Place of death Zagreb, Croatia Role Footballer Name August Lesnik | Years Team Playing position Position Forward | |
Date of birth (1914-07-16)16 July 1914 Place of birth Zagreb, Austria-Hungary Date of death 24 February 1992(1992-02-24) (aged 77) Died February 24, 1992, Zagreb, Croatia | ||
August Lešnik (16 July 1914 in Zagreb – 24 February 1992 in Zagreb) was a Croatian footballer. Lešnik played most of his club football for Građanski Zagreb. In 1941 he was the Croatian First League's top scorer while playing for Građanski, and performed the same feat twice in the Yugoslavian First League as well: in 1938 and 1939. He played for the Yugoslavian football team in the late 1930s and the Croatian national team from 1940 to 1944.
Club career
Lešnik started his career in 1929 playing for local club HŠK Derby. He spent there five years, and after that had a short spell in HŠK Šparta Zagreb. In 1936 Lešnik started playing for Građanski Zagreb, the club where spent most of his career. In the first four years at Građanski, he was twice the top goalscorer of Yugoslav First League. In the 1937–38 season he scored 17 goals in 18 matches, and the following season 22 goals in as much games. He clinched two titles with Građanski in 1937 and 1940, and one of his most famous club matches occurred in spring 1937 against BSK in Belgrade in which Lešnik scored a hat-trick in the first seven minutes of the game.
In 1936, Lešnik scored three goals in an exhibition match against Liverpool F.C. which Građanski won 5–1.
After World War II, Građanski was disbanded by the communist Yugoslav authorities, and Lešnik finished his career with the newly formed Dinamo Zagreb.