View source for Branko Oblak

{{Short description|Slovenian footballer (born 1947)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Branko Oblak
| image = Branko Oblak 1967.jpg
| image_size = 
| caption = Oblak in 1967
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1947|5|27|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Ljubljana]], [[Socialist Republic of Slovenia|PR Slovenia]], [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia|FPR Yugoslavia]]
| height = 
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| currentclub = 
| youthclubs1 = [[NK Svoboda Ljubljana|Svoboda]]
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–1965
| years1 = 1965–1973
| years2 = 1973–1975
| years3 = 1975–1977
| years4 = 1977–1980
| years5 = 1980–1982
| years6 = 1983–1985
| clubs1 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005)|Olimpija]]
| clubs2 = [[HNK Hajduk Split|Hajduk Split]]
| clubs3 = [[FC Schalke 04|Schalke 04]]
| clubs4 = [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]]
| clubs5 = [[HNK Šibenik|Šibenik]]
| clubs6 = [[SV Spittal/Drau|Spittal/Drau]]
| caps1 = 181
| caps2 = 35
| caps3 = 49
| caps4 = 71
| caps5 = 
| caps6 = 
| goals1 = 34
| goals2 = 9
| goals3 = 5
| goals4 = 5
| goals5 = 
| goals6 = 
| totalcaps = 336
| totalgoals = 53
| nationalyears1 = 1970–1977
| nationalteam1 = [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]]
| nationalcaps1 = 46
| nationalgoals1 = 6
| manageryears1 = 1992–1994
| manageryears2 = 1994
| manageryears3 = 1994–1995
| manageryears4 = 1998–2000
| manageryears5 = 2000–2002
| manageryears6 = 2002–2003
| manageryears7 = 2004
| manageryears8 = 2004–2006
| manageryears9 = 2007
| manageryears10 = 2009–2010
| managerclubs1 = [[NK Naklo|Naklo]]
| managerclubs2 = Črnuče
| managerclubs3 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005)|Olimpija]]
| managerclubs4 = [[NK Rudar Velenje|Rudar Velenje]]
| managerclubs5 = [[FC Koper|Koper]]
| managerclubs6 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005)|Olimpija]]
| managerclubs7 = [[Slovenia national under-21 football team|Slovenia U21]]
| managerclubs8 = [[Slovenia national football team|Slovenia]]
| managerclubs9 = [[NK Rudar Velenje|Rudar Velenje]]
| managerclubs10 = [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana|Olimpija Ljubljana]]
| alt = Branko Oblak 1967
}}
'''Branko Oblak''' (born 27 May 1947) is a Slovenian [[Association football|football]] coach and former international player. He usually played as an [[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|attacking midfielder]] or [[Midfielder#Deep-lying playmaker (Strolling 10)|deep-lying playmaker]].

==Playing career==
Brane, as he is often known, started playing football at the youth team of [[NK Svoboda Ljubljana|Svoboda]]. In 1965 he went to Ljubljana's more famous club, [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1911)|Olimpija]]. He made his debut on 20 May 1966 against [[FK Partizan|Partizan]] in [[Belgrade]], where he scored both Olimpija's goals for a 1–2 win. He stayed with Olimpija until 1973. During that time he played 181 matches and scored 33 goals.

In 1973, he moved to [[Hajduk Split]] and stayed there for two seasons. In both seasons Hajduk won the national champion and cup winner titles. In 1975, he signed a two-year contract with [[FC Schalke 04|Schalke 04]] of the German [[Bundesliga]] for what was a world record fee for that season. In the 1976–77 season, Oblak's second year at the club, Schalke 04 finished the league in second place, behind [[Borussia Mönchengladbach]]. In the summer of 1977, Oblak went to [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]]. He stayed there for three seasons and in his final season with the club (1979–80), Bayern became the German champion. After that, Oblak played in various [[Austria]]n amateur clubs until 1987, when he retired as a football player.

During the 1945–1990 period, Oblak was among only a handful of Slovenian players, along with [[Srečko Katanec]] and [[Danilo Popivoda]], who managed to get into the Yugoslavia national team.

Oblak's debut for the [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia national team]] came in a friendly match against [[Romania national football team|Romania]] in 1971. The same year he had the honour of playing at [[Pelé]]'s farewell match at the [[Estádio do Maracanã|Maracanã]] in [[Rio de Janeiro]]. At the [[1974 FIFA World Cup|1974 World Cup]] in [[Germany]], he and his teammate [[Danilo Popivoda]] became the first [[Slovenia]]ns to play in a World Cup. Even more impressive is that Oblak was selected into the best squad of the World Cup. In 1976, he played at the [[UEFA Euro 1976|European Championship]], which was hosted by [[SFR Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]]. His excellent pass for the first goal in the semi-final match against [[Germany national football team|Germany]] is still remembered among football experts. After the tournament, he retired from international football. In altogether 46 matches he scored six goals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/joeg-recintlp.html|title=Yugoslavia (Serbia (and Montenegro)) - Record International Players|access-date=24 February 2024|website=[[RSSSF]]}}</ref>

==Coaching career==

After retirement as a football player, Oblak started coaching at various Slovenian clubs, including three times at Olimpija Ljubljana,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nkolimpija.com/?page=club&id=9 |title=Nogometni klub Olimpija Ljubljana |publisher=nkolimpija.com |date=28 August 2011 |access-date=23 October 2011 | language = sl|archive-date=17 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017175849/http://www.nkolimpija.com/?page=club&id=9}}</ref> [[NK Naklo]]<ref>{{cite web | url = http://nknaklo.si/s/id/zgodovina | title = Zgodovina |trans-title=History| language = sl| publisher = [[NK Naklo]] official website | access-date = 1 December 2016}}</ref> and [[FC Koper]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.uefa.com/news-media/news/0182-0f8faa8a264d-9f41a719414f-1000--slovenia-round-up-koper-close-on-primorje/ | title = Slovenia round-up: Koper close on Primorje | publisher = UEFA | date = 23 February 2002 | access-date = 23 October 2011}}</ref> He proved to be a good youth coach, so in February 2004 he was named the new Slovenia under-21 national coach. On 24 May 2004, he replaced [[Bojan Prašnikar]] as the head coach of the [[Slovenia national football team]]. The team started brightly under his guidance, with the highlight being a 1–0 over [[Italy national football team|Italy]] (eventual World Champions) in a [[FIFA World Cup 2006|World Cup]] qualifying match. However, the team soon ran into a series of bad results, and the pressure mounted on Oblak, until finally in late 2006, he was fired from the job. He was succeeded by [[Matjaž Kek]]. In 2009, he again took the managers job at his home club [[NK Olimpija Ljubljana]]. He was relieved of his duties after only four games.

In November 2003, [[UEFA]] member football associations organized surveys to find the [[UEFA Jubilee Awards|best national players]] in 50-year period of existence of UEFA. In Slovenia Branko Oblak was awarded this title, "beating" rivals such as [[Srečko Katanec]] and [[Zlatko Zahovič]].

== Career statistics ==

=== International ===
:''Scores and results list Yugoslavia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Oblak goal.''

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ List of international goals scored by Branko Oblak<ref>{{cite web |title=Brane Oblak, international football player |url=https://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=15448 |website=eu-football.info |access-date=28 June 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
|-
!scope="col"|No.
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Venue
!scope="col"|Opponent
!scope="col"|Score
!scope="col"|Result
!scope="col"|Competition
|-
|align="center"|1 || 1 September 1971 || [[Ferenc Puskás Stadium (1953)|Népstadion]], [[Budapest]], Hungary || {{fb|HUN}} || 1–0 || 1–2 || [[Exhibition game#Association football|Friendly]]
|-
|align="center"|2 || 22 September 1971 || [[Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium|Stadion Koševo]], [[Sarajevo]], SFR Yugoslavia || {{fb|MEX}} || 3–0 || 4–0 || Friendly
|-
|align="center"|3 || 5 June 1974 || [[Red Star Stadium]], [[Belgrade]], SFR Yugoslavia || {{fb|ENG}} || 2–1 || 2–2 || Friendly
|-
|align="center"|4 || 18 June 1974 || [[Parkstadion]], [[Gelsenkirchen]], West Germany || {{fb|ZAI}} || 7–0 || 9–0 || [[1974 FIFA World Cup]]
|-
|align="center"|5 || 15 October 1975 || [[Stadion Maksimir]], [[Zagreb]], SFR Yugoslavia || {{fb|SWE}} || 1–0 || 3–0 || [[UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying]]
|-
|align="center"|6 || 19 November 1975  || [[Partizan Stadium|Stadion JNA]], Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia || {{fb|NIR}} || 1–0 || 1–0  || UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying
|-
|}

==Honours==
===Club===
'''Hajduk Split'''
*[[Yugoslav First League]]: [[1973–74 Yugoslav First League|1973–74]], [[1974–75 Yugoslav First League|1974–75]]
*[[Yugoslav Cup]]: [[1974 Yugoslav Cup|1974]]

'''Bayern Munich'''
*[[Bundesliga]]: [[1979–80 Bundesliga|1979–80]]

'''Individual'''
*''Sport Ideal European XI'': 1975,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/unofficial-european-ideal-teams-1971-1980.1985633/ |website=BigSoccer |title=Sport 1975|access-date=4 June 2024 }}</ref> 1976<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/unofficial-european-ideal-teams-1971-1980.1985633/ |website=BigSoccer |title=Sport 1976|access-date=4 June 2024 }}</ref>
*[[World Soccer (magazine)#Eric Batty's World XI|World XI]]: 1976<ref name="BTLM70s">{{cite web |url=https://beyondthelastman.com/2013/11/07/eric-battys-world-xis-the-seventies/ |website=Beyond The Last Man |date=7 November 2013 |title=Eric Batty's World XI – The Seventies |access-date=22 July 2020 |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705040250/https://beyondthelastman.com/2013/11/07/eric-battys-world-xis-the-seventies/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
*[[UEFA Jubilee Awards|UEFA Slovenian Golden Player]]: 2004<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/uefa-awards.html | title = UEFA Awards | language = de | website = RSSSF | date = 21 December 2006 | access-date = 16 February 2024 | first1 = Erik | last1 = Garin | first2 = Rui | last2 = Silva}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{sports links}}

{{Navboxes
|title=Yugoslavia squads
|bg        = #0c1c8c
|fg        = white
|bordercolor=black
|list1=
{{Yugoslavia squad 1974 FIFA World Cup}}
{{Yugoslavia squad UEFA Euro 1976}}
}}
{{Navboxes
|title=Awards
|titlestyle=background: gold
|list1=
{{1974 FIFA World Cup Team of the Tournament}}
{{1976 World Soccer World XI}}
{{Slovenian Sportsman of the Year}}
{{UEFA Jubilee Awards}}
}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Managerial positions
| list1 = 
{{Slovenia national football team managers}}
{{NK Olimpija Ljubljana managers}}
}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oblak, Branko}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Footballers from Ljubljana]]
[[Category:Men's association football midfielders]]
[[Category:Yugoslav men's footballers]]
[[Category:Yugoslavia men's international footballers]]
[[Category:1974 FIFA World Cup players]]
[[Category:UEFA Euro 1976 players]]
[[Category:UEFA Golden Players]]
[[Category:NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) players]]
[[Category:HNK Hajduk Split players]]
[[Category:FC Schalke 04 players]]
[[Category:FC Bayern Munich footballers]]
[[Category:HNK Šibenik players]]
[[Category:SV Spittal/Drau players]]
[[Category:Yugoslav First League players]]
[[Category:Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Austrian Football Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Yugoslav expatriate men's footballers]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in West Germany]]
[[Category:Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in West Germany]]
[[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Austria]]
[[Category:Yugoslav expatriate sportspeople in Austria]]
[[Category:Slovenian football managers]]
[[Category:NK Olimpija Ljubljana (1945–2005) managers]]
[[Category:NK Rudar Velenje managers]]
[[Category:FC Koper managers]]
[[Category:NK Olimpija Ljubljana (2005) managers]]
[[Category:Slovenia national football team managers]]
[[Category:Slovenian PrvaLiga managers]]