Ivan "Ivica" Bek was a football (soccer)

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...

 player. Born to a German

Germans

The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....

 father, and a Czech mother in Belgrade borough of Čubura

Cubura

Čubura is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. Located in Belgrade's municipality of Vračar, it is a synonym of the city's bohemian life.- Location :...

. At age of 16, started playing in BSK Belgrade for which he scored 51 goal in 50 matches. In 1928 Bek moved to Mačva

FK Macva Šabac

FK Mačva Šabac is a football club from Šabac, Serbia.-Current squad 2010-11:Last update November 2010.-Notable players:...

, and soon proceeded to French FC Sète

FC Sète

FC Sète 34 is a French football club based in Sète and founded in 1900. The club won the French league twice and the French cup also twice . In 1934 they became the first club to win the French league and cup double....

. In his first season he reached the Cup finals, but lost 0-2 against Montpellier

Montpellier HSC

Montpellier Hérault Sport Club is a French association football club based in the city of Montpellier. The club was founded in 1919 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Montpellier plays its home matches at the Stade de la Mosson, located within the city...

. Next year in Cup finals against PSG,was victorious for Sète (3:1) with Bek scoring two decisive goals in extra time. Four years later with the same club, Bek was part of the first team that win the Double in France.

International

Internationally, Bek represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia 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...

 (7 caps, 4 goals) and France

France national football team

The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...

 (5 caps).
For Yugoslavia he debuted in 1927 against Bulgaria (2-0), participated Olympic tournament in 1928 in Amsterdam and played in the 1930 FIFA World Cup

1930 FIFA World Cup

The 1930 FIFA World Cup was the inaugural FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in Uruguay from 13 July to 30 July 1930...

 for Yugoslavia scoring three goals.
In 1933 Bek taken French citizenship and renamed himself Yvan Beck, in February 1935 he was picked for the first time in the Equipe Tricolore.

After playing career

During the Second World War, Bek was a member of the French Resistance

French Resistance

The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...

. After the war, he worked as a dockworker in Sète, where he died from a heart attack.

External links

• Profile on French federation site
• Profile on Serbian federation site
• Ivan Bek at National-Football-Teams.com.