Jurica "Jure" Jerković (25 February 1950 – 3 June 2019) was a Croatian
footballer who played as an
attacking midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
. During his time with
Hajduk Split in the 1970s, he was known for his amazing playmaker skills and for his romantic approach to football. He captained the Hajduk golden generation of that time under coach
Tomislav Ivić which is considered to be the best Hajduk squad of all time.
Club career
HNK Hajduk Split
Born in
Split,
SR Croatia,
FPR Yugoslavia, Jerković started his youth and senior career at
Hajduk Split. In the youth academy he was trained by
Tomislav Ivić who would later become his senior manager. He went on a one-year loan to
RNK Split. After finishing the loan in 1968, he went back to Hajduk where he made his senior professional debut. Jerković was a part of a new Hajduk generation created by Tomislav Ivić that would dominate the
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...
during the 1970s.
Jerković won his first trophy in 1971 when Hajduk won the Yugoslav championship. It was Hajduk's first league trophy in 16 years. In 1972 Ivić took charge of Hajduk and Jerković won his first
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...
. He won the cup again in the following season under
Branko Zebec. In 1973 the "old guard" of Hajduk decided to leave which included players like
Nadoveza,
Hlevnjak and
Vukčević. Tomislav Ivić returned to manage Hajduk and with the young forces he created a few years ago in the academy he was ready to dominate the league. In 1974 Hajduk played the last game of the season against
OFK Beograd
OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...
and they needed a win to secure the championship. Jurica Jerković scored the 2nd goal in the 89th minute and won the championship with his team. Hajduk won the "double" for the first time in their history when they won the
1974 Yugoslav Cup alongside the championship.
At that time Jurica Jerković became the captain of the team. Jerković-
Šurjak-
Žungul became the fantastic trio that created the most goals for the squad. In 1975 Jerković won another Yugoslav championship which was Hajduk's first time that they managed to defend their previous title. In that season he scored his most beautiful goal in his career against
FK Velež. The next season Hajduk fought
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 ...
over the championship. 2 rounds before the end of the season Hajduk faced Partizan in
Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
. Thanks to the brilliance of Jerković and his teammates they defeated Partizan 6–1 but in the last round Partizan won the championship with the help of referee Maksimović. Jerković still won the Yugoslav Cup that season. In 1977 Jerković won his 5th in a row Yugoslav Cup. Jerković won the
Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award in 1971 and in 1976.
Jerković played in a lot of UEFA competitions with Hajduk. He played in the 1973 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final where they were kicked out by
Leeds United. He played in the 1974 European Cup disaster against
AS Saint-Étienne where Hajduk lost 1–5 in the second leg after defeating them 4–1 in the first leg. His biggest success was the 1975 European Cup quarter-final where they were defeated by
PSV Eindhoven
Philips Sport Vereniging (; ), abbreviated as PSV and internationally known as PSV Eindhoven (), is a Dutch sports club from Eindhoven, Netherlands. It is best known for its professional association football, football department, which has pla ...
on a 2–3 aggregate. In his last season for Hajduk he lost against
Rapid Vienna on penalties in the Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals. Jerković left Hajduk in 1978 and went to
FC Zürich.
Jurica Jerković was described as one of the last romantic footballers around these parts. He was loved by the fans and many still believe today that he was one of the best footballers in Hajduk history. His number 10 is still today given to only the best players in Hajduk and those who decide to take it must prove that they are worth it. He made 529 appearances for Hajduk and scored 219 goals. He is the 6th most capped player in Hajduk history. In 2011, he was chosen in the Hajduk "Team of the century" which represents the best 11 players since 1911.
FC Zürich
In 1978, he moved to
FC Zürich at the age of 28. During his time there he won the Swiss championship in 1981 and the Swiss League Cup the same year. He played in the
1981–82 European Cup where he scored a hattrick in the First round against
Dynamo Berlin. He won the Swiss Foreign Footballer of the Year award in 1979, 1982 and 1983. He probably went into history as one of the best foreign players in the club. In 1985 at the age of 35 he left Zürich for
FC Lugano where he played until his retirement in 1987.
International career
Jerković made his international 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 ...
on 12 April 1970 against
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
in a friendly match. He scored his first goal in a 2–0 victory against the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in the
1972 UEFA Euro qualifiers. In July 1971 he played at
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...
's farewell match where he scored an amazing goal from a long distance. He played 3 matches 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 ...
in which Yugoslavia passed to the second round. He helped his team reach the
UEFA Euro 1976 where he played in both matches but Yugoslavia lost them both. He played his last match for Yugoslavia on 29 November 1981 against
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
in the
1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
He was selected in the Yugoslav squad for the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...
but without any appearance. After the 1982 World Cup he retired from the national squad. He made 43 appearances and scored 6 goals for Yugoslavia.
International goals
Honours
Club
Hajduk Split
*
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...
(3):
1971 *
The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...
,
1974,
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
*
Yugoslav Cup
The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...
(5):
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
,
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
,
1974,
1976
Events January
* January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 18 – Full diplomatic ...
,
1977
Events January
* January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...
FC Zürich
*
Swiss Super League
The Super League (also known as the Credit Suisse Super League for sponsorship reasons) is a professional association football league in Switzerland and the highest level of the Swiss football league system. It has been played in its current fo ...
(1):
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...
*
Swiss League Cup (1): 1981
Individual
*
Sportske novosti Yellow Shirt award (2): 1971, 1976
*
Swiss Foreign Footballer of the Year (3): 1979, 1982, 1983
References
External links
*
*
*
Brief obituary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerkovic, Jurica
1950 births
2019 deaths
Footballers from Split, Croatia
Men's association football midfielders
Yugoslav men's footballers
Yugoslavia men's international footballers
1974 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1976 players
1982 FIFA World Cup players
HNK Hajduk Split players
FC Zürich players
FC Lugano players
Yugoslav First League players
Swiss Super League players
Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Burials at Lovrinac Cemetery