Ivan Golac
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| Ivan Golac | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ivan Golac | |
| Date of birth | June 15, 1950 | |
| Place of birth | Koprivnica, SFR Yugoslavia | |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in | |
| Playing position | Fullback | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1962-1968 | FK Partizan | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1968-1978 1978-1983 1982 1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985 |
FK Partizan Southampton → Bournemouth (loan) → Manchester City (loan) Bjelasica Southampton → Portsmouth (loan) |
144 (4) 9 (0) 2 (0) 24 (0) 8 (0) |
| National team | ||
| 1978 | SFR Yugoslavia | 1 (0) |
| Teams managed | ||
| 1989-1990 1992 1993-1995 1997 2001-2002 |
FK Partizan Torquay United Dundee United ÍA Akranes FK Sartid FC Karpaty Lviv |
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1 Senior club appearances and goals |
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Ivan Golac (born June 15, 1950) is a former football player and manager from former Yugoslavia.
A Yugoslav international right back, he is best known as a player and manager of FK Partizan, of Belgrade. In the United Kingdom he is remembered as one of Southampton's first foreign imports and as a Scottish Cup-winning manager with Dundee United.
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[edit] Playing career
Born in Koprivnica, Croatia, SFR Yugoslavia, Golac moved to Belgrade where he joined the youth section of FK Partizan in his early teens and eventually graduated to the first team. He made over 350 appearances for the club and won League championship medals in 1976 and 1978. During this era, he also made his debut for the national team, but that match against Algeria in 1978 proved to be his only one at international level.
The year of 1978 would prove to be a watershed in Golac's career. He had reached the age of 28, when Yugoslavia's Communist authorities would allow players to move abroad; it was also the year in which English football's restrictions on foreign players were lifted. That summer Ivan Golac became one of the first of the new imports when Southampton manager Lawrie McMenemy paid a bargain £50,000 to bring him to England. Over the next few seasons, his technical skills and attacking full back play made him a cult figure at The Dell. His time at Southampton included an appearance at Wembley in the 1979 League Cup Final.
The relationship turned sour in 1982 when a contract dispute between player and club led to Golac going out on loan to AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City. A brief spell back in Yugoslavia with minor level club Bjelasica was followed by a transfer back to Southampton in 1984. His return to the club was unspectacular, and after another period on loan, this time at Portsmouth, Golac retired in 1986.
[edit] Managerial career
Following the end of his playing days, Golac turned to coaching, where his laid-back, positive style led to further successes. Returning to Partizan, he became assistant to manager Momčilo Vukotić in 1989 and helped the club to Yugoslav Cup success that year. The following September, he had an extraordinary debut in management when Vukotić was taken ill on the eve of a Cup Winners' Cup tie against Celtic in Glasgow, with Partizan leading 2-1 from the first leg. An astonishing match saw Golac's team progress on away goals after a 5-4 victory for Celtic.
Golac remained in charge at Partizan for the rest of the season before parting company with the club. He still had a home in Hampshire, and returned to Britain in search of work. After being unsuccessfully shortlisted for the manager's job at old adversaries Celtic, he had a brief spell in charge of Torquay United during 1992. Then, in July 1993, he was announced as the surprise choice to succeed legendary Dundee United manager Jim McLean.
The Scottish sporting media quickly latched on to Golac, whose hippyish public image - he took United players to "smell the flowers" in Camperdown Park during training sessions, and claimed to have learned English from listening to Rolling Stones records - was in pointed contrast to the austere reputation of his predecessor, McLean. Against the odds, Golac's confident approach led underdogs United to Scottish Cup success at the end of his first season in charge, defeating hot favourites Rangers 1-0 in the final. It was the first time Dundee United had won the trophy, having lost in the final six times under McLean.
Despite the Cup triumph, poor League form and the fraught relationship between Golac and McLean (who remained club chairman) led to his departure from the club less than a year later. Since then, he has held several managerial posts around Europe without recording any significant achievements, having been in charge at ÍA Akranes in Iceland, FK Sartid in Serbia and FC Karpaty Lviv in Ukraine.
Outside football, Golac has in recent years also had a spell running a chocolate factory in Belgrade. Today, he and his wife Bratislava live mainly in Vienna.
[edit] Honours
[edit] As a player
- Football League Division 1 Runners-up: 1983-84
- League Cup Finalist: 1979
[edit] As manager
- Dundee United
Scottish Cup Winner: 1994
[edit] References
- Jeremy Wilson (2006). Southampton’s Cult Heroes. Know The Score Books. ISBN 1-905449-01-1.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Phil Boyer |
Southampton F.C. player of the season 1980-81 |
Succeeded by Kevin Keegan |
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