Mićun Jovanić (29 July 1952 – 26 July 2010) was a Croatian footballer best known for his 12-year spell with

Hajduk Split Hrvatski Nogometni klub Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split (), is a Croatian professional football club based in Split, that competes in the Croatian First League, the top tier in Croatian football. Since 1979, the club's home ...

, where he played between 1969 and 1981. Later in his career Jovanić also played for Belgian side

Anderlecht Anderlecht (; ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, B ...

and lower level sides AS Béziers in France and

Solin Solin is a town and a suburb of Split, in Split-Dalmatia county, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro. Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the capital o ...

in Croatia.

Playing career

Club

He was one of the most consistent members of Hajduk's golden generation which dominated Yugoslav football in the 1970s and won four

Yugoslav First League The Yugoslav First League ( Bosnian: Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, sr-Cyrl-Latn, Прва савезна лига у фудбалу, Prva savezna liga u fudbalu, , , , , ) was the premier football league in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (1918–1941) ...

championships and five

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

titles. Because of this, Jovanić is one of the three most decorated Hajduk players in the history of the club (along with

Dražen Mužinić Dražen Mužinić (born 25 January 1953) is a Croatian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Mužinić spent most of his career in his native Yugoslavia. With Hajduk Split he won four league titles, five cups and he was cap ...

and

Luka Peruzović Luka Peruzović (born 26 February 1952) is a Croatian football coach and former player, who managed Belgium's Standard Liège, Charleroi and Anderlecht and Qatar's Al Sadd. He also holds a Belgian citizenship. Club career As a player, Peruzovi ...

). Throughout his career Jovanić had appeared in 210 league matches and scored 27 league goals for Hajduk.

International

Unlike many of his teammates from that era who went on to become regular Yugoslav internationals (such as

Jurica Jerković Jurica "Jure" Jerković (25 February 1950 – 3 June 2019) was a Croatian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. During his time with Hajduk Split in the 1970s, he was known for his amazing playmaker skills and for his romantic appro ...

Ivica Šurjak Ivan "Ivica" Šurjak (born 23 March 1953) is a Croatian retired football midfielder. He was the driving force behind the success of Hajduk Split as it became a force in the Yugoslav First League in the 1970s. Club career He started his career a ...

Slaviša Žungul Slaviša Žungul (born 28 July 1954), also known as Steve Zungul, is a retired Yugoslav American soccer striker. Žungul began his career with Hajduk in his native Yugoslavia before controversially moving to the United States where he became a ...

and Dražen Mužinić), Jovanić was never capped for the national team, although he did appear 4 times for Yugoslavia at youth levels.

Managerial career

After retiring from playing in 1985 Jovanić had several managing spells at lower level Croatian sides, including a 1991 spell with

RNK Split Radnički nogometni klub Split ("Workers' Football Club of Split") commonly known as RNK Split, is a Croatian professional football club based in the city of Split. History The club had a strong fanbase in the Split's shipyard. The club was fo ...

and two spells at

Segesta Segesta (, ''Egesta'', or , ''Ségesta'', or , ''Aígesta''; ) was one of the major cities of the Elymians, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily. The other major cities of the Elymians were Eryx and Entella. It is located in the no ...

Personal life

Death

In early July 2010 the Croatian media reported that Jovanić had been diagnosed with

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

and that a fundraising campaign was launched to raise some 20,000 euros for his treatment abroad. In spite of the successful fundraiser, Jovanić died on the night between 25 and 26 July 2010 at his home in

Kaštel Gomilica Kaštel Gomilica is the oldest town in Kastela bay within the administrative area of Kaštela in Dalmatia, Croatia. The town of Kaštela The town of Kaštela is located on the coast of the Bay of Kaštela. It has over 40 000 inhabitants, and it i ...

near Split.

Honours

(4): 1970–71, 1973–74, 1974–75, 1978–79 *

(5): 1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1977

References

External links

Biography of Mićun Jovanić
at Hajduk Split official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jovanic, Micun 1952 births 2010 deaths Footballers from Split, Croatia Croatian people of Serbian descent Men's association football forwards Yugoslav men's footballers HNK Hajduk Split players R.S.C. Anderlecht players NK Solin players AS Béziers Hérault (football) players Yugoslav First League players Belgian Pro League players Ligue 2 players Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in France Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in France Croatian football managers RNK Split managers HNK Segesta managers Deaths from pancreatic cancer