R.I.P. Former Madrid, Barca & Atletico coach Radomir Antic dies at the age of 71

Former Real Madrid, Barcelona & Atletico coach Radomir Antic has passed away at the age of 71.

The Serbian is the only coach in history to have taken charge of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Barcelona.

Arguably his greatest success came with Atletico, who he won LaLiga Santander and the Copa del Rey with during the 1995/96 season.

The Atletico Madrid  family is mourning the passing of Radomir Antic, one of our legendary coaches. You will forever live in our hearts. Rest in peace," Atletico wrote on Twitter on Monday.

Playing career

Before moving into coaching, Antic played for Sloboda Uzice, Partizan Belgrade, Fenerbahce, Real Zaragoza and Luton Town.

A commanding centre-back, he also earned one cap for Yugoslavia.

Coaching career

After a period as an assistant coach at Partizan, Antic's first job as a head coach came with Zaragoza.

After taking Zaragoza to the UEFA Cup, he was handed the reins at Real Madrid, replacing Alfredo Di Stefano in the 1990/91 campaign.

He initially guided Los Blancos to a seventh-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Cup but was sacked midway through the following season.

After two years at Real Oviedo, Antic returned to Madrid to take charge at Atletico, winning the league and cup double in the 1995/96 campaign.

Los Rojiblancos turned to him further down the line to avoid relegation, with Antic able to keep them in the top flight once, but not twice.

He soon became a coach for emergencies and Barcelona came in for him after sacking Louis van Gaal in 2003.

The Blaugrana finished seventh and qualified for the UEFA Cup under his stewardship before he moved on to coach Celta Vigo for a period in the 2003/04 season.

After leaving LaLiga Santander, Antic turned to international coaching and took Serbia to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where they were knocked out in the group stage.

Following his sacking in September 2010, Antic had spells at Shandong Luneng and Hebei China Fortune in China.