Tomislav Crnković (footballer) explained

Tomislav Crnković
Fullname:Tomislav Crnković
Birth Date:1929 6, df=yes
Birth Place:Kotor, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
Death Place:Zagreb, Croatia
Position:Defender
Youthclubs1:HAŠK
Years1:1947–1949
Years2:1950–1961
Years3:1961–1962
Years4:1962–1964
Clubs1:Metalac Zagreb
Clubs2:Dinamo Zagreb
Clubs3:LASK
Clubs4:Servette
Caps2:439
Goals2:5
Caps3:32
Goals3:0
Nationalyears1:1952–1960
Nationalteam1:Yugoslavia
Nationalcaps1:51
Nationalgoals1:0
Manageryears1:1965–1966
Managerclubs1:1. Simmeringer SC
Medaltemplates-Expand:yes

Tomislav Crnković (17 June 1929 – 17 January 2009) was a Croatian footballer. He was born in Kotor in what was still the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Playing career

Club

As a defender, he played for HAŠK, Metalac and Dinamo Zagreb. Abroad, he later played at Linzer ASK in Austria and Servette Geneva in Switzerland.

With his 439 caps at Dinamo, Crnković was part of their Yugoslav First League-winning club in 1954 and 1958 as well as their Yugoslav Cup – winning team in 1951 and 1960. Crnković is regarded to be one of Dinamo's greatest defenders of all time. In 2006, he was also the founder of the Croatian Football Federation.[1] [2]

International

He made his debut for Yugoslavia in a June 1952 friendly match against Norway and earned a total of 51 caps, scoring no goals. He was part of the team that won silver at the 1952 Olympics,[3] and was also a member of Yugoslavia's 1954 and 1958 FIFA World Cup squads. His final international was a May 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying match away against Portugal.[4]

Managerial career

He also coached Austrian side Simmering.[5]

Personal life

Crnković was a well-known womanizer, and was married at least five times in his life. After his football career ended, Crnković spent a brief time as a journalist and later the owner of a popular restaurant in Zagreb. He also found himself in financial trouble after being involved in a car accident where he was injured. He insisted to pay money to the other victims of the accident as well which left him nearly bankrupt. Near the end of his life, he was provided for by the Croatian Football Federation.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: "Čudo u Bernu" – Švajcarska 1954. II deo | P.U.L.S.E . 2011-08-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091130000353/http://pulse.sm-art.info/cudo-u-bernu-svajcarska-1954-ii-deo/ . 30 November 2009 .
  2. Web site: Židak . Tomislav . Preminuo Tomislav Crnković Crni . Jutarnji.hr . 18 January 2009 . hr . 2020-12-18 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20121022024843/http://www.jutarnji.hr/preminuo-tomislav-crnkovic-crni/283641/ . 22 October 2012 .
  3. Web site: Tomislav Crnković . Olympedia . 5 November 2021.
  4. Web site: Player Database. 3 July 2022. EU-football.
  5. Web site: Archived copy . 11 July 2009 . 13 November 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20171113224540/http://fairplay.vidc.org/fileadmin/Bibliothek/Fairplay/images/Migration/Daten/trainer_final.pdf . dead .