Europe mourns Serbia great Boškov

European football is in mourning after legendary Serbian coach Vujadin Boškov died at the age of 82 on Sunday.

Born in 1931, Boškov impressed as a midfielder during a playing career which included spells at FK Vojvodina, UC Sampdoria and BSC Young Boys, before he first turned his hand to coaching at the Swiss club. His most successful period came in Italy, where he guided Sampdoria to their sole Scudetto title in 1990/91, the side also lifting the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1989/90, two Coppa Italia trophies and the Italian Super Cup, as well as reaching the European Champion Clubs' Cup final in 1991/92.

He had previously found success in the Netherlands and Spain, winning the Dutch Cup with ADO Den Haag in 1974/75 and a league and cup double with Real Madrid CF in 1979/80. Appointed Yugoslavia coach in 1999, he led the team to the UEFA EURO 2000 quarter-finals, and in 2006 was made an honorary head coach of Serbia by the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) for his services to the game.

Slovenia coach Srečko Katanec, who played under Boškov at Sampdoria, said: "He was much more than a coach to me. We lived together in Genoa – not many players get to live with their coaches! He was not only a succesful coach and player, but a great person too. We were in touch also after his coaching career ended too. I will go to his home town, Vojvodina, on Wednesday for the funeral to say goodbye to Vujadin for the last time."

Galtasaray AŞ coach Roberto Mancini also played under Boškov at Sampdoria, and said: "He shared his experience with us and thanks to his sense of humour we will always remember the good times we shared. For us, club president Paolo Mantovani was like a father, and [Boškov] was like a brother, and now the two of them will meet up there in the sky, and they will surely have a laugh together and remember the good old days."