Blagoje VIDINIC

One of the best known Macedonian football players of all time, Blagoja Vidinić played for Macedonian side Vardar Skopje before relocating to Radnički Beograd in 1955. The next year, he was first selected for the Yugoslavian national team, in which he would make eight appearances. He played in the final of the inaugural European Championships (1960), in which Yugoslavia was defeated 2-1 by the Soviet Union. Four years earlier, Yugoslavia had also lost the final of the Olympic Games to the USSR, in a tournament during which Vidinić had played in the semi-finals. At the Rome Olympics, Vidinić played two matches (the semi-final and final), but this time Yugoslavia emerged victorious, winning the final against Denmark. After winning the 1962 domestic cup with OFK Beograd, Vidinić went to play abroad, first in Switzerland (winning a second cup with Sion) and later in the North American Soccer League. Retiring in 1970, he immediately switched to coaching. After coaching Morocco at the 1970 World Cup, he headed Zaire to win the 1974 African Cup of Nations, and was also present with that team at the World Cup later that year. After a spell as head coach of Colombia, he became a representative of shoe manufacturer adidas in Strasbourg, France.