Aleksandar "Tirke" Tirnanić ( sr-Cyrl, Александар "Тирке" Тирнанић; 15 July 1910 – 13 December 1992) was a Yugoslav football player and manager.

Early life and beginnings

Born in the central Serbian small town of Krnjevo (

Velika Plana Velika Plana ( sr-Cyrl, Велика Плана, pronounced ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District of Serbia. As of 2011, the town has 16,088 inhabitants, while the municipality has 40,902. Velika Plana lies on the left b ...

municipality), Tirnanić was still in infancy when his working-class family moved to the capital Belgrade. He barely remembered his father, a metal factory worker who died in 1914 as part of the Serbian Army

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

effort. Raised by a single mother, young Tirnanić quickly developed a love for football, which he played endlessly at Bara Venecija pitches on the

Sava River The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

's right bank. He got spotted there by coach Radenko Mitrović who brought the talented youngster to

SK Jugoslavija Sportski klub Jugoslavija ( en, Sport Club Yugoslavia), commonly known as SK Jugoslavija (Serbian Cyrillic: Cпортски клуб Југославија) was a Serbian football club from Belgrade. It was originally formed as SK Velika Srbija ...

youth setup. However, Tirnanić soon moved to arch crosstown rival

BSK BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

youth squad where he quickly developed into a notable right-winger. Realizing his potential, he completely immersed himself in football and abandoned school.

Career

He made his first-team senior debut as a 17-year-old, quickly marking himself out as an able and temperamental player, and forming a midfield partnership with Moša Marjanović. Tirnanić spent most of his senior club career with

BSK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club'') is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, more precisely in Karaburma ...

for which he appeared in 500 matches. During his career with BSK Tirnanić had great rivals

Leo Lemešić Leo Lemešić (8 June 1908 in Sinj – 15 August 1978 in Split) was a Croatian football striker and later a football manager. He became a referee in his later years. Club career He spent his entire club career with Hajduk Split. In total, Lem ...

(1924-1940) and

Ljubo Benčić Ljubomir "Ljubo" Benčić (2 January 1905 – 24 February 1992) was a Croatian and Yugoslav football player. Playing career Club Spending his entire career at Hajduk Split, Benčić was a renowned right winger and centre forward. He started ...

(1921-1935) who played for Hajduk Split. Additionally, he earned 50 caps and scored 12 goals for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia national team from 1929 to 1940. In 1937 he moved again to

where he played until 1938 when he joined

BASK Bask may refer to: * to bask, or to sunbathe * Bask, Gilan, Iran; a village * Kalle Bask, a Finnish sailor * Bask (horse) (1956–1979), an Arabian stallion * Bask Om, a fictional character from Zeta Gundam * Bäsk, a Swedish liquor * FK BASK ( ...

. For BASK he played from 1938 to 1939. He later played for two Belgrade based clubs Jedinstvo (1939–1941) and Sloga (1942–1943).Beogradski sokolovi page 96

International career

He also appeared in the 1930 FIFA World Cup. The day before he turned 20 he scored a goal, which made him at the time the youngest goalscorer in the World Cup. Later he has been beaten by Manuel Rosas in 1930, Pelé in 1958,

Michael Owen Michael James Owen (born 14 December 1979) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Since r ...

in 1998,

Dmitri Sychev Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev ( rus, Дми́трий Евге́ньевич Сычёв, Dmitriy Yevgen’yevich Sychyov, ˈdmʲitrʲɪj jɪvˈgʲenʲɪvʲɪtɕ sɨˈtɕɵf, Ru-Dmitri Yevgenyevich Sychev.ogg; born 26 October 1983) is a former Russi ...

in 2002 and latest

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

in 2006, which makes him the sixth youngest goalscorer in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. Later, he coached the Yugoslav team in two more World Cups, 1954 and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

, the football tournaments at the Summer Olympics, 1948,

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

when Yugoslavia won gold medal, also appearing in the

1960 European Nations' Cup The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the first edition of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Paris afte ...

when Yugoslavia scored second place. During the

Balkan Cup The Balkan Cup was an international association football competition contested on and off from 1929 to 1980 by countries from the Balkans region. The most successful team was Romania with four titles. Overview The first edition featured Romania, ...

, held in 1935 in Athens, Greece, Tirnanić and Tomašević were the top goalscorers of the tournament with 3 goals each. Thanks to these contributions Yugoslavia won the Balkan Cup in that edition, leaving behind Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. In the films ''

Montevideo, God Bless You! ''Montevideo, God Bless You!'' ( sr, Монтевидео, Бог те видео!, Montevideo, Bog te video!; internationally titled ''Montevideo, Taste of a Dream'') is a 2010 Serbian film directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić about the events leading t ...

'' (2010) and ''

See You in Montevideo ''See You in Montevideo'' ( sr, Монтевидео, видимо се!/''Montevideo, vidimo se!'') is a 2014 Serbian comedy film written and directed by Dragan Bjelogrlić. It is the sequel to the 2010 film '' Montevideo, God Bless You!'' It w ...

'' (2014), Tirnanić was portrayed by actor Miloš Biković.

International goals

Yugoslavia's goal tally first

References

External links

Profile
at reprezentacija.rs {{DEFAULTSORT:Tirnanic, Aleksandar 1910 births 1992 deaths People from Velika Plana Serbian footballers Serbian football managers Yugoslav football managers OFK Beograd players FK BASK players SK Jedinstvo Beograd players Yugoslav First League players 1930 FIFA World Cup players 1954 FIFA World Cup managers 1958 FIFA World Cup managers 1960 European Nations' Cup managers Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Association football wingers