Bosnia mourns hero Brozović

Balkan football is mourning the death of former Yugoslavia captain Miroslav Meho Brozović, who has died aged 89 in Mostar.

Mostar native
Brozović was born in Mostar and began his career with local clubs JŠK and NK Zrinjski, before making his first big move abroad to 1. HŠK Građanski Zagreb. He won two Yugoslav titles with the Croatian club (who would later become NK Dinamo Zagreb) then another after the Second World War with crack Belgrade outfit FK Partizan, with whom he also lifted the Yugoslavian Cup. Brozović earned an international debut against Hungary in Budapest in 1940 and went on to represent Yugoslavia 17 times. The highlight of his national-team career came when he captained Yugoslavia to a silver medal at the 1948 Olympic Games in London.

Title winner
Brozović returned to Bosnia after that triumph, signing for FK Sarajevo for whom he made 132 appearances over the subsequent six years. He retired from playing in 1952 and took up coaching, again enjoying success. He steered Sarajevo to the Yugoslav title in 1967, the first time a club outside the big four of Partizan, FK Crvena Zvezda, Dinamo Zagreb and HNK Hajduk Split had been champions. As well as Sarajevo, he also coached NK Željezničar, FK Borac Banjaluka, FK Rudar Kakanj, NK Odred Ljubljana and NK GOŠK Dubrovnik. Until 2004 he was regularly attending matches and had kept himself busy coaching the Bosnia-Herzegovina veteran side.

'Extraordinay man'
"He was an extraordinary man and an expert," Fuad Muzurović, a member of Brozović's title-winning squad at Sarajevo, told uefa.com. "He made a huge contribution to the development of football in Bosnia-Herzegovina and the former Yugoslavia. He was loved and respected by everyone he coached and played with."