Slaven Zambata's Achievements

In his 15 year soccer career, Slaven Zambata of Yugoslavia earned a reputation as one of the nation's best forwards during the 1960s. His distinguished career includes 230 games, 111 GIs, four Yugoslav Cup victories and one Summer Olympics team captainship.

Yugoslav Cup

When Slaven was signed by Dinamo Zagreb in 1959 at the age of 19, his reputation rose quickly as his club appeared in the Yugoslav Cup one year later, beating FK Partizan 3 to 2. Dinamo won the cup again three more times while Slaven was a club member: in 1963, going 4 to 1 against Hajduk Split; in 1965, going 2 to 1 against Buducnost Titograd, and in 1969, where Dinamo tied Hadjuk Split 3 to 3 in the first match but defeated them 3 to 0 in the rematch.

The 1964 Summer Olympics

In 1964, Slaven captained the Yugoslavia team at the Games of the XVIII Olympiad in Tokyo, Japan. The team defeated Morocco 3 to 1 in their first game, going on to the quarterfinals where they lost 1 to 0 to Germany, who eventually won the Bronze. Overall, they finished sixth out of 16 teams.

Later career

Slaven left Dinamo in 1969 to play for KSV Waregem in Belgium. After two seasons there, he moved to K.V.V. Crossing Elewijt before returning to Dinamo for one more season. He was forced to retire from the sport in 1973 due to serious injuries.

In his professional career, Slaven has earned 31 caps and scored 21 goals. The club came in second in the Yugoslav championship five times during his career, and he remains the 8th most prolific goal scorer in the history of the club.