Željko Bilecki (April 28, 1950 – April 26, 2023) was a Canadian soccer player who played as a goalkeeper.

Željko Bilecki
Personal information
Date of birth (1950-04-28)April 28, 1950
Place of birth Zagreb, PR Croatia, FPR Yugoslavia
Date of death April 26, 2023(2023-04-26) (aged 72)
Place of death Toronto, Canada
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1969 Toronto Croatia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1970–1974 Toronto Croatia
1975–1978 Toronto Metros-Croatia 66 (0)
1979–1980 Tampa Bay Rowdies 18 (0)
1979–1980 Tampa Bay Rowdies (indoor) 12 (0)
1980 Los Angeles Aztecs 1 (0)
1980–1981 Los Angeles Aztecs (indoor) 18 (0)
1980–1983 Tulsa Roughnecks (indoor) 2 (0)
1981–1982 Tulsa Roughnecks 29 (0)
International career
1976–1977 Canada 3 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

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Bilecki played at the youth level with Toronto Croatia's junior team in 1969.[1] In 1970, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto Croatia's senior team.[2] He was named the league's top goalkeeper twice in 1971, and 1972.[3] In 1974, he assisted in securing the NSL Championship against Toronto Homer.[4] For the 1975 season he played in the North American Soccer League with Toronto Metros-Croatia.[5]

He later played for three other NASL sides in the United States: Tampa Bay Rowdies, Los Angeles Aztecs and Tulsa Roughnecks.[6][7] He won a Soccer Bowl with Toronto in 1976 and was a runner-up in 1979 for Tampa Bay.[8] He was the back up goalie for Tulsa when they won Soccer Bowl '83. Bilecki also won the NASL's indoor title in 1979–80 with Tampa Bay.

International career

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Bilecki made his debut for Canada on December 22, 1976, in a 3–0 victory against the United States in a World Cup qualification match in Port-au-Prince. He won two more caps the next year, the last of these coming in a 2–1 win over Suriname on October 12, 1977, in Mexico City, where he came on at the start of the second half to replace Tony Chursky.[9]

Death

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Bilecki died on April 26, 2023, four days after the death of his mother.[10]

References

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  1. ^ Waring, Ed (September 1, 1969). "Croatia off as Hamilton wins tourney". The Globe and Mail. p. 23.
  2. ^ Waring, Ed (July 30, 1970). "Brazilian rookie now NSL's Pele". The Globe and Mail. p. 35.
  3. ^ "National Soccer League 1926 to 1992" (PDF). canadiansoccerleague.ca. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  4. ^ Waring, Ed (October 21, 1974). "White Eagles romp to Canadian title, defeat Calgary 3-1". The Globe and Mail. p. S6.
  5. ^ Balberstadt, Alan (May 20, 1975). "Metros have plenty of scoring chances but Cosmos defeat them in home opener". The Globe and Mail. p. 35.
  6. ^ Labow, Jeffrey (March 15, 1979). "Rowdies get Bilecki in deal with Blizzard". The Globe and Mail. p. 50.
  7. ^ "Bilecki on move". Calgary Herald. March 13, 1981. p. 22.
  8. ^ "Toronto beats Kicks 3-0 in Soccer Bowl". Winona Daily News. August 29, 1976. p. 19.
  9. ^ "Zeljko Bilecki". www.canadasoccer.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
  10. ^ "Marica "Maria" Bilecki | Mississauga | Turner & Porter Funeral Directors". turnerporter.permavita.com.
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