Place of death Zagreb, Croatia Role Footballer Playing position Education University of Zagreb | 1938–1942 Concordia Zagreb Position Goalkeeper Name Branko Kralj | |
Date of birth (1924-03-10)10 March 1924 Place of birth Zagreb, Kingdom of Yugoslavia Date of death 18 December 2012(2012-12-18) (aged 88) Died December 18, 2012, Croatia | ||
Branko kralj jumpin at the woodside
Branko Kralj (10 March 1924 – 18 December 2012) was a Croatian footballer who played as goalkeeper. He was born and died in Zagreb. Kralj joined local side HŠK Concordia in 1938. After World War II when the club was disbanded he joined NK Borac. Borac later merged into today's NK Zagreb and Kralj moved to local powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb. During his time with Dinamo he appeared in a total of 108 matches (including 61 Yugoslav First League games) and helped the club win the 1953–54 championship title. He retired the following season after sustaining a career-ending injury during a match against Velež Mostar.
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He was called up for Yugoslavia 39 times during his time at Dinamo, but always as a substitute for the team's first-choice goalkeeper Vladimir Beara of Hajduk Split. He eventually earned three caps for the national team, each time coming on as a substitute for Beara between 1954 and 1955, and was a member of the Yugoslav squad which reached the quarter-final in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.
After retiring from active football he graduated from the Faculty of Economics at the University of Zagreb and worked in Dinamo's club management.