Dragan "Don" Popovic (

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (, ), also known as the Serbian script, (, ), is a standardized variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language. It originated in medieval Serbia and was significantly reformed in the 19th cen ...

: Драган Дон Поповић; born 1 January 1941) is a retired professional soccer

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and coach in the United States. He played professionally in Yugoslavia, Canada and the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

. He later coached in both the

and Major Indoor Soccer League. In 1993 became the director of the youth soccer, Lou Fusz Soccer Club, which has teams playing in the

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

Youth Soccer Association (SLYSA) soccer league and the Midwest Regional League (MRL)

Playing career

Club

Popovic turned professional in 1958 at age 17 in Yugoslavia. In 1967, he moved to the United States to play for the St. Louis Stars of the first National Professional Soccer League. In 1968, the NPSL merged with the

United Soccer Association The United Soccer Association (USA) was a professional association football, soccer league featuring teams based in the United States and Canada. The league survived only one season before merging with the National Professional Soccer League ( ...

to form the

. That year, Popovic moved to the

Kansas City Spurs The Kansas City Spurs were an American professional soccer team who played in the North American Soccer League, based in Kansas City, Missouri. They played their home games at Kansas City Municipal Stadium, former home of the Kansas City Chief ...

where he played at least one full year and perhaps part of another. In 1969, he moved back to the Stars where he finished his NASL playing career in 1971. He then moved to Canada where he played for the

Serbian White Eagles Serbian White Eagles Football Club (/''Fudbalski klub Srpski beli orlovi'') is a Canadian semi-professional Association football, soccer team. The team is a member of the Canadian Soccer League, a Non-FIFA international football, non-FIFA sanct ...

of the

Canadian National Soccer League The National Soccer League was a soccer league in Canada that existed from 1926 to 1997. Teams were primarily based in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The league was renamed to Canadian National Soccer League in 1993 following the folding ...

until 1973. That year, he played for the Canada national team in an exhibition game with

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

Managerial career

While playing for the St. Louis Stars, Popovic also served as an assistant coach. In 1974, Popovic became the head coach of the

. He took the team to the 1975

championship. In 1976, the Rochester Lancers of the

hired Popovic as head coach. In 1978, the

New York Arrows The New York Arrows were an indoor soccer team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978 to 1984. They were the MISL's first dynasty, winning the first four championships. H ...

entered the newly created Major Indoor Soccer League. It drew most of its players from the Lancers and hired Popovic as head coach. He led the Arrows to four consecutive MISL championships (1979–1982). The Arrows fired him at the end of February 1983 and he was hired a week later to coach the

Golden Bay Earthquakes Golden means made of, or relating to gold. Golden may also refer to: Places United Kingdom *Golden, in the parish of Probus, Cornwall *Golden Cap, Dorset *Golden Square, Soho, London *Golden Valley, a valley on the River Frome in Gloucestershir ...

. He coached the Earthquakes during the 1983 and 1985 outdoor seasons as well as the 1983–1984 indoor season. The Earthquakes sat out the 1984–1985 indoor season. On 16 December 1984, the

Las Vegas Americans The Las Vegas Americans were a soccer team based out of Las Vegas that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League. Prior to Las Vegas, the team had operated as the Memphis Americans. They only played in Las Vegas during the 1984–85 seaso ...

hired Popovic to replace player-coach

Alan Mayer Alan Mayer (born July 3, 1952) is an American retired soccer goalkeeper. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League and Major Indoor Soccer League and earned six caps with the United States men's national soccer team. In 2019 ...

as head coach. When the Americans folded in June 1985, Popovic was hired by the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit was an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit was founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then returned ...

. The Spirit folded at the end of the season and Popovic committed to coaching a team in Portugal. In December 1985, the

New York Express The New York Express was a soccer team based out of Uniondale, New York that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played only part of the 1986–87 MISL season before folding just after the league's midseason All-Star Break. Their home ...

made an offer to hire Popovic. While he began running practices and overseeing player acquisitions and even coached one game in late January 1987, the team never signed him to a contract. When no coaching jobs became available, Popovic entered the real estate business. In 1989, the expansion

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

hired Popovic. He coached the team for nearly three seasons before being fired in March 1992. He was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame in 2004.

Honors

As player

* NASL All League First Team while playing for the St. Louis Stars: 1971 * NASL All Tournament while playing for the St. Louis Stars in an indoor tournament: 1971

As coach

* National Soccer League Regular Season while coaching the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

* Canadian Open Cup while coaching the Serbian White Eagles:

* Coach of the Year while coaching the

: 1981 * Coach of the Year while coaching the

: 1983 * Inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame: 2004

Youth Soccer Highlights

Popovic was the head coach for the following championship teams: * 2000 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-13 (under 13 years of age) * 2001 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-14 (under 14 years of age) * 2008 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-14 (under 14 years of age) * 2007 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-13 (under 13 years of age) * 2006 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-15 (under 15 years of age)TeamMania.net :: Lou Fusz Soccer Club >> Lou Fusz Strikers Soccer Club
/ref> * 2003 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-15 (under 15 years of age)* 2010 Missouri State Cup, Boys U-16 (under 16 years of age)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic, Don 1941 births Living people Footballers from Berane Serbs of Montenegro American people of Serbian descent Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers HNK Hajduk Split players St. Louis Stars (soccer) players Kansas City Spurs players Serbian White Eagles FC players National Professional Soccer League (1967) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Canadian National Soccer League players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Canada American soccer coaches Yugoslav football managers Serbian White Eagles FC coaches San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) head coaches Canadian National Soccer League coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches St. Louis Storm