Hajduk Split legend Ivan Gudelj passes at 66

Former Yugoslavia defensive midfielder and Hajduk Split legend Ivan Gudelj has died at the age of 66, the Croatian club announced on Wednesday.

“The entire Hajduk family was saddened today by the news that Ivan Gudelj has passed away,” the club said in a statement.

Gudelj joined Hajduk Split as a young boy and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the club’s most prominent players and a respected figure of his generation.

He spent his entire playing career with Hajduk, making 362 appearances and scoring 93 goals for the club across youth and senior competitions between 1976 and 1986.

At international level, Gudelj represented the former Yugoslavia 33 times and scored three goals. He became the national team captain at just 22 and was one of the standout players at the 1982 FIFA World Cup before featuring at the 1984 European Championship.

His promising career came to an abrupt end in 1986 after he was diagnosed with hepatitis B, forcing him to retire just as he was preparing to move to French club Bordeaux.

Gudelj later went into coaching, briefly taking charge of Hajduk Split and also coaching Croatia’s Under-17 and Under-19 national teams. 

His death marks the passing of one of Hajduk Split’s most celebrated figures and a notable player of Yugoslavia’s golden generation.