Dragan Džajić

Born on 30 May 1946 in the small town of Ub, 60 kilometeres outside Belgrade, Džajić's football career (1961–1978) was spent primarily with Red Star Belgrade. A left winger, his career with the club spanned 590 games and 287 goals by winning five league titles and four Yugoslavian Cups. In 1969, Džajić received the Sport newspaper's Golden Badge award for Yugoslavia's best athlete. He is considered to have been one of the most important players in the history of the club and is one of only five players to have been awarded the Zvezdine zvezde status.

Red Star Belgrade

Early starter

Džajić was plucked from the relative obscurity of his local club, FK Jedinstvo, by Red Star Belgrade youth coach Miljan Miljanić, spending two years in the club's youth system. Though only 17 years and 8 days of age, Džajić was handed his first team debut by head coach Miša Pavić in a Yugoslav First League match against FK Budućnost Titograd on 8 June 1963, which finished 0–0. It was the last week of the 1962–63 league season with FK Partizan already clinching the league championship and Red Star hovering in 7th place, out of European spots. The match was played at Omladinski Stadium at Karaburma because Red Star's famous home Marakana was in the final construction stages. Džajić started out as a left-back, but it was further up the flank that he made his impact. An expert dribbler, his left foot provided a constant stream of goals for teammate Vojin Lazarević. Džajić was…

Džajić was just 18 when he was first named to the Yugoslavia 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 Yugoslavia national team) and score 23 goals. He became renowned for his passing, dribbling, and goal-scoring. He played in the 1968 European Championship semi-final against England, in which his 87th-minute lob over the goalkeeper Gordon Banks gave Yugoslavia a 1–0 victory against the then world champions. The British press dubbed him "the magic Dragan". He went on to score in the final against Italy but could not prevent Yugoslavia from losing 2–0 after a replay. Džajić said about his most well-known international matches (at 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 participated in the 1974 FIFA World Cup, which was held in West Germany. He played in Yugoslavia's opening championship game draw with…

In November 2011, Džajić was named in "the greatest European Championship XI of all time" by Goal.com. On 2 December 2022, Red Star Belgrade announced that the number 11 worn by Džajić will be retired from the 2023–24 season on.

Red Star Belgrade

Yugoslav First League: 1963–64, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73 Yugoslav Cup: 1963–64, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71 Mitropa Cup: 1968 Yugoslavia

Mediterranean Games: 1971 UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1968 Individual

UEFA Euro Top Scorer: 1968 UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 1968, 1976 Ballon d'Or (3rd place): 1968 Golden Badge: 1969 FUWO European Team of the Season: 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972 ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1968, 1970 World Soccer World XI: 1969, 1973 Best Sportsman of SD Crvena Zvezda: 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970 Sport Ideal European XI: 1971, 1972 YU-Serbian UEFA Golden Player: 2004 FIFA XI: 1968