Generic photo of soccer balls inside a soccer netRobert Taylor/The Canadian Press
Vladimir Beara, a Yugoslavia international who is considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, has died in Croatia, his family said Monday. He was 85.
His family says in a statement that Beara died after a series of strokes over the past year.
Beara played 59 games for Yugoslavia, winning the silver medal at the 1952 Olympics. He also played for Hajduk Split, Red Star Belgrade, Alemannia Aachen and Victoria Cologne.
Lev Yashin, the Soviet Union star considered by many to be the greatest goalkeeper of all time, said in 1963 that Beara was better than he was.
Beara was the Red Star goalkeeper against Manchester United in the last game United played before the Munich air crash in 1958.