Dragan Dzajic was born in May 30, 1946. As a
fifteen-year-old boy, he started playing for the Red Star. Two years later, in
May 1963, he had his debut in the match against Buducnost, the team from
Titograd, now Podgorica. Dragan Dzajic led his peers in winning the title of
four National Cups. Then, he made his debut in the national team June 17, 1964,
in the match against Romania.[1]
International career
Džajić on his most well-known international matches (at the
UEFA Euro 1968):
"I have nice memories from that championship. It's true
that our failure in the final hurts me, but from today's perspective I can say
that we made a great result. Some excellent teams were behind us but against
the home side, we were in a subordinate position due to a 'higher power.' The
referee Dienst was the Azzurri's twelfth man and they won only due to his help.
In those circumstances, our generation couldn't win the gold medal. It's also
too bad that there was no Ilija Petković in the repeated match because our game
play would have been much quicker."
"Džajić is the Balkan miracle – a real wizard. I'm just
sorry he's not Brazilian because I've never seen such a natural
footballer."
-Pelé about Džajić
Džajić was just 18 when he was first named to the Yugoslav
national team. He made his debut on 17 June 1964 in a 2–1 defeat against
Romania at the JNA Stadium in Belgrade. Džajić would go on to earn 85 caps (the
most in the history of the Yugoslav national team) and score 23 goals. Few who
saw the left-winger play could ever forget Džajić's brilliance. He became
internationally renowned for his passing and dribbling as well as his
goal-scoring. His most famous international match was likely the 1968 European
Championship semifinal against England, in which his 87th-minute lob over
goalkeeper Gordon Banks gave Yugoslavia a 1–0 victory against the defending
world champion. The British press dubbed him "the magic Dragan." He
went on to score in the final against Italy but he could not prevent Yugoslavia
going down 2–0 after a replay.
Dragan Džajić (right) facing Sweden's Jan Olsson at the 1974
FIFA World Cup
He participated in the 1974 FIFA World Cup which was held in
West Germany. Džajić participated in Yugoslavia's opening championship game
draw with world champions Brazil and scored one goal in a record victory of 9–0
against Zaire. However, after passing the second stage of the championship,
Yugoslavia didn't repeat the results of their opening games. They lost three
games in a row, and had to return home.
Džajić was much loved because of his kindly nature and
easy-going manner, while on the pitch, he won admiration for being an
exceptional left-winger who could both score goals and deliver defence
splitting passes with fantastic precision. The left wing was his domain – and
it was quite usual for him to take off, leaving all defenders in his wake to
deliver an inch-perfect pass into the penalty area. If highly appreciated by
players and coaches alike for his passing ability, Džajić was no less embraced
for his goal-scoring. He could score from just about any angle and many of his
successful attempts came direct from corner kicks. Gifted with vision and that
rare gift, a killer left foot, he was already scoring "Platini-like"
free kicks when the French legend was still in shorts.[2]
Lepa Varos Ub, Divni ljudi,Milutin Jovanovic
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