Stjepan Bobek

Stjepan Bobek was born on December 3, 1923, in Zagreb, Yugoslavia. He began playing club football at the age of 13 for the local club Viktorija. He played using his brother's papers and identity. World War II disrupted his early career, and after a brief stint with Admira Wacker in Austria, he joined Građanski Zagreb in his home country at the age of 20.

Able to play as a striker or attacking midfielder, he was not only a formidable finisher but also a player renowned for his technical skills and game intelligence. A player with great vision and the ability to score goals.

Arriving at FK Partizan in 1946, he became a living legend. In 468 matches for the Yugoslav club, he scored a total of 403 official goals. He became the club's all-time leading scorer, and remains so to this day. A two-time Yugoslavian champion with Partizan, he also won four Yugoslav Cups. He also finished as the league's top scorer twice, in 1945 with 8 goals and in 1954 with 21 goals.

He held the record for the most goals scored in a single match in the Yugoslav league, scoring 8 goals on June 8, 1947, against 14. During his first season with Partizan, he scored no fewer than 25 goals in 22 matches in the Yugoslav first division alone.

Continuing to break records, he also broke the record for the most goals scored in a single Yugoslav Cup match in a 15-0 victory over Sloga Petrovac, scoring eight goals in November 1951. That same year, he participated with his team in three friendlies against English teams. A remarkable achievement for someone who scored two goals against Hull City and one against Middlesbrough.

A true tormentor for Red Star Belgrade, he is undoubtedly the greatest player in the history of the Eternal Derby. Having scored Partizan's first goal in the derby and having scored numerous goals against his opponents, he became less decisive towards the end of his time with Partizan and finally retired in 1959 at the age of 35 after spending 13 years at the club.

A U21 international with Yugoslavia during World War II, he made his debut with the first team on May 9, 1946, and it took him only two matches to score his first goal. With his country, he won silver medals twice at the Olympic Games, in 1948 and 1952. He also participated in the 1950 and 1954 World Cups.

In 1954, he scored his second hat-trick with Yugoslavia against Turkey in a resounding 5-1 victory. He thus brought his goal tally to 38, becoming Yugoslavia's all-time leading scorer. A record that would not be broken until 66 years later by Serbian player Aleksandar Mitrović in 2021.

- Top scorer in the Yugoslav championship in 1945 (8 goals) (JNA) and 1954 (21 goals) (Partizan Belgrade)

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