Ilija Lukić (

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 ...

: Илија Лукић; 21 January 1942 – 13 June 2018) was a Yugoslav

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 forward.

Playing career

Lukić started playing in the youth teams of Belgrade's

FK Železnik FK Železnik 1930 () is a Association football, football club based in Železnik, Belgrade, Serbia. They compete in the Belgrade Intermunicipal League, the sixth tier of the Serbian football league system, national league system. The club compet ...

. In 1961, at age 19, he joined Second League

FK Priština FK Priština () was a Association football, football club based in Pristina. They competed in the First League of FR Yugoslavia for three seasons between 1992 and 1999, before withdrawing due to the Kosovo War. History In 1991, the Albanian FC P ...

and he was soon regarded as one of the finest strikers in the country. That made attention turn to him and he signed with the

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; ), often referred to in English as Partizan Belgrade, is a Serbian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Belgrade. It forms ...

that was having that season their historic achievement of reaching the

1966 European Cup Final The 1966 European Cup final was a football match held at the Heysel Stadium, Brussels, on 11 May 1966 that saw Real Madrid of Spain defeat FK Partizan of Yugoslavia 2–1 to win the 1965–66 European Cup title. Route to the final Match Summa ...

that they lost to Real Madrid. After not getting many opportunities to play, he was moving next season to the California based

Oakland Clippers The Oakland Clippers (active 1967–1968, also named the California Clippers) were an American association football, soccer team based in Oakland, California. They played in the non-FIFA sanctioned National Professional Soccer League (1967), N ...

where he would help the club win the 1967 National Professional Soccer League. Next year, he was back to Europe first in Dutch club

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to t ...

and, after a disappointing season there, to Franch Ligue 1 club

Stade Rennais Stade Rennais Football Club (SRFC, ), commonly referred to as Stade Rennais () or simply Rennes,''Rennais'' and ''Stade Rennes'', used by some English-speaking media outlets and journalists, are not grammatically correct names for the club. is ...

. He stayed four seasons there becoming very popular among the fans. During this time the club had their most enjoyable period, winning the French Cup in 1971. Following season he moved to another Ligue 1 club

FC Rouen Football Club de Rouen 1899 (; commonly referred to as simply FC Rouen) is a French association football club based in Rouen, Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive w ...

before moving to Austria where he was appointed player-manager of Second League Rapid Lienz. Eventually achieving their goal to play in the newly inaugurated

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

, he finished his playing career as a player-manager of Belgian FC Berlaar.

Coaching career

During his successful, 30-year coaching career, he worked in 13 different clubs, at eight countries on three continents. He worked as an assistant to

Dimitri Davidović Dimitrije "Dimitri" Davidović (; born 21 May 1944) is a Serbian–Belgian football manager and former player. Playing career Davidović was a professional soccer player during 16 years in the first divisions of Europe. Partizan Born in Belgra ...

in the Middle East and won four national championships: a treble with

Al-Ittihad (Jeddah) Al-Ittihad Club (), commonly known as Al-Ittihad or simply Ittihad, is a Saudi professional football club based in Jeddah. It was founded in 1927. The club has spent its entire history in the top flight of football in Saudi Arabia, currently kno ...

in Saudi Arabia and one in UAE with Al Wasl. As the first coach of Al-Ittihad he also lifted four national cups in Saudi Arabia, and two in UAE, one with Al-Wasl and another with

Sharjah FC Sharjah Football Club () is an Emirati professional football club based in Sharjah that competes in the UAE Pro League. Their home stadium is the Sharjah Stadium. Founded in 1966, Sharjah is considered to be one of the pioneers of complaining s ...

. Together with Davidović he won in 1999 with Al-Ittihad the

Asian Cup Winners Cup The Asian Cup Winners' Cup was an Asian football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-Asian club competition organised by Asian Football Confedera ...

. As the manager of Al Ahli Jeddah he won in 2002 three big trophies: the Prince Faysal bin Fahad Tournament for Arab Clubs (later becoming the

Arab Champions League The Arab Club Champions Cup (, ) is a club football competition organised by the Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA) and contested by top clubs from the Arab world. The tournament is contested by a total of 37 teams from Asia and Africa. F ...

, the Golf Club Champions Cup and Saudi Federation Cup. He earned his degree in football from a Higher Coaching School of the

Belgrade University The University of Belgrade () is a public research university in Belgrade, Serbia. It is the oldest and largest modern university in Serbia. Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Krag ...

's Faculty of Sport and Physical Education, as well as a Diploma from a University of California, San Francisco.

Personal life

Lukić was married to Mirjana and had two children, a son Ivan and a daughter Maria.Career story at his personal website Ilijalukic.com

References

External links

Partizan
official website
Ilija Lukić
at Heracles Statistieken

at NASL Jerseys {{DEFAULTSORT:Lukic, Ilija 1942 births 2018 deaths Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers FC Prishtina players FK Partizan players Oakland Clippers players Heracles Almelo players Stade Rennais FC players FC Rouen players Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz players Eerste Divisie players Ligue 1 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 footballers in the Netherlands Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Yugoslav football managers Serbia and Montenegro football managers Schwarz-Weiß Bregenz managers FK Železnik managers FK Srem managers Kabwe Warriors F.C. managers JS Kairouan managers Al-Ahli Saudi FC managers Saudi Pro League managers Yugoslav expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Austria Expatriate football managers in Belgium Expatriate football managers in Zambia Expatriate football managers in Tunisia Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Tunisia Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Serbia and Montenegro expatriate football managers Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Expatriate football managers in Saudi Arabia Serbia and Montenegro expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia University of Belgrade Faculty of Sport and Physical Education alumni