Dragomir Ilic

Dragomir Ilic (16 August 1925 – 18 June 2004) was a Yugoslav professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper for Werder Bremen in the Oberliga Nord.^[1]

Dragomir Ilic

Personal information
Date of birth	(1925-08-16)16 August 1925
Date of death	18 June 2004(2004-06-18) (aged 78)
Place of death	Bremen, Germany
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
	BSK
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1948	Werder Bremen
1949	1. FC Saarbrücken
1949–1961	Werder Bremen
1963–1964	Werder Bremen	4	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

In his youth, Ilic played as a forward for BSK before his goalkeeping skills were found by Yugoslavian international Rajko Mitić.^[2]

He was discovered in a camp for displaced persons in Ostholstein.^[3] He played for a team called Serbische Weiße Adler in 1948 in Bremen.^[2] In January 1949 he made his first appearance for Werder Bremen in a match against Bremerhaven 93.^[2] He made his 500th appearance for the club in April 1959.^[2] He first retired in 1961 at the age of 36, having made over 300 appearances for Werder Bremen in the Oberliga Nord.^[3] He briefly came out of retirement in the 1963–64 season after six goalkeepers had sustained injuries and made four appearances in the Bundesliga,^[3] becoming the first non-German player for Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.^[4] He was one of the oldest players to make their debuts in the newly formed Bundesliga, when he played against 1. FC Köln on 5 October 1963, aged 38 years and 50 days.^[5][6]