Luton Heroes

Luton Town – Raddy Antic – Gone But Never Forgotten

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Last night, the news broke that a Luton Town legend had, sadly, passed away.

Raddy Antic, a Hatters hero had died at the age of 71.

His death will be mourned by all who knew him and all who witnessed his skills on the football pitch.

Antic, born in Yugoslavia, signed for the Hatters in 1980, arriving at Kenilworth Road, from the Spanish club, Real Zaragoza.

A stylish player, Antic was to go on and make more than 100 appearances for the Hatters. Raddy was never a regular goalscorer but he was to go on and score one of the most memorable goals in the history of Luton Town Football Club.

In his first season with the club, Antic played a major part in Luton achieving promotion from the Second Division. Life for the Hatters, back in top-flight, was difficult and Luton went into the last game of the 1982 / 1983 season, away to Manchester City knowing only a win would keep them in the old First Division.

In a nail-biting game, the Hatters cheered on by a huge away following, were to snatch a dramatic late winner, with just four minutes to go. An attack down the right saw the ball partially cleared and there was Antic to drill the ball low into the net, sending everyone connected with the Hatters delirious.

That goal kept Luton up and saw our opponents, Manchester City, relegated.

Antic was to play for only the two seasons at Kenilworth Road before retiring. But the player, who gained just a solitary cap for Yugoslavia, wasn’t finished with football.

Having learned from the various managers he’d played under, including David Pleat, Antic moved into coaching / management and went on to manager a plethora of clubs, including:

• Real Zaragoza
• Real Madrid
• Real Oviedo
• Atletico Madrid
• Barcelona
• Celta Vigo
• Serbia
• Shandong Luneng
• Hebei China Fortune

Antic was a deceptive player, one of the rare few who always appeared to have time on his side. But his marvellous football brain often spotted opportunities that his teammates failed to recognise, with defence-splitting passes often looking as if they were misplaced.

As a Hatters supporter since the 1967 / 1968 season, I feel privileged to have seen Raddy Antic in action and his passing came as a shock.

Thanks for the memories Radomir Antić, gone but never forgotten – RIP

Previous article by Mad Hatter

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4 comments

  • Chris winter says:

    Hi mh, just a few more words to add to my comments on previous post. Although raddy is mostly remembered for one game I remember he was really a sweeper an pleat rarely used one. So he struggled to get games in our team because the midfield was so good. But also he was as good as hazard in the modern game. An his team mates struggled to see his vision of a pass. This sadly often made him look bad when in truth they were not able take a pass. Not that they were bad just not used to his class. I was lucky to meet him twice an he was a gentleman. Very knowledgeable on football of course. An I know he was very fond of the luton fans an their knowledge an support

    • Mad Hatter says:

      Watching that goal away to Manchester City still gives me goose bumps. I remember being kept in the ground for ages afterwards with the City hordes gathered outside to give us a good kick-in, wonderful times in a wonderful but so different era.

  • alan says:

    legend is used to easily these days, but raddy was a true ltfc legend. meet him once…great footballer and a true gent….r.i.p raddy…thanks for one of the best days in our history..

    • Chris winter says:

      Hi Alan, he really was a gentleman. He would never talk down to supporters and always gave as much time as possible to talk to him an under stood supporters feelings something modern football has forgotten.

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