Velimir Naumović (

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 ...

: Велимир Наумовић; 19 March 1936 – 19 December 2011) was a Serbian

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 striker for

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

. He was often called Veljko Naumović. During his managerial career, he was nicknamed The Saviour for his profound record of saving club from sticky situations.

Playing career

Club

He first appeared on Kantrida, his future club's ground, in 1954 at Kvarnerska Rivijera, where

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

beat

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 ...

3:1 in the final of the tournament. During his

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

, he moved to the town's football club

NK 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, Supersport HNL, of which they have been members ...

. He stayed at the club for nine years and became a legend, being part of the club's first generation to play in the First League. During his time in

, he received numerous offers to return to

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 ...

, but stayed loyal to

. He played a total of 400 matches and scored 155 goals in all competitions. In 1965, he moved to Belgian

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège ( ; ; ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most successful clubs in Belgium, having won t ...

, where he won two

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...

and one

League League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

title. During his time in

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, he was nicknamed "Yugoslav Puskás" for his superb playing. In the

1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1967–68 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by A.C. Milan following their final victory against Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV ...

, the team got to the quarter final where they were defeated by

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. After

, he moved to the French 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 ...

in 1969. There, he mostly played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He helped the club win the 1971 Coupe de France, their second trophy in history. He finished his career playing for the low-tier Belgian clubs Racing Jet and Tilleur.

International

Naumović made his 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 ...

in an October 1963

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

away against

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 ...

, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute for

Slaven Zambata Slaven Zambata (24 September 1940 – 29 October 2020) was a Croatian professional football player best known for his time at Dinamo Zagreb in the 1960s, for whom he appeared in 171 Yugoslav First League matches. He was also a Yugoslav internat ...

, and earned a total of 3 caps (no goals). His final international again was a friendly against Romania but since the Romanians played with their Olympic squad both games are unofficial.

Managerial career

After his playing career, he managed NK Rudar Labin,

NK Orijent HNK Orijent is a football club from Sušak, the eastern part of the city of Rijeka, Croatia. The club was established under the name ''Orient'' in 1919. They currently compete in the 1. NL, the second tier of the Croatian football league syst ...

, Tilleur, d'Abidjan, and

MC Alger Mouloudia Club d'Alger (), referred to as MC Alger or MCA for short, is an Algerian football club based in Algiers. The club was founded in 1921 and its colours are red, green and white. Their home stadium, Ali La Pointe Stadium, has a capacit ...

Career statistics

Club

International matches

Honours

;Red Star Belgrade *

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) ...

: 1955–56 ;NK Rijeka *

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 ;Standard de Liège *

Belgian First Division The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

: 1968–69 *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

;Stade Rennais *

Coupe de France The Coupe de France (), also known in English language, English as the French Cup or less commonly as the France Cup, is the premier Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in French football organised by the French Football Fed ...

: 1970–71 ;MC Alger *

Algerian Championnat National The Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 (), known as Championnat National de Première Division or Ligue 1 for short, and formerly known as the Championnat National 1, is the Algerian professional league for association football clubs. It is the co ...

: 1978–79 ;Africa Sports * Ivory Coast Ligue 1: 1982, 1983 * Coupe de Côte d'Ivoire: 1981, 1982 * Coupe Houphouët-Boigny: 1981, 1982 ;Individual *

top goalscorer: 1957–58 *

all time XI by:

Novi List ''Novi list'' () is the oldest Croatian daily newspaper published in Rijeka. It is read mostly in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County of Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeas ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Naumovic, Velimir 1936 births 2011 deaths Footballers from Belgrade Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers Red Star Belgrade footballers HNK Rijeka players Standard Liège players Stade Rennais FC players Wavre Sports FC players R.F.C. Tilleur players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav Second League players Belgian Pro League players Ligue 1 players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Yugoslav football managers MC Alger managers Africa Sports d'Abidjan managers HNK Orijent managers R.F.C. Tilleur managers Algerian Ligue Professionnelle 1 managers Yugoslav expatriate football managers Expatriate football managers in Algeria Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Algeria Expatriate football managers in Ivory Coast Expatriate football managers in Belgium