Vladimir Beara

Vladimir Beara (26 August 1928 – 11 August 2014) was a Yugoslav football player, as goalkeeper, and also football manager. He is widely considered as one of the best goalkeepers in his era.

Beara was born in a Serbian family in the village of Zelovo (known as Zelovo Sutinsko until 1991) near Sinj in present-day Croatia

For Hajduk Split (1946–55) Beara played 308 games, and helped his team to win the Yugoslav league title in 1950, 1952 and 1955.

He made, however, a transfer in 1955 to Belgrade's Red Star (1955–60), after the season he had won the third league title. With Red Star he won even more Yugoslav league titles, in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and won the Yugoslav Cup in 1958 and 1959. He was Red Star's goalkeeper against Manchester United in the last game United had played before the Munich Air Disaster. In 1963, the great Soviet goalkeeper, Lev Yashin said that not him, but Vladimir Beara is the greatest keeper of all time.

Beara ended his career in German clubs Alemannia Aachen (1960–62) and Viktoria Köln (1963–64).

For Yugoslav national team, between 1950 and 1960, he played 59 games. Immediately after being selected to play for the Yugoslav national team he became famous mostly due to his fabulous defences in the match against England at the Highbury Arsenal Stadium. Since then he was often called by his nickname "Big Vlad". Beara participated in 1952 Olympic Games, in the finals won the silver medal and saved a penalty to Ferenc Puskás. He played on three World Cups; World Cup 1950, World Cup 1954 and World Cup 1958. In 1953, Beara was one of four Croatian players on the FIFA Select XI who played against England, it finished 4:4, with Beara receiving only one goal.

In 1967 Beara finished a coaching course at the sports academy at the German Sport University Cologne, today's Hennes Weisweiler Academy. He went on to coach clubs in Germany, the Netherlands, Austria and Yugoslavia as well as the national team of Cameroon. A highlight of his coaching career was winning the Yugoslav national championship with Hajduk Split in 1971 as assistant coach to Slavko Luštica. This was the club's first championship since his departure as player in 1955. He also won the African Cup Winners' Cup with Tonnerre Yaoundé in 1975.

On 11 August 2014, Beara was announced dead by his family in. He died in Croatia and his family says that he died after several strokes over the past year.

Beara was an athletic and self-confident keeper, endowed with an eye-catching yet effective style. Thanks to his firm grip on the ball and his brave attitude, not only he was an outstanding shot-stopper, but he also excelled at coming off his line. He was nicknamed The ballet dancer with the hands of steel because of his ability to combine elegance with goalkeeping skills.

"A good goalkeeper, still has to be a lot like he was in my time. He has to have courage and self-confidence."

— Beara himself on goalkeepers.

"My confidence in goal, the way I seemed to be able to catch a ball easily, and my technique for taming shots I put down to Barba Luka (aka Luka Kaliterna, one of his first coaches). It was a simple drill we did in practice. He made me catch a small ball about the size of a baseball and after that it was very easy for me to catch a football."

— Beara himself on his goalkeeping technique.

"There was an entertaining, aesthetic air about him, that's why his jumps and dives with feet curled and body perfectly poised appealed. He kept goal on his toes, like a coiled spring, always ready to pounce."

— Bob Wilson on Beara.

"I am not the best goalkeeper in the world, it is Vladimir Beara."

— Lev Yashin, the only goalkeeper who received the award Ballon d'Or, in 1963.

Hajduk Split

• Yugoslav First League (3): 1950, 1952, 1954–55

Red Star Belgrade

• Yugoslav First League (4):1955–56, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60
• Yugoslav Football Cup (2): 1957–58, 1958–59

National

• Olympic Games: Silver Medal 1952