Božidar "Božo" Janković (

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, th ...

: Божидар "Божо" Јанковић; 22 May 1951 – 1 October 1993) was a Yugoslav 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 le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

Club career

Sometimes also referred to by another nickname Boško, Janković grew up in Sarajevo where he began playing football in

FK Željezničar FK or fk may refer to: In arts and entertainment: * Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the Terminator (franchise), ''Terminator'' film franchise. * Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block. * Funky Kong, a video ...

youth system. He signed a professional contract at the age of 17 after passing through every age level at the club, making his First League debut during 1968–69 season. He was the Yugoslav First League joint topscorer in 1970–71 season alongside Hajduk's

Petar Nadoveza Petar Nadoveza (9 April 1942 – 19 March 2023) was a Croatian professional football player and manager. During his playing spell at Hajduk he was nicknamed "Pere, splitski Pele" which meant "Pete, the Pelé from Split". Playing career Šibe ...

. Particularly notable during this season was Janković's performance in an away league match versus

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

Marakana The Rajko Mitić Stadium ( sr, / , ), previously known as Red Star Stadium ( sr, / ), also known as Marakana ( sr-Cyrl, Маракана), is a multi-use stadium in Belgrade, Serbia which has been the home ground of Red Star Belgrade since ...

when he scored 4 goals - the game ended 4–1 for Željezničar. He spent 11 seasons with FK Željezničar (256 league matches, 96 goals) before leaving to join English side

Middlesbrough FC Middlesbrough Football Club ( ) is a professional football club in Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England, which competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium ...

in February 1979. He played 42 games in two and a half seasons spent there. He scored 16 goals and he was a club topscorer in 1980–81 season with 12 goals. At the end of the season, he surprised everyone as he decided to end his playing career and start a new one as a lawyer. However, he postponed that decision and signed a contract with

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

. This excellent finisher ended his career there, scoring 3 games in 21 matches in all competitions.

International career

Janković made his debut for

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

in an April 1972 European Championship qualification match against the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

and earned two caps. His other international appearance was a month later, the reverse game against the Soviet Union in Moscow.

Personal life

He had returned to Sarajevo where he eventually started his law practice. He was also a member of FK Željezničar board. He left the city after the start of War in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In October 1993 he died in Kotor of natural causes at the age of 42.story at Serbian Federation site
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Honours

Željezničar Sarajevo * Yugoslav First League: 1971–72 Middlesbrough * Kirin Cup:

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Individual * Yugoslav First League top scorer: 1970–71

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jankovic, Bozo 1951 births 1993 deaths Footballers from Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina footballers Association football forwards Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers FK Željezničar Sarajevo players Middlesbrough F.C. players FC Metz players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav Second League players English Football League players Ligue 1 players Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France