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Mitar Mrkela

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Mitar Mrkela
Personal information
Full name Mitar Drkela
Position(s) Midfielder
Mitar Mrkela
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Yugoslavia
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Los Angeles Team Competition

Mitar Mrkela (born July 10, 1965 in Belgrade) is a retired Serbian football player, who was a member of the Yugoslavian team that won the bronze medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.

Career

He started his senior pro career with OFK Beograd in 1981 at only 16 years and 16 days of age (youngest ever in the Yugoslav First League), before moving on to Red Star Belgrade in 1983 where he stayed until 1990. After appearing in one league game for Red Star in 1990/91 season, he transeferred to Dutch club Twente Enschede and stayed there for two seasons. He played several matches for Beşiktaş J.K. in the 1992-1993 season and scored 4 goals, before returning to the Netherlands with Cambuur Leeuwarden.

Mrkela holds distinction as the youngest player ever to play for SFR Yugoslavia national squad. He was only 17 years and 130 days old when he made his national team debut on November 17, 1982 during a Euro 1984 qualifier versus Bulgaria in Sofia. Head coach Todor Veselinović brought him on in the 17th minute in place of injured Zvonko Živković. However, despite a lot of early promise, Mrkela would go on to make only 4 more national team appearances, scoring 1 goal.

Post-football

For a time in early 2000s, Mrkela was the president of City of Belgrade Football Association. In July 2005, soon after Dragan Stojković took over the club president's job from Dragan Džajić, Mrkela became the director of Red Star Belgrade youth academy - a job up to that moment performed by Goran Đorović.

Personal

In the early 1990s Mrkela married actress Lidija Vukićević. The couple divorced in 2000. They have a son Andrej Mrkela, born in 1992, who is also a professional footballer.

For a while, Mrkela was politically active in the Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO).[1]

References

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