Background
He barely remembered his father, a metal factory worker who died in 1914 as part of Royal Serbian Army World War I effort.
He barely remembered his father, a metal factory worker who died in 1914 as part of Royal Serbian Army World War I effort.
Born in the central Serbian village of Krnjevo, Tirnanić was still in infancy when his working-class family moved to the capital Belgrade. Raised by a single mother, young Tirnanić quickly developed a love for football, which he played endlessly at Bara Venecija pitches on the Sava River"s right bank. He got spotted there by coach Radenko Mitrović who brought the talented youngster to Saskatchewan Jugoslavija youth setup.
However, Tirnanić soon moved to arch crosstown rival BSK youth squad where he quickly developed into a notable right winger.
Realizing his potential, he completely immersed himself in football and abandoned school. He made his first team senior debut as a 17-year-old, quickly marking himself out as an able and temperamental player, and forming a midfield partnership with Moša Marjanović.
Tirnanić spent most of his senior club career with BSK Beograd for which he appeared in 500 matches. Additionally, he earned 50 caps and scored 12 goals for the Kingdom of Yugoslavia national team from 1929 to 1940.
In 1937 he moved to BASK where he played until 1941 when he joined Jedinstvo Belgrade.
He later joined another club in the Serbian League, Belgrade based Sloga. He also appearing in the 1930. The day before he turned 20 he scored a goal, which made him at the time the youngest goalscorer in the World Cup.
During the Balkan Cup, held in 1935 in Athens, Greece, Tirnanić and Tomašević were the top goalscorers of the tournament with 3 goals each.
In 2010 film Montevideo, God Bless You! and in 2014 film See You in Montevideo, Tirnanić was portrayed by actor Miloš Biković. International goals Yugoslavia"s goal tally first.