Franjo Vladić (19 October 1950 – 18 June 2024) was a Bosnian 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 lea ...

who played as a

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 ...

. He also briefly worked as a

football manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

Club career

Vladić began his club career with the then-largest regional side in

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...

, Velež Mostar, where he played for a decade and excelled in midfield. Vladić played in over 300 league games for Velež and scored over 70 goals and is remembered for being the part of the Velež three known as the "Mostar BMV" ( Bajević,

Marić Marić ( sr-Cyrl, Марић, ) is a South Slavs, South Slavic surname. It is the fourth most common surname in Croatia. Notable people with the name include: *Adnan Marić (born 1997), Swedish footballer *Aleks Marić (born 1984), Australian ba ...

and Vladić) during the 1960s, 70s and 80s. In the summer of 1979 he was proposed by the then player of

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

Bajević to the people of club and they proceeded to acquire him. With AEK, he played only 21 times without being able to convince with his performance. In the summer of 1981, he returned to Velež, where he ended his football career after four years.

International career

Vladić made his debut for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in an October 1972

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

away against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and made 26 appearances and scored 3 goals at the international level, competing in the

1974 FIFA World Cup The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in West Germany (and West Berlin) between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the ...

and the

UEFA Euro 1976 The 1976 UEFA European Football Championship tournament was held in Yugoslavia. This was the fifth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA and the first and only tournament that was held in a socialist state. The ...

. His final international was a February 1977

against

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Managerial career

In the summer of 1995, Vladić became the new manager of Velež's fierce city rivals

Zrinjski Mostar Zrinjski Mostar is a sports association from the city of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was formed in 1905. Member clubs *Football: **HŠK Zrinjski Mostar *Basketball: **HKK Zrinjski Mostar (men's) ** ŽKK Zrinjski Mostar (women's) *H ...

, who he led for one season until leaving the club in the summer of 1996.

Death

Vladić died in his hometown of

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

on 18 June 2024, at the age of 73.

References

External links

* *
Serbia national football team website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladic, Franjo 1950 births 2024 deaths Footballers from Mostar Men's association football midfielders Bosnia and Herzegovina men's footballers Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers Croatian sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina 1974 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1976 players FK Velež Mostar players AEK Athens F.C. players Panachaiki F.C. players Yugoslav First League players Super League Greece players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Greece Bosnia and Herzegovina football managers HŠK Zrinjski managers 20th-century Bosnia and Herzegovina sportsmen