Rudolf Cvek was a Croatia

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 association football player.

A native of Novi Marof

Novi Marof

Novi Marof is a town in north-western Croatia, located south of Varaždin and east of Ivanec, in the Varaždin county.The population of the municipality is 13,238 , distributed in the following settlements:* Bela, population 62...

 near Varaždin

Varaždin

Varaždin is a city in north Croatia, north of Zagreb on the highway A4. The total population is 47,055, with 38,746 on of the city settlement itself . The centre of Varaždin county is located near the Drava river, at...

, Cvek first started playing at the local side NK Varteks before moving to NK Dinamo Zagreb in 1965. In the following five seasons between 1965 and 1970 Cvek appeared in 112 Yugoslav First League

Yugoslav First League

The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...

 matches for the Blues and helped them win the 1969 Yugoslav Cup

Yugoslav Cup

The Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...

 and the 1966–67 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the greatest achievement in club's history (although he did not appear in the final against Leeds United

Leeds United A.F.C.

Leeds United Association Football Club are an English professional association football club based in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, who play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system...

).

His career was cut short by a meniscus

Meniscus (anatomy)

In anatomy, a meniscus is a crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that, in contrast to articular disks, only partly divides a joint cavity. In humans it is present in the knee, acromioclavicular, sternoclavicular, and temporomandibular joints; in other organisms they may be present in other...

 injury he picked up in the 1969–70 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final away match against Schalke 04

FC Schalke 04

Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

, from which he never fully recovered and which forced the talented defender to retire in 1970 at just 24 years of age.

Cvek was also capped six times for 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...

. Called up by manager Rajko Mitić

Rajko Mitic

Rajko Mitić was a Serbian football player and coach. Mitić was born in the village Dolac, Bela Palanka in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes...

, he had his international debut in a 1970 World Cup qualifier

1970 FIFA World Cup qualification

A total of 75 teams entered the 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds, competing for a total of 16 spots in the final tournament. Hosts and defending champions qualified automatically, leaving 14 spots open for competition....

 against Finland

Finland national football team

The Finland national football team represents Finland in international football competitions and is controlled by the Football Association of Finland....

 on 25 September 1968, a 9–1 win in which his Dinamo teammate Slaven Zambata

Slaven Zambata

Slaven Zambata is a former Croatian football player. He earned 31 caps and scored 21 goals for Yugoslavia....

 scored a hat-trick. His last international match was a friendly against Sweden

Sweden national football team

The Swedish national football team represents Sweden in association football and is controlled by the Swedish Football Association, the governing body for Football in Sweden. Sweden's home ground is Råsunda Stadium in Stockholms län and their head coach is Erik Hamrén. Sweden made their first...

 five months later on 26 February 1969 in Split.

Honours

• Yugoslav Cup
  Yugoslav Cup
  The Yugoslav Cup, officially the Marshal Tito Cup, was one of two major football competitions in the former Yugoslavia, the other one being the Yugoslav League Championship. The Yugoslav Cup took place after the league championships when every competitive league in Yugoslavia had finished, in order...
  
  :
  • Winner (1): 1969
  • Runner-up (1): 1966
• Yugoslav First League
  Yugoslav First League
  The Yugoslav First League was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and socialist Yugoslavia...
  
  :
  • Runner-up (3): 1965–66, 1966–67, 1968–69
• Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
  The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. The competition was the idea of Swiss pools supremo Ernst Thommen, Ottorino Barassi from Italy, and the English Football Association general secretary Stanley Rous, all of whom later became senior officials...
  
  :
  • Winner (1): 1966–67

External links

• Rudolf Cvek profile at the Serbia national football team
  Serbia national football team
  The Serbia national football team represents Serbia in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Serbia, the governing body for football in Serbia. Serbia's home ground is Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade and their last head coach was Vladimir Petrović...
  
  website