Miroslav Blazevic died at the age of 87. Photo/Shenhua FC official website
Red net moment news February 8 (Reporter Fu Huanyu) February 8 afternoon, the Chinese Super League Shanghai Shenhua Football Club official microblogging news, has coached Shanghai Shenhua, China Olympic Games, Croatian head coach Miloslav Blažević died at the age of 87 due to illness.
Born in 1937, Miloslav Blažević played for Dinamo Zagreb, among others, and became a professional coach in the 1970s, winning the Yugoslav First League, Yugoslav Cup, Croatian First League, Croatian Cup, Swiss Super League and Swiss Cup.
He became head coach of the Croatian national team in 1994, leading the team to the last eight of Euro 1996 and leading the Croatian team, which was playing in its first World Cup, to a third place finish in 1998.
Blažević poses with Shenhua fans. Photo/Shenhua Blue Devils Fan Club
In 2010, Blažević came to China to become the head coach of Shanghai Shenhua. In the face of optimism, Blažević boldly used young players, creating a "youth storm" in the Chinese Super League, which saw the emergence of outstanding players such as Feng Renliang, Song Boxuan and Wu Xi, and ultimately won the third place in the 2010 Chinese Super League, and entered the AFC Champions League in the following year.
During his tenure in Shanghai, Blažević was well loved by Shenhua fans. During the 29th round of the 2010 Chinese Super League match between Shanghai Shenhua and Qingdao Zhongneng, the Blue Devils fans in the Hongkou North Stand displayed a hand-painted TIFO with a theme by Blažević in tribute to the coach.
In 2011, Blažević was invited by the Chinese Football Association (CFA) to become the head coach of the Chinese Olympics and lead the team to the London Olympics. However, the Chinese Olympics lost to Oman in two rounds of the tournament, and Blazevich bid farewell to Chinese soccer.
