Vladimir "Geza" Šenauer (also spelled Schönauer; 29 November 1930 – 5 January 2013) was a Croatian and Yugoslav professional

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 ...

Early life and family

Šenauer was born in

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, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

Littoral Banovina The Littoral Banovina or Littoral Banate (; / ''Primorska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1939. This province consisted of much of the Croatian region of Dalmatia and parts of present-day Bos ...

, to Geza Schönauer,

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

leather merchant from

Daruvar Daruvar is a spa town and municipality in Slavonia, northeastern Croatia, with a population of 8,567. The area including the surrounding villages (Daruvarski Vinogradi, Doljani, Donji Daruvar, Gornji Daruvar, Lipovac Majur, Ljudevit Selo, Marko ...

, and Zorka (née Rakelić), Split born

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was raised Jewish by his family. His father owned the boutique and newsstand in Split. During

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 ...

, officer of the Italian army protected the Schönauer family from persecutions. In 1943, he advised them to leave Split before the arrival of

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and

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 ...

. In September 1943, the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

took over the Split from the Italian fascists, so Šenauer and his family escaped to hide on the island of Vis. Soon after they escaped to

Bari Bari ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia Regions of Italy, region, on the Adriatic Sea in southern Italy. It is the first most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy. It is a port and ...

, Italy. Šenauer's paternal grandmother, most of his closer and wider family were killed during the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

. Šenauer returned to Split in 1947, few days before his father.

Football career

He spend most of his career playing for his hometown club

HNK Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Split, Croatia, Split, that competes in the Croatian First Football League, Cro ...

winning with them 3

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. He also won one

national cup The English National Cup is an annual basketball knock-out competition held between professional, semi-professional and amateur teams from the various divisions of the National Basketball League (England), National Basketball League. For most of th ...

in the period in between while he was playing with

OFK Belgrade OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK Beograd Mozzart ...

, curiously winning in the final against his former club, Hajduk. Before ending his career he also had a spell abroad with SK Austria Klagenfurt, before returning to finish his career playing with

RNK Split Radnički nogometni klub Split ("Workers' Football Club of Split") commonly known as RNK Split, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Split. History The club had a strong fanbase in the Split's shipyard. The club was fo ...

. He was known for his speed and excellent execution of free kicks. After retiring he was an active member in the direction board of Hajduk, and between 1979 and 1990 he was the director of the Hajduk stadium,

Poljud Gradski stadion u Poljudu (), better known as Stadion Poljud () or simply Poljud, is a multi-use stadium in Split, Croatia, which has been the home ground of Hajduk Split football club since 1979. The stadium is located in the neighbourhood of P ...

. He made two appearances for the Yugoslav B national team, both in 1951, first in Tunis, on 14 October, against Tunisia (7–3 win with Šenauer scoring the lat goal), and second in Sfax, on 16 October, against South Tunisia (5–0 win).Godišnjak FSJ 1920–1953, page 100

Death

Šenauer died on 5 January 2013 in Split, and was buried at the Lovrinac Cemetery.

References

External links

Career story
at Nogometni Leksikon. {{DEFAULTSORT:Senauer, Vladimir 1930 births 2013 deaths Footballers from Split, Croatia Croatian Jews Men's association football wingers Yugoslav men's footballers HNK Hajduk Split players OFK Beograd players FC Kärnten players RNK Split players Yugoslav First League players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Austria Burials at Lovrinac Cemetery