Dražen Mužinić

Dražen Mužinić

Dražen Mužinić and Luís Pereira
Personal information
Date of birth (1953-01-25) 25 January 1953
Place of birth Split, Yugoslavia
Playing position Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1969–1980 Hajduk Split 280 (13)
1980–1982 Norwich City 30 (0)
National team
1974–1979 Yugoslavia 32 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

† Appearances (goals)

Dražen Mužinić (born 25 January 1953) is a former Croatian professional footballer

Mužinić spent most of his career in his native Yugoslavia. With Hajduk Split he won four league titles, five cups and was capped by his country 36 times, representing them at the 1974 World Cup and Euro 76.

He was named the Yugoslav Footballer of the Year in 1977.

Norwich City manager John Bond signed him in 1980, paying what was then a club record £300,000 for his services. However, his time at Norwich was not a success. He struggled for form and did not speak English, making communication at times impossible. At one match, Bond employed the services of an interpreter from the University of East Anglia to pass on instructions to Mužinić from the touchline.

Mužinić made just 23 appearances for Norwich, 17 starts and 6 substitute appearances. He did not score a goal for the club. He made his debut on 13 September 1980 and his final appearance for the club came on 28 December 1982. By then, Bond had left the club to manage Manchester City and his successor Ken Brown cancelled the player's contract at the end of the 1981-82 season. Bond admitted that he had not seen Mužinić play and had signed him on reputation, leading then-Norwich player Justin Fashanu to say "I don't think we got Muzinic, I reckon they sent his milkman."

In his 2002 updated edition of Canary Citizens, Mike Davage reported that Mužinić has been running a restaurant in Brač. He has also worked as a scout for his former club Hajduk Split.

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