Josip Skoblar

Josip "Joško" Skoblar (born 12 March 1941) is a Croatian former football player and manager. He was primarily a forward, and also capable of playing on both wings.

Club

Skoblar was born in Privlaka near Zadar (at the time in the Banovina of Croatia. He started his career with NK Zadar (1957–58). He got spotted there by OFK Beograd goalie Perica Radenković who was serving his mandatory army stint in Zadar. Radenković recommended Skoblar to club management and the 19-year-old was soon on his way to Belgrade. With OFK Beograd Skoblar won the Yugoslav Cup in 1962 and 1966. In Germany he played for Hannover 96 (1967–70). In 57 games in Bundesliga, he scored 30 goals.

He was willing to play in Marseilles, but the chairman of Hannover didn't want to lose such a player. Marcel Leclerc, chairman of Marseilles, went to Hannover on a quick journey and came back with the player, it was the beginning of a great adventure with Marseilles. The player was applauded at the airport by many fans.

In France, Skoblar played for Olympique de Marseille and was three time top goalscorer in Ligue 1 (1971–73). Skoblar won the European Golden Boot in 1971 for 44 goals in Ligue 1, he still remains as the best scorer in a season in Ligue 1. With Olympique, he won the French league title in 1971, and French league and cup title in 1972. OM fans refer to him as "l'Aigle Dalmate", "l'Aigle Dalmate"/"l'aigle des Dalmates" (The Dalmatian Eagle), or "Monsieur Goal" (Mister Goal).

He left l'OM after the arrival of two Brazilians Jairzinho and Paulo César.

International

For Yugoslavia Skoblar played between 1961 and 1967. In 32 games for Yugoslavia, he scored 11 goals. Skoblar participated in World Cup 1962. Skoblar scored one goal, and Yugoslavia finished in the fourth place.

He first played for the national team on 7 May 1961, for a Friendly match against Hungary. He ended his international career on 7 October 1967 against West Germany, before the end of the Euro 68 qualification competition. The Yugoslavia national football team ended 2nd of the Euro 1968 without him.

His playing career over, he came back to Marseille, and became technical manager in 1977. He later became head coach for Hajduk Split with whom he won 2 Yugoslavia Cups, Hamburger SV and NK Rijeka. He is employed at the Olympique de Marseille since 2001 as scout, and he is now close to retirement. During the summer 2001, he was with Marc Levy the co-manager of the team for 3 days, few days before the nomination of Tomislav Ivic. He managed the Lebanon national football team. He joined them in March 2000 and got sacked later in the year (October) after failing to qualify to the second round of the 2000 AFC Asian Cup.

Just Fontaine says about him : "When I watched him front of the goal, each time, I was thinking, kick from the inside of the left foot, ... from the outside of the right foot ... a header, now! ... he had already done it ... scoring each time, exactly by the only possible way, and in just a split second. In the last 30 years, he has been the only striker that I've seen like that in France"

International

• Yugoslavia
  • FIFA World Cup 1962: 4th Place

Player

• OFK Beograd
  • Yugoslav Cup: 1962, 1966
• Olympique de Marseille
  • Ligue 1: 1971, 1972
  • French Cup: 1972

Managerial

• Hajduk Split
  • Yugoslav Cup: 1987, 1991

Individual

• European Golden Shoe: 1970–71
• Top goalscorers in Ligue 1: 1971, 1972, 1973
• French Ligue 1 Foreign Player of the Year: 1970, 1971
• French Ligue 1 Record holder for most goals in single season (44)
• The Dream Team 110 years of OM: 2010