Artur Dubravčić (15 September 1894 – 13 March 1969) was a Croatian-Yugoslavian footballer.

Club career

When Dubravčić was still in high school in

Karlovac Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. In the 2021 census, its population was 49,377. Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located southwest of Zagreb and northeast of Rijeka, and is connected to them via the ...

, he was one of the founders and first players of the ŠK Olimpija Karlovac football club, which was established in 1908. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he moved to

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

and joined local side Concordia, where he spent most of his professional career.

International career

Dubravčić made history by being the first captain of

Yugoslavia national football team The Yugoslavia national football team; ; ; represented Yugoslavia in international association football. Although the team mainly represented the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the post-war SFR Yugoslavia, various iterations of the state ...

in the team's inaugural match, a 7–0 defeat versus

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

on 28 August 1920, at the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (; ; ), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (; ; ) and commonly known as Antwerp 1920 (; Dutch language, Dutch and German language, German: ''Antwerpen 1920''), were an international multi-sport event held i ...

, and he also scored their first ever goal (against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, five days later). He went on to appear and captain the team nine times in Yugoslavia's first 10 matches in the period between 1920 and 1924.

Post-playing career

After retiring from football he worked as a football referee,

sports journalist Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in a par ...

for '' Sportske novosti'' and correspondent for ''

Politika ( sr-Cyrl, Политика, lit=Politics) is a Serbian daily newspaper, published in Belgrade. Founded in 1904 by Vladislav F. Ribnikar, it is the oldest daily newspaper still in circulation in the Balkans. Publishing and ownership is publ ...

'', and a football official. He had died suddenly in 1969, just days before he was supposed to be given a life achievement award as part of

Football Association of Yugoslavia The Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ) (, ; ; ) was the governing body of football in Yugoslavia, based in Belgrade, with a major administrative branch in Zagreb. It organized the Yugoslav First League, the Yugoslavia national football t ...

's 50th anniversary celebration.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dubravcic, Artur 1894 births 1969 deaths Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers Men's association football midfielders Olympic footballers for Yugoslavia Footballers at the 1920 Summer Olympics Footballers at the 1924 Summer Olympics HŠK Concordia players Yugoslav First League players People from Vrbovsko Sportspeople from Primorje-Gorski Kotar County People from the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia