Dragoslav Šekularac

Dragoslav Šekularac won a silver medal with the Yugoslav football team at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. He also won a silver medal at the 1960 European Championships. Šekularac was an attacking midfielder who earned 41 senior international caps. He played for Red Star Belgrade from 1955-66, then spent his final decade playing with various teams. In 1966-67 he was with Karlsruher SC in Germany, while in 1967 he played in the USA with the St. Louis Stars. He also played for OFK Belgrade (1968), Independiente Santa Fe (1969-71), Atlético Bucaramanga in 1972, Millonarios in 1973, América de Cali in 1974, and in his final year, 1975, he played in Paris and with the Serbian White Eagles.

His club career saw Šekularac win titles with Red Star in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1964. He also helped them win the Yugoslav Cup in 1958, 1959, and 1964. With Santa Fe, he helped win the Categoría Primera A in 1971 and the Copa Simón Bolívar in 1970.

Šekularac’s final year with Serbian White Eagles was spent as a player-coach and it led to his next career as a football manager. He later worked with the Guatemalan national team in 1984-85, managed Footscray JUST in 1986-87, and then returned to Red Star Belgrade in 1989-90. He coached various teams throughout the 1990s, and in 2006 was back to manage the White Eagles again.

Šekularac was immensely popular in his native Yugoslavia, and his fame transcended sports. Several books were written on his life, and he also starred in a 1962 movie, a comedy entitled “Šeki snima, pazi se”, which was football-related but focused on his public persona.