Vladimir Durković

Vladimir Durković
Personal information
Full name	Vladimir Durković
Date of birth	6 November 1937
Place of birth	Đakovica, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Date of death	22 June 1972 (aged 34)
Place of death	Sion, Switzerland
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Defender
Youth career
	Napredak Kruševac
Senior career*
Years	Team
1954–1955	Napredak Kruševac
1955–1966	Red Star Belgrade
1966–1967	Borussia M'gladbach
1967–1971	Saint-Étienne
1971–1972	Sion
Total
International career
1959–1966	Yugoslavia
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
European Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vladimir Durković (Serbian Cyrillic: Владимир Дурковић; 6 November 1937 – 22 June 1972) was a Serbian football defender.^[1] He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics.^[2]

Career

Club career

Durković played with Red Star Belgrade until he was 28 at which point he moved abroad and made a name for himself with AS Saint-Étienne, winning three French League titles and the Coupe de France twice.

International career

Capped 50 times by Yugoslavia between 1959 and 1966,^[3] Durković excelled as a 22-year-old at the first UEFA European Championship, offering defensive solidity and attacking penetration at right-back. Although Yugoslavia finished second in France, Durković won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics the following September. He also wore the number two shirt at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile and was an ever-present as Yugoslavia eliminated former winners Uruguay and West Germany and finished fourth. His final international was a June 1966 friendly match against Bulgaria.^[4]

Death

He died when shot by a drunken policeman in Sion, Switzerland in June 1972 at the age of 34. The police officer was later sentenced to 9 years prison of which he served 7 years.^[5]^[6]