Milija Bakić () and Pavle Bakić () were two brothers from

Andrijevica Andrijevica (Cyrillic: Андријевица, ) is a town in Montenegro in the northern region and it is the seat of Andrijevica Municipality. According to the 2023 Census of Montenegro, it had a population of 988. History The town of Andrijev ...

, in the

Principality of Montenegro The Principality of Montenegro () was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a Kingdom of Montenegro, kingdom by Nikola I of Montenegro, Nikola I, who then became King of M ...

, who were students at the

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

and co-founded the Galatasaray football club on October 30, 1905, with 11 fellow students. Born in the village of Zabrđe, to a family from the Vasojevici tribe, near Andrijevica, the brothers studied in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, living with their uncle Mitar Bakić who was a consul in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The brothers also finished military school, with the rank of officer, although at the beginning of the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, they returned to their country, then the

Kingdom of Montenegro The Kingdom of Montenegro was a monarchy in southeastern Europe, present-day Montenegro, during the tumultuous period of time on the Balkan Peninsula leading up to and during World War I. Officially it was a constitutional monarchy, but absolu ...

, and served in

Janko Vukotić Janko Vukotić ( sr-Cyrl, Јанко Вукотић; 18 February 1866 – 4 February 1927) was a Montenegrin serdar, general in the armies of the Principality and Kingdom of Montenegro in the Balkan Wars and World War I. Biography Vukotić was b ...

's Third Unit, in

Cetinje Cetinje ( cnr-Cyrl, Цетиње, ) is a List of cities and towns in Montenegro, town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital ( cnr-Latn-Cyrl, prijestonica, приjестоница, separator=" / ") of Montenegro and is the location of sev ...

. They fought in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, where Milija was killed in a battle near

Kočani Kočani ( ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 24,632 as of 2021 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography The town spreads across the Northern side of the K ...

. Some still view him as the best Turkish footballer in history. A monument was erected in their home village, gifted by Galatasaray staff, on June 16, 2014.

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bakic, Milija and Pavle 20th-century Montenegrin people 20th-century Turkish sportsmen Brother duos Galatasaray High School alumni Men's association football players not categorized by position Montenegrin men's footballers Montenegrin military personnel of the Balkan Wars Montenegrin soldiers People from Andrijevica Sports duos Turkish men's footballers Vasojevići Year of birth missing