Ante Mladinić ( Croatian Ante Mladinić ; October 1, 1929 , Split - June 13, 2002 , Zagreb ) - Croatian footballer and coach.
 Ante Mladinich | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | October 1, 1929 Split , Kingdom of Yugoslavia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | June 13, 2002 (72 years old) Zagreb , Croatia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |  Kingdom of Yugoslavia  Croatia  Yugoslavia  Croatia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Career
Mladinich had a small career as a football player, playing for Hajduk from Split and Lokomotiv .
In 1974 he headed the national team of Yugoslavia . He helped to overcome the qualifying round and get into the final stage of the 1974 European Championship , which took place in Yugoslavia . Four teams participated in that draw: the Netherlands , Germany , Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The tournament started immediately with semifinal matches and the hosts met with the Germans. The first half ended with a score 2-0 in favor of the “blue”, but the “eagles” equalized and transferred the game to extra time. In the second overtime, two accurate hits by Dieter Müller allowed Germany to reach the final of the European Championship for the second time in a row. In the match for 3rd place, the Yugoslavs met with the Netherlands. Unlike the semi-finals, by the 40th minute of the match for bronze Yugoslavia was 0-2, but by the main time of the match the score was equalized and the match was transferred to extra time. In the 2nd minute of the second overtime, Rud Gels scored a goal and brought the Netherlands national team the first European Championship medal in the history of its existence. Yugoslavia eventually took 4th place, and Mladinich left the post of head coach.
In 1976 he became the head coach of Partizan . In two years, Mladinich achieved with the Belgrade club the championship of Yugoslavia and won the Mitropa Cup (the first European tournament won in the history of the club).
In October 1978, as the acting head coach, he again headed the Yugoslav national team for 2 qualifying matches for the 1980 European Championship (against Spain and Romania ).
In 1979, he became an assistant to Tomislav Ivich , who headed the Hajduk . The following year he became the head coach of the club from Split . In 1982, he left the club.
Death
On June 13, 2002, at the age of 72, he died in Zagreb after a long battle with throat cancer.