Velija "Dedo" Bećirspahić (born 1943) was a Bosnian football player and a coach. Widely known by his nickname Dedo (grandpa) due to early hair hoariness, he spent his entire professional career with FK Željezničar.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Velija Bećirspahić | ||
| Date of birth | (1943-01-01)1 January 1943 | ||
| Place of birth | Sarajevo, Independent State of Croatia | ||
| Position(s) | Leftback or Winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Pofalićki | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1967–1974 | Željezničar | 222 | (12) |
| 1975 | Jedinstvo | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
He started his career in FK Pofalićki, a small club from Sarajevo. He was spotted there by coaches of FK Željezničar and in 1967 signed a contract with the club[1] in which he would spend the rest of his career. At first, this left-footed player was a winger, but later he was moved to defence. He would become one of the most recognizable left backs in Yugoslav First League with a hard-nosed, old school attitude - "ball can get through, but not the player".[2]
He played 222 league matches for FK Željezničar, scoring 12 goals. He was a member of the team that won Yugoslav championship in 1971–72 season.[3] He retired in 1975.
After that, he became a coach of FK Željezničar youth squad. In 1978, Ivica Osim selected him to be one of his assistant coaches in FK Željezničar.[2]
He suffered from and then died of cancer.