Zlatko Čajkovski

Zlatko Čajkovski

Zlatko Čajkovski in 1953
Personal information
Date of birth	(1923-11-24)24 November 1923
Place of birth	Zagreb, Kingdom of SCS
Date of death
Place of death	Munich, Germany
Height
Position(s)	Right half
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1939–1945	HAŠK
1946–1955	Partizan Belgrade	156	(19)
1955–1958	1. FC Köln	57	(7)
1958–1960	Hapoel Haifa
International career
1942–1943	Independent State of Croatia	2	(0)
1946–1955	FPR Yugoslavia	55	(7)
Managerial career
1961–1963	1. FC Köln
1963–1968	FC Bayern Munich
1968–1969	Hannover 96
1970	Kickers Offenbach
1970–1971	NK Dinamo Zagreb
1971–1973	1. FC Nürnberg
1973–1975	1. FC Köln
1976	Kickers Offenbach
1977–1978	AEK
1978–1980	FC Zürich
1980	FC Grenchen
1981	Grazer AK
1982	AEK
1983–1984	Apollon Kalamarias
Medal record Men's Football Representing Yugoslavia Olympic Games 1948 London Team 1952 Helsinki Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Zlatko "Čik" Čajkovski (24 November 1923 – 27 July 1998) was a Croatian and Yugoslavian football player and coach. His brother, Željko Čajkovski, was a football player. Normally a defensive midfielder, Čajkovski was renowned for his tremendous physical condition and marking ability and is considered to be one of the finest Yugoslav footballers. Despite his normally defensive role he was also a fine passer and possessed top-class technical ability.

Playing career

On club level Čajkovski played initially for HAŠK and Partizan Belgrade.

In this period he played between 1942 and 1943 twice for the Independent State of Croatia, and between 1946 and 1955 he played 55 times for the Yugoslav national team scoring seven goals. Participating at the Olympic Games 1948 and 1952 he won the silver medal on both occasions. The final of the 1952 tournament in Helsinki was lost against the then ascending Hungarian side of the Magic Magyars.

He also participated in the FIFA World Cups of 1950 and 1954. In 1950, Yugoslavia only lost to hosts Brazil in the group phase, during which Čajkovski scored two goals versus Mexico. In 1954, Yugoslavia drew in the group phase against Brazil, but where eliminated in the subsequent quarter final match against eventual tournament winners Germany. In 1953, Čajkovski was one of four Croatian players on the FIFA Select XI who played against England.

After this he finished his career as player with 1. FC Köln and Hapoel Haifa.

Coaching career

Čajkovski acquired his coaching licence under Hennes Weisweiler at the German Sports Academy in Cologne. His first appointment were in Israel, Turkey and the Netherlands.

His first great success was the German Championship 1962 with 1. FC Köln. In 1963 he took over the reins at FC Bayern Munich, which he guided from the second division into the first division, two wins in the German Cup and the win in the European Cup Winners Cup final against Rangers FC from Glasgow in 1967. In this period he formed around the goalkeeper Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer and, the later legendary, striker Gerd Müller, then all in their very early twenties, one of the top teams in Europe and the whole world.

Later "Czik" Čajkovski coached Hannover 96, 1. FC Nürnberg, Kickers Offenbach, which he took as a second division club to win the German Cup in 1970. After NK Dinamo Zagreb and 1. FC Nürnberg, he had another stint 1. FC Köln and also returned once more to Kickers Offenbach.Then he went to Greece in AEK Athens where he won the double. He then went to Switzerland to coach FC Zürich (1978–1980) and FC Grenchen (1980), having his final assignment with Grazer AK in 1981. After that, he coached AEK Athens (1982) and Apollon Kalamarias (1983–84).

External links

• Serbian national football team website (Serbian)