Famed Croatian goalkeeper Vladimir Beara, who secured a 1952 Olympic silver for the former Yugoslavia national team, died on Monday, aged 85, officials said. Beara died in the coastal Croatian city of Split after a series of strokes, his former club Hajduk Split announced. He earned the nickname "Great Vlad" after he saved a penalty against Hungarian striker Ferenc Puskas at the 1952 Olympic Games finals in Helsinki.
He also played for Yugoslavia at three World Cups, with a total of 59 matches for the national team. As a goalkeeper for then Yugoslav teams Hajduk from Croatia and Serbia's Red Star Belgrade, Beara won seven national championships from 1947 to 1960. From 1960 to 1964, Beara played in Germany.
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