Zlatko Čajkovski

Zlatko "Čik" Čajkovski (24 November 1923 – 27 July 1998) was a Croatian and Yugoslavian football player and coach. His brother, Željko Čajkovski, was a football player as well. Normally a defensive midfielder, Čajkovski was renowned for his tremendous physical condition and marking ability and is considered to be one of the finest Yugoslav footballers. Despite his normally defensive role he was also a fine passer and possessed top-class technical ability.

Zlatko Čajkovski
Zlatko Čajkovski in 1953
Personal information
Date of birth (1923-11-24)24 November 1923
Place of birth Zagreb, Kingdom of SCS
Date of death 27 July 1998(1998-07-27) (aged 74)
Place of death Munich, Germany
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Playing position(s) Defensive Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1939–1945 HAŠK
1946–1955 Partizan Belgrade 156 (19)
1955–1958 1. FC Köln 57 (7)
1958–1960 Hapoel Haifa
National team
1942–1943 Independent State of Croatia 2 (0)
1946–1955 FPR Yugoslavia 55 (7)
Teams managed
1961–1963 1. FC Köln
1963–1968 FC Bayern Munich
1968–1969 Hannover 96
1970 Kickers Offenbach
1970–1971 NK Dinamo Zagreb
1971–1973 1. FC Nürnberg
1973–1975 1. FC Köln
1976 Kickers Offenbach
1977–1978 AEK
1978–1980 FC Zürich
1980 FC Grenchen
1981 Grazer AK
1982 AEK
1983–1984 Apollon Kalamarias
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

On club level Čajkovski played initially for HAŠK. After WW2 he moved to the newly established Partizan Belgrade.

Partizan Belgrade

Čajkovski was one of the star ("most eminent") players in first 10 years of club's history. He went on to win two Yugoslav league titles (1946/47, 1948/49) and three Yugoslav Cup (Marshal Tito Cup) trophies (1947, 1952, 1954) [1].

Čajkovski amassed 391 appearances (156 in the league), scored 97 goals and wore the captain armband, in his closing years with Partizan.[2]

"Čik" played as many as 80 international friendlies for the Belgrade side, including a highly rated South American tour in the winter of 1953/54.[3]

Yugoslavia

Between 1946 and 1955 he played 55 times for the Yugoslav national team scoring seven goals.[4] Participating at the Olympic Games 1948 and 1952 he won the silver medal on both occasions.[5] The final of the 1952 tournament in Helsinki was lost against the then ascending Hungarian side of the Magic Magyars.

He also participated in the FIFA World Cups of 1950 and 1954. In 1950, Yugoslavia only lost to hosts Brazil in the group phase, during which Čajkovski scored two goals versus Mexico. In 1954, Yugoslavia drew in the group phase against Brazil, but were eliminated in the subsequent quarter final match against eventual tournament winners Germany. In 1953, Čajkovski was one of four Croatian players on the FIFA Select XI who played against England.[6]

After this he finished his career as player with 1. FC Köln and Hapoel Haifa.

International goals
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 October 1946Tirana, Albania Albania3–23–2Balkan Cup
2.4 July 1948Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgaria3–13–1
3.19 June 1949Oslo, Norway Norway3–13–1Friendly
4.18 September 1950Tel-Aviv, Israel Israel3–05–21950 FIFA World Cup qualification
5.22 July 1952Tampere, Finland Soviet Union3–13–11952 Summer Olympics
6.25 July 1952Helsinki, Finland Denmark1–05–3
7.29 July 1952Helsinki, Finland Germany3–13–1

Style of play

Although Čajkovski played as a defender, he was equally good in the offense and, due to his exceptional stamina and tenacity, he was able to cover virtually the entire field. His unusual zigzag dribbling technique made his moves difficult to predict for the opposing players. Čajkovski was also very skilled in heading the ball, despite his short stature.[7]

Coaching career

Čajkovski acquired his coaching licence under Hennes Weisweiler at the German Sports Academy in Cologne. His first appointment were in Israel, Turkey and the Netherlands.

His first great success was the German Championship 1962 with 1. FC Köln. In 1963 he took over the reins at FC Bayern Munich, which he guided from the second division into the first division, two wins in the German Cup and the win in the European Cup Winners Cup final against Rangers FC from Glasgow in 1967. In this period he formed around the goalkeeper Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer and, the later legendary, striker Gerd Müller, then all in their very early twenties, one of the top teams in Europe and the whole world.

Later "Czik" Čajkovski coached Hannover 96, 1. FC Nürnberg, Kickers Offenbach, which he took as a second division club to win the German Cup in 1970. After NK Dinamo Zagreb and 1. FC Nürnberg, he had another stint 1. FC Köln and also returned once more to Kickers Offenbach.Then he went to Greece in AEK Athens where he won the double. He then went to Switzerland to coach FC Zürich (1978–1980) and FC Grenchen (1980), having his final assignment with Grazer AK in 1981. After that, he coached AEK Athens (1982) and Apollon Kalamarias (1983–84).[8]

Managerial statistics
As of 4 September 2017[9]
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
1. FC Köln 1961 1963 80 51 12 17 063.75
FC Bayern Munich 1 July 1963 30 June 1968 102 52 18 32 050.98
Hannover 96 1 July 1968 8 December 1969 63 21 18 24 033.33
Kickers Offenbach January 1970 July 1970 81 34 20 27 041.98
Dinamo Zagreb 31 July 1970 26 October 1971 57 27 13 17 047.37
1. FC Köln 17 September 1973 12 December 1975 88 47 18 23 053.41
Kickers Offenbach January 1976 October 1976 17 5 5 7 029.41
AEK Athens F.C. July 1977 July 1978 73 38 23 12 052.05
FC Zürich July 1978 March 1980 72 38 13 21 052.78
Total 633 313 140 180 049.45

Honours

Player
Partizan Belgrade
Yugoslavia

Manager
Köln
Bayern Munich
Kickers Offenbach
AEK
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References
  1. cbnostalgija (7 August 2011). "Foto arhiva - Zlatko Čajkovski (1923 - 1998)". Crno-bela Nostalgija (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  2. "Jugosloven koji je stvorio veliki Bajern: Priča o čoveku koji je naučio Nemce fudbalu! (FOTO) (VIDEO)". espreso.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  3. "Colo Colo - Partizan 4-8, 1954". Crno-bela Nostalgija (in Serbian). 5 March 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
  4. Mamrud, Roberto (18 April 2013). "Players Appearing for Two or More Countries". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  5. "Zlatko Čajkovski". Sports-Reference / Olympic Sports. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  6. "Croatia celebrate important role". UEFA.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007.
  7. Samovojska, Antun (30 April 2020). "DANAS VIŠE NEMA TAKVIH! Čudesna priča o hrvatskom 'malom debelom Mülleru' koji se proslavio u Beogradu i stvorio moćni Bayern!". sportske.jutarnji.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  8. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (21 June 2003). "Greece 1983/84". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
  9. "Zlatko Čajkovski's Managerial". povijest.gnkdinamo.hr. 12 October 2017. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
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