A blonde midfielder, runner and workhorse, but also an architect of the game with a refined sense for football's beauty. Such was Željko Perušić, once a celebrated Dinamo footballer and one of the best midfield players in the club's history. He left us forever on 28 September 2017 at the age of 82 in Sankt Gallen, Switzerland.

Born on 23 March 1936 in Duga Resa, he knocked on Maksimir's doors in his early twenties. He was the prototype of a modern defensive midfielder, exceptionally fast and agile, a tireless runner, while simultaneously being an excellent passer and creator of play.

After just two full seasons in the blue jersey, he was declared the best footballer in Yugoslavia in 1960, and received exceptional recognition six years later when he became the only player from this region to be crowned the best player in the German Bundesliga.

Perušić played 294 matches for Dinamo, scoring 23 goals. He made his debut against Orijent in Rijeka, and recorded his final appearance in a victory against Greek side Olympiacos in 1964. With Dinamo he won the Cup in 1960 and 1963, and was one of the key players of the great generation that reached the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup final in 1963, a competition that later evolved into the UEFA Cup, or today's Europa League. On the path to the final, Perušić shone particularly in victories against Porto away 2-1, and Bayern in the heart of Munich with an impressive 4-1...

He left Dinamo in 1964 by signing for München 1860. His younger teammate from Maksimir days, Stjepan Lamza, went to Bavaria with him. However, both left without permission from the then Football Association and without the club's knowledge, which meant Perušić had to sit out for a year before he could debut for the "Sechziger". Lamza returned to Dinamo after a few months.

Perušić won the championship title with his new club in 1966, which is also the only title of the Munich "Lions", and our popular midfielder was the driving force behind that success, which led to him being declared the best Bundesliga player.

He played for the national team from 1959 to 1964, earning 27 caps. He played in the European Championship final in July 1960 when the USSR defeated Yugoslavia 2-1 in extra time. It was also the first European Championship in history. In those early days, only four national teams participated in the finals, and the final tournament itself was known as the "Tournament of Four Nations". Perušić won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Rome the same year, just two months later.

After five years spent in Munich, he moved to Sankt Gallen where he was both a player and coach, and remained living in that city after his career ended.