Mirsad Fazlagić (born 4 April 1943) is a Bosnian retired 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 ...

and

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 ...

, considered one of the best full-backs of his generation.

Club career

Fazlagić started his football career in the youth setup of his local hometown team

Čapljina Čapljina ( sr-cyrl, Чапљина, ) is a city located in Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located on the border with Croatia a mere from the Adriatic Sea. The ...

in 1957. As a talented seventeen year old, he was acquired by

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, ...

side

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

, where he also made his debut in the top tier of Yugoslav football. After one season with the blues he made a switch to bitter city rivals FK Sarajevo in the summer of 1960. The team led by prolific scorer

Asim Ferhatović Asim Ferhatović "Hase" (; 24 January 1933 – 25 January 1987) was a Bosnian professional footballer who played as a striker. He started his football career in 1948 with hometown club FK Sarajevo, for whom he made his first-team debut in 1952. ...

finished fourth in the league during the 1963–64 season, with Fazlagić establishing himself as the team's starting right-back. Two years later the maroon-whites finished runners-up behind

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 ...

and eventually went on to win the league during the 1966–67 season, with him captaining the outfit. FK Sarajevo was narrowly beaten by Manchester United in the

1967–68 European Cup The 1967–68 European Cup was the 13th European Cup, UEFA's premier club football tournament. The competition was won by Manchester United, who beat Benfica 4–1 in the final at Wembley Stadium, London. The European Cup title marked the tenth ...

second round, despite hosting a goalless draw in the first leg. The second leg played at Old Trafford ended in controversy after the ball went out of bounds prior to the hosts scoring the winning goal. After signing a pre-contract with Juventus in the fall of 1971, which would have made him the most expensive defender in history until that point, he suffered a horrendous knee injury and the transfer fell through. After recovering for nearly a year, he was again fielded by then-FK Sarajevo manager Srboljub Markušević. He retired prematurely in 1975 having played 404 matches for FK Sarajevo while finding the back of the net 10 times. His farewell match for the club was against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal, founded Sporting Club de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP, often known abroad as Sporting Lisbon , is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Lisbon. It is best known for the professional foot ...

at the Stadium Koševo, a 2–2 draw.

International career

Jugoslovanska nogometna reprezentanca 1968

On the international stage, Fazlagić made 19 appearances for

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

, earning his first cap in a European Championship qualification match on 31 March 1963 against

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(1–0). He is especially known internationally for being the captain of

during the

1968 European Football Championship The 1968 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Italy. This was the third UEFA European Championship, an event held every four years and organised by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 5 and 10 June 1968. It ...

, where the side took silver after a tight loss to the home team

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

after a two-legged final at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. He was named part of the tournament's All-star team. He also took part in the 1964 Summer Olympics. His final international was that June 1968 final loss against Italy.

Managerial career

In 1974, Fazlagić was named player-manager of FK Sarajevo, which he led for one season, eventually being transferred to the club's youth department in order to gain more coaching experience. After eight years of managing the youth teams, he was named assistant manager to former club and international teammate

Boško Antić Božidar "Boško" Antić ( sr-Cyrl, Божидар Бошко Антић, ; 7 January 1944 – 4 December 2007) was a Yugoslav and Serbian professional football manager and former player. Playing career Being drafted into the youth setup of Sa ...

. The pair led a talented team of youngsters, including the likes of

Faruk Hadžibegić Faruk Hadžibegić (; born 7 October 1957) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. Club career During his career, Hadžibegić played for hometown club Sarajev ...

Husref Musemić Husref Musemić (born 4 July 1961) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who is the manager of Bosnian Premier League club Igman Konjic. He is regarded as one of the most successful Bosnian football managers. Club career ...

, Slaviša Vukičević,

Predrag Pašić Predrag Pašić (born 18 October 1958) is a Bosnian retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. Club career During his career, he played for hometown club Sarajevo and German clubs VfB Stuttgart and ...

and Zijad Švrakić, to the Yugoslav First League title in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

, thus becoming champions both as players and as managers. In 1986, he was named assistant to

Mirko Jozić Mirko Jozić (; born 8 April 1940) is a Croatian retired professional football manager and player. Managerial career As manager, he won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship in Chile with the Yugoslavia under-20 national team composed of fam ...

in the Yugoslavia under-20 team, taking the side to the

1987 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship took place in Chile from 10 to 25 October 1987. The 1987 championship was the 6th contested and won for the first time by Yugoslavia. Remarkably, in the course of the tournament the Yugoslavs defeated each of ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. The team, fielding many future European stars including

Zvonimir Boban Zvonimir "Zvone" Boban (; born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former footballer who currently works at UEFA as the Chief of Football. Boban played as a midfielder and was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder. He played most of his professi ...

Robert Prosinečki Robert Prosinečki (; born 12 January 1969) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Early in his career, he was part of the Red Star Belgrade team that won three Yugoslav First League titles and ...

Davor Šuker Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former footballer who played as a striker. He served as president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 to 2021. He began his footballing career in his hometo ...

and

Predrag Mijatović Predrag "Peđa" Mijatović ( sr-Cyrl, Предраг Мијатовић, ; born 19 January 1969) is a Montenegrin retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At club level, Mijatović played for six clubs: Budućnost, Partizan, Va ...

, lifted the trophy. In 1988, he had a brief stint in Melbourne, Australia with Footscray JUST in the National Soccer League. From 1989 to 1990, he also managed

Anorthosis Famagusta FC Anorthosis Famagusta ( el, Ανόρθωση Αμμοχώστου, translit=Anorthosi Ammochostou), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Anorthosis Famagusta multi-sport club fo ...

in the

Cypriot First Division The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...

. With the start of the Bosnian war and the

Siege of Sarajevo The Siege of Sarajevo ( sh, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by the forces of the Yugoslav People's Army, the city was then be ...

in 1992, Fazlagić rejoined FK Sarajevo and took part in the club's famous 1993–94 World tour, with the goal of garnering support and international aid for the newly independent state. After the end of the war he worked as a manager in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

Personal life

His son-in-law, Mirza Varešanović is a former

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

international player and current manager.

Honours

Player

Sarajevo *

: 1966–67

International

Yugoslavia *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations ( UEFA). The competition is conte ...

runner-up:

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

Individual

Awards * UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament:

As assistant manager

Sarajevo *

: 1984–85 Yugoslavia Youth *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

References

External links

*
Serbian national football team website

Mirsad Fazlagić profile
at soccerway.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Fazlagic, Mustafa 1943 births Living people People from Čapljina Bosniaks of Bosnia and Herzegovina Association football fullbacks Yugoslav footballers Yugoslavia international footballers Olympic footballers of Yugoslavia Footballers at the 1964 Summer Olympics UEFA Euro 1968 players HNK Čapljina players FK Željezničar Sarajevo players FK Sarajevo players Yugoslav Second League players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav football managers Yugoslav First League managers FK Sarajevo managers Anorthosis Famagusta F.C. managers Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers Al Tadhamon SC managers Yugoslav expatriate football managers Expatriate soccer managers in Australia Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Australia Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Kuwait Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate sportspeople in Kuwait Kuwait Premier League managers