It's with great sadness that Chelsea-Mad has to report the death of one of the club's most brilliant players.
Petar Bortoa was a goalkeeper who would make great saves and perform bizzare antics on the pitch.If ever the term goalkeepers must be crasy, it fitted Borota.
Borota signed for Chelsea from Partizan Belgrade in March 1979 for £70,000 with the club on the verge of relegation from the First Division.
He made his debut against champions-elect Liverpool and impressed in a 0–0 draw but ultimately could not prevent relegation to the Second Division.
He had a flamboyant and somewhat eccentric style - on occasions, he would dribble up the field and attempt to get past opposition players or throw the ball against the crossbar when taking a goal kick - which endeared him to the Chelsea fans and helped make him a cult hero at the club.He was famous for his historical mistake while still playing for Partizan.
The ball was in his hand when his hat fell behing the goal line.Petar crossed the line with the ball in his hands and cost Partizan victory in this match. He was voted Chelsea player of the year in 1981 after keeping 16 clean sheets that season.
However, his erratic behaviour sometimes backfired and led to the team conceding goals, which did not endear him to his managers. After a fall-out with John Neal he joined Brentford in 1982 and later Portuguese sides Boavista and FC Porto.[1]
He made 114 appearances for Chelsea and kept 36 clean sheets.
Thanks to Wiki
Borota was later caught up in an art forgery scam. He died in 12 February 2010[2] in Italy, where he had lived last several years of life.