Ivan Ćurković

Ćurković 1979 as a player

Ivan Ćurković ( Иван Ћурковић, born March 15, 1944 in Mostar ) is a former Yugoslav football player and current sports official in Serbia.

Playing career

The 1.79 m for a goalkeeper is not very tall Ivan Ćurković began his career in his native city at FK Velež Mostar, where he made his debut at 17 in the top league, and joined as a 20 year old to FK Partizan Belgrade. At the Olympics 1964 he guarded the gate of the Yugoslav selection, retired in the quarterfinals against the GDR. With Partizan he stood at first but in the shadow of Milutin Šoškić, but was part of the squad, as the club in 1965 his only Yugoslav championship titles won during the following eight years, and pushed forward in the season 1965/66 to the final of the European Cup of Champions. Later he became the A-National player, although he permanently No. 1 was not during his international career - especially Enver Maric and Ognjen Petrović put too much competition for him dar. The two major tournament finals for Yugoslavia in the could qualify 1970s ( 1974 World Cup and Euro 1976), Ćurković was not taken, but in three qualifying matches for the World Cup 1970.

In 1972 he was allowed to go to the AS Saint- Étienne in the French Division 1, and there off the pitch for guiding figure of a very young team he grew up and. Ivan Ćurković collected with the Greens - " the Greens " and ASSE are the most common names for the football players from the industrial city of Saint- Étienne - title, was four times champion, including three in a row, and three times Cup winners; there were even two doubles in 1974 and 1975. In 1976 he reached the final of the European Cup of Champions, where he was defeated only once ( by Franz Roth), giving the final opponent, however, was enough for Cup win. Already in the semi-final against PSV Eindhoven (1-0, 0-0) was " Curko " outgrown itself and had the striker in the Dutch brought to despair: " A goalkeeper who is able alone to discourage the enemy ... and the run of play can provide head ". In retrospect, the calm, objective players is considered one of the best and because of its ability to give the players and backing them into a frenzy, one of the most important Goalkeeper in club history. He dominated the entire area and prepared before each game thoroughly on the qualities of the opposing attacker.

After a defeat at SEC Bastia, on the third Round of the 1980/81 season, the now 36 - year-old had his place in goal for Jean Castaneda rooms and is no longer included in the League of coach Robert Herbin. He had been 1972, the preferred candidate of Herbin, had failed in the first eight seasons, only four of 304 point games and had also been an important support of the ASSE in 33 European Cup matches. After winning the title again in 1981 and the defeat in the Cup final ( at 1:2 against Bastia Ćurković also sat on the bench ), he ended his professional career and left the Verts. Overall, he has brought it to 591 missions in Yugoslavia and France top divisions.

Stations

• FK Velež Mostar (1960-1964, 87 first division matches )
• FK Partizan Belgrade (1964-1972, 201 first division matches )
• AS Saint- Étienne (1972-1981, 303 appearances in D1)

Palmarčs

• French Champion: 1973 /74 1974/75 1975 /76 1980/81
• French Cup Winners: 1973 /74 74/1975, 1976/77
• Yugoslavian Champion: 1965
• 33 missions in the European Cup for ASSE, playoff participation in the European Cup of Champions 1975/76
• 19 A- international matches for Yugoslavia

Life after the player time

In 1982, Ivan Ćurković still in an official capacity in a World Cup final tournament, as he was entrusted with the task of Hidalgo coach of the goalkeeper coach for Baratelli, Castaneda and Ettori. In 2001, he worked briefly as interim coach of the national team of Serbia and Montenegro. Ćurković was for 15 years president of Partizan Belgrade, Member of the National Olympic Committee of Serbia and the technical committee of FIFA. He is currently a member of FIFA 's Stadium and security. He is also Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Belgrade, October 2005 Knight of the Legion of Honour. He became an avowed pacifist by the murder of his brother Dragan in the Yugoslav civil war.