Yugoslav football legend Vladimir Beara passes away

Yugoslav football legend Vladimir Beara passes away

Beara was an ethnic Serb from what is now Croatia, born in 1928 near Sinj, then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

The legendary footballer played a total of 59 matches for the national team of Yugoslavia from 1950 to 1959, winning the silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland.

As Yugoslavia's goalkeeper he participated in three World Cups - in 1950, 1954 and 1958.

He played for Hajduk Split from 1947 to 1955, and then for Belgrade's Crvena Zvezda (Red Star) until 1960.

With these two teams he won seven national league and two cup titles.

Beara ended his career as a goalkeeper for Alemannia Aachen and Viktoria Koln in Germany, and went on to become a football coach. He coached the national team of Cameroon and is largely credited for the country's notable success in international football.

The great Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, winner of the 1963 Ballon d'Or, said at the presentation ceremony that he considered Beara "the best goalkeeper in the world."

Croatian media are reporting that he was "principled and stubborn" - because he in 1955, after eight years with Hajduk, joined Red Star Belgrade, unhappy with his status and the manner in which the locals treated him. This move had him declared "a traitor", and the athlete was unable to move freely around the town for years.

Beara went on to win four national titles with Red Star, and was the first keeper of the Yugoslav national squad of the time - the best team the country ever had.