Croatia mourns Hajduk hero Bego
Monday, August 13, 2018
Article summary
Zvonko Bego, who scored 173 goals in 375 matches for HNK Hajduk Split and helped Yugoslavia win the 1960 Olympic football tournament, has died at the age of 77.
Article top media content
Article body
Croatia is mourning the legendary HNK Hajduk Split player and 1960 Olympic football gold medal winner Zvonko Bego, who has died after a short illness at the age of 77.
Born in Split in December 1940, Bego, a dangerous left-sided forward, played at all youth levels for Hadjuk Split, making his first-team debut in 1957. Over the next 10 years, he played 375 matches for the club, scoring 173 goals.
He won six caps for Yugoslavia, scoring two goals, and his biggest international achievement was winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games football tournament in Rome, when Yugoslavia defeated Denmark 3-1 in the final.
After a decade with Hajduk Split, Bego had spells with Bayern Munich, FC Twente, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and SV Austria Salzburg, before returning home in 1971. He played for NK Junak Sinj and NK Uskok before he retired.