Milan Galić

Milan Galić

Galić in May 1966 ahead of Partizan's European Cup final versus Real Madrid.
Personal information
Full name	Milan Galić
Date of birth	(1938-03-08)8 March 1938
Place of birth	Bosansko Grahovo, Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Date of death	13 September 2014(2014-09-13) (aged 76)
Place of death	Belgrade, Serbia
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
1952–1958	Proleter Zrenjanin
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1958–1966	Partizan	148	(74)
1966–1970	Standard Liège	84	(33)
1970–1973	Reims	55	(18)
Total		287	(125)
International career
1959–1965	Yugoslavia	51	(37)
Medal record Olympic Games 1960 European Nations' Cup 1960
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Milan Galić (Serbian Cyrillic: Милан Галић, pronounced [mǐlaŋ ɡǎːlitɕ]; 8 March 1938 – 13 September 2014) was a Yugoslav and Serbian professional footballer who played as a striker. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

During his active career, Galić played for four clubs, namely Proleter Zrenjanin, Partizan, Standard Liège and Reims. He also represented Yugoslavia internationally, earning 51 caps and scoring 37 goals, being the second-highest scorer in the history of the national team, only behind Stjepan Bobek with 38.

After finishing his playing career, Galić was employed at the Football Association of Yugoslavia.

Club career

Partizan

After starting out with Proleter Zrenjanin, Galić was transferred to Partizan in the 1958–59 campaign. He spent the following eight seasons at Stadion JNA, winning the Yugoslav First League on four occasions (1961, 1962, 1963 and 1965).

In 1960–61 season, Galić won his first title with Partizan. That was also first title for The Steamroller after 1949. He scored a twice in first match of the season, in Split against RNK Split and helping club to reach first victory in the season, 4–2. He also scored two goals in Eternal Derby in a 3–0 home victory on 30 October 1960. On 11 June 1961, Galić scored hat-trick in a 4–2 away victory against Radnički Beograd, in last round and securing the title. He scored 14 goals in 21 league matches and become the top scorer of club in the season.

In next season, Galić helped the club win second consecutive title. He scored 7 goals in 21 matches. He scored twice on 27 August in a 2–1 home victory against OFK Beograd and also scored another two goals on 4 March at Omladinski stadion in a 2–1 victory. Galić decided a Derby against Vojvodina in Novi Sad, on 22 October by the goal in 76th minute and also score against this team in a 2–3 home defeat. He scored an equalizer in a 3–1 away victory in Rijeka.

In 1962–63 season the club won another title. Galić scored 15 goals in 24 league matches. On 3 October, he scored his first goal in European competitions, against CSKA Red Flag. He scored a hat-trick in a 4–3 home victory against Vojvodina, on 23 September, on 28 October in Eternal Derby in a 5–0 record away victory and on 25 November in a 5–1 home victory over Novi Sad. On 9 December, in last match of autumn part of the season, he scored a goal in derby against Hajduk, in a 4–1 home win, and also scored in last match of the season against the same club, in Split, in a 1–1 away draw. Galić scored one more goal, against Dinamo Zagreb, in a 1–1 home draw of first match of second part of the season.

In 1963–64 season club finished on 5th place on the league table. Galić score only 4 goals in the league. On 21 August, he scored goal in first match in the season at home, in a 2–2 draw against Vardar. He scored in a 1–2 home defeat from Željezničar, on 13 October. In April, he scored a goal in derbies against Vojvodina and Hajduk in a 3–1 and 3–0 home victories. Galić scored two goals in preliminary round against Anorthosis Famagusta in a European Cup. He continue to scoring in European cup in a 1–2 away defeat to Jeunesse Esch. He also scored in a 6–2 victory in Belgrade. In quarter-finals they were eliminated by Inter Milan.

In 1964–65 season club return the champion title. Galić was top scored together with Vladica Kovačević with 16 goals. On 16 August he scored a goal in a 2–2 away draw in Eternal Derby. Two weeks later, he scored a brace against Trešnjevka in a 2–1 victory in Zagreb. On 21 March he scored a brace again in Zagreb, this time in Derby against Dinamo in a 2–1 victory. The winning goal Galić score in stoppage time. Three days later, he score another twice in a 4–0 home victory against Trešnjevka.

Galić did play in legendary 1965–66 season, when Partizan reach 1966 European Cup final, Galić played first five matches in the league and three in European cup. He scored in a 3–1 home victory over Rijeka, on 11 September. He played two matches against French champion Nantes. He scored a goal in 2–0 home victory on 22 September and in 2–2 draw in Nantes three weeks later. He played in European Cup final in Brussels on 11 May 1966 against Real Madrid in a 1–2 defeat.

Standard Liège and Reims

After leaving his homeland, Galić moved to Standard Liège, winning the Belgian First Division twice (1969 and 1970), as well as the Belgian Cup in 1967. He also played for French club Reims between 1970 and 1973.

International career

Galić made his international debut for Yugoslavia in a 2–0 home win over Bulgaria on 31 May 1959, scoring the game's opening goal.

Galić was a member of the team that finished as runner-up in the 1960 European Nations' Cup. He was the tournament's joint-top scorer with two goals, and he also scored the first goal ever in the UEFA Euro tournament. Later the same year, Galić played for Yugoslavia at the 1960 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal. He was the tournament's top scorer with seven goals, including the opening goal in the final, a 3–1 victory over Denmark.

Subsequently, Galić represented the country at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and scored three goals during the tournament, as the team finished in fourth place. His final international was an October 1965 World Cup qualification match away against France.

Death

Galić died in 2014, aged 76. He is interred in the Alley of Distinguished Citizens in the Belgrade New Cemetery together with Mića Orlović, Franjo Mihalić and Borisav Pisić.

Career statistics

Club

Club	Season	League			Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Partizan	1958–59	Yugoslav First League	10	7	0	0	10	7
	1959–60		22	10	0	0	22	10
	1960–61		21	14	0	0	21	14
	1961–62		21	7	4	0	25	7
	1962–63		25	16	1	1	26	17
	1963–64		20	4	6	4	26	8
	1964–65		24	15	0	0	24	15
	1965–66		5	1	3	2	8	3
	Total		148	74	14	7	162	81
Standard Liège	1966–67	Belgian First Division	22	9	5	2	27	11
	1967–68		14	2	4	0	18	2
	1968–69		23	5	1	1	24	6
	1969–70		25	17	6	2	31	19
	Total		84	33	16	5	100	38
Reims	1970–71	French Division 1	36	14	0	0	36	14
	1971–72		16	3	0	0	16	3
	1972–73		3	1	0	0	3	1
	Total		55	18	0	0	55	18
Career total			287	125	30	12	317	137

International

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Yugoslavia	1959	2	1
	1960	14	14
	1961	11	7
	1962	10	8
	1963	3	2
	1964	5	2
	1965	6	3
Total		51	37

List of international goals scored by Milan Galić

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	31 May 1959	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Bulgaria	1–0	2–0	1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying
2	24 April 1960	Athens, Greece	Greece	4–0	5–0	1960 Summer Olympics qualifying
3	11 May 1960	London, England	England	1–0	3–3	Friendly
4				2–2
5	22 May 1960	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Portugal	5–1	5–1	1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying
6	6 July 1960	Paris, France	France	1–0	5–4	1960 European Nations' Cup
7	10 July 1960		Soviet Union	1–0	1–2	1960 European Nations' Cup final
8	6 August 1960	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Tunisia	4–0	7–0	Friendly
9	26 August 1960	Pescara, Italy	United Arab Republic	2–0	6–1	1960 Summer Olympics
10	29 August 1960	Florence, Italy	Turkey	2–0	4–0
11	1 September 1960	Rome, Italy	Bulgaria	1–0	3–3
12				2–0
13				3–1
14	5 September 1960	Napoli, Italy	Italy	1–0	1–1
15	10 September 1960	Rome, Italy	Denmark	1–0	3–1	1960 Summer Olympics final
16	25 June 1961	Chorzów, Poland	Poland	1–0	1–1	1962 FIFA World Cup qualification
17	8 October 1961	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	South Korea	5–1	5–1
18	26 November 1961	Seoul, South Korea		1–0	3–1
19				2–0
20	7 December 1961	Jakarta, Indonesia	Indonesia	2–1	5–1	Friendly
21	14 December 1961	Tel Aviv, Israel	Israel	1–0	2–0
22				2–0
23	16 May 1962	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	East Germany	1–0	3–1
24				3–1
25	2 June 1962	Arica, Chile	Uruguay	2–1	3–1	1962 FIFA World Cup
26	7 June 1962		Colombia	1–0	5–0
27				3–0
28	30 September 1962	Zagreb, Yugoslavia	West Germany	1–0	2–3	Friendly
29				2–3
30	14 October 1962	Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	1–0
31	31 March 1963	Brussels, Belgium	Belgium	1–0	1–0	1964 European Nations' Cup qualifying
32	18 September 1963	Malmö, Sweden	Sweden	1–0	2–3
33	20 September 1964	Belgrade, Yugoslavia	Luxembourg	3–1	3–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
34	23 September 1964		Europe XI	2–5	2–7	Friendly
35	18 April 1965		France	1–0	1–0	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
36	19 September 1965	Luxembourg City, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	1–0	5–2
37				2–0

Honours

Club

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League: 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1964–65
• Yugoslav Cup runner-up: 1959–60
• European Cup runner-up: 1965–66

Standard Liège

• Belgian First Division: 1968–69, 1969–70
• Belgian Cup: 1966–67

International

Yugoslavia

• Olympic Games: 1960
• European Nations' Cup runner-up: 1960

Individual

• Olympic Games Top Scorer: 1960
• European Nations' Cup Top Scorer: 1960
• European Nations' Cup Team of the Tournament: 1960
• Golden Badge: 1962
• Ballon d'Or (8th place): 1962

External links

• Milan Galić at Reprezentacija.rs (in Serbian)
• Milan Galić – FIFA competition record (archived)