Drazan Jerkovic (first name often spelled Drazen; born August 6, 1936
in Sibenik) was a Croatian football player, as forward, and also football
manager.
He played, on club level, for Dinamo Zagreb (1954-65) and
FC Gantoise (1965). Great injuries forced him to early retire, on height
of his career. With Dinamo he won the league title in 1958, and league
cup in 1960 and 1965. In 315 games for Dinamo, he scored 300 goals.
For Yugoslavia he played between 1960 and 1964. In 21 games he scored
11 goals. He participated in Euro 1960 and World Cup 1962. (Also part
of the squad of World Cup 1958, but did not play).
In Euro 1960 he scored two goals against France in semifinal, and Yugoslavia
won (5-4). In final, Yugoslavia lost against USSR (1-2; AET), and finished
second.
In World Cup 1962 Jerkovic scored four goals and was, with five more players,
the top goalscorer, winning the World Cup Golden Boot. Yugoslavia capture
fourth place. In quarter-final Yugoslavia beat West Germany (1-0). In
semifinal Yugoslavia lost to Czechoslovakia (1-3), and for third place
lost to Chile (0-1).
Jerkovic was the first manager of the Croatia, between 1990 and 1992.
