Dragoslav Stepanović

Dragoslav Stepanovic (2005)

Dragoslav " Stepi " Stepanović ( born August 30, 1948 in Rekovac ) is a Serbian football player and coach.

Career

Stepanović was one of the world's best full-back in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1976 he was appointed to a Weltelf. He played 34 times for Yugoslavia national team. In Germany, he was active as a player for Eintracht Frankfurt and Wormatia Worms.

After the end of his active career Stepanović, which is only called by many " Stepi ", worked first as a bartender. As a coach, he was a blank slate. That's why it surprised many when he was hired by his former teammates Bernd Hölzenbein, the former manager of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, as manager in April 1991. " Stepis " friendly nature and be relaxed tone quickly made him popular with players, fans and the media, led A fading success but also to doubts about his authority and expertise.

In the season 1991/1992 Eintracht Frankfurt had led with coach Stepanović long time the table. But you missed for a highly dramatic season finale of the German championship by just one defeat at Hansa Rostock.

In the following season he was increasingly called into question as a coach. Immediately after the 0-3 home defeat against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup he explained by saying " That's it " in a live television interview his immediate resignation. His departure from Frankfurt end of the season was already fixed for a period, after he had signed a contract with Bayer Leverkusen. Since Leverkusen had his hand already separated prematurely by Reinhard Juicy, Stepanović joined the post of head coach still in the current season 1992/1993 and oversaw the team also at the final of the DFB - Pokal against the amateur team of Hertha BSC in Berlin's Olympic Stadium. This led to the paradoxical situation that coach Stepanović won the DFB Cup, although he was already out of the competition.

During his second engagement at Eintracht Frankfurt he could not avoid relegation from the Bundesliga in the 1995/1996 season. Under the title " Lebbe goes weider " moderated " Stepi " also from October 2005 to April 2007, a weekly call-in show in the metropolitan stations rheinmaintv.

From 1 May 2006, he worked as manager of the TuS Koblenz. Since he the expectations that had been set in particular in the areas of marketing and sponsorship in him, could not meet there, Stepanović was released July 26, 2006 from his duties and terminated on 31 August 2006.

Last Stepanović worked as coach of Serbian club FK Vojvodina Novi Sad, but was released in October 2009 due to sporting failures.

Trivia

In the press conference after the game in the Bundesliga season finale in 1992 against Hansa Rostock Stepanović coined the now legendary quip " Lebbe goes weider ", which was for him a kind of trademark.

Dragoslav Stepanovic is the father of professional football player Slobodan Komljenović.

Manager stations

• 05/2006-07/2006 TuS Koblenz