Miljan Miljanić

Miljan Miljanić
Миљан Миљанић
Personal information
Full name Miljan Miljanić
Date of birth 4 May 1930 (1930-05-04) (age 81)
Place of birth Bitolj, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Playing position Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1951-1952 Red Star Belgrade 1 (0)
Teams managed
1965–1966 Yugoslavia
1966–1974 Red Star Belgrade
1973–1974 Yugoslavia
1974–1977 Real Madrid
1979–1982 Yugoslavia
1982–1983 Valencia CF
1992–2001 Football Association of Serbia
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Miljan Miljanić (Serbian Cyrillic: Миљан Миљанић, born 4 May 1930 in Bitolj, Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is a retired Yugoslav football player, coach and administrator.

Born to a family hailing from Banjani clan in the Nikšić municipality in Montenegro, Miljanić spent the first years of his life in what would later become the SR Macedonia within SFR Yugoslavia and eventually present day Republic of Macedonia.

During his colourful career, Miljanić coached Red Star Belgrade (won 10 trophies), Real Madrid (won back-to-back La Liga titles, including a League/Cup double in the 1974/1975 season), Valencia CF (disappointing stint that lasted three quarters of the 1982/83 season when he got sacked with the team in 17th place in the league), and the Yugoslav national side, of which he was a head coach in the 1974 and 1982 World Cups.

He is equally known as the all-powerful president of the Football Association of Yugoslavia (FSJ), a post he occupied for years before leaving in 2001. His influence on the game of football in Yugoslavia is huge as an entire generation of coaches including Ćiro Blažević, Ivica Osim, Toza Veselinović, etc. came up under his tutelage. In addition to admirers, Miljanić has his share of detractors who feel his trademark cautious and defensive tactics as well as reliance on older players contributed to Yugoslav national team's poor results and unattractive play throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Personal

Miljanić is married to Olivera Reljić with whom he has two children: son Miloš Miljanić (former footballer and current manager of Alianza F.C. of El Salvador) and daughter Zorka.

Honours and awards

References
Yugoslavia squad – 1974 FIFA World Cup
Yugoslavia squad – 1982 FIFA World Cup
Red Star Belgrade – managers
(c) caretaker
Valencia CF – managers