Slobodan "Slobo" Ilijevski ( Cyrillic: Слободан Илијевски Слобо) (October 24, 1949 in

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

– July 14, 2008 in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (lo ...

) was a

Yugoslav Yugoslav or Yugoslavian may refer to: * Yugoslavia, or any of the three historic states carrying that name: ** Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a European monarchy which existed 1918–1945 (officially called "Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes" 1918–1 ...

and

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North Mac ...

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...

who played in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: * North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league * North American Soccer League (2011–2017), a former Division II league {{disambig ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Club career

In 1977, Ilijevski moved to the United States and settled with extended family (Duško Krstovski/Detroit Vardar SC) in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. In 1978, he signed with the

Detroit Express The Detroit Express was a soccer team based in suburban Detroit that played in the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1978 to 1980. Its home field was the Pontiac Silverdome. The Express were co-owned by Jimmy Hill, Roger ...

of the

. After two seasons with the Express, Ilijevski moved to the

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from ...

for one season before moving to the indoor game with the

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: * St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League * St. Louis Steamers (1998–20 ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League in the fall of 1980. He would spend the rest of his professional career playing indoor soccer. He played seven seasons with the Steamers and was named the 1982 and 1984 MISL Goalkeeper of the Year. The Steamers folded after the 1987–1988 season and Ilijevski moved to the

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with t ...

for one season before returning to St. Louis to sign with the

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis Arena. The mascot for the St. Louis Storm was named “Colt Flash” (1990 ...

in August 1989. In 1992, he moved to the St. Louis Ambush of the National Professional Soccer League. After his retirement from professional soccer, Ilijevski continued to play amateur soccer with

St. Louis Kutis S.C. St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the "St. Louis Raiders", the club was known as "Paul Schulte" during the 1948–49 season, "McMahon's" du ...

Personal life

In December 1990, Ilijevski became an American citizen.

Death

On July 13, 2008, Ilijevski ruptured his

aorta The aorta ( ) is the main and largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and extending down to the abdomen, where it splits into two smaller arteries (the common iliac arteries). The aorta distributes ...

while playing goalkeeper for

St. Louis Kutis St. Louis Kutis Soccer Club, better known as St. Louis Kutis, is an amateur American soccer club in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1947 as the "St. Louis Raiders", the club was known as "Paul Schulte" during the 1948–49 season, "McMahon's" duri ...

in a game in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

. He died after thirteen hours of surgery. On March 12, 2014 it was announced that he would be a 2014 inductee into the Indoor Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilijevski, Slobo 1949 births 2008 deaths Footballers from Skopje Yugoslav emigrants to the United States American people of Macedonian descent Association football goalkeepers Yugoslav footballers Macedonian footballers American soccer players Detroit Express players Atlanta Chiefs players St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Baltimore Blast (original MISL) players St. Louis Storm players St. Louis Ambush (1992–2000) players St. Louis Kutis players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Macedonian expatriate footballers Yugoslav expatriate footballers Expatriate soccer players in the United States Sports deaths in Washington (state) Association football players who died while playing