The Croatian Post on 5 September 2024 released commemorative stamps from its Croatian Sport series, with the images of Croatian sports legends Miroslav Ćiro Blažević and basketball player Dražen Petrović.
The author of the commemorative stamps, which were released in 25,000 copies, is Zagreb designer Tomislav Vlainić, who used photographs by Robert Valai and Radiša Mladenović. The nominal value of individual stamps is €1.70.
Attending the presentation of the stamp commemorating Miroslav Ćiro Blažević were numerous guests from the world of sports, including the national football team manager Zlatko Dalić, Croatian Football Federation (HNS) president Marijan Kustić, and former members of the national team.
Former Croatian football team manager Miroslav Blažević, who led the national team to the bronze medal at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, passed away on 8 February 2023, two days before his 88th birthday.
Blažević's coaching career started with Swiss club Vevey in 1963 and his last coaching job was with NK Zadar in 2015. He was in charge of more than 20 clubs in his career; Dinamo Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Nantes, PAOK and Grasshopper-Club are some of the renowned names on a long list, UEFA reported.
His biggest success in club football came when he won Yugoslavia's domestic title with Dinamo Zagreb in 1982 – the club's first title in 24 years.
His career also included spells in charge of national teams - Croatia, Switzerland, Iran, Bosnia-Herzegovina and China’s Under-23 team.