Franjo Glaser
Encyclopedia
Franjo Glaser was a Croatia
n football
goalkeeper and football manager. He is the only Yugoslav footballer who won national titles before and after the Second World War, with three different clubs BSK Belgrade, Građanski Zagreb and FK Partizan
.
where he started playing for the local club Hajduk Sarajevo having debuted for their first team being only 15. In 1930 he moved to NK Slavija Osijek
where he will play until 1933 when he moved to BSK Belgrade
. With BSK he made immediate impact becoming clubs main goalkeeper, and already that year he became national team player, as well. He played with BSK between 1933 and 1937 winning the Yugoslav championship
on two occasions, in 1935 and 1936, and playing a total of 269 matches with the club.
In summer 1936 he was considered guilty by the court in Belgrade of the drowning of one boy in the Sava river resort. The episode affected Glaser and ended up being decisive for his decision to move to another giant of Yugoslav football, Zagreb´s HŠK Građanski. Fortunately there he acquired almost a legendary status. He restored his place as the national team main goalkeeper, and with Građanski he will win another Yugoslav championship in 1940 as well as the Croatian championship
in 1943. He played a total of 623 games for Građanski.
After the end of the Second World War, FPR Yugoslavia was formed, he signed with Partizan Belgrade
where he won another Yugoslav title in 1947. After that season, he became simultaneously coach and goalkeeper of NK Mornar Split, where he will stay until 1949.
Between 1933 and 1949 he played a total of 1.225 matches. Tall, strong, elastic, with excellent reflexes and brave interventions, he is definitely considered one of the best Yugoslav players from that period. He has also the impressive record of having defended 73 of 94 penalties he stood against.
having earned a total of 35 caps. His debut was on April 3, 1933, in a friendly match against Spain, 1-1 draw, and his fairway was in a friendly played on November 3, 1940 against Germany, 2-0 win.
After the invasion of Yugoslavia
, Glaser played further eleven matches for the Croatian national team
, all four matches that Banovina Croatia played, and seven matches for the Independent State of Croatia
.
in 1945 Glaser beside their goalkeeper became their first manager. However that year the league has not been yet reestablished and by the end of the year he was replaced by the Hungarian Illés Spitz
. He stayed in Belgrade until 1947, but when he moved to Mornar Split he would experience again the feeling of being a manager/player. This early coaching experiences proved to be an excellent way of gaining experience, and Glaser later managed numerous clubs, such as NK Dinamo Zagreb, NK Kvarner Rijeka, NK Proleter Osijek
, NK Trešnjevka Zagreb, Austria FC Klagenfurt (today's FC Kärnten
), FK Velež Mostar
and FK Sartid Smederevo
, among others.
He spent his final years at a retirement home in Zagreb. He is buried in Mirogoj Cemetery
.
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n football
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
goalkeeper and football manager. He is the only Yugoslav footballer who won national titles before and after the Second World War, with three different clubs BSK Belgrade, Građanski Zagreb and FK Partizan
FK Partizan
Fudbalski klub Partizan is a professional football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. In its long history, FK Partizan won as many as 37 trophies. The club is the holder of 23 national championships, 12 national cups and 1 national supercup, and has also won the Mitropa Cup in 1978...
.
Career
Glaser was born in SarajevoSarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
where he started playing for the local club Hajduk Sarajevo having debuted for their first team being only 15. In 1930 he moved to NK Slavija Osijek
Slavija Osijek
Slavija Osijek was a Croatian football club formed in Osijek. The club was founded in 1916. It was the most influential club from the city in the period prior to World War II....
where he will play until 1933 when he moved to BSK Belgrade
OFK Beograd
Omladinski fudbalski klub Beograd, commonly referred to as OFK Beograd , is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia, more precisely from the Karaburma urban neighborhood. It currently is the oldest team playing in the Serbian SuperLiga. The name means "Youth Football Club Belgrade" in Serbian...
. With BSK he made immediate impact becoming clubs main goalkeeper, and already that year he became national team player, as well. He played with BSK between 1933 and 1937 winning the Yugoslav championship
Yugoslav First League
The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
on two occasions, in 1935 and 1936, and playing a total of 269 matches with the club.
In summer 1936 he was considered guilty by the court in Belgrade of the drowning of one boy in the Sava river resort. The episode affected Glaser and ended up being decisive for his decision to move to another giant of Yugoslav football, Zagreb´s HŠK Građanski. Fortunately there he acquired almost a legendary status. He restored his place as the national team main goalkeeper, and with Građanski he will win another Yugoslav championship in 1940 as well as the Croatian championship
Croatian First League
The Prva HNL , also known as 1. HNL or for sponsorship reasons the MAXtv Prva Liga, is the top Croatian football league competition, established in 1992. The winners qualify for the UEFA Champions League...
in 1943. He played a total of 623 games for Građanski.
After the end of the Second World War, FPR Yugoslavia was formed, he signed with Partizan Belgrade
FK Partizan
Fudbalski klub Partizan is a professional football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. In its long history, FK Partizan won as many as 37 trophies. The club is the holder of 23 national championships, 12 national cups and 1 national supercup, and has also won the Mitropa Cup in 1978...
where he won another Yugoslav title in 1947. After that season, he became simultaneously coach and goalkeeper of NK Mornar Split, where he will stay until 1949.
Between 1933 and 1949 he played a total of 1.225 matches. Tall, strong, elastic, with excellent reflexes and brave interventions, he is definitely considered one of the best Yugoslav players from that period. He has also the impressive record of having defended 73 of 94 penalties he stood against.
National team
While playing for BSK and Građanski Glaser was the regular goalkeeper of the Yugoslav national teamYugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...
having earned a total of 35 caps. His debut was on April 3, 1933, in a friendly match against Spain, 1-1 draw, and his fairway was in a friendly played on November 3, 1940 against Germany, 2-0 win.
After the invasion of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
, Glaser played further eleven matches for the Croatian national team
Croatia national football team
The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football. The team is controlled by the Croatian Football Federation, the governing body for football in the country, and has been managed since 2006 by former player Slaven Bilić...
, all four matches that Banovina Croatia played, and seven matches for the Independent State of Croatia
Independent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
.
Coaching career and retirement
When coming to the newly formed FK PartizanFK Partizan
Fudbalski klub Partizan is a professional football club based in Belgrade, Serbia. In its long history, FK Partizan won as many as 37 trophies. The club is the holder of 23 national championships, 12 national cups and 1 national supercup, and has also won the Mitropa Cup in 1978...
in 1945 Glaser beside their goalkeeper became their first manager. However that year the league has not been yet reestablished and by the end of the year he was replaced by the Hungarian Illés Spitz
Illés Spitz
Illés Spitz was a Hungarian international football player and manager.- Playing career :...
. He stayed in Belgrade until 1947, but when he moved to Mornar Split he would experience again the feeling of being a manager/player. This early coaching experiences proved to be an excellent way of gaining experience, and Glaser later managed numerous clubs, such as NK Dinamo Zagreb, NK Kvarner Rijeka, NK Proleter Osijek
NK Osijek
NK Osijek is a Croatian football club, from Osijek in eastern Croatia.- History :NK Osijek's early roots are found in club called NK Udarnik that was formed in 1945 under FPR Yugoslavia's new communist authorities on the ashes of dissolved HŠK Slavija...
, NK Trešnjevka Zagreb, Austria FC Klagenfurt (today's FC Kärnten
FC Kärnten
FC Kärnten was an Austrian association football club based in Klagenfurt, Carinthia. It was founded in 1920 under the name of KSK Klagenfurt. They last played home games at the Sportzentrum Fischl.- History :...
), FK Velež Mostar
FK Velež Mostar
FK Velež , successor of RŠD Velež, is a football club from Bosnia and Herzegovina, from the city of Mostar, founded on June 22, 1922....
and FK Sartid Smederevo
FK Smederevo
Fudbalski klub Smederevo is a Serbian professional football club based in the city of Smederevo.-History:...
, among others.
He spent his final years at a retirement home in Zagreb. He is buried in Mirogoj Cemetery
Mirogoj Cemetery
The Mirogoj Cemetery is considered to be one of the most beautiful cemetery parks in Europe and, because of its design, numbers among the more noteworthy landmarks in the City of Zagreb....
.
External links
- Franjo Glaser at Reprezentacija.rs.
- Franjo Glaser at Nogometni leksikon.
- Franjo Glaser at National-Football-Teams.com.