Edin Sprečo (19 April 1947 – 12 May 2020) was a Bosnian professional footballer who played as a winger.
Club career Born in Sarajevo, SFR Yugoslavia, present day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sprečo started playing football for the youth team of hometown club Željezničar when he was 12. At the age of 17, he made his debut for the first team. Sprečo scored two goals in his first game and it was clear that he would become a great player.
He played 199 league games and scored 61 goals for Željezničar. In total, Sprečo played in 234 games and managed to score 75 goals. He was a member of the Željezničar team that won the Yugoslav First League title in the 1971–72 season. In 1975, Sprečo turned 28 and he was allowed to go abroad, as it was prohibited for under-28 players to leave the domestic clubs at the time. He went to Dutch Eredivisie club NAC Breda. He played in Holland alongside compatriots Miroslav Vardić and Nikola Budišić, finishing in 11th place in the Eredivisie.Edin Sprečo: een kanjer van een spits - BN De Stem
He also played for, at the time, French Ligue 2 club Rennes making his debut against AS Brestoise on 8 January 1978.Profile - Stade Rennais Sprečo finished his career at the age of 34 in 1981, while playing for Iskra Bugojno.
International career Sprečo earned 3 caps for the Yugoslavia national team and also scored two goals while playing for the national team from 1967 to 1969. He scored his first goal for Yugoslavia on 12 November 1967, in a 4–0 win against Albania in a UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying match. His final international was a June 1969 World Cup qualification match away against Finland.
Career statistics Club Source:
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsŽeljezničar1964–65Yugoslav First League20——201965–66Yugoslav First League20——201966–67Yugoslav First League197——1971967–68Yugoslav First League2613——26131968–69Yugoslav First League2412——24121969–70Yugoslav First League60——601970–71Yugoslav First League337——3371971–72Yugoslav First League325—844091972–73Yugoslav First League3110—2133111973–74Yugoslav First League157——1571974–75Yugoslav First League70——701975–76Yugoslav First League20——20Total19961—10520966NAC Breda1975–76Eredivisie25710—267Željezničar1976–77Yugoslav First League4000—40Rennes1977–78Ligue 294——941978–79Ligue 22614——2614Total3518——3518Iskra Bugojno1979–80Yugoslav Second League236——2361980–81Yugoslav Second League153——153Total389——389Career total3019510105312100
International Source:
National teamYearAppsGoalsYugoslavia196721196800196911Total32
International goals # Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 12 November 1967 Stadion JNA, Belgrade, SFR Yugoslavia 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying 2. 4 June 1969 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland 4–1 5–1 1970 FIFA World Cup qualificationSource:
Death Sprečo died at the age of 73 in his hometown of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 12 May 2020.
Honours Player Željezničar Yugoslav First League: 1971–72
References
External links