Miroslav "Ćiro" Blažević (; 9 February 1935 – 8 February 2023) was a Bosnian-Croatian professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
and
player
Player may refer to:
Role or adjective
* Player (game), a participant in a game or sport
** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games
** Athlete, a player in sports
** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who i ...
.
A former
right winger, his professional playing career spanned from 1954 to 1966, during which he played for
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
,
Lokomotiva Zagreb
Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 1 ...
,
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
,
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
and Swiss clubs
Sion and
Moutier
Moutier () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Ber ...
.
As a manager, his most successful period was with the
Croatia national team, which he led to the quarter-finals in the
1996 European Championship and won third place at the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
. He also managed the following national teams:
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
and
China Olympic. Blažević also had successful spells at
Vevey
Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used.
It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...
, Sion,
Lausanne-Sport, Rijeka, Dinamo Zagreb,
Grasshopper Zürich,
Prishtina,
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
,
Varteks,
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
,
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District.
The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...
and
Sloboda Tuzla.
From 29 March 1993 to 23 February 1995, he was president of Dinamo Zagreb.
Blažević maintained a colourful public persona in both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, where he was reverently known as "''trener svih trenera''" (the "coach of all coaches").
Early life
Blažević was born to a
Bosnian Croat family in
Travnik
Travnik ( cyrl, Травник) is a town and a municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative center of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, ...
,
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
(in present-day
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
) on 9 February 1935. However, his parents did not register his birth until the next day, resulting in his official birthday being listed as 10 February.
He was the youngest of eight children. In his teens he trained
skiing
Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...
.
Playing career
Blažević began his youth career in local team
NK Travnik
NK Travnik (), commonly known as Travnik is a professional association football club from the city of Travnik that is situated in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Currently, Travnik plays in the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and ...
, after which he moved to Zagreb and joined Dinamo Zagreb. His career as a player was, by his own admission, average; therefore, he began his coaching career at a relatively early age. As a player, he played for
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
,
Lokomotiva Zagreb
Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb (), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the country's top division. Founded in 1 ...
,
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
,
Sarajevo
Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...
, and
Sion. He ended his career at
Moutier
Moutier () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Switzerland. Currently, the town belongs to the Jura bernois (administrative district), Jura bernois administrative district of the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Ber ...
in 1966 after gaining promotion to
LNA.
Managerial career
Coaching in Switzerland
Blažević started as a coach where he ended his playing days in Switzerland. He first led
FC Vevey (1968–71) then his former team
FC Sion
Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...
(1971–76),
FC Lausanne-Sport
Football Club Lausanne-Sport is a Swiss Association football, football club based in Lausanne in the canton of Vaud. Founded in 1896, Lausanne Sport compete in the top-tier Swiss Super League after being promoted in the 2022–23 Swiss Challeng ...
(1976–79) and finally
Switzerland's national team (as
interim coach for two games in 1976).
With Sion he won the
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
with club as a player and as manager in 1974.
NK Rijeka
Blažević returned to
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 1979 to coach
Rijeka
Rijeka (;
Fiume ( �fjuːme in Italian and in Fiuman dialect, Fiuman Venetian) is the principal seaport and the List of cities and towns in Croatia, third-largest city in Croatia. It is located in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County on Kvarner Ba ...
. Rijeka finished tenth in the
1979–80 season. Although not a very good league season the club got to the quarter-finals of
1979–80 European Cup Winners' Cup
The 1979–80 season was the 20th season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup, a association football, football tournament organised by UEFA for the cup winners from each of its member associations. The competition was won by Spa ...
where they lost to
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
.
NK Rijeka's best
European placement.
Blažević also lost the
1979–80 Balkans Cup final to
Studențesc București.
Success with Dinamo
Blažević took over
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
on 11 December 1980, one of Yugoslavia's big four clubs (the other three being
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
,
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
and
Partizan) in 1980. After a mediocre first season, in which Dinamo finished fifth, Blažević became an instant club legend in the 1981–82, winning the first Yugoslav league title for the Zagreb outfit after a 24-year drought.
Next year, Dinamo won the
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 ...
and led a long battle with Partizan and Hajduk Split in the league. Partizan became
1983 champions and Blažević left Dinamo for the first time.
Grasshopper and Prishtina
Blažević went back to Switzerland, winning the Swiss Championship with
Grasshopper-Club Zurich in 1984. He advanced to the second round of
1984–85 European Cup
The 1984–85 European Cup was the 30th season of the European Cup, UEFA's premier club football competition. The tournament was won for the first time by Juventus in a 1–0 win against defending champions Liverpool
Liverpool is a por ...
where he lost to
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...
. After a less than expected second season Blažević left Grasshopper mid-season.
In 1985, Blažević was once again in Yugoslavia, this time as manager of
Kosovo
Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
's
KF Prishtina. Under Blažević's leadership Prishtina achieved
First Division status. To this day he is noted as a club legend.
Second stint at Dinamo, Nantes and PAOK
In the same year he became Dinamo Zagreb's coach for second time; during this period he failed to accomplish any significant results and therefore left again in 1988. His next team was
FC Nantes
Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...
of France; Blažević was there until 1990. After Nantes he spent a season in
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
club
PAOK FC
PAOK FC (, ), short for "Pan-Thessalonian Sports club, Athletic Club of Constantinople, Constantinopolitans" (), and commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki, PAOK Salonika or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional Association football, football cl ...
.
Croatia tenure
In the 1990s, with
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
gaining independence, Blažević joined the
Croatian Democratic Union
The Croatian Democratic Union (, , HDZ) is a major conservative, centre-right political party in Croatia. Since 2016, it has been the ruling political party in Croatia under the incumbent Prime Minister Andrej Plenković. It is one of the ...
(HDZ) and became President
Tuđman's admirer and close friend. For the third time he became Dinamo (then named NK Croatia Zagreb) coach and president at the same time. He won the 1993 Croatian Championship and 1994 Croatian Cup, but then left his favorite club once more, citing his reasons for doing so as needing to focus on managing the
Croatia national team.
Blažević was national team manager from 1994 on a part-time basis, but only a year later it became a full-time job as Croatia faced its first qualifying cycle for the European Championship. Croatia won the first place in qualifying group, sensationally ahead of
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and directly entered
Euro 96
The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...
in England. Blažević was about to gain some worldwide fame.
From January to June 1996 Blažević took up a position as an advisor at
HNK Rijeka
Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka.
HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...
to help newly appointed coach
Nenad Gračan save his former club from relegation.
Croatia passed group stage with wins against
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
and current European champions
Denmark
Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...
and loss to
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
, to face
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
in quarter-finals. Germany won 2–1 and eventually went on to win the event.
However, greatest things lay ahead, as Croatia was trying to qualify to the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
in France. They won second place in the qualifying group behind Denmark and ousted
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
in a play-off for the tournament.
Blažević's Croatia squad for the 1998 World Cup included the likes of
Zvonimir Boban
Zvonimir Boban (; born 8 October 1968) is a Croatian former professional footballer who works at UEFA as the Chief of Football. A midfielder, Boban played most of his career for Italian club AC Milan with whom he won four Serie A titles and one ...
,
Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian Association football, football administrator and former professional player who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He served as the president of the Croatian Football Federatio ...
and
Slaven Bilić
Slaven Bilić (; born 11 September 1968) is a Croatian professional football manager and former player.
Bilić, who played as a defender, began his career in 1988 with his hometown club Hajduk Split, later having successful spells with Karls ...
. In France they created one of the greatest all-time World Cup sensations by winning the third place play-off. In the group stage, Croatia eliminated
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
and
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
, suffering a insignificant loss to
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
in the final game. In the knockout stages they passed by
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
, winning 1–0 from a penalty kick. This prepared them for a quarter-final against Germany. Croatia beat Germany 3–0. However, Croatia were stopped by the hosts
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
in the semifinal. Blažević made a critical coaching decision in that semi-final as he failed to insert his most talented player
Robert Prosinečki when the game was in the balance at 1–1. Instead he opted for
Silvio Marić to replace the injured Boban after half-time and Croatia eventually lost the game 2–1. In the third-place match, Prosinečki started in Boban's stead; his fielding proved fruitful as he scored the opening goal and assisted for the second, becoming man of the match. Croatia won 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 ...
2–1 to claim their first bronze.
The rest of his stint as Croatian manager was less successful. Croatia failed to qualify for
Euro 2000
The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe.
The finals tournament was ...
, after finishing a third in a qualifying group behind
FR Yugoslavia
The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or simply Serbia and Montenegro, known until 2003 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and commonly referred to as FR Yugoslavia (FRY) or simply Yugoslavia, was a country in Southeast Europe locate ...
and
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Blažević retained his position and began to build a new team, filled with younger players for the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
. However, after Croatia opened the qualifiers with two draws, he was forced to resign in autumn 2000.
Iran tenure and return to Croatia
Well known throughout the football world for his 1998 World Cup sensation, Blažević accepted an offer to lead the
Iranian national team midway through the 2002 World Cup
qualification
Qualification may refer to:
Processes
* Qualifications-Based Selection (QBS), a competitive contract procurement process established by the United States Congress
* Process qualification, ensures that manufacturing and production processes can ...
process. Coming in ahead of the final qualifying round, he quickly developed a following among many of the Iranian fans. He kept the 3–5–2 formation that Iran had played with previously in the 96 Asian Cup, in which
Iranian national team had won third place. He also introduced new players to
Team Melli such as
Rahman Rezaei,
Javad Nekounam, and
Ebrahim Mirzapour. Known as loudmouth and showman, Blažević stayed true to form by claiming he would hang himself from the goalposts if Iran failed to beat
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
in the deciding
qualification playoff for the
2002 World Cup. Ireland won 2–1 on aggregate, the defeat that marked the end of Blažević's time in Iran as his assistant
Branko Ivanković
Branko Ivanković (; born 28 February 1954) is a Croatian association football, football manager (association football), manager and former player who played as a midfielder. He was most recently the head coach of the China national football team ...
took over.
Blažević returned to Croatia, first saving
NK Osijek
Nogometni klub Osijek (), commonly referred to as NK Osijek (), is a Croatian professional association football, football sports club, club from Osijek. Founded in 1947, it was the club from Slavonia with the most seasons in the Yugoslav First Le ...
from relegation and then again in Dinamo. In his fourth term as Dinamo coach, Blažević won the Croatian Championship in 2003, but left again same year after clashing with his long-time friend, Dinamo's vice president
Zdravko Mamić.
Blažević then led Slovenian
NK Mura
Nogometni klub Mura (), commonly referred to as NK Mura or simply Mura, was a Slovenian association football club based in Murska Sobota. The club was founded on 16 August 1924 as one of the first clubs in the Prekmurje region. The club had its ...
for few months before becoming the coach of Croatian side
NK Varteks, a post he held until 31 May 2005. While at Varteks
Zlatko Dalić
Zlatko Dalić (; born 26 October 1966) is a Croatian people, Croatian professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former Football player, player. He has been the manager of the Croatia national football ...
was his assistant coach.
Short stint at Hajduk
Blažević controversially announced that he was going to coach
Hajduk Split
Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...
in
2005–06, having expressed his desire to coach the southern Croatian side for decades; many fans were skeptical due to his association with Hajduk Split's derby rival Dinamo Zagreb. His arrival caused a great deal of media controversy; Hajduk Split fans had differing opinions, with a significant number seeing Blažević as a "miracle worker" that would help Hajduk Split regain its former glory.
Hajduk Split under Blažević's leadership immediately got eliminated from European competitions, following an 8–0 aggregate defeat to
Hungarian side
Debreceni VSC; the 5–0 second leg loss is considered one of Hajduk Split's worst losses in European competitions. This was followed by a series of losses and unsatisfying results at the beginning of the new league season, which finally forced Blažević to resign on 18 September. He was replaced by
Igor Štimac, former Hajduk Split player and one of his main supporters in club administration.
Neuchâtel and NK Zagreb
In October 2005, he went back to Switzerland and coached
Neuchâtel Xamax, replacing
Alain Geiger in an attempt to save the club from relegation after they had won just one out of their first ten games of the season. Although Blažević achieved some notable victories with Neuchâtel against Swiss powerhouses
FC Basel
Fussball Club Basel 1893, widely known as FC Basel, FCB, or just Basel, is a Swiss professional Association football, football club based in Basel, in the Basel-Stadt, Canton of Basel-Stadt. Formed in 1893, the club has been List of Swiss footba ...
and
FC Zurich, they finished the season in ninth place (in a ten-club league) and went to relegation playoff. They were eventually relegated after losing to another Swiss team Blažević had managed 35 years earlier,
FC Sion
Football Club Sion, commonly known as simply FC Sion or Sion, is a Swiss Association football, football club from the city of Sion, Switzerland, Sion. The club was founded in 1909 and play their home matches at the Stade Tourbillon. They have wo ...
, 3–0 on aggregate, and his tenure there ended in June 2006.
Once again, he returned to Croatia, this time to take over
NK Zagreb. The club experienced a successful
2006–07 season which saw them finish third behind Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split and earned them a spot in
Intertoto Cup 2007. However, in the
following season the team made for an early exit, losing against their first Intertoto opponent
Vllaznia on
away goals
The away goals rule is a method of tiebreaking in association football and other sports when teams play each other twice, once at each team's home ground. Under the away goals rule, if the total goals scored by each team are equal, the team that ...
. After
Ivica Vrdoljak and
Mario Mandžukić
Mario Mandžukić (; born 21 May 1986) is a Croatian association football, football coach and a former player who was most recently an assistant coach for the Croatia national football team, Croatia national team. As a player, he played as a for ...
were transferred to city rivals
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
at the beginning of the season, the team saw a string of mediocre results before finishing the season sixth. Immediately after the last game of the season, Blažević announced that his stint at NK Zagreb had come to an end by mutual consent between him and the club's chairman.
Bosnia and Herzegovina

On 10 July 2008, Blažević was appointed head coach of
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team (; ; ) represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in men's international Association football, football competitions, and is governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until 1992 Bo ...
replacing
Meho Kodro
Mehmed "Meho" Kodro (born 12 January 1967) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward.
Kodro started playing professionally at Velež Mostar, making his first team debut in 1985. He spent most of his 1 ...
who had been dismissed two months earlier by the
Bosnian FA (FSBiH) officials after reportedly refusing to take charge of the national team for a friendly against
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Since Kodro's dismissal was seen by many fans as the latest in a series of problematic decisions by the much-maligned FA leadership, Blažević was thus, by proxy, not welcomed with open arms by certain sections of the public upon his arrival. With the national team in complete disarray and many players refusing to even answer call-ups by interim head coach
Denijal Pirić
Denijal Pirić (; born 27 September 1946) is a Bosnian former professional football manager and player.
Club career
Born in the small mining town of Živinice, Pirić started playing football at local side Slaven. Former Slaven manager Vlatko ...
, the appointment of Blažević was seen by many fans as FA's desperate makeshift solution designed to appease the public in the wake of the ongoing two-month fiasco by bringing in a fairly established name. However, combining his carefully crafted showman public persona with some decent initial results on the pitch, Blažević quickly managed to charm most of the public into getting behind him. By his own admission, Blažević had already been close to getting the Bosnia-Herzegovina national team job six years earlier in 2002, but ended up not getting hired due to influential FSBiH executive
Jusuf Pušina who considered Blažević unsuitable for the job because of the coach's association with the Croatian wartime president
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...
and his
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
.
Staying true to all the staples of his coaching style from his previous places of employment, seventy-four-year-old Blažević quickly became the media favourite in Sarajevo. Always ready for a
sound bite
A sound bite or soundbite is a short clip of speech or music extracted from a longer piece of audio, often used to promote or exemplify the full-length piece. In the context of journalism, a sound bite is characterized by a short phrase or sentence ...
, he gave bombastic interviews, cheekily delivering bold statements and sweeping promises.
Bosnia under Blažević has qualified for the
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...
qualifier playoffs, playing a game against Portugal.
In Lisbon, Portugal, Bosnia lost 1–0, with a goal scored by
Bruno Alves. In Zenica, Bosnia lost 1–0 against Portugal, with a goal scored by
Raul Meireles. He was appointed manager to the
Bosnia-Herzegovina team on 10 July 2008
and announced on 11 December 2009 his demission. His dismissal was preceded by criticism from Bosnian fans and journalists following Blažević's attack on fan-favorite
Zvjezdan Misimović, blaming him for the defeat against Portugal.
Shanghai Shenhua
After his recession as head coach of the
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team
The Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team (; ; ) represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in men's international Association football, football competitions, and is governed by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Until 1992 Bo ...
he signed one day later on 12 December 2009 for
Shanghai Shenhua
Shanghai Shenhua Football Club () is a Chinese professional football club based in Shanghai, that competes in . Shanghai Shenhua plays its home matches at the Shanghai Stadium, located within Xuhui District.
The owner of Shanghai Shenhua is ...
. He finished the
2010 Chinese Super League
The 2010 Chinese Super League season (also known as Pirelli Chinese Super League for sponsorship reasons) was the seventh season since the establishment of the Chinese Super League, the seventeenth season of a Professional sports, professional asso ...
season in a high third-place position qualifying for the
AFC Champions League
The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...
.
China Olympic
Blažević was appointed manager of the
Chinese Olympic team on 30 November 2010. He resigned from his position in June 2011 after they failed to qualify to the
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
.
Mes Kerman
On 28 August 2011,
Iran Pro League side
Mes Kerman
Mes Kerman Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Sân't-e Mes Kârman'') is an Iranian professional association football, football team based in Kerman, Iran.
They were promoted to Iran's top league, the Iran Pro League, in the 2005–06 season. ...
announced that they will sign a contract with Blažević to replace
Samad Marfavi who had resigned two days earlier. On 31 August 2011, he returned to
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
after ten years and signed a one-year contract with Mes. On 9 September 2011, his side plays a match against
Damash Gilan with a 1–1 draw. He started his career in the club successfully, but after the weeks, Mes returned to the relegation zone. He was sacked as club's head coach on 14 February 2012 and was appointed technical director of the club.
NK Zagreb
In November 2012 he returned to NK Zagreb to help the club stay in the
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...
since they were in the relegation zone. In the beginning he started to have decent results like defeating
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
on home ground but later his team started to decline in results. In December 2012 he almost left the club because he had a serious argument with the NK Zagreb chairman but he decided to stay. In May 2013 after NK Zagreb failed to secure a place in the
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...
and finished at the bottom of the league he announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the season.
Sloboda Tuzla
In January 2014, after refusing to take over the
Croatian Second Football League
The Croatian Second Football League (), commonly Druga NL or 2. NL, is the third tier of the Croatian football league system. The league was established in 1991, following the dissolution of the Yugoslav League. It is operated by the Croatian ...
club
NK Solin
NK Solin is a Croatian football club based in the town of Solin, near Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, ...
, Blažević signed with the Bosnian
Sloboda Tuzla playing in the
second level Bosnian League. He took over the club while it was second on the league table and agreed to lead the club until the end of the season with the goal to reach the
top level Bosnian league, He succeeded, with Sloboda winning 13 and drawing 1 of his 15 matches in charge to win the First League of FBiH with a record total of 71 points from their 30 league games in the season.
Zadar
On 2 September 2014, after
Sloboda Tuzla, he was named the manager of
Croatian First Football League
The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establishe ...
club
NK Zadar, but he parted ways with the club and finished his coaching career on 2 January 2015.
Personal life and death

Blažević married Zdenka Đorđević in 1962. The couple had three children and five grandchildren. Apart from Croatian, he also held Swiss citizenship.
Blažević died of
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...
in
Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
on 8 February 2023, one day before his 88th birthday. He was buried at Zagreb's
Mirogoj Cemetery
The Mirogoj City Cemetery (, ), also known as Mirogoj Cemetery (), is a cemetery park that is considered to be among the more noteworthy landmarks in the city of Zagreb. The cemetery inters members of all religious groups: Catholic, Orthodox, M ...
on 15 February.
Political engagement
Blažević was an admirer of
Franjo Tuđman
Franjo Tuđman (14 May 1922 – 10 December 1999) was a Croatian politician and historian who became the first president of Croatia, from 1990 until his death in 1999. He served following the Independence of Croatia, country's independe ...
with whom he maintained a friendship as well. Blažević was also a member of the former Croatian president Tuđman's conservative political party
HDZ, but he publicly disagreed with his successor, the pro-
European centrist politician
Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader (; born 8 June 1953) is a Croatian former politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He is currently serving a 18-year prison sentence for corruption in Lipovica penitentiary.
Sanader is to date the second ...
. Because of this, Blažević left the party in 2000 shortly after Tuđman's death, and then decided to run for
President of Croatia
The president of Croatia, officially the president of the Republic of Croatia (), is the head of state, commander-in-chief of the military and chief representative of the Republic of Croatia both within the country and abroad. The president ...
as an independent candidate.
Polls predicting the
2005 presidential election results usually gave him 1–2% of the vote. In the end he received 17,847 votes (0.80%) and was eliminated in the first round of the election.
Following the presidential elections debacle he quit politics, until he appeared once again four years later at the
2009 Zagreb local elections where he successfully ran as HDZ candidate for the city council. He claimed that prime minister
Ivo Sanader
Ivo Sanader (; born 8 June 1953) is a Croatian former politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He is currently serving a 18-year prison sentence for corruption in Lipovica penitentiary.
Sanader is to date the second ...
had talked him into re-joining the party and running for office. He was at the time the oldest serving member of the
Zagreb City Council and a member of the city board for naming streets and squares.
During
World War II in Yugoslavia
World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was Invasion of Yugoslavia, invaded and swiftly conquered by Axis powers, Axis forces and partitioned among Nazi Germany, Germany, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), It ...
, Blažević's two brothers, Anto and Joso, were members of the
Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian fascist and ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaša – Croatian Revolutionar ...
, a
fascist
Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
organization which ruled
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
at the time. They were both killed in combat, aged seventeen. Speaking of his brothers, Blažević stated: "I will never try to justify what they did, just like my father never tried to justify it. No normal person can support that which goes against humanity and civilised behaviour".
Controversy
Robert Prosinečki
At the end of the
1986–87 season at
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
, Blažević sent eighteen-year-old prospect
Robert Prosinečki away from the club, famously stating he "would eat his coaching diploma if Prosinečki ever became a real
ualityfootball player". In the summer of 1987, Prosinečki moved to Yugoslav First League rivals
Red Star Belgrade
Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...
where he would go on to develop into one of the best players in Yugoslavia, winning
three league titles, one
cup trophy, and the
European Cup
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...
title over the course of the following four years followed by a prominent transfer to
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...
and later
Barcelona
Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
During his head coaching tenure with
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, Blažević frequently called up Prosinečki as the player became a crucial part of the team and the two seemingly mended fences.
Their ambivalent relationship took a turn for the worse again at Croatia's
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 1 ...
semi-final match against
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
when Blažević did not let twenty-nine-year-old Prosinečki enter the contest until the 89th minute with Croatia down 1–2 after leading at the start of the second half and being tied until the 70th minute. Many sports journalists and supporters have claimed that
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
would have reached the final had Prosinečki been given meaningful playing time in the match. Blažević has since claimed that Prosinečki "feigned picking up an injury" during training the day before the match. Prosinečki commented on the match in 2014 by saying: "We are on good terms today, I appreciate him
laževićbecause he is unique. A man like him is born once in a lifetime, that's for sure. He has his flaws just like we all have, but he has his virtues too. For some reason, he always had problems with me. Had I played the match against France for at least half an hour I believe I would have, at the very least, been able to do something
ositive Maybe we could have been champions, I don't know! I'm not angry, that would not be an accurate description of my feelings
n this Let's just say that I think of it as his mistake that he has to deal with."
Affaire VA-OM
On 20 October 1995 at
Geneva Airport
Geneva Airport – formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport – is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-pas ...
, while waiting to board a flight to
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
, Blažević was taken into custody by the
French financial police on match-fixing and corruption accusations stemming from his time in
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
.
The arrest occurred as part of a wide-ranging football bribery scandal in France, known in the country as
Affaire VA-OM, and was based on former
Olympique Marseille
Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Founded in 1899, OM has ...
director
Jean-Pierre Bernès' July 1995 testimony, claiming that
FC Nantes
Football Club de Nantes, commonly referred to as FC Nantes or simply Nantes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Naunnt''), is a French professional association football, football club based in Nantes in Pays de la Loire. The club was founded on 21 Ap ...
head coach Blažević took a
₣420,000 bribe to fix the
Marseille
Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
vs.
Nantes
Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
French Division 1 league match on 25 November 1989 that ended in a 0–0 draw.
Blažević was released from
Luynes Prison on 6 November 1995 on a ₣100,000 bail and was not called up again after giving his statement.
Referee incident
After his first match as manager of
Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
on 6 March 2002 Blažević lost to
Dinamo Zagreb
Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...
. After the match he was accused of verbal abuse and assaulting the referee Ivan Novak.
Blažević was found guilty by disciplinary judge Krešimir Vlajčević and fined 6000kn and got a three-month suspension.
Career statistics
*Incomplete
Managerial statistics
Club statistics
: *Dates of first and last games under Blažević; not dates of official appointments
National teams statistics
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Source
Miroslav Blazevic IMDb
Honours
Player
Lokomotiva Zagreb
*
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...
: 1955–56
Sarajevo
*
Yugoslav Second League
Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...
: 1957–58
Sion
*
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
: 1965
Manager
Vevey
*
1. Liga: 1969–70
Sion
*
Swiss Cup
The Swiss Cup (; ; ; ) is a football cup competition that has been organised annually since 1925–26 season by the Swiss Football Association.
The Swiss Cup final is usually the most important game of the year with a high attendance. The co ...
: 1974
Dinamo Zagreb
*
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) ...
:
1981–82
*
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 ...
:
1982–83
*
Prva HNL
The Hrvatska nogometna liga (; ), abbreviated as HNL and also known for sponsorship reasons as the SuperSport HNL, is a professional association football league in Croatia and the highest level of the Croatian football league system. Establish ...
:
1992–93,
2002–03
*
Croatian Cup:
1993–94
*
Croatian Super Cup: 2002
Grasshopper
*
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 ...
:
1983–84
Hajduk Split
*
Croatian Super Cup:
2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
Sloboda Tuzla
*
First League of FBiH:
2013–14
Croatia
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...
third place:
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...
Individual
*
Franjo Bučar State Award for Sport: 1998 (two awards), 2007
*
Bosnia and Herzegovina Manager of the Year:
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
Orders
*
Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar (1995)
*
Order of Duke Branimir with Necklace (1998)
References
External links
Miroslav Blaževićat zagreb.hr
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blazevic, Miroslav
1935 births
2023 deaths
Sportspeople from Travnik
Footballers from Central Bosnia Canton
Croatian sportspeople from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Men's association football midfielders
Men's association football wingers
Yugoslav men's footballers
GNK Dinamo Zagreb players
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players
FK Sarajevo players
HNK Rijeka players
FC Sion players
Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Expatriate men's footballers in France
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France
Yugoslav football managers
UEFA Euro 1996 managers
1998 FIFA World Cup managers
Vevey-Sports managers
FC Sion managers
Switzerland national football team managers
FC Lausanne-Sport managers
HNK Rijeka managers
GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers
Grasshopper Club Zurich managers
FC Prishtina managers
FC Nantes managers
PAOK FC managers
Croatian football managers
Croatia national football team managers
Iran national football team managers
NK Osijek managers
ND Mura 05 managers
NK Varaždin (1931–2015) managers
HNK Hajduk Split managers
Neuchâtel Xamax FCS managers
NK Zagreb managers
Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team managers
Shanghai Shenhua F.C. managers
Sanat Mes Kerman F.C. managers
FK Sloboda Tuzla managers
NK Zadar managers
Swiss Super League managers
Yugoslav First League managers
Ligue 1 managers
Super League Greece managers
Croatian Football League managers
Chinese Super League managers
Persian Gulf Pro League managers
Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina managers
Yugoslav expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Switzerland
Expatriate football managers in France
Expatriate football managers in Greece
Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Croatian expatriate football managers
Expatriate football managers in Iran
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Iran
Expatriate football managers in Slovenia
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Slovenia
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland
Expatriate football managers in China
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in China
Expatriate football managers in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatian expatriate sportspeople in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Croatian Democratic Union politicians
Candidates for President of Croatia
Franjo Bučar Award winners
Deaths from prostate cancer
Deaths from cancer in Croatia
Burials at Mirogoj Cemetery