Želimir Vidović

Želimir "Keli" Vidović (17 November 1953 – 17 May 1992) was a Bosnian footballer and a star member of FK Sarajevo during the 1970s and early 1980s. He was killed during the Siege of Sarajevo while transporting wounded citizens of Dobrinja to a nearby hospital.

Želimir "Keli" Vidović
Personal information
Full name Želimir Vidović
Date of birth (1953-11-17)17 November 1953
Place of birth Sarajevo, FPR Yugoslavia
Date of death 17 May 1992(1992-05-17) (aged 38)
Place of death Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1974 Bosna Sarajevo
1974–1983 Sarajevo 241 (14)
1983–1989 GAK 151 (14)
1984 → Union Wels (loan) 16 (2)
International career
1977–1980 Yugoslavia 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Vidović joined FK Sarajevo in the summer of 1974 from local Sarajevo side FK Bosna. He played his first game for the maroon-whites on 14 August of the same year, and would go on to compete in 29 ties during his first season with the club. He spent nine years at the Koševo stadium, and was a pivotal member of the squad that played a large role in the 1980–81 UEFA Cup and reached the final of the Yugoslav Cup. In 1983, he joined Austrian side GAK, whom he represented for a further 6 seasons, before retiring from professional football in 1989.[1]

International career

He earned his first cap for Yugoslavia on 1 February 1977 in a friendly against Mexico, which Yugoslavia won 5–1. On 22 March 1980 he earned his second cap in a 2–1 victory over Uruguay.[2][3]

Death

On 17 May 1992, with the Siege of Sarajevo already underway, Vidović (who was an ethnic Serb) took part in a volunteer operation to help transport civilians, wounded by Serb forces, to a nearby hospital in the Sarajevo neighbourhood of Dobrinja.[1] After the convoy was stopped at a Serb military checkpoint, he was taken away by soldiers and all traces of him disappeared for 4 years.[4] In 1996 his remains were discovered in a shallow mass grave along with the remains of three other people. On 5 June 2004 his remains were buried in Sarajevo, along with an FK Sarajevo jersey.[5]

Legacy

An annual tournament in his honour has been organized since 2004.[6] A street in the neighborhood of Dobrinja carries his name.[7][8] The FK Sarajevo Training Centre is named after him.[9]

Documentary film, Heroj u kopačkama, by sport journalist Muhamed Bikić, premiered at the 72nd anniversary celebration of the FK Sarajevo, in National Theatre in Sarajevo on 24 October 2018.[10]

References
  1. "Želimir Vidović 1953-1992" (in Bosnian). Fksinfo.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  2. "Želimir Vidović" (in Serbian). Reprezentacija.rs. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  3. "Player Database". eu-football.info. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  4. "Želimir Vidović Keli je živio za svoje Sarajevo=Klix.ba" (in Bosnian). Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  5. "In memoriam: Želimir Vidović Keli" (in Bosnian). Fksinfo.com. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  6. "Memorijalni turnir posvećen bišem igraču Sarajeva" (in Bosnian). Radiosarajevo.ba. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  7. "Godišnjica pogibije Želimira Vidovića - Kelija" (in Bosnian). Fcsarajevo.ba. Retrieved 12 August 2014.
  8. "Nije poslušao prijatelje, ni komandanta: Prije 28 godina svirepo ubijen Želimir Vidović Keli - heroj u kopačkama". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). Anadolu Agency. 17 May 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  9. "Uprava FK Sarajevo odlučila: Trening kamp u Butmiru nazvan po legendarnom Keliju". Novi.ba. 25 October 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  10. "FK Sarajevo 72. rođendan proslavio premijerom filma o Želimiru Vidoviću Keliju". faktor.ba (in Bosnian). Anadolu Agency. 24 October 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
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