I was
saddened to read today of the passing of Dragoslav Sekularac, aged 81, one the
finest footballers of the 1960s and 1970s.
Indeed, his
performance for the former Yugoslavia at the World Cup in Chile in 1962 was
outstanding.
The team,
made up of Croatians, Serbians and players from the other republics of the
former Yugoslavia, reached the semi-finals of the 1962 World Cup, where they
were beaten by eventual finalists Czechoslovakia (a country that was also
eventually broken up into the Czech Republic and Slovakia).
They also
lost the third-place match 1-0 to hosts Chile, but Sekularac was the player of
the tournament.
He was described
as the ‘Maradona’ of the 1962 World Cup.
Brian Glanville, the noted English football writer, described his manner
of play thus: “He would beat an opponent
with nonchalant ease, almost as if it were a tiresome necessity.”
They were
the days when football was, amongst other things, fun to watch. Sekularac, like the great Brazilian,
Garrincha, would sometimes beat an opponent and then come back and do it again. It drove the fans into ecstasy.
The reason
I am writing this is because Sekularac had a link with Tasmania and Australia
and I was fortunate enough to meet him and interview him.
He played
for Yugoslavia at the Melbourne Olympics in 1956 and he had two stints as an
NSL coach in Australia, first with Footscray JUST in 1986 and 1987, and again
in 1992-93 with Heidelberg United.
It was in
1993 that be brought Heidelberg to Tasmania to play the State team at KGV Park.
Heidelberg
won 3-0 and they also won the NSL Cup that year on the national stage. Tasmania’s David Clarkson, who began his
career with Rapid and Hobart Juventus, was in the Heidelberg team.
The
Tasmanian squad for that friendly, coached by Alex MacDonald, was: Neil Connell, Andrew Joseph, Brett Murtagh,
Wayne Boyd, John ‘Snow’ Compagne, Craig Pitt, Scott Young, David Stoddart, Ian
Parker, Tommy McGinn, Anthony Guilbert, Bob Smith, Frank Genovesi, Roger Mies,
David Meldrum and Carlo Ambrosino.
I
approached Sekularac after the game as he stood under the steps leading up into
the KGV Park grandstand (nearest the administration building) and near the door
to a change room.
He was
affable and talkative (he was fluent in English, Spanish and Portugese, apart
from his native Serbian) and I asked him a question I had always wanted to ask
of a superstar footballer of the past.
I asked him
whether he was envious of the modern footballing superstars who earned
millions.
He said he wasn’t,
and he compared his situation to that of former great artists or painters whose
work was not always appreciated nor given full recognition in their lifetime,
but whose works made millions for someone else after their death. He shrugged off the apparent injustice with
words to the effect that, 'That's life'.
It didn’t
surprise me, therefore, that his nicknames included “The Artist” and “The
Magician”.
Indeed, at the
1962 World Cup, Pele was reputed to have asked him if he had really been born
in Brazil rather than Yugoslavia and he soon acquired the nickname of “The
Brazilian”.
Short in
stature, Sekularac was renowned for having a quick temper and this often got
him into trouble.
While
playing for Red Star Belgrade, he was suspended for 18 months for assaulting a
referee. He also received a lengthy suspension for deliberately breaking an
opponent’s leg.
On another
occasion, officials had to prevent him from getting to a referee after a match,
but he still received a hefty suspension.
I guess
even geniuses have feet of clay at times.
Incidentally,
Tasmania played four other friendlies in 1993.
They lost
3-0 at North Hobart to Japanese club Nagoya Grampus Eight, complete with Gary
Lineker, 6-0 to South Melbourne Hellas at Valley Road in Devonport, 6-1 to
South Melbourne Hellas at KGV Park, and 2-1 to Victoria at KGV Park.
The
Tasmanian squad for the South Melbourne and Victoria games was: Neil Connell, Andrew Joseph, Brett Murtagh,
Wayne Boyd, John ‘Snow’ Compagne, David Stoddart, Frank Genovesi, Ian Parker,
Tommy McGinn, Anthony Guilbert, Romeo Frediani, David Meldrum, Bob Smith, Tom
Huisgloot and Scott Young.
3 comments:
Hi walter any friendly games on this weekend
I don't know of any here, but I do know South Hobart are playing Pascoe Vale in Melbourne.
Beachside vs Nelson @ KGV 13/01 4pm
Beachside vs Clarence @ KGV 16/01 7pm
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