Dragoslav Stepanović
Dragoslav Stepanović, born 30 August 1948 in Rekovac, is a Serbian former football player and coach. He played as a defender and became famous for his long career in Yugoslavia, Germany, and England.
Stepanović started with Mladi Proleter and then spent 1962–1973 at OFK Beograd, before playing for Red Star Belgrade from 1973 to 1976. Because of Yugoslav transfer rules he moved abroad at age 28, joining Eintracht Frankfurt (1976–1978), then Wormatia Worms (1978–1979), Manchester City (1979–1981), and returning to Wormatia Worms (1981–1982). He finished his playing days in Germany in 1981–82. In total he made 344 club appearances and scored 16 goals. While at Eintracht Frankfurt he earned the nickname “Steppi.”
Stepanović played for Yugoslavia 34 times, scoring one goal, between 1970 and 1976. His final international match was a friendly against Algeria in February 1976. He was known as a favorite of national coach Vujadin Boškov.
After retiring as a player, Stepanović became a coach and built a long career mainly in Germany. He led Eintracht Frankfurt and later Bayer Leverkusen, guiding Leverkusen to the 1993 DFB-Pokal Final. He also coached Athletic Bilbao (1995–1996), returned to Eintracht Frankfurt (1996), and had spells with AEK Athens (1998), VfB Leipzig (1999), Stuttgarter Kickers (2000), Kickers Offenbach (2000), Rot-Weiß Oberhausen (2001), and Shenyang Jinde (2003). He coached Zamalek (2004), Čukarički (2007–2008), Vojvodina (2009), Laktaši (2010), and Radnički Niš (2014). He also spent time in the United States with Blast FC Columbus in 2002 and later worked briefly with TuS Koblenz in Germany.
Stepanović remains a well-known figure in European football for his long playing career and his extensive work as a coach.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:01 (CET).