Miroslav Ciro Blazvic, who led Croatia to the semi-finals of the 1998 FIFA World Cup, dies at the age of 87

Miroslav “Ciro” Blazvić, who coached the Croatian national football team to the 1998 semi-finals World The Cup, in France, is dead. He was 87 years old.

His family and friends said Blazovic died in a Zagreb hospital on Wednesday after a long battle with prostate cancer.

The “coach of all coaches”, as he was known in his home country of Croatia, led four national teams and several domestic and foreign clubs during his career.

Born into a Catholic family in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Blazović was an average player. His successful coaching career began in the 1960s, at the same place where his playing days ended – at Swiss club Vevey.

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Blazović also captained the national teams of Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Switzerland. Clubs he coached included Dinamo Zagreb, Nantes, Grasshoppers Zurich, Sion, Shanghai Shenhua, PAOK Thessaloniki and Hajduk Split.

The pinnacle of his coaching career came at the 1998 World Cup in France when Croatia finished third only a few years after emerging from the bloody breakup of the former Yugoslavia.

Blazwiak recently said of the 1998 success, “The whole country was proud, but I was sad.” “If I had the experience I have now, we would have been world champions.”

He won over the crowd in France by wearing a policeman’s cap on the bench in honor of a French officer who had been put in a coma by German hooligans early in the tournament.

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A colorful public figure, Blazović – who was known for always wearing a white scarf in public in the 1980s – also dabbled in politics, running unsuccessfully for the presidency of Croatia in the 2005 election, when he won more than 1% of the vote. Fewer votes were won.

“Some people in high politics have persuaded me to run for president because they are sure I can win,” said Blazwiak, a right-wing supporter at the time.

“For the 10,000 signatures needed to support my bid, I could collect them by turning up at any football game and asking fans to sign their names.”

He was about to celebrate his 88th birthday on Thursday.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)