Vladimir Šimunić

Vladimir Šimunić
Personal information
Date of birth	19 May 1919
Place of birth	Pula, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Date of death	24 December 1993 (aged 74)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team
1936–1943	HŠK Građanski Zagreb
International career
1942	Independent State of Croatia
Managerial career
1961–1968	Maribor
1969–1970	Grazer AK
1973	Borac Banja Luka
1972–1973	Toronto Croatia
1974	Toronto Croatia
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vladimir Šimunić (19 May 1919 – 24 December 1993) was a Croatian footballer and manager.

Career

Šimunić played with HŠK Građanski Zagreb in the Yugoslav First League as a goalkeeper from 1936 until 1943. He also made an appearance under the flag of the Independent State of Croatia, a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany, on 14 June 1942 against Hungary.^[1]

Following his retirement from professional football he was appointed the head coach for NK Maribor in 1961, where he captured the Yugoslav Second League title in the 1966–67 season.^[2] In 1969, he went abroad to manage Grazer AK, and returned to Yugoslavia in 1973 to coach FK Borac Banja Luka. In 1972, he went to Canada to manage the National Soccer League side Toronto Croatia.^[3] In June 1974, he returned to manage Toronto Croatia and won the NSL Championship.^[4]^[5]

^ "Vlado Šimunić – national football team player". eu-football.info. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
^ "Zgodovina NK Maribor 1961–1970". nkmaribor.com (in Slovenian). NK Maribor. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
^ Sopta, Marin. "Gradski vijećnik Toronta: Ova momčad je nešto najbolje što se moglo dogoditi našoj ligi. Svi žele pobijediti Croatiju!" (in Croatian). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
^ Bakić, Marijan (7 December 2015). "Čuvar hrvatskog identiteta – piše Branko Stipković, novinar SN". Hrvatski zbor sportskih novinara (in Croatian). Retrieved 29 February 2020.
^ Krivel, Peter (5 July 1974). "Croatia is showing signs of recapturing soccer glory". Toronto Star. p. C3.