We are sad to report that Vladimir 'Vladica' Popović, our legendary captain and 1991 Intercontinental Cup-winning coach, has passed away aged 85.
The man who will always be remembered for that magical day in Tokyo on 8th December 1991 was dedicated to football his entire life and will be missed by fans everywhere.
Vladimir Popović was born on 17th March 1935 in Zemun. He started his youth career with Crvena zvezda and made it to the first team. He is fifth on the Crvena zvezda all time appearances list. He played an impressive 499 games for the club between 1950 and 1965, earning a reputation of a fair and noble player. He scored 39 goals and was named Club Captain in the process.
He won four league titles as a Crvena zvezda player (in 1957, 1959, 1960 and 1964) and lifted the Cup three times (in 1958, 1959 and 1964).
‘Vladica’ won 20 caps playing for the Yugoslav national team and was called up for the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, but remained unused. Four years later in Chile he played in all six matches as Yugoslavia finished fourth in the competition.
In latter stages of his playing career he was a member of VfB Stuttgart and SV Stuttgarter Kickers in Germany and Unión Deportiva Canarias in Venezuela. Remaining in Venezuela, he began his coaching career with Portuguesa Fútbol Club in Acarigua, before having stints with Independiente Santa Fe, Atlético Nacional and Asociación Deportivo Cali in Colombia.
He returned home to Crvena zvezda in 1991 as a successor to the successful Ljupko Petrović. Those were big shoes to fill, but Popović never let his club down and led the red and whites to the Intercontinental Cup with the famous 3-0 win over Colo Colo and a national league title.
Thank you for everything, Vladica! We will never forget you.