Ivan Bek
Serbian and French footballer
About Ivan Bek
Lived 1909 – 1963 (aged 53). Ivan Bek was a French association football player and french resistance fighter.
Ivan "Ivica" Bek (; 29 October 1909 – 2 June 1963), also known as Yvan Beck, was a Serbian-French footballer who played as a forward.
He was part of Yugoslavia's team at the 1928 Summer Olympics and at the 1930 FIFA World Cup.
Club career Bek was born to a German father, and a Czech mother in the Serbian capital Belgrade borough of Čubura. Aged 16, he started playing in BSK where he scored 51 goals in 50 matches. In 1928, Bek moved to Mačva, and soon proceeded to French FC Sète. In his first season, he reached the cup finals, but lost 2–0 against Montpellier. Next year in cup finals against RC France, was victorious for Sète (3–1) with Bek scoring two decisive goals in extra time. Four years later with the same club, Bek was part of the first team that win the Double in France. Bek helped Yugoslavia get third place in the first FIFA world cup in Uruguay. Bek and his team went on a train from Belgrade to Marseille. When they came to Marseille they went on a crew ship to Uruguay in the second class.
International career Internationally, Bek represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (seven caps, four goals) and France (five caps). For Yugoslavia he debuted in 1927 against Bulgaria (2–0), participated Olympic tournament in 1928 in Amsterdam and played in the 1930 FIFA World Cup for Yugoslavia scoring three goals. In 1933, Bek took French citizenship and renamed himself Yvan Beck and in February 1935 he was picked for the first time for the Équipe Tricolore.
International goals Scores and results list Yugoslavia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bek goal.
Post-playing career During the Second World War, Bek was a member of the French Resistance. After the war, he worked as a dockworker in Sète, where he died from a heart attack.
Honours FC Sète Champion of France: 1934 French Cup: 1930, 1934
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Important facts
Contemporaries
People whose lives overlapped Ivan Bek's
Frequently asked questions
Who was Ivan Bek?
Serbian and French footballer (1909-1963)
When was Ivan Bek born?
Ivan Bek was born on 29 October 1909 in Belgrade.
When did Ivan Bek die?
Ivan Bek died on 2 June 1963 in Sète.
What was Ivan Bek's occupation?
Ivan Bek was an association football player and french resistance fighter.
What nationality was Ivan Bek?
Ivan Bek was French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ivan Bek. https://biography.guide/ivan-bek/
MLA: "Ivan Bek." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ivan-bek/.
Chicago: "Ivan Bek." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ivan-bek/.
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