Velimir Naumović (Serbian Cyrillic: Beлимиp Haумoвић; 19 March 1936 in Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia – 19 December 2011) was a Serbian striker who played for SFR Yugoslavia. He was often called Veljko Naumović. During his managerial career, he was nicknamed The Saviour for his profound record of saving club from sticky situations.[1]

Velimir Naumović
Naumović in 1965
Personal information
Date of birth (1936-03-19)19 March 1936
Place of birth Belgrade, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Date of death 19 December 2011(2011-12-19) (aged 75)
Place of death Liège, Belgium
Height 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
Jedinstvo Zemun
Red Star Belgrade
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1953–1956 Red Star Belgrade 3 (0)
1956–1965 Rijeka 204 (41)
1965–1969 Standard de Liège 66 (3)
1969–1971 Stade Rennais 49 (2)
1971–1972 Racing Jet ? (?)
1972–1976 Tilleur ? (?)
International career
1963–1964 Yugoslavia 3 (0)
Managerial career
1976–1978 Rudar Labin
1978–1979 MC Alger
1980 MC Alger
1981–1983 d'Abidjan
1986–1987 Mladost Petrinja
1989–1991 Orijent
1992–1993 Tilleur
Union Namur
Pazinka
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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He first appeared on Kantrida, his future club's ground, in 1954 at Kvarnerska Rivijera, where Red Star beat Rijeka 3:1 in the final of the tournament. During his military service in Rijeka, he moved to the town's football club NK Rijeka. He stayed at the club for nine years and became a legend, being part of the club's first generation to play in the First League. During his time in Rijeka, he received numerous offers to return to Red Star Belgrade, but stayed loyal to Rijeka. He played a total of 400 matches and scored 155 goals in all competitions.[2]

In 1965, he moved to Belgian Standard Liège, where he won two Cup and one League title. During his time in Belgium, he was nicknamed "Yugoslav Puskás" for his superb playing. In the 1967–68 European Cup Winners' Cup, the team got to the quarter final where they were defeated by AC Milan.[3] After Standard Liège, he moved to the French club Stade Rennais in 1969. There, he mostly played as a midfielder. He helped the club win the 1971 Coupe de France, their second trophy in history. He finished his career playing for the low-tier Belgian clubs Racing Jet and Tilleur.[4]

After his playing career, he managed NK Rudar Labin, NK Orijent, Tilleur, d'Abidjan, and MC Alger.[5][6][7]

Career statistics

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Club

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[4] [8]

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Yugoslavia League Yugoslav Cup Europe Total
1953–54 Red Star Belgrade Yugoslav First League 2 0 2 0
1954–55 1 0 1 0
1955–56 0 0 0 0
1956–57 NK Rijeka Yugoslav Second League 23 5 23 5
1957–58 26 17 26 17
1958–59 Yugoslav First League 22 8 4 1 26 9
1959–60 19 4 1 0 20 4
1960–61 20 1 1 0 21 1
1961–62 19 3 2 1 21 4
1962–63 24 1 1 0 25 1
1963–64 25 1 1 0 26 1
1964–65 26 1 1 0 27 1
Belgium League Belgian Cup Europe Total
1965–66 Standard Liège Belgian First Division 24 2 3 0 27 2
1966–67 17 1 8 0 25 1
1967–68 23 0 5 0 28 0
1968–69 2 0 2 0
France League Coupe de France Europe Total
1969-70 Stade Rennais Division 1 30 2 8 0 38 2
1970-71 19 0 5 0 24 0
Country Yugoslavia 207 41 11 2 0 0 208 43
Belgium 66 3 0 0 16 0 82 3
France 49 2 13 0 0 0 62 2
Total 322 46 24 2 16 0 362 48

International matches

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Velimir Naumović' matches for the Yugoslavia national team[9]
Date Location Host team Score Away team Competition Goals scored
27 October 1963 Stadionul August 23, Bucharest   Romania 2–1   Yugoslavia Friendly 0
18 March 1964 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia   Bulgaria 0–1   Yugoslavia Friendly 0
17 June 1964 JNA Stadium, Belgrade   Yugoslavia 1–2   Romania Friendly 0
Total Appearances 3 Goals 0

Honours

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Red Star Belgrade
NK Rijeka
Standard de Liège
Stade Rennais
MC Alger
d'Abidjan
Individual

References

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  1. ^ "ORGANISATION ET DISCIPLINE: LA RECETTE DE VELCO NAUMOVIC POUR LE MAITIEN DES METALLOS". lesoir.be. 22 January 1992. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  2. ^ "ODLAZAK NOGOMETNE LEGENDE: Preminuo Velimir Naumović". mojarijeka.hr. 20 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  3. ^ "In memoriam Velimir-Veljo Naumović: Najslavnija "desetka" nogometne Kantride". Novi list. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Velimir Naumović". Stade Rennais. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Naumović Velimir". nogomet.lzmk.hr. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. ^ "NAUMOVIC Velimir "Velco" "Un Yougoslave Champion d'Algérie"". sebbar.kazeo.com. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. ^ "1979/1980". sebbar.kazeo.com. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  8. ^ "HNK Rijeka". nk-rijeka.hr. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  9. ^ a b "Velimir Naumović". reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
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