Alija Solak or Aleja Solak (born 1944) is a Bosnian retired

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played in the

National Soccer League The National Soccer League (NSL) was the top-level soccer league in Australia, run by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL, the A-League's predecessor, spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977 until its ...

, and the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Playing career

Solak began playing football in 1963 with

FK Famos Hrasnica Fudbalski klub Famos Hrasnica is a professional association football club based in the town of Hrasnica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club currently plays in the Second League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Group Center) and plays ...

in the

Yugoslav Second League Yugoslav Second League ( Bosnian: ''Druga savezna liga,'' Croatian: ''Druga savezna liga'', Serbian: ''Друга савезна лига'', Slovenian: ''Druga zvezna liga'', Macedonian: ''Втора сојузна лига'', ''Vtora sojuzna l ...

. In 1969, he arrived to Canada and was recruited by

Toronto Croatia C.N.S.C. Toronto Croatia (Croatian National Sports Club Toronto Croatia) is a Canadian soccer team based in Toronto, Ontario, that plays in the Supergroup Open Division in the Canadian Academy of Football. The team's colours are red, white and b ...

to play in the

from 1970 till 1974. In his debut season with Toronto he finished as the club's top goal scorer with 23 goals. In 1971, he assisted Croatia in winning the Canadian Open Cup by recording a goal against Vancouver Eintracht. Throughout his tenure with Toronto he won the NSL Championship in 1971, and 1974. After Croatia joined the

as the

Toronto Metros-Croatia Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the fourth-most populous city in North America. The city ...

in 1975 he appeared in six matches and recorded one goal. He made his debut on May 23, 1975 against

Philadelphia Atoms The Philadelphia Atoms were an American soccer team based out of Philadelphia that played in the North American Soccer League (NASL). They played from 1973 to 1976, at Veterans Stadium (1973–75) and Franklin Field (1976). The club's colors ...

. He also played in the Kitchener and District Soccer League.

International career

Solak was called to the

Canada men's national soccer team The Canada men's national soccer team () represents Canada in international Association football, soccer competitions since 1924. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canada. They have been a m ...

camp by head coach Frank Pike in 1973. He was selected for the Canadian select team in a match against

Arsenal F.C. The Arsenal Football Club, commonly known as simply Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, North London, England. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. In domestic football, Arsenal h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Solak, Alija 1944 births Living people Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers FK Famos Hrasnica players Toronto Croatia players Toronto Blizzard (1971–1984) players Canadian National Soccer League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in Canada Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Canada