Blagoj Istatov

Blagoj Istatov (Macedonian: Благој Истатов; 5 April 1947 – 27 September 2018) was a Yugoslav and Macedonian football manager and player.^[1]

Blagoj Istatov

Istatov in 2013
Personal information
Date of birth	(1947-04-05)5 April 1947
Place of birth	Strumica, PR Macedonia, FPR Yugoslavia
Date of death	27 September 2018(2018-09-27) (aged 71)
Place of death	Strumica, Macedonia
Position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	Belasica
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1964–1968	Belasica
1968–1973	Pobeda	144	(0)
1973–1976	Partizan	44	(0)
1976–1978	Utrecht	63	(0)
1978–1983	Belasica
Total		251	(0)
Managerial career
1983–1987	Belasica
1988–1989	Belasica
1990	Belasica
1991–1992	Belasica
1993	Dojransko Ezero
1995–1997	Belasica
1997	Skopje
1998–1999	Belasica
1999–2000	Dojransko Ezero
2001–2003	Vardar (assistant)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Playing career

Born in Strumica, Istatov started out at local club Belasica, making his senior debut in 1964. He switched to Pobeda in 1968, amassing over 100 appearances in the Yugoslav Second League over the next five seasons.

In 1973, Istatov was transferred to Yugoslav First League side Partizan. He spent three seasons with the Crno-beli, collecting 50 appearances across all competitions. In Partizan's title-winning season of 1975–76, Istatov served as a backup for Radmilo Ivančević, appearing in three games.^[2]

In January 1978, while playing for Utrecht, Istatov suffered a nose injury during a league game with AZ '67

In 1976, Istatov moved abroad and signed with Dutch club Utrecht. He was their first-choice goalkeeper for two seasons,^[3][4] making 63 Eredivisie appearances, before returning to Yugoslavia to finish his career at Belasica.

Managerial career

After hanging up his boots, Istatov served as manager of his parent club Belasica on numerous occasions.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League
		Division	Apps	Goals
Pobeda	1968–69[5]	Yugoslav Second League	19	0
	1969–70[6]	Yugoslav Second League	30	0
	1970–71[7]	Yugoslav Second League	30	0
	1971–72[8]	Yugoslav Second League	34	0
	1972–73[9]	Yugoslav Second League	31	0
	Total		144	0
Partizan	1973–74	Yugoslav First League	18	0
	1974–75	Yugoslav First League	23	0
	1975–76	Yugoslav First League	3	0
	Total		44	0
Utrecht	1976–77	Eredivisie	33	0
	1977–78	Eredivisie	30	0
	Total		63	0
Career total			251	0

Honours

Partizan

• Yugoslav First League: 1975–76

FC Utrecht

• Intertoto Cup/Summer Cup 1978

FK Belasica

• Macedonian Republic League 1983