Velibor Pudar

Velibor Pudar
Personal information
Full name Velibor Pudar
Date of birth (1964-11-22) 22 November 1964
Place of birth Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1987 Lokomotiva Mostar
1987–1992 Velež Mostar 38 (0)
1992–1993 Apollon Athens 9 (0)
1993–1994 Čukarički
1995 Sutjeska Nikšić 14 (0)
1995–1996 Jedinstvo Paraćin
1996–1997 Palilulac Beograd
1998 Vasalunds IF
1999 TPV 6 (0)
2000 Leotar
2000–2005 Velež Mostar 64 (0)
Managerial career
2008–2009 Bratstvo Gračanica
2009–2010 Igman Konjic
2017 Velež Mostar (Youth)
2024–2025 Kruševo
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Velibor Pudar (Serbian Cyrillic: Велибор Пудар; born 22 November 1964) is a Bosnian professional football manager and former player who played as a goalkeeper.

Playing career

Born in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina to Serb parents, Pudar played for Lokomotiva Mostar from where he moved to Velež Mostar in summer 1987.[1] He played with Velež between 1987 and 1992 in the Yugoslav First League.[2] With the beginning of the Bosnian War in 1992, he moved abroad where he played one season with Apollon Athens in the Alpha Ethniki.

Pudar moved to FR Yugoslavia in 1993, where he played for Čukarički, and with several other clubs, namely, Sutjeska Nikšić in the First League, Jedinstvo Paraćin and Palilulac Beograd. By the late 1990s, he also played in Sweden with Vasalunds IF and in Finland with TPV before returning to Bosnia and Herzegovina to play at Leotar. He finished his career at Velež in 2005.

Managerial career

Pudar obtained the UEFA Pro Licence for coaching in 2005, after graduating in Belgrade's Higher School for Football. After early coaching experiences while still playing for Leotar and Velež, he managed Bratstvo Gračanica in the 2008–09 season. He then managed Igman Konjic in the 2009–10 season.

Pudar then worked as a goalkeeping coach of Saudi Arabian sides Al-Ittihad, Al Taawoun and Al-Khaleej, as well as GOŠK Gabela. As manager of Bosnian third tier club Kruševo, he led the side to an unexpected 2024–25 Bosnian Cup quarter-finals finish, defeating Sloboda Tuzla and Zvijezda Gradačac, before getting eliminated by Željezničar.[3]

On 23 October 2025, Pudar was appointed as an assistant coach at hometown club Velež.[4]

Personal life

Velibor is the father of swimmer Lana Pudar, who competed at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics,[5][6] and who claimed gold in the women’s 200-metre butterfly at the 2022 European Aquatics Championships in Rome, Italy.[7]

References

  1. ↑ Book: "Rođeni - Prvoligaške generacije 1952 - 1991" by Zoran Mrđenović, pag. 39 (in Serbian)
  2. ↑ Playerhistory.com
  3. ↑ N.M. (12 March 2025). "Željezničar i u revanšu pobijedio Kruševo i ovjerio plasman u polufinale Kupa BiH" (in Bosnian). Klix.ba. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  4. ↑ "SLUŽBENO: Velibor Pudar novo ime u stručnom štabu Rođenih". fkvelez.ba (in Bosnian). 23 October 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2025.
  5. ↑ "Velibor Pudar: Moja je Lana svjetsko čudo, Mostar večeras neće spavati". Moj Cazin (in Bosnian). 13 March 2021. Archived from the original on 25 July 2021. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  6. ↑ "Da nije bilo rata branio bih u Hartsu" (Life story and interview) at Sportski žurnal, 5-6-2024
  7. ↑ "European Championships: Teen Lana Pudar Claims Gold in 200 Fly for Bosnia and Herzegovina". Swimming World News. 17 August 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
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