There is no doubt that Radoslav Bečejac is one of the greatest legends in the history of Olimpija, even though he played “only” 136 games for the Dragons. But sometimes the number of games doesn’t tell the whole story, and in his case it’s true. The midfielder, born in December 1941, began his career at the Serbian club Proleter, spent three seasons wearing the jersey of the Belgrade giant Partizan, and in 1967, as a respected Yugoslav national team player, caused quite a stir with his transfer to Olimpija.

Believe it or not, the transfer set a record for all of Yugoslav football at the time! Ljubljana paid 65 million dinars for the Bečejac, making it the most expensive football transfer in the former Yugoslavia. An urban legend says that Olimpija had to hide Bečejac in Italy for a few days to keep him safe from potential interference, as they feared that higher authorities might block the transfer of such a high-quality player from Belgrade to Ljubljana.

Bečejac can also boast of having played in the final of the competition we now know as the Champions League while a member of Partizan, though Real Madrid proved to be a too powerful opponent. After six years in Ljubljana, the beloved Zaza briefly moved to Colombia, but upon finishing his career, he returned to Slovenia. That’s when an incredible story of a football expert began, one who played a key role in shaping many future successful footballers, some of whom even made international and national appearances. He was a master at identifying raw, street talent, bringing numerous young and gifted players from Ljubljana’s concrete playgrounds into the club. For three decades, he was the guru of player development at Olimpija, mentoring players like Jani Pate, Gregor Židan, Primož Gliha, Zoran Ubavić, Stane Komočar, and even Branko Ilić and Milivoje Novaković. The list could go on indefinitely.

Achievements