Ninoslav "Nino" Zec (, born 7 July 1949) is a retired 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 ...

who played as

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or striker.

Career

Born in Miloševo,

SR Serbia , life_span = 1944–1992 , status = Constituent state of Yugoslavia , p1 = Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia , flag_p1 = Flag of German Reich (1935–1945).svg , p2 ...

, Zec began his professional career in 1968 with

OFK 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 Karaburm ...

. In 1978, Zec moved to the United States to play in the NASL, signing with the Tulsa Roughnecks. He moved to the Atlanta Chiefs in 1979 and was traded to the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion t ...

during the season. In 1980, the league terminated the Houston franchise and in December 1980 the

Jacksonville Tea Men The Jacksonville Tea Men were a soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. Overall, the Tea Men played a total of four seasons in Jacksonville, first in the major league-level North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1980–1982, ...

signed Zec. In 1983, the Tea Men moved to the American Soccer League. Zec spent the 1983 season with the Tea Men in the ASL. When the ASL collapsed at the end of the season, Zec and his teammates moved to the

United Soccer League United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

. He also played six games for the Pittsburgh Spirit during the 1979–1980 Major Indoor Soccer League season. He played another three games for the Tulsa Roughnecks during the 1983–1984 NASL indoor season. He currently lives in Florida where he owns a flooring business. His father in law was one of the most famous Yugoslavian strikers Stjepan Bobek. Zec was the first player ever to receive a yellow card in Yugoslavian football after the booking rule was introduced. Sportski spomenar – Ninoslav Zec, radio interview at RTS
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References

External links

1949 births Living people American Soccer League (1933–1983) players Atlanta Chiefs players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Yugoslav expatriates in the United States Yugoslav men's footballers Houston Hurricane players Jacksonville Tea Men players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players OFK Beograd players Pittsburgh Spirit players Serbian men's footballers Tulsa Roughnecks (1978–1984) players United Soccer League (1984–85) players Men's association football midfielders Men's association football forwards Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Sportspeople from Jagodina {{Serbia-footy-midfielder-stub