In the context of the numbers associated with his date of birth and age, the lighting at the Željezničar Sarajevo stadium lit up for 81 minutes on Sunday at 19:41. It was at this Bosnian club that he once started.
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“We are very sad to announce that Ivica Osim, the greatest legend of FK Željezničar, has died. We will celebrate his name as long as our hearts beat,” says FK Željezničar on the official Facebook page.
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“It’s time for Ivici Osima Street to be in Graz,” fans in Styria, where the coach died, are clear.
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Osim did not use the mathematics he studied, but as a player he gave offensive power to the middle ranks of Željezničar, as well as Strasbourg, Sedan and Valenciennes. He also played in the Yugoslav national team, in ancient times he played against the famous Bobby Charlton, but the most remarkable part of his career came after that. He came up with wonderful formulas on the coach’s bench …
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In the 1984/85 season, Željezničar led to the semifinals of the then UEFA Cup. With the Yugoslav national team, he reached the quarterfinals of the 1990 World Championships, when his charges fell on penalties with Maradon’s Argentina. His era in the national team ended in the explosive turmoil of the Balkans in the first half of the 1990s. He broke through with Yugoslavia at the 1992 European Championships. He described his team as better than the country he represented and where the war had broken out. The team was excluded from the competition because of it. And he himself reacted to the siege of Sarajevo by resigning as the coach of the national team and Belgrade’s Partizan.
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“It’s a private gesture and my personal decision. The reasons for this are obvious. My resignation is the only thing I can do for my city. I want you to remember that I’m from Sarajevo. You know what’s going on there, “he said then.
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He didn’t stay without engagement for long. He led Panathinaikos and then mainly Sturm Graz, where he was declared the coach of the century after the team’s repeated participation in the group stage of the Champions League.
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The British Guardian recalls that Osim has twice rejected Real Madrid in his career.
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He also watched the rise of another famous Sarajevo native, Edin Džek, who headed to the big football world across Teplice and also remembered the successful compatriot on his nets after his death: “Legends live gratefully,” Džeko said.
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The charismatic Osim ended his career in Japan – first at JEF United, then at the national team, where in 2007 he was prevented from continuing by having a stroke while watching a football match on television. “How much is it over,” he asked passionately as soon as he woke up. However, the health problems have not left him since.
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