[1] Usually a forward or attacking midfielder, Bobek was renowned for his technique, vision and goalscoring ability and is commonly regarded as one of Yugoslavia's greatest players.

Internationally, he is the second all-time top scorer for the Yugoslavia national team, scoring 38 goals in 63 appearances between 1946 and 1956, and was member of Yugoslav squads which won two Olympic silver medals (in 1948 and 1952) and played in two FIFA World Cups (in 1950 and 1954).

After retiring from active football in 1959, he was a successful manager, winning Yugoslav and Greek national titles with Partizan and Panathinaikos.

Bobek was born in Zagreb and started playing at the age of 13 for Viktorija, a lower league club, using his brother's registration papers.

On 5 January 1947, Bobek scored his first goal, in his first Eternal derby against Red Star Belgrade, in a 3–4 home defeat.

In November of that year, Bobek scored a six goals against Sloboda Titovo Užice, in a qualifying round of Yugoslav Cup, in a 11–1 away victory.

On 29 November 1952, Bobek scored a goal in a 6–0 victory over a arch rival Red Star Belgrade in the final of the Yugoslav Cup.

He played all four matches in the 1955–56 European Cup including a legendary victory 3–0 over Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

[3] Bobek won two Olympic silver medals for Yugoslavia, scoring four goals in London 1948 and three in Helsinki 1952.

He reached 38 goals for Yugoslavia on that day and became the national side's top scorer, surpassing Blagoje Marjanović's 37-goal tally.

In 1959 he became the coach of Legia Warsaw in Poland, moving back to Yugoslavia the next season to manage Partizan.

He was then hired by Dinamo Zagreb for the 1972–73 season, but was sacked in November 1972 after only four months, with the club sitting at the bottom of the table, winning only two out of their first 13 games.