Blagoje Bratić
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Blagoje Bratić | ||
| Date of birth | March 1, 1946 | ||
| Place of birth | Sarajevo, FPR Yugoslavia | ||
| Date of death | July 31, 2008 (aged 62) | ||
| Place of death | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pretis Vogošća | |||
| Željezničar | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1964–1976 | Željezničar | 301 | (29) |
| Total | 301 | (29) | |
| National team | |||
| 1972 | Yugoslavia | 3 | (0) |
| Teams managed | |||
| Lokomotiva Brčko | |||
| Elektrobosna Jajce | |||
| GOŠK Dubrovnik | |||
| Famos Hrasnica | |||
| Iskra Bugojno | |||
| 1987–1988 | Željezničar | ||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Blagoje "Blažo" Bratić (March 1, 1946 – July 31, 2008) was a Bosnian Canadian footballer and manager.
Playing career[]
Club[]
Born in Sarajevo, he started playing football in Pretis Vogošća (later known as UNIS, and today as FK Vogošća) at the age of 14. As a talented youngster, he moved to Željezničar where he would become one of the more notable Yugoslav defenders at the time. He made his debut for Željo's first team in 1964, and was a standout member of the club's greatest generation that won its only Yugoslav First League title in 1972. He played 343 official competitive games for FK Željezničar, more than anyone in the club's 86-year-old history. He scored a total of 32 goals for the club in all competitions.
International[]
Bratić made his debut for Yugoslavia in a June 1972 friendly match against Venezuela and has earned a total of 3 caps, scoring no goals. His final international was a week later at the same tournament in Brazil against Paraguay.[1]
He decided to end his playing career in 1976, at the age of 30.
Managerial career[]
He stayed in football, however, as the head coach of lower division sides such as Lokomotiva Brčko, Famos Hrasnica, GOŠK Dubrovnik, and Iskra Bugojno, before finally getting a chance to lead a top-division team with FK Željezničar in the first part of 1987/88 season. In the early 1990s he coached in Penang, Malaysia.
In 1994, Bratić and his family fled to Toronto to escape the Bosnian War. For some time, he worked as sports director and coach of the Toronto Metro Lions.
Personal life[]
Bratić was married to his wife Miza with whom he had two sons named Denis and Saša.
Death[]
Bratić died on July 31, 2008 at the age of 62. He is interred in Toronto's Mount Pleasant Cemetery.[2]
Honours[]
Player[]
Željezničar
References[]
- ^ "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 2021-02-05.
- ^ Grave location
External links[]
- Blagoje Bratić at National-Football-Teams.com
- Profile at reprezentacija.rs
- 1946 births
- 2008 deaths
- Sportspeople from Sarajevo
- Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Yugoslav Wars refugees
- Bosnia and Herzegovina refugees
- Bosnia and Herzegovina emigrants to Canada
- Canadian people of Bosnia and Herzegovina descent
- Canadian people of Serbian descent
- Association football defenders
- Yugoslav footballers
- Yugoslavia international footballers
- FK Željezničar Sarajevo players
- Yugoslav First League players
- Yugoslav football managers
- NK GOŠK Dubrovnik managers
- NK Iskra Bugojno managers
- FK Željezničar Sarajevo managers
- Yugoslav First League managers
- Burials at York Cemetery, Toronto