Today, the expedition of Vojvodina FC visited the tombstone of Ilija Pantelić, for the 10th anniversary of his death.
On this day 10 yers ago, one of the greatest legend of Vojvodina FC passed away. The flowers were laid by the director of the Youth Academy, Duško Grujić, and the president of the Veteran Association of Vojvodina FC, Miladin Purać.
Ilija Pantelić (1942-2014) was the goalkeeper of the generation of Vojvodina that won the championship in 1966, and according to many, represents the best goalkeeper that Serbian football ever had.
He was born on August 2nd 1942 in Kozica. During the II World War he arrived to Nakovo with his family, and later moved to Sombor. Even as a young boy he showed great love towards sports, and he was playing basketball, volleyball and handball, but in the end, he decided to pursue a career in football, and at 16 signed his first professional contract with BAK football club in Bela Crkva. After 2 years, he transferred to Radnički in Sombor, and started playing for the national team of ex-Yugoslavia, and only a season later he became a member of Vojvodina FC.
He played for the team of Vojvodina from 1961 until 1969, and during that period played 176 championship matches, and scored 6 goals. He won the championship title of Yugoslavia in 1966, and a year later, he secured placement to the quarter-finals of the Cup of European Champions.
Upon leaving Vojvodina FC, he continued his successful career in France, where he defended the colors of Paris, Olympic from Marseille, Bastia, and Paris Saint Germain. With the team of Olympic he won the double championship title in the season 1970/71.
After that, he returned to Vojvodina FC, as a coach in the Youth Academy, where he stayed for 37 years until his death in 2014. During that time, in the 80s of the previous century, the youth selection of Vojvodina won two championships of Yugoslavia, and two Cups of Yugoslavia, which was as equally difficult to win as it was in the senior championship. Also, in 1994 the pioneers and cadets were the champions of Yugoslavia.
For those 37 years that he spent in the Youth Academy, Vojvodina gave birth to a large number of extraordinary players, out of which many played and still play for the national team of Serbia. We can proudly say that the Youth Academy with the full right carries his name.
Counting his playing career, Pantelić spent 45 years in Vojvodina FC. Aside from that, he was also a member of the national team. For the national team of Yugoslavia he defended the net for 18 times, and was a member of the generation that became the vice-champion of Europe in 1968, and thanks to his masterful defences, the Yugoslav sports public nicknamed him ‘’Panther’’.
