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(Sports Focus) China's Luneng saddened by former coach Santrac' death

Xinhua, February 14, 2016 Adjust font size:

Chinese Super League side Shandong Luneng was saddened with the sudden death of former coach Slobodan Santrac, said the club here on Sunday.

Santrac, also former Yugoslavia coach, died of heart attack on Feb. 13. at his Belgrade home. He was 69.

"It is of deepest grief to know that former coach Santrac died suddenly, and we send our condolences to his family," Luneng said in a statement.

Santrac coached former Yugoslavia national team since 1994, and led the team to qualify for the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France; however, his team failed to advance into the last eight.

Santrac led Luneng to China's first league-FA Cup double in 1999-2000 season. Before Luneng, only two clubs - Dalian Wanda and Shanghai Shenhua - had won the top league since it was launched in 1994.

Santrac also had his name on history books as he became the first foreign coach to guide a Chinese club to the league title, and he was honored as the Coach of the Year.

"Long live Santrac! You will be remembered forever," wrote a Luneng fan on WeChat, a popular instant messaging App.

After Luneng terminated his contract in October 2000, Santrac coached national teams of Saudi Arabia and Macedonia. He also managed several Chinese clubs such as Qingdao Zhongneng and Shaanxi Renhe. Endi