Gustav Lechner (17 February 1913 – 5 February 1987) was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. At international level he represented both the Yugoslavian and Croatian national sides.

Club career

Born in

Osijek Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and nicknamed ''Lembika'',Gustav Lehner
at Reprezentacija.rs he spent his early career with Slavija Osijek and BSK Belgrade; while playing with the latter he won 3 Yugoslav titles and graduated from law school. In 1941 he and teammate Ernest Dubac joined Građanski Zagreb. At the end of the war, he became player-manager of Proleter Osijek.

International career

Lechner made his debut for

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

in an August 1931

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

and earned a total of 44 caps scoring no goals. He then played 12 matches under the flag of the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia (, NDH) was a World War II–era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy. It was established in parts of Axis occupation of Yugoslavia, occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, ...

, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

-era

puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its ord ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. His final international was an April 1944 friendly against

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

Coaching career

After retiring as a player in 1949, Lechner became a coach and managed Metalac Osijek, Dinamo Pančevo, Vojvodina Novi Sad,

Dinamo Zagreb Građanski nogometni klub Dinamo Zagreb (), commonly referred to as simply Dinamo Zagreb (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. Dinamo play their home matches at Stadion Maksimir. They are the most successful club in Cr ...

, Velež Mostar, Slavonija Požega and NK Zagreb.

Death

Lechner died on 5 February 1987 in

Zagreb Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

, and was buried on 11 February at the Saint Anne Cemetery in his hometown of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lehner, Gustav 1913 births 1987 deaths Footballers from Osijek Men's association football midfielders Yugoslav men's footballers Yugoslavia men's international footballers Croatian men's footballers Croatia men's international footballers Dual internationalists (men's football) NK Osijek players OFK Beograd players HŠK Građanski Zagreb players Yugoslav First League players Yugoslav football managers NK Osijek managers FK Vojvodina managers GNK Dinamo Zagreb managers FK Velež Mostar managers NK Zagreb managers Burials at Saint Anne Cemetery JŠK Slavija Osijek players