Former Tottenham defender Goran Bunjevcevic has died, aged 45.

A classy centre-back during his playing career, Bunjevcevic was a well thought-of football official and was elected to the board of the Serbian FA in 2016 but suffered a stroke in April of this year and had been in a coma ever since.

Aleksandar Kolarov dedicated Serbia’s winning goal against Costa Rica in their World Cup opener to the popular executive only last week.

Bunjevcevic began his professional career during a turbulent time in the Balkans and was forced to move to Belgrade where he would eventually make the leap to becoming a professional. He worked his way up through lower-league sides, eventually signing for one of Serbia’s big two - Red Star Belgrade.

The defender in action against Bolton Wanderers in 2002 (Getty)

After over 100 appearances for the 28-time champions he was bought by Tottenham as a replacement for Sol Campbell and went on to spend five years at White Hart Lane.