Dragoslav Šekularac

Who is Dragoslav Šekularac?

Dragoslav Šekularac is a Serbian former football player and coach.

Born in Štip, Vardar Banovina, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, he was quick and crafty with the ball, displaying creative skills that turned a lot of heads. Possessing supreme self-confidence along with impeccable technical ability, he was one of the biggest showmen and crowd draws in the history of Yugoslav football. His enormous popularity throughout FPR Yugoslavia during early 1960s transcended sports as he easily became one of the most recognizable individuals in the country.

Šekularac is considered one of the most important players in the history of Red Star Belgrade, he is one of only five players to have been awarded the Zvezdine zvezde.

Šekularac is also remembered as the perpetrator of an infamous on-pitch incident in fall 1962 when he assaulted referee Pavle Tumbas in the middle of a league match. He ended up serving a year and a half long suspension.

In addition to the swelling of praise and accolades for his skills, he also attracted criticism over lack of team play and overall attitude on the pitch that some found to be disrespectful to the game. Others point to his lack of effectiveness and a seeming disproportion between his talent and his overall career statistics.