Yugoslavia national football team

The Yugoslavia national football team[lower-alpha 3] represented Yugoslavia in international association football.

This article is about the 1920–92 team representing the SFR Yugoslavia and its predecessor states. For the team representing FR Yugoslavia after the breakup of Yugoslavia, see Serbia and Montenegro national football team.

Yugoslavia
1920–1992
Nickname(s)Plavi (The Blues)
Brazilians of Europe[1]
AssociationFootball Association
of Yugoslavia
Most capsDragan Džajić (85)
(SFRY)
Top scorerStjepan Bobek (38)
(SFRY)
Home stadiumRed Star Stadium, Belgrade
FIFA codeYUG
First colours
Second colours
First international
 Czechoslovakia 7–0 Yugoslavia
(Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920)[lower-alpha 1]
Last international
 Netherlands 2–0 Yugoslavia 
(Amsterdam, Netherlands; 25 March 1992)[lower-alpha 2]
Biggest win
 Yugoslavia 10–0 Venezuela 
(Curitiba, Brazil; 14 June 1972)[2][3]
Biggest defeat
 Czechoslovakia 7–0 Kingdom SCS 
(Antwerp, Belgium; 28 August 1920)
 Uruguay 7–0 Kingdom SCS 
(Paris, France; 26 May 1924)
 Czechoslovakia 7–0 Kingdom SCS 
(Prague, Czechoslovakia; 28 October 1925)
World Cup
Appearances8[lower-alpha 2] (first in 1930)
Best resultFourth place (1930, 1962)
European Championship
Appearances4[lower-alpha 2] (first in 1960)
Best resultRunners-up, 1960 and 1968

Although the team mainly represented the pre-war Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the post-war Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), various iterations of the state were formally constituted in football, including the:

It enjoyed success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international competition as part of a United Nations sanction. In 1994, when the boycott was lifted, it was succeeded by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia national football team.

The Serbia national football team inherited Yugoslavia's spot within FIFA and UEFA and is considered by both organisations as the only successor of Yugoslavia (and of Serbia and Montenegro).[4][5][6]

History
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes at the Summer Olympics in 1924 (left) and 1928 (right)

The first national team was in the kingdom that existed between the two world wars. The Football Federation of what was then the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in Zagreb in 1919 under the name Jugoslovenski nogometni savez (and admitted into FIFA), and the national team played its first international game at the Summer Olympics in Antwerp in 1920. The opponent was Czechoslovakia, and the historic starting eleven that represented Kingdom of SCS on its debut were: Dragutin Vrđuka, Vjekoslav Župančić, Jaroslav Šifer, Stanko Tavčar, Slavin Cindrić, Rudolf Rupec, Dragutin Vragović, Artur Dubravčić, Emil Perška, Ivan Granec, and Jovan Ružić. They lost by a huge margin 0–7, but nonetheless got their names in the history books.

1930 World Cup
A Yugoslavia line-up at the 1930 FIFA World Cup

In 1929, the country was renamed to Yugoslavia and the football association became Fudbalski savez Jugoslavije and ordered to move its headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade. The national team participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup, finishing in fourth place. In its first ever World Cup match in Montevideo's Parque Central, Yugoslavia managed a famous 2–1 win versus mighty Brazil, with the following starting eleven representing the country: Milovan Jakšić, Branislav Sekulić, Aleksandar Tirnanić, Milutin Ivković, Ivica Bek, Momčilo Đokić, Blagoje Marjanović, Milorad Arsenijević, Đorđe Vujadinović, Dragoslav Mihajlović, and Ljubiša Stefanović. The team was the youngest squad at the inaugural World Cup at an average age of just under 22 years old, and became quite popular amongst the Uruguayan public, who dubbed them "Los Ichachos". The national team consisted of players based in Serbian football clubs, while the Zagreb Subassociation forbid players from Croatian clubs, some of whom were regulars in the national team until then, to play in the World Cup due to the relocation of football association's headquarters from Zagreb to Belgrade.[7]

Silver Medal at 1948 Summer Olympics

Yugoslavia began their football campaign by defeating Luxembourg 6–1, with five different players scoring the goals. In the quarter-finals and the semi-finals, they would take out Turkey and Great Britain by the same score of 3–1. In the final though, they would lose to Sweden.

Silver Medal at 1952 Summer Olympics

Having a team with many players from the 1948 generation, Yugoslavia was a formidable side at the 1952 Summer Olympics and finished as runners-up behind the famous "Golden Team" representing Hungary. Against the USSR, Yugoslavia was 5–1 up with 15 minutes of their first round match to go. The Yugoslavs, understandably, put their feet up. Arthur Ellis, the match referee, recorded what happened next in his book, The Final Whistle (London, 1963): "The USSR forced the most honourable draw ever recorded! [Vsevolod] Bobrov, their captain, scored a magnificent hat-trick. After the USSR had reduced the lead to 5–2, he, almost single-handed, took the score to 5–5, scoring his third in the last minute. For once, use of the word sensational was justified." Although Bobrov's early goal in their replay presaged a miraculous recovery, Yugoslavia recovered sufficiently to put out their opponents easily in the second half.

Later decades

The federation and football overall was disrupted by World War II. After the war, a socialist federation was formed and the football federation reconstituted. It was one of the founding members of the UEFA and it organized the 1976 European Championship played in Belgrade and Zagreb. The national team participated in eight World Cups and four Euros, won the Olympic football tournament in 1960 at the Summer Games (they also finished second three times and third once), and developed a reputation for skillful and attacking football, leading them to be dubbed "the Brazilians of Europe".[8]

Dragan Džajić holds the record for the most national team caps at 85, between 1964 and 1979. The best scorer is Stjepan Bobek with 38 goals, between 1946 and 1956.

Dissolution and UN embargo

With the end of the Cold War, democratic principles were introduced to the country which brought about the end of Titoist rule. In the subsequent atmosphere, national tensions were heightened. At the Yugoslavia-Netherlands friendly in preparation for the 1990 World Cup, the Croatian crowd in Zagreb jeered the Yugoslav team and anthem and waved Dutch flags (owing to its resemblance to the Croatian tricolour). With the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the team split up and the remaining team of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) was banned from competing at Euro 92. The decision was made on 31 May 1992, just 10 days before the competition commenced.

They had finished top of their qualifying group, but were unable to play in the competition due to United Nations Security Council Resolution 757. Their place was taken by Denmark, who went on to win the competition. Yugoslavia had also been drawn as second seed in Group 5 of the European Zone in the qualifying tournament for the 1994 World Cup. FRY was barred from competing, rendering the group unusually weak.

Breakup

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, the FRY consisted of Montenegro and Serbia.[9][10] The national team of Serbia and Montenegro continued under the name Yugoslavia until 2003, when country and team were renamed Serbia and Montenegro. For the later official football teams, see:

National teams

Successor teams

Both FIFA and UEFA consider the Serbian national team to be the direct and sole successor of the Yugoslavia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia) and Serbia and Montenegro national football teams. The teams of other republics were inducted as fully new members.

Nation FIFA Active International tournament(s) Round
 Croatia 1992-present (since 1992)
UEFA Euro 1996 Quarter-Final
1998 FIFA World Cup Third Place
2002 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
UEFA Euro 2004
2006 FIFA World Cup
UEFA Euro 2008 Quarter-Final
UEFA Euro 2012 Group Stage
2014 FIFA World Cup
UEFA Euro 2016 Round of 16
2018 FIFA World Cup Runner-up
UEFA Euro 2020 Qualified
 Serbia 2007-present
FR Yugoslavia (1992–2003)
 Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006)		 (since 2006)
1998 FIFA World Cup (FR Yugoslavia) Round of 16
UEFA Euro 2000 (FR Yugoslavia) Quarter-Final
2006 FIFA World Cup (Serbia & Montenegro) Group Stage
2010 FIFA World Cup
2018 FIFA World Cup
 Slovenia 1992-present (since 1992)
UEFA Euro 2000 Group Stage
2002 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
 Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995-present (since 1995) 2014 FIFA World Cup Group Stage
 North Macedonia 1992-present(since 1991)UEFA Euro 2020Qualified
 Montenegro 2006-present(since 2006)
 Kosovo 2008-present(since 2016)

Additional stats:

  • Croatia has/will appear at their 10th major tournament since independence, most by any other former republic;
  • Croatia's runner-up finish at 2018 FIFA World Cup is the best result at a major tournament by any other former republic;
  • Croatia was the first former Yugoslav nation to qualify to a major tournament after independence;
  • Slovenia has only qualified for major tournaments via play-offs (3);
  • Croatia were seeded inside Pot 1 of FIFA World Cup qualifications on 3 successive occasions, in 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, after FR Yugoslavia who were seeded once in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification;
  • Only three former Yugoslav republics were ever seeded inside Pot 1 in the history of UEFA European Championship qualifying competition, after FR Yugoslavia (UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying), Croatia (UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying) and Bosnia (Euro 2016 qualifying);
  • No former SFR Yugoslav republic was ever seeded or in Pot 1 at finals of a major tournament;
  • Niko Kranjčar played for Croatia at 2006 FIFA World Cup under his father – head coach Zlatko Kranjčar; likewise Tino-Sven Sušić played for Bosnia at 2014 FIFA World Cup under his uncle – head coach Safet Sušić.

Youth teams

The under-21 team won the inaugural UEFA U-21 Championship in 1978.

The Yugoslav under-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship 1987.

Kits

Yugoslavia's traditional colours were blue, white and red, mirroring the tricolour of the nation's flag. This combination was typically manifested through blue shirts, white shorts and red socks, the source of the nickname Plavi (the Blues). The away kit was all-white, featuring blue and red trim.

All of the kits from 1950 to 1990 were sponsored by Adidas.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

SFR Yugoslavia
1950–1962
1974
1982
1984
1990
1992

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

FIFA World Cup record Qualification Record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squads Pld W D L GF GA
1930 Fourth place'[13][lower-alpha 4] 4th 3 2 0 1 7 7 Squad Invited
1934 Did Not Qualify 2 0 1 1 3 4
1938 2 1 0 1 1 4
1950 Group Stage 5th 3 2 0 1 7 3 Squad 5 3 2 0 16 6
1954 Quarter-final 7th 3 1 1 1 2 3 Squad 4 4 0 0 4 0
1958 Quarter-final 5th 4 1 2 1 7 7 Squad 4 2 2 0 7 2
1962 Fourth Place 4th 6 3 0 3 10 7 Squad 4 3 1 0 11 4
1966 Did Not Qualify 6 3 1 2 10 8
1970 6 3 1 2 19 7
1974 2nd Group Stage 7th 6 1 2 3 12 7 Squad 5 3 2 0 8 4
1978 Did Not Qualify 4 1 0 3 6 8
1982 Group Stage 16th 3 1 1 1 2 2 Squad 8 6 1 1 22 7
1986 Did Not Qualify 8 3 2 3 7 8
1990 Quarter-final 5th 5 3 1 1 8 6 Squad 8 6 2 0 16 6
1994 Banned[lower-alpha 5] Banned
Total Fourth Place 8/15 33 14 7 12 55 42 – 66 38 15 13 130 68

UEFA European Championship record

  Champions    Runners-up    Third Place    Fourth Place  

UEFA European Championship record Qualification Record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA Squads Pld W D L GF GA
1960 Runners-up 2nd 2 1 0 1 6 6 Squad 4 2 1 1 9 4
1964 Did Not Qualify 4 2 1 1 6 5
1968 Runners-up 2nd 3 1 1 1 2 3 Squad 6 4 1 1 14 5
1972 1/4 play offs 8 3 4 1 7 5
1976 Fourth Place 4th 2 0 0 2 4 7 Squad 8 6 1 1 15 5
1980 Did Not Qualify 6 4 0 2 14 6
1984 Group Stage 8th place 3 0 0 3 2 10 Squad 6 3 2 1 12 11
1988 Did Not Qualify 6 4 0 2 13 9
1992 Banned after qualification[15] 8 7 0 1 24 4
Total Runners-up 4/9 10 2 1 7 14 26 – 56 35 10 11 114 54
*Denotes draws including knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Mediterranean Games record
Football at the Mediterranean Games
Year Round GP W D L GS GA
1951-000000
1955-000000
1959-000000
1963-000000
1967-000000
19711321082
19755421183
197915500164
1983-000000
1987-000000
1991 – present See Yugoslavia national under-20 team
Total3/1012921329

Honours
This is a list of honours for the senior Yugoslav national football team

FIFA World Cup

UEFA European Championship

Olympic football tournament

Player statistics

Most caps
Rank Name Career Caps Goals
1 Dragan Džajić 1964–1979 85 23
2 Zlatko Vujović 1979–1990 70 25
3 Branko Zebec 1951–1961 65 17
Stjepan Bobek 1946–1956 38
5 Branko Stanković 1946–1956 61 3
Faruk Hadžibegić 1982–1992 6
7 Ivica Horvat 1946–1956 60 0
8 Vladimir Beara 1950–1959 59 0
Rajko Mitić 1946–1957 32
Bernard Vukas 1948–1957 22
11 Vujadin Boškov 1951–1958 57 0
Blagoje Marjanović 1926–1938 36
13 Jovan Aćimović 1968–1976 55 3
Zlatko Čajkovski 1946–1955 7
Fahrudin Jusufi 1959–1967 0
16 Mehmed Baždarević 1982–1992 54 4
Ivica Šurjak 1973–1982 10
Safet Sušić 1977–1990 21
19 Milorad Arsenijević 1927–1936 52 0
Dragan Holcer 1965–1974 0
21 Tomislav Crnković 1952–1960 51 0
Milan Galić 1959–1965 37
23 Aleksandar Tirnanić 1929–1940 50 12
Vladimir Durković 1959–1966 0
Milutin Šoškić 1959–1966 0
Branko Oblak 1970–1977 8

Top goalscorers

The following players scored ten or more goals for Yugoslavia.[16]

Rank Name Goals
1 Stjepan Bobek 38
2 Milan Galić 37
3 Blagoje Marjanović 36
4 Rajko Mitić 32
5 Dušan Bajević 29
6 Todor Veselinović 28
7 Borivoje Kostić 26
8 Zlatko Vujović 25
9 Dragan Džajić 23
10 Bernard Vukas 22
11 Safet Sušić 21
Slaven Zambata 21
13 Đorđe Vujadinović 18
14 Muhamed Mujić 17
Darko Pančev 17
Branko Zebec 17
17 Miloš Milutinović 16
18 Aleksandar Živković 15
19 Željko Čajkovski 12
Aleksandar Tirnanić 12
21 Dražan Jerković 11
Zdravko Rajkov 11
Josip Skoblar 11
24 Josip Bukal 10
Ivan Hitrec 10
Josip Katalinski 10

Head-to-head record

  Positive Record   Neutral Record   Negative Record

Head coaches

See also

Successor teams

Notes
  1. First international as SFRY:  Czechoslovakia 0–2 Yugoslavia  (Prague, Czechoslovakia; 9 May 1945)
  2. As of 1992 before the split of SFR Yugoslavia; for later data see Serbia and Montenegro national football team.
  3. Serbian: Фудбалска репрезентација Југославије, romanized: Fudbalska reprezentacija Jugoslavije; Croatian: Jugoslavenska nogometna reprezentacija; Slovene: Jugoslovanska nogometna reprezentanca; Macedonian: Фудбалска репрезентација на Југославија, romanized: Fudbalska reprezentacija na Jugoslavija
  4. Yugoslavia earned 4th place below the loser of the other semi-final, the United States, because of a lower goal differential (0 to the United States' +1). No third place match was played.
  5. Draw for 1994 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was made on December 8, 1991, however due to break-up of SFR Yugoslavia and consequent military conflict, which broke in early 1991, FSJ ceased to exist as football organization of the SFR Yugoslavia. Organization that remained based in Belgrade, Serbia, was excluded from taking part as FSJ or its successor due to UN sanctions.[14]

References
  1. A farewell to Yugoslavia openDemocracy.net. Dejan Djokic; 10 April 2002
  2. "Jugoslavija – Venecuela 10-0". Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbo-Croatian). 14 October 2009. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  3. "1974 FIFA World Cup Germany ™ - Matches - Yugoslavia-Zaire". FIFA.com. Retrieved 25 February 2019.
  4. History at FSS official website, Retrieved 4 October 2012 (in Serbian)
  5. Serbia at FIFA official website
  6. News: Serbia at UEFA official website, published 1 January 2011, Retrieved 4 October 2012
  7. History at Football Association of Serbia official website, Retrieved May 17, 2913 (in Serbian)
  8. "90: 'The team was far better than the country' - The lost brilliance of Yugoslavia". 4 June 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  9. "Yugoslavia and the breakup of its soccer team". Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  10. Merrill, Austin. "The Splintering of Yugoslavia and Its Soccer Team". The Hive. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  11. "Kako je plavi dres - pocrveneo". 9 April 2012.
  12. "Kako je plavi dres pocrveneo". Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  13. "1930 FIFA World Cup Uruguay 1930". FIFA.com. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  14. "History of the FIFA World Cup Preliminary Competition (by year)" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  15. Suspended because of United Nations Security Council Resolution 757 during Yugoslav wars. Yugoslavia was replaced by Denmark, who went on to win the tournament.
  16. "Number of goals for Yugoslavia". Reprezentacija.rs.

Bibliography

Media related to Yugoslavia national association football team at Wikimedia Commons

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