Золтан Сабо (1972 – 2020)
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Honours

;Partizan *

First League of FR Yugoslavia The First League of Serbia and Montenegro ( sr, Прва савезна лига / Prva savezna liga) was the top football league of Serbia and Montenegro, before the country's dissolution in 2006. The league was formed following the breakup of Yu ...

: 1996–97, 1998–99 *

FR Yugoslavia Cup The Serbia and Montenegro Cup was an association football knockout cup tournament of Serbia and Montenegro played between 1992 and 2006, after which Serbia and Montenegro became separate nations. The competition was the continuation of the old ...

: 1997–98 ;Suwon Samsung Bluewings *

Asian Club Championship The AFC Champions League (abbreviated as ACL) is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's top-division football clubs. It is the most prestigious club competitio ...

: 2000–01, 2001–02 *

Asian Super Cup The Asian Super Cup was an annual football competition between the winners of the Asian Club Championship and the Asian Cup Winners' Cup. The competition started in 1995, but came to an end in 2002 after both major AFC tournaments were merged int ...

: 2001 *

Korean League Cup The Korean League Cup was a professional football competition in South Korean football. It was held by the K League Federation from 1986 to 2012. Sponsorship Champions List of finals Titles by club K League's principle of official statis ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, 2001 *

Korean Super Cup The Korean Super Cup was the annual curtain-raiser to the South Korean football season from 1999 to 2006, and was contested between the champions of K League and Korean FA Cup. It was dropped from the South Korean football calendar in 2007. Afte ...

: 2000 ;AEK Larnaca *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...

: 2003–04

References

External links

Srbijafudbal profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabo, Zoltan 1972 births 2020 deaths Association football defenders AEK Larnaca FC players Avispa Fukuoka players Cypriot First Division players Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Expatriate footballers in Hungary Expatriate footballers in Japan Expatriate footballers in South Korea First League of Serbia and Montenegro players FK Hajduk Kula managers FK Hajduk Kula players FK Jagodina managers FK Partizan players FK Vojvodina players FK Mladost Apatin players Hungarian football managers Hungarian footballers J2 League players K League 1 players Nemzeti Bajnokság I players Serbian SuperLiga managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate footballers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Hungary Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Japan Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in South Korea Serbia and Montenegro footballers Serbian football managers Serbian footballers Serbian people of Hungarian descent Sportspeople from Sombor Suwon Samsung Bluewings players Zalaegerszegi TE players FK Cement Beočin players FK TSC Bačka Topola managers Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Serbia