Croatia mourns the loss of legendary football coach Miroslav Ćiro Blažević

Croatia’s most prominent football icon, Miroslav Ćiro Blažević, has passed away at the age of 87. Blažević spent his entire professional career in football, first as a player from 1954 to 1966, during which he played for Croatian clubs like Dinamo Zagreb and Rijeka, and more notably as a manager, leading both a number of domestic and foreign sides, as well as three national teams, Croatia, Iran and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Miroslav Blažević, affectionately known as Ćiro, is most remembered for leading the Croatian national side to the bronze medal at the 1998 World Cup in France, leading Dinamo Zagreb to the Yugoslav League title in 1982, and taking Rijeka to the quarter-finals of 1979-80 European Cup Winners' Cup where they lost to Juventus.

During the 1998 World Cup, Blažević, led an all-star roster, featuring the likes of Zvonimir Boban, Davor Šuker, Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki, Robert Jarni and Slaven Bilić, to name just a few.

Throughout the country football fans, fellow coaches, former players and political leaders have all come out to pay their respects to Blažević today. The current coach of the Croatian national side, Zlatko Dalić: “A great man, has left us. A gentleman, a great coach and the best national team manager ever. Ćiro is eternal, in football he is my father, and I am truly saddened by his death.”

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković paid his respects at the opening of today's cabinet session: “I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest condolences to Miroslav Blažević's family, our legendary football coach, a great man and sports personality. He won people over with his charm, personality and charisma. For years he captured the imagination and not only in sports. His humanity, his engagement and his good spirit watched over all of us.”

Citizens also sang the praises of one of Croatia's sports icons. Many praised his instinct for knowing when to show his players a firm hand and when to be gentle, as well as his broad emotional intelligence and unparalleled skills as a motivator.

Source: HRT