Vladimir Durković (Serbian Cyrillic: Владимир Дурковић; 6 November 1937 – 22 June 1972) was a Serbian football defender. He was part of the Yugoslav squad that won gold at the 1960 Summer Olympics.

Career

Club career

Durković played with Red Star Belgrade until he was 28 at which point he moved abroad and made a name for himself with AS Saint-Étienne, winning three French League titles and the Coupe de France twice.

International career

Capped 50 times by Yugoslavia between 1959 and 1966, Durković excelled as a 22-year-old at the first UEFA European Championship, offering defensive solidity and attacking penetration at right-back. Although Yugoslavia finished second in France, Durković won a gold medal at the Rome Olympics the following September. He also wore the number two shirt at the 1962 FIFA World Cup in Chile and was an ever-present as Yugoslavia eliminated former winners Uruguay and West Germany and finished fourth. His final international was a June 1966 friendly match against Bulgaria.

Death

He died when shot by a drunken policeman in Sion, Switzerland in June 1972 at the age of 34. The police officer was later sentenced to 9 years prison of which he served 7 years.

Honours