Vlade Đurović ( sr-Cyrl, Владе Ђуровић; born 16 May 1948) is a Serbian professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player.

Early life

Born in 1948 to

Bosnian Serb The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sr-Cyrl, Срби Босне и Херцеговине, Srbi Bosne i Hercegovine), often referred to as Bosnian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, босански Срби, bosanski Srbi) or Herzegovinian Serbs ( sr-cyrl, � ...

parents Danilo Đurović from

Sokolac Sokolac ( sr-Cyrl, Соколац) is a town and municipality of the city of Istočno Sarajevo, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 12,021 inhabitants, while the town of Sokolac has a population of 5,919 ...

and Mileva Cerović from

Rogatica Rogatica ( sr-cyrl, Рогатица, ) is a town and municipality in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality has a population of 10,723 inhabitants, while the town of Rogatica itself has a population of 6,855 inh ...

—both active

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Partisan Partisan(s) or The Partisan(s) may refer to: Military * Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line ** Francs-tireurs et partisans, communist-led French anti-fascist resistance against Nazi Germany during WWII ** Ital ...

resistance participants who had met during their time fighting the guerrilla war, then following the war moved to the Yugoslav capital Belgrade, got married and started a family—young Vlade grew up in the Belgrade neighborhood of Cerak. His father Danilo fought the war in a unit headed by the well-known communist commander , and, by the time the conflict ended, rose to the rank of major in the Yugoslav secret police,

UDBA The State Security Service, also known by its original name as the Directorate for State Security, was the secret police organization of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Communist Yugoslavia. It was at all times best known by the acrony ...

, all of which facilitated his relocation to Belgrade where the new, communist, authorities provided him with an apartment unit in a newly-built housing complex as the country transformed from a pre-war

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

into a

Stalinist Stalinism (, ) is the totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

people's republic. Growing up in Cerak, across the road from Belgrade Fair grounds, the athletic youngster excelled in various sports, including

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 ...

, basketball, and

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

. Among the neighbourhood friends adolescent Đurović played

street football Street football may refer to: * Street football (association football) * Street football (American) * Street Football (TV series) * ''Street Football'', an arcade video game published by Bally Sente See also *Medieval football Medieval foo ...

with,

Blagoje Paunović Blagoje Paunović (Serbian Cyrillic: Благоје Пауновић; 4 June 1947 – 9 December 2014) was a Serbian Association football, football Defender (association football), defender and Coach (sport), manager. Playing career Born in Pust ...

—residing in the same apartment building as Đurović—would later go on to a professional football career. At one point during the late 1950s, young Đurović himself pursued football in a more structured environment, registering for a tryout at

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 ...

's youth categories run by the up-and-coming young coach

Miljan Miljanić Miljan Miljanić ( sr-Cyrl, Миљан Миљанић; 4 May 1930 – 13 January 2012) was a Yugoslav and Serbian football administrator, coach and player who played as a defender. He was the all-powerful President of the Football Association ...

. However, due to not having an ID card on him that day, pre-teen Đurović's height and strong physique (compared to that of his age group peers) made Miljanić suspicious about the youngster's stated age. As a result, Miljanić sent the young applicant back, telling him to return with an ID card, which young Đurović, somewhat put off by the experience, never did. Instead, on suggestion from schoolmate Marijan "Šilja" Novović who had already been playing basketball in the

OKK Beograd Omladinski košarkaški klub Beograd ( sr-cyr, Омладински кошаркашки клуб Београд), commonly referred to as OKK Beograd, is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. They are currently competin ...

youth system, fifteen-year-old high school (gymnasium) first-year student Đurović went over to OKK where, following a single practice session, he was immediately given a spot in the OKK junior team's starting five by the youth team coach Glišić. After two years of playing the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers and are typi ...

position in the club's juniors, seventeen-year-old Đurović was attached to the full squad by its head coach Bora Stanković. Two more junior team players, Novović and Vladimir Cvetić, were attached to the full squad on the same occasion.

Playing career

Joining OKK Beograd, Yugoslav league champions—a squad laden with exceptional players and Yugoslav national team members

Radivoj Korać Radivoj Korać ( sr-cyrl, Радивој Кораћ; 5 November 1938 – 2 June 1969) was a Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Korać is well-known for holding t ...

, Sija Nikolić, Rica Gordić, and

Trajko Rajković Trajko Rajković ( sr-cyr, Трајко Рајковић; 7 December 1937 – 27 May 1970) was a Yugoslav professional basketball player. He represented Yugoslavia internationally. Playing career Rajković played for OKK Beograd, during their s ...

— Đurović's debut season,

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

, was mostly spent on the bench. He ended up playing until 1973.

Coaching career

By the end of his playing career, he wanted to stay at OKK Beograd, he finished a coaching school and became the first professional in the history of the "OKK Belgrade." In the "OKK Belgrade" has worked with juniors and cadets. For his coaching career thankful to his godbrother

Bogdan Tanjević Bogdan Tanjević ( sr-Cyrl, Богдан Тањевић; born 13 February 1947), nicknamed "Boša" () is a Montenegrin professional basketball coach and former player. He is best known for being KK Bosna's head coach when the club became the t ...

, who persuaded him to train Sloboda Dita from Tuzla, and thus begins his rich coaching career (1978). In 1982 Đurović, became head coach of Šibenka and he had the extraordinary luck to train young

Dražen Petrović Dražen Petrović (; 22 October 1964 – 7 June 1993) was a Yugoslav and Croatian professional basketball player. A shooting guard, he initially achieved success playing professional basketball in Europe in the 1980s with Cibona and Real Madri ...

. In 1983 he won the championship title with Šibenka but only for sixteen hours, as the Board of Directors of the Basketball Association of Yugoslavia, to an urgently convened session, decided to cancel the game and ordered a rematch in

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

. Šibenka decided to boycott it, and the title was awarded to Bosna. In the same year reached with Šibenka, the final of

FIBA Korać Cup The FIBA Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA Europe between the 1971–72 and 2001–02 seasons. It was the European professional club basketball system, third-tier level club competition in European basketball, a ...

but was defeated for the second consecutive time by the same team, the French

Limoges CSP Limoges Cercle Saint-Pierre, commonly referred to as Limoges CSP or CSP, is a French professional basketball club based in the city of Limoges. History The club was founded in 1929, but its peak was during the 1980s and 1990s, when they became t ...

Richard Dacoury Richard Dacoury (born 6 July 1959 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast) is a former French professional basketball player. He retired in 1998, as the basketball player who won the most French League titles during his career, with 9. Dacoury is considered to ...

and Ed Murphy. After a one-year passage from

Titograd Podgorica ( cnr-Cyrl, Подгорица; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Montenegro, largest city of Montenegro. The city is just north of Lake Skadar and close to coastal destinations on the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

and Budućnost, the summer of 1985 he joined

Zadar Zadar ( , ), historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian, ; see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ...

. He stayed there just one year and led the team to the league title against back-to-back European Champions Cibona although Zadar struggled to the playoff finals with handicap seat. The 1986-87 season he was found to train the team of

Crvena zvezda 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 despite the fourth place in the regular season ranking, his team overcame the obstacle of Cibona in the semifinal and had the opportunity to claim the title towards super talented and young team of Partizan. Eventually, the title was lost with 0-2 defeats. In his second year in Zvezda, incidentally that was the last of Yugoslavia over the next 14 years, he didn't manage something important in the domestic competitions, while in the Korać Cup reached the semifinals were eliminated rather easily by subsequent winner of institutional,

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 ...

. In 1988 he went to Greece to coaching

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

which these days was the third great power in the Greek League behind the eternal enemies of

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...

and

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

. Τhere depending on the competition, which began gradually to grow, succeed maintaining Panionios in the first four league positions and some march to their quarterfinals of Korac Cup in 1990 and 1993. His greatest success, however, was the victory in the final of

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

towards the recently European Cup Champions PAOK of his old player in Zvezda,

Branislav Prelević Branislav Prelević or Mpranislav Prelevits ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Прелевић, ; born 19 December 1966) is a retired Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He is commonly referred to by his nickname Bane ( sr-Cyrl, Бане ...

. In 1993, Vlade Đurović leaves Panionios although the team that year had a roster capable of great things both in Greece and in the Korać Cup. The next two years had a pass from Aris and AEK without accomplishing something great. On 17 April 1996 Đurović got a job in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

until the end of the season with a view to lead the team in winning the French Cup and the second position for participation in playoffs. From now he began to decline his coaching career after he was found to train clubs beyond the high European level in Cyprus and Belgium. In December 2011 Vlade returned after 23 years at home in OKK Belgrade.

Post-coaching career

Đurović became the president of the Board for

on 7 October 2017. He left the position in September 2019. He is a frequent in-studio pundit on

Radio Television of Serbia The Serbian Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly referred to as Radio Television of Serbia (), or RTS (), is the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster of Serbia. RTS has four organizational units – radio, television, music pro ...

and

Arena Sport Arena Sport is a regional pay television sports television network, network. It consists of 3 premium and 11 regular channels and is coverage area includes Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. It sh ...

basketball broadcasts.

Career achievements

* Yugoslav League champion: 1 (with

: 1985–86) *

winner: 1 (with

: 1990–91) *

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 ...

winner: 1 (with Oostende: 1997–98) *

Cypriot Cup The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association. First held in 1934, it i ...

winner: 1 (with Achilleas Kaimakli: 1999–2000) * Serbian and Montenegrin Cup winner: 1 (with FMP: 2002–03) * Serbian League Cup winner: 1 (with Metalac: 2008–09)

Notes

References

External links