Last farewell to our Rudolf Belin

Emotional memories at the podium with tears in memory of the blue legend, touching scenes on the screen, sadness and pride... This Monday, with strong emotions and immense sorrow, we said goodbye to our football giant, one of the symbols of the Zagreb club, our dear Rudolf Belin, who left us forever at the age of 83.
Family, numerous friends, teammates, colleagues, journalists gathered at a commemoration in the main stand of the Maksimir stadium to bid farewell to Dinamo's celebrated player and coach, a legend of Zagreb and Croatian football. The gathering opened with touching sequences of Belin's own memories from a documentary film dedicated to the 1967 generation produced by HNTV.

At the podium, the last farewell to the giant of our football was given by Dinamo's president Zvonimir Boban, Zorislav Srebrić who followed Belin's playing and coaching career at the Maksimir club from the very beginning, and Damir Bakić, The envoy of the mayor of Zagreb, Tomislav Tomašević.
The speech by President Boban was particularly emotional, as he trained under the supervision of Rudi Belin in the early days of his playing career for five years.
– Our honorary president Velimir Zajec asked me, "What can you say?" I said, "I have to." Yes, I have to say a few words, but it's not easy... I have a strong bond with Mr. Rudi. Many in the city called him Rudi, but we addressed him as "Mr. Rudo". I still exchange blue hearts every two days with his son Kristijan, with wishes for Dinamo to be where people like Mr. Rudo placed it, at the top, always in the heart, in thoughts, in life, always in everyday life, in the moment. He was a man who embodied an ideal within himself. In the old Zagreb and Dinamo spirit, and the real ones, the ones by birth, the ones that cannot be learned. Love, decency, complete dedication, great football knowledge, lack of ambition to be the head coach... That's how he was, too good and too dear, he just wanted to help, and when you are the head coach all of that is difficult and complicated. When I came to the first team at the age of 15 and a half, in the locker room, he said: "What's up, kid, why are you tensed? Don't be tense, play freely, play what you know". And that means a lot. When I started playing, I practiced free kicks and I thought I knew how to take them well. He told me: "kid, you're looking at the goal too much. Don't look at the goal! Look above which man you are shooting at". That was a scientific fantasy. Impossible, you watch naked when you shoot a free kick, you think with the feeling it goes there where it should. But too many went sideways because there is a ball path that he calculated back in the days when he played. These are things you can learn from people who deeply understand football, who know a little more than you. We are never ready for the giants when they leave, but they leave a mark. Rudin is the brightest. Thank him for everything. May his Croatian, Zagreb land be light and may everything be in peace, and his trace remains among us. The story remains and it is wonderful - emphasized President Boban in his emotional speech.

Mr. Srebrić, in a detailed and also emotional address, reminded of the most important moments of Belin's playing and coaching career, garnishing them with statistics and numerous interesting details.

Lijepim riječima oprostio se i Damir Bakić, izaslanik gradonačelnika Tomaševića.
– Gospodin Belin bio je više od vrhunskog igrača, simbol jednog vremena, nogometa koji je dres nosio s ponosom, ali s plemenitošću koja je nadilazila igru. Bio je čovjek koji je svojom vedrinom i toplinom oplemenjivao sve oko sebe. Dinamo je tad bio više od kluba, više od nogometa, u našim srcima simbol i ponos našeg grada i naše zemlje. Mi smo i tada  As children, we were proud of everything Dinamo was then - of the interpretation of football, of football skills, and of behavior on the field. If anyone embodied everything that Dinamo represented at that time, it was Rudi Belin. He has a special place in the history of the club and in the history of our city. He was a coach, mentor, and advisor, but above all a man who carried his Dinamo and his Zagreb in his heart until the last day. He represented Dinamo that does not divide but unites, Dinamo that is not against anyone but is for everyone, Dinamo that, as its name suggests, drives. I believe that soon some city or school playground will bear the name of Rudolf Belin. After the commemoration in the lodge of the Maksimir stadium, our unforgettable Rudi Belin was escorted to his final resting place in the Alley of the Greats at the Mirogoj cemetery in Zagreb.