Red Star Belgrade

Red Star Belgrade

Full name	Fudbalski Klub Crvena Zvezda
Nickname(s)	Zvezda (The Star) Crveno-beli (The Red-Whites)
Founded	4 March 1945
Ground	Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, Serbia (Capacity: 55,538)
President	Vladan Lukić
Head Coach	Robert Prosinečki
League	Serbian SuperLiga
2010–11	Serbian SuperLiga, 2nd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Red Star Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, Fudbalski Klub Crvena Zvezda, Serbian pronunciation: [tsrʋɛna zʋɛːzda]) is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. The club is a part of the Red Star Sports Society.

Red Star Belgrade is the most successful Serbian club, with a record of 25 national championships and 23 national cups in both Serbian and ex-Yugoslav competitions. They are the only Serbian and ex-Yugoslav club to have ever won an international title, having been crowned European champions for the season 1990–91 and world champions in 1991. They are also one of two clubs from Eastern Europe that won the title.

According to recent polls, Red Star Belgrade is the most popular football club in Serbia, with nearly 55% of the population supporting them.^[1][2] Their main rivals are fellow Belgrade side, FK Partizan. In September 2009, British Daily Mail ranked the Red Star – Partizan derby 4th among the 10 greatest football rivalries of all time.^[3]

According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics' list of the Top 200 European clubs of the 20th century, Red Star Belgrade is the highest ranked Serbian club, sharing the 27th position on the list with Feyenoord.^[4]

History

Start

In February 1945, during World War II, a group of young men, members of the Serbian United Antifascist Youth League, decided to form a Youth Physical Culture Society, that was to become Red Star on 4 March.^[5] The name Red Star Belgrade was assigned to the club after a long discussion, and the first vice presidents of the Sport Society, Zoran Žujović and Slobodan Ćosić, were the ones to assign it.^[6] On that day Red Star played the first football match against the First Battalion of the Second Brigade of KNOJ and won 3:0 (2:0).

Five days later, a football section was officially formed, led by Kosta Tomašević. The first manager was Predrag Đajić. The two of them defended the honor of Red Star Belgrade on the playing field - Tomašević was the first striker and scorer in the history of the club, and Đajić was a strong midfielder. Red Star was given the stadium of pre-war club SK Jugoslavija (which was active during World War II under the name of SK 1913 and was disbanded specifically due to these activities at the time of the occupation).

In a post-war 1946 season, Red Star won the Serbian Championship and thus qualified for the Yugoslav Championship. In the first four seasons the club did not succeed in winning any championships, however, in the period between 1948 to 1950 there was a series of hat-trick triumphs in Cups, finals against Partizan, Naša Krila of Zemun and Dinamo Zagreb of Croatia.

Red Star's first championship was won in a spectacular way. Three rounds before the end, Dinamo from Zagreb were five points ahead in the league (winning a match earned a club two points). However, the team from Zagreb was defeated by a team from Sarajevo, and Red Star won the rivals’ duel for the championship and entered the last round with a minus of one point. The match between BSK and Dinamo ended in a 2:2 draw, and the decision was reached a day later, on 4 November, in the match with FK Partizan. Red Star's eternal rival had won the previous derby very convincingly earlier that season (6:1), but this time, Red Star produced the 2:0 scoreline that was required and thanks to a better goal-average (only 0,0018 more), they became the national champion of Yugoslavia for the very first time.

The late fifties – the first era of dominance

Red Star also won championship in 1953, however, real changes would yet follow in the middle of the decade, when a stable club structure was formed with Dušan Blagojević acting as president, Slobodan Ćosić as secretary general and great Aca Obradović, famous for his nickname Doctor O, acting as technical director of the club.

Together, they paved the way for a generation that would fully dominate the Yugoslav football scene for the following five years, a generation that would leave their stamp on the European scene as well. It was a team of players such as Beara, Durković, Stanković, Popović, Mitić, Kostić, Šekularac. These football players, whose names are still remembered, won four Yugoslav championships and two Cups, not missing the opportunity to win every Yugoslav Trophy for five straight seasons.

Red Star’s play was fast and offensive, gaining the club great popularity both in the country and in the world. As they were winning matches on the field, Obradović formed the ground for professional work that would later serve as the basis of numerous successes achieved by the club.

As league champions, Red Star were Yugoslavia's entrants into the 1957–58 European Cup where they were famously beaten 5–4 on aggregate by English league champions Manchester United in the quarter-finals, with the team managed by Matt Busby beating Red Star 2–1 in the first leg in England before drawing 3–3 with them in Yugoslavia in the return game on 5 February 1958. The second leg is notable for being the last game played by the "Busby Babes"; on the return flight to England the following day, the plane crashed in Munich, West Germany, resulting in the deaths of 23 people including eight Manchester United players.^[7]

The sixties – a crisis and a new stadium

The end of the fifties was the first period of dominance of one club in the Yugoslav football scene, but by the beginning of the next decade the focus of events shifted to the other side of Topčider Hill. In the following seven seasons, Red Star won only one championship and only one cup. Its placement during these seasons was the worst in its history (seventh place in 1963). Red Star even dropped four times below the first three in the table (before and after that, Red Star has never dropped below third place in 54 football seasons in the SFRY, FRY, SCG and Serbia).

Even then, it was clear that Red Star Belgrade was the most popular club in the country by far, and its defeats came down hard on its supporters. So, on some occasions, Red Star supporters had the tendency to burst onto the field and literally burn both goals. In the 1962–63 season, the club also set a negative record by scoring only 21 goals, which was, for example, half the amount that Vojvodina scored, although they finished five places lower in the table.

On the other hand, Red Star was developing – at the end of 1959, building of a new stadium commenced in Belgrade. In the following four years, Red Star played home-games in FK Partizan's stadium and OFK Beograd's (this can be considered as one of the reason's for the bad results it achieved during this period). The new stadium was officially opened on 1 September 1963. The first match was against Rijeka, held on the same day.

During the first season of the stadium's existence, Red Star celebrated winning a double crown, seeing Miša Pavić coach them to these victories.

A key moment took place during the summer of 1966, when Miljan Miljanić became the club's coach. For the following eight years, Miljanić transformed Red Star into a highly-rated European side. Up to then, Yugoslav football had gone through an introductory testing stage and the dominance of Red Star and Partizan continued. In the remaining 25 years of Yugoslavia's existence, Red Star would remain a constant trophy-favorite, only their opponents would change.

Miljanić and Red Star’s hard-shooting kids (1966–1974)

Miljan Miljanić was a football player in Red Star back in the glorious '50s, but it was his position of the first coach in the summer of 1966 that he found the right for him and the club. Miljanić was a leader of the new orientation in the club – relying on its own forces. In the first season he completely changed the generation of players and won the fifth place, the same as one year before. And after that triumphs began.

The generation led by Dragan Džajić, officially the best player in the history of this country (the choice of the Football Association on the 50th anniversary of UEFA) and certainly one of the best left winger in the history of the world, will leave a deep mark and make a great difference compared to all the greatest rivals. It will be the first time Red Star has won three championships in a row (two times double crown), and every child in Yugoslavia will know the names of Dujković, Đorić, Dojčinovski, Klenkovski, Karasi, Aćimović, Lazarević, Krivokuća, Ostojić... It is of special importance to know that most of the above mentioned football players joined Marakana very early and went through many selections in the club’s youth school.

At that time Red Star became a sound name on the European level as well, setting standards which only a small number of clubs from the east could follow. It was focusing on Yugoslav Cup in 1971 that made the league’s second worst placement ever – the sixth place – and that impression was improved by winning the Cup. Miljanić will win another Cup with the team, in 1973, and some new names will already appear among the players, such as Vladimir and Ognjen Petrović, Bogićević, Filipović, Keri... Many of them will, at the end of the eight decade, lead Red Star into the new era of great triumphs.

Apart from bringing lots of joy to its supporters, in that era Red Star was a club that was watched with pleasure: during the eight years of Miljanić’s leadership, seven times it was the most efficient club in the league (in 1972 Velež scored one goal more), and in the last two seasons it left its rivals first by 12, and then by 18 scores.

Zec and Stanković, maintaining dominance

As it usually happens, when a great coach leaves, this entails a drop in results, and the two seasons after Miljanić left passed less successfully for Red Star Belgrade. It was not before the arrival of Gojko Zec, in 1976, that the club achieved stability and soon Red Star Belgrade celebrated winning the national championship at the "Marakana". It was an introduction into the era of Branko Stanković, who's reign as head coach was to last four years and bring Red Star three trophies and the first great European finals.

After Dragan Džajić had moved to Bastia, the team was led by the fourth star of Red Star Belgrade, Vladimir Petrović "Pižon", Dušan Savić and Srboljub Stamenković, who was to become a great football star in the United States later on in his career. The first season with Gojko Zec at the helm was quite literally a real demonstration of force – the league was won with an advantage of nine points over all rivals, which was, up to that moment, the biggest margin of victory in the history of the league. Red Star's strikers, led by Zoran Filipović, scored 67 times against their rivals in the league (the first to accompany them on the list was Borac with 53 goals scored during the season).

In the following season, Red Star Belgrade finished second in the league, paving the way for a great performance in the 1978–1979 season of the UEFA Cup. The first championship for Stanković as a coach (as a player he was a champion for four times) was won in 1980, when Red Star missed double crown, and a year later Red Star was the champion again.

An eleven year period without winning the cup, the longest in its history by far, ended in the spring of 1982, where Red Star beat Dinamo Zagreb 6:4 on aggregate (2:2 in Zagreb and 4:2 in Belgrade). By that time, the first change in head coach during a season took place since the fifties, Ostojić replaced Stanković.

Gojko Zec returns to the team in 1983, finding only one player from the champions generation he was coaching back in 1977 – Miloš Šestić. Zec similarly repeated the team’s triumph from his previous mandate by winning the championship immediately upon his arrival. And in the same manner as during that season, the Cup finals ended in Split, where Red Star again bat Dinamo Zagreb to lift the Cup Trophy..

Especially after Petrović and Savić had left during 1982–1983 season, Šestić became a leader of the new generation, the players of which were Ivković, Elzner, Boško, Milko Đurovski, Musemić, Janjanin and Mrkela. The end of the era of Gojko Zec coincided with the greatest scandal in the history of Yugoslav football, a Scheiber’s case, that made the country have two champions in two seasons. Red Star first lost and then won the championship in 1986, before it was taken away from it at the green table.

European and World Champions

In the Summer of 1986, there were great changes in the club. The management of the club, run by Dragan Džajić and Vladimir Cvetković, began to build a team that could compete with some of the most powerful European side. During that summer, Velibor Vasović became coach and the side was strengthened by acquiring a number of talented young players, among whom Dragan Stojković and Bora Cvetković stood out.

In the first season that started with penalty points, Red Star focused on the European Cup and achieving good results. It was not later than the summer of 1987, that a five-year plan was developed by the club with the only goal being to win the European Cup. All that was planned was achieved.

On the club's birthday in 1987, it started. Real Madrid were defeated at the "Marakana". From that day through to March 1992, Red Star enjoyed the best period of success in its history. In these five seasons, they won four National Championships (in the 1989 Vojvodina was the championship winner with Šestić, Mihajlović, Ljupko Petrović as the coach and Kosanović as the director). At the end of the 1990 Season, Red Star finished with an 11 point advantage over all of their opponents in the league. A year later, they finished with a eight point advantage compared to their closest rivals (both times it was Dinamo Zagreb). All four seasons in which Red Star won the championships, it also played in the finals of the National Cup, however, they won the Cup only in 1990.

The fact that Red Star was managed by as many as five coaches during these glorious five years (Vasović, Stanković, Šekularac, Lj. Petrović and Popović) seems strange to some, but at the same time it acts as a confirmation of the power of the red-whites both in management and on the field. In the summer of 1987, Binić and Prosinečki signed for Red Star, and, in the following order, came Šabanadžović, Pančev, Savićević, Miodrag Belodedić and Mihajlović. At the same time, the youth school was also doing well, which brought Stojanović and Jugović to the first team.

At the very beginning of the nineties, Red Star simply did not have any competition in domestic contests, whereas in Europe it was ranked among the very, very best. They won the 1991 European Cup in Bari in 1991, and the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo, Japan.

Although it was certain that transfers of at least several of the players would happen, the war in the Balkans, the disintegration of Yugoslavia and sanctions imposed by the UN on all the countries of the former Yugoslavia, accelerated the process, which would, only thirteen months after the victory in Bari, practically leave Red Star Belgrade without its entire generation of European and World champions.

The dark nineties

At the very beginning of 1992, the club was at the height of its fame – the champion of Europe and the world, weakened by the departure of several members of the champions generation from Bari, but still with rather good chances of defend the European Title. In domestic competition, great rivals, Dinamo, left the league, just as all the other clubs from Croatia and Slovenia did, and the championship in a Yugoslavia that was cut in size was played on the edge of observance of regulations, because, in April, the war broke out in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Red Star defended its title and for the second time made a champion hat-trick (for the first time since the era of Miljanić), but at the Cup’s finals, won by Partizan, it was already clear that hard days for the club were ahead.

In the period between May 1992 and May 2000, only one championship victory was celebrated at Marakana – the twentieth cup arrived to the glass closet in 1995, and it was brought by another great generation of players, such as Milojević, Stojkovski, Đorović, Stefanović, Sakić, Živković, Krupniković, Kovačević, Petković... Heading for the title, the hundredth derby was also won (2:1), and Ljupko Petrović was again sitting on the bench.

Still, it was a short break in a very unsuccessful decade. The league of SR Yugoslavia of that day did not resemble a kind of sports competition the club used to attend before the country fell apart, and under new and strange circumstances it was difficult for the club to find the right way. Red Star used to frequently have the best team in the country by far, but it was simply not enough. As the nineties were approaching their end, irregularities were reaching their climax, and the 1997–98 championship was won by Obilić, a debutant in the league. The following championship was not finalized due to the Kosovo War, and Red Star finished at the third place, which was the club's only placement below the second position in the league in the previous 20 years.

During the seven seasons, Red Star won only one championship. However, they did manage to win five cups.

New century and new triumphs

The summer of 1999 was a new beginning for the club. Immediately after the Yugoslav Wars ended, Red Star won the seventeenth cup in its history by winning 4:2 against FK Partizan. However, after a bad start to the following season, Miloljub Ostojić was sacked and the team was taken over by Slavoljub Muslin. As a member of the glorious generation of Pižon Petrović and Dule Savić, he brought a fresh philosophy to Red Star's team. During the two seasons he spent with Red Star, he set a defensive record by cutting the number of goals Red Star conceded by half. Red Star only conceded 19 goals in the 40 matches of the 1999–2000 championship. The title was practically ensured on the day of Đurđevdan, when Obilić was defeated at the "Marakana", and Partizan only managed to pull off one point against a team from Kragujevac. Three days later, Red Star won the cup. In March, April and May, they won all 20 matches in the league and the Cup.

The following season, Muslin remained with the club. The Champion's title was defended. However, the cup trophy was lost. Muslin left the bench in September 2001, after which Red Star went on to lose two League Titles in a row. The return of Muslin to the Club's bench in the summer of 2004 brought back the strength in leadership that was essential to Red Star. During this season, the club set a new record – conceding only 13 goals in 30 matches.

During that summer, the club, with Ljupko Petrović at the helm for the third time, achieved great results at preparations and entered a new championship with a great dose of optimism, but two heavy defeats in European matches (in Eindhoven and St. Petersburg) psychologically scarred the team. They started losing the fight for the title. Red Star ended this unfortunate season with a defeat coming from Železnik in the Cup finals (the second time in three years the cup was lost by them conceding a goal in the last minute of the match.)

During the Summer of 2005, Dragan Džajić left the president’s chair and abandoned his function after more than 20 years on the top. Red Star's third Star was replaced by Red Star's fifth star – Dragan Stojković – and, for the first time in Red Star's history, a foreign coach (Walter Zenga) joined the club. Two years of Red Star’s full dominance in the sphere of domestic football followed, represented by double crowns and finishing the season with an advantage of 17 points ahead of rivals FK Partizan. Red Star entered the 2007–2008 season with clear ambitions, which, again, were inevitable at the "Marakana" – to defend their double crown and to play competitively in Europe. However, they haven't been able to achieve this goal. For four straight years, they have not won the League crown. During those for years, the title has been won by FK Partizan each time. Although Red Star did manage to pull of several cup wins, they have not had any major successes in the last four years. They have not been in the Europa League since 2007 and the Champions League since 2005.

Rankings

UEFA club coefficient ranking

(As of 20 October 2011), Source: Bert Kassies website

Rank	Team	Points
137	Vitória de Setúbal	10.869
138	Montpellier	10.868
	Lens	10.868
140	Red Star Belgrade	10.850
141	FC Vaslui	10.531
142	CSKA Sofia	10.350
143	Elfsborg	10.140

Stadium

Marakana viewed from the air

Main article: Stadion Crvena Zvezda

Red Star's home ground is Red Star Stadium. It has a capacity of 55,000 and is the largest stadium in Serbia and in the former Yugoslavia. Due to the fact that stadium's former capacity was well over 100 000, the stadium is commonly referred to as the Marakana after Maracanã stadium in Brazil. The "Marakana" was opened in 1963, after three years of construction.

The largest crowd ever recorded at the "Marakana" for a derby-match was that autumn, against cross-town rivals FK Partizan–the official attendance was over 74,000. Next year, after the stadium was fully completed, its capacity was increased to 110,000 spectators and it got the unofficial moniker – the Marakana, in honour of the famous Brazilian stadium. Apart from the exciting look, the new stadium also featured a magnificent grass pitch with a drainage system, which made the overall playing experience much more enjoyable for the players.

Delije Sever section at Stadion Crvena Zvezda

Still on the subject of records, according to the number of tickets sold, the Marakana saw its largest crowd on 23 April 1975 at the Cup Winners Cup semi-final home leg against the Hungarian side Ferencváros (2–2). There were officially 96,070 spectators in the stands that night with purchased tickets, but it is believed that the stadium was filled to the maximum allowable capacity which at the time was 110,000.

In the years since, the stadium's capacity has been gradually decreased. Following different modernisation touch-ups more seats were installed each time. During the mid-90s, in order to meet UEFA demands for spectators' comfort and security, standing places at the stadium were completely done away with. Seats were installed on all four stands so that the Marakana‘s maximum capacity today reaches 55,538.^[8]

Today, the stadium has a modern press box with a capacity of 344 seats including seven extra-comfortable seats. The stadium also has a modern media center for promotions, press conferences and other events. On the west stand of the Marakana there is an official Red Star Shop along with a Delije shop.

In August 2008 the club reconstructed the stadium's pitch Under-soil grass heaters and an improved drainage system were installed and new modern turf replaced the old surface. The training pitch was also renovated by laying down synthetic turf and installing new lighting equipment.

Club culture

Delije Sever during the 137th Eternal Derby

Main article: Delije

Supporters of the various Red Star sports teams are known as Delije (Serbian: Делије).^[9] A rough English translation might be "courageous and brave young men" or simply "The Heroes". They are generally concentrated in the North Stand of Red Star's stadium. The Srbija do Tokija (lit. Serbia to Tokyo) chant can be traced back to 1991, when Red Star supporters followed their team to victory in the 1991 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo. It was later adopted by Serbian paramilitary groups during the various Yugoslavian wars of the 1990s. The Delije were also involved in the notorious Dinamo Zagreb–Red Star Belgrade riot in 1990, which highlighted the ethnic tensions in Yugoslavia at the time.

Red Star's main rivals are, Belgrade based, FK Partizan. Matches between the two are known as the "Eternal Derby" (Serbian: Вечити дерби, Večiti derbi). The record attendance for a Red Star-Partizan match is around 108,000. In league matches, the derby has been played 140 times; Red Star winning on 57 occasions and Partizan 40 times. In cup games, Red Star have won 17 of the 32 fixtures, Partizan 11.

In addition to their rivalries, Red Star has two "brother" clubs, Olympiacos of Greece and Spartak Moscow of Russia. The fans of the three teams have been dubbed "Orthodox Brothers".

Notable fans

Notable fans include tennis No. 1 Novak Djoković, Serbian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vuk Jeremić, politician Aleksandar Vučić, Belgrade Mayor Dragan Đilas, folk music singer Miroslav Ilic, and German Footballer of Serbian descent Marko Marin, Spanish Footballer of Serbian descent Bojan Krkić and basketball players Darko Miličić and Miloš Teodosić.

Honours

International titles – 4

• European Cup (1): 1990–91 (succeeded by UEFA Champions League)
• Intercontinental Cup (1): 1991 (abolished, succeeded by FIFA Club World Cup)
• Mitropa Cup (2): 1958, 1968 (defunct)

National Championships – 25 (record)

• Yugoslav First League (19): 1951, 1952–53, 1955–56, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1979–80, 1980–81, 1983–84, 1987–88, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92
• FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro First League (5): 1994–95, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbian Superliga (1): 2006–07

National Cups – 23 (record)

• Yugoslav Cup (12): 1947–48, 1948–49, 1950, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1989–90
• FR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro Cup (9): 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbian Cup (2): 2006–07, 2009–10

Other Tournaments

Santiago Chile (1): 1962 Racing Paris Tournament (1): 1962 Iberico Trophy Badajoz (1): 1971 Teresa Herrera Trophy (1): 1971 Trofeo Costa del Sol (1): 1973

Trofeo Naranja (1): 1973 World of Soccer Cup (1): 1977 Singapore Trophy Winners Australian Trophy Runners-up

Belgrade Tournament (2): 1980, 1981 Trofeo Villa de Gijón (1): 1982 Zürich New Year Tournament (1): 1984 Torneo di Verona (1): 1991 Chicago Sister Cities International Cup (1): 2010

European Competitions

Red Star is the most successful team from Serbia (and Yugoslavia); it competed in Europe 49 times, and most notable results are:

European Cup (defunct, succeeded by UEFA Champions League):

• Winner (1): 1990–91
• Semi-finalists (3): 1956–57, 1970–71, 1991–92
• Quarter-finalists (5): 1957–58, 1973–74, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1986–87,

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (defunct):

• Semi-finalists (1): 1974–75
• Quarter-finalists (2): 1971–72, 1985–86

UEFA Cup (defunct, succeeded by UEFA Europa League):

• Runners-up (1): 1978–79

UEFA Super Cup:

• Runners-up (1): 1991

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (defunct, succeeded by UEFA Cup):

• Semi-finalists (1): 1961–62
• Quarter-finalists (1): 1962–63

List of Red Star Belgrade official European matches

European Results Analysis

Red Star Belgrade	Seasons	P	W	D	L	F	A	Match %W
Representing Serbia	6	30	11	4	15	41	42	36.67
Representing FR Yugoslavia	11	66	26	20	20	106	78	39.39
Representing SFR Yugoslavia	33	179	89	30	60	346	237	49.72
Total	50	275	126	54	95	493	357	45.81

Current squad

As of 31 August 2011. Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Boban Bajković 2 MF Sávio 4 MF Srđan Mijailović 5 DF Uroš Ćosić (on loan from CSKA Moscow) 6 DF Nikola Ignjatijević 7 MF Miloš Dimitrijević 8 MF Darko Lazović 9 FW Bruno Mezenga (on loan from Flamengo) 10 MF Evandro Goebel 11 MF Vinicius Pacheco 13 DF Lee Addy 14 DF Nikola Mikić (vice-captain) 15 DF Milan Vilotić 16 DF Stevan Reljić

No. Position Player 18 MF Milan Jeremić 19 FW Cristian Borja (on loan from Caxias do Sul) 20 MF Cadú 22 GK Miloš Vesić 24 DF Filip Stojković 25 DF Danijel Mihajlović 26 MF Filip Janković 27 MF Goran Čaušić 29 MF Marko Vešović 31 GK Marko Dmitrović 32 GK Aleksandar Kirovski 33 MF Nenad Kovačević (captain) 55 DF Nikola Petković 99 FW Andrija Kaluđerović

Players with more than one citizenship

• Evandro Goebel
• Boban Bajković
• Stevan Reljić
• Marko Vešović
• Miloš Dimitrijević

For recent transfers, see List of Serbian football transfers summer 2011.

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player MF Vladan Binić (at Radnički 1923 until the end of the 2011-2012 season) DF Bojan Đorđević (at Napredak Kruševac until the end of the 2011-2012 season) MF Marko Nikolić (at Napredak Kruševac until the end of the 2011-2012 season)

No. Position Player DF Duško Tošić (at Real Betis until the end of the 2012-2013 season) FW Miloš Trifunović (at Bunyodkor until the end of the year 2011)

Retired number(s)

Main article: Retired numbers in football

• 12 – Delije (the 12th Man)

Red Star technical staff

Name	Role
Robert Prosinečki	Manager
Slobodan Marović	1st Team Coach
Žarko Đurović	2nd Team Coach
Srđan Maksimović	Goalkeeping Coach
Srđan Zirojević	Fitness Coach
Dejan Purić	Doctor
Mišo Bukumirović	Physiotherapist
Goran Zuvić	Physiotherapist
Ivan Popović	Physiotherapist
Mirko Abramović	Team Manager
Goran Negić	Technical Secretary
Stojan Milanović	Kit Manager
Dragan Milanović	Kit Manager

Notable players

The Stars of Red Star

Red Star has almost a 50 year long tradition of giving the title of the Star of Red Star (Звездина звезда, Zvezdina zvezda) to the players that have had a major impact on the club's history and that have made the name of the club famous around the globe. So far, five players and the entire 1991 team were officially given the title. They are:

• The First Star of Red Star (Prva Zvezdina zvezda): Rajko Mitić (1945–1958)
• The Second Star of Red Star (Druga Zvezdina zvezda): Dragoslav Šekularac (1955–1966)
• The Third Star of Red Star (Treća Zvezdina zvezda): Dragan Džajić (1961–1975; 1977–1978)
• The Fourth Star of Red Star (Četvrta Zvezdina zvezda): Vladimir Petrović "Pižon" (1972–1982)
• The Fifth Star of Red Star (Peta Zvezdina zvezda): Dragan Stojković "Piksi" (1986–1990)
• The Sixth Star of Red Star (Šesta Zvezdina zvezda): The 1991 Generation

The 1991 European and World Champions Generation

Stojanović (C) Šabanadžović Belodedici Marović Najdoski Prosinečki Jugović Mihajlović Savićević Binić Pančev

Goalkeepers: Milić Jovanović Željko Kaluđerović Stevan Stojanović (captain)

Defenders: Miodrag Belodedici Slobodan Marović Ivica Momčilović Ilija Najdoski Duško Radinović Refik Šabanadžović Goran Vasilijević

Midfielders: Vladimir Jugović Siniša Mihajlović Robert Prosinečki Dejan Savićević Vlada Stošić Rade Tošić

Strikers: Dragiša Binić Vladan Lukić Darko Pančev

Coach: Ljupko Petrović

Notable players

Main article: List of Red Star Belgrade footballers

Award winners

Ballon d'or

• 2nd: Dejan Savićević (1991)
• 2nd: Darko Pančev (1991)
• 3rd: Dragan Džajić (1968)

European Golden Boot

• Darko Pančev (1991)

Sportperson of the Year in Yugoslavia

• Dragan Džajić (1969)
• Dejan Savićević (1991)

Serbian Footballer of the Year

• Nikola Žigić (2003, 2006)

Coaching history

For details see List of Red Star Belgrade football coaches

1946–48 Svetislav Glišović 1948–50 Aleksandar Tomašević 1951/-51 Ljubiša BroćićŽarko Mihajlović 1952–53 Žarko Mihajlović 1953/-53 Bane Sekulić 1953/-53 Ljubiša Broćić 1953–54 Boško Ralić 1954–57 Milovan Ćirić 1957–64 Miša Pavić 1964–66 Ivan Toplak 1966–74 Miljan Miljanić 1974–75 Miljenko Mihić 1975–76 Milovan Ćirić 1976–78 Gojko Zec 1978–81 Branko Stanković 1981–83 Stevan Ostojić

1983–86 Gojko Zec 1986–88 Velibor Vasović 1988–89 Branko Stanković 1989–90 Dragoslav Šekularac 1990–91 Ljupko Petrović 1991–92 Vladica Popović 1992–94 Milan Živadinović 1994–96 Ljupko Petrović 1996–97 Vladimir Petrović 1997/-97 Vojin Lazarević 1997–99 Milorad Kosanović 1998–99 Vojin Lazarević 1999/-99 Miloljub Ostojić 1999/-99 Zvonko Radić (caretaker) 1999–01 Slavoljub Muslin 2001–03 Zoran Filipović

2003–04 Slavoljub Muslin 2004/-04 Ljupko Petrović 2004/-04 Milovan Rajevac (caretaker) 2004–05 Ratko Dostanić 2005–06 Walter Zenga 2006–07 Dušan Bajević 2007/-07 Boško Đurovski 2007/-07 Milorad Kosanović 2007–08 Aleksandar Janković 2008/-08 Zdeněk Zeman 2008–09 Čedomir Janevski 2009/-09 Siniša Gogić (caretaker) 2009–10 Vladimir Petrović 2010/-10 Ratko Dostanić 2010/-10 Aleksandar Kristić 2010–/-11Robert Prosinečki

Club presidents

Mita Miljković (1948–1951) Isa Jovanović (1951–1952) Sava Radojčić (1952–1954) Dragoslav Marković (1954–1955) Milić Bugarčić (1955–1956) Dragoje Đurić (1956) Dušan Blagojević (1956–1960)

Milić Bugarčić (1960–1963) Radovan Pantović (1963–1965) Dušan Blagojević (1965–1968) Nikola Bugarčić (1968–1977) Radovan Pantović (1977–1981) Brana Dimitrijević (1981–1982) Vlastimir Purić (1982)

Miladin Šakić (1982–87) Svetozar Mijailović (1987–1993) Dragan Džajić (1998–2005) Dragan Stojković (2005–2007) Toplica Spasojević (2007–2008) Dobrivoje Tanasijević (2008–2009) Vladan Lukić (2009–present)

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1979–1991	Puma
1991–1994	Hummel	Classic
1994–1996	Diadora	Beobanka
1996–1998	Kappa
1998–2001		Pils Light
2001–2002	Adidas
2002–2005		Wiener Städtische Sharp
2005–2006		Toyota
2006–2008	Nike
2008–2009
2010		2344 – Za moju Zvezdu
2010–		Gazprom

Notes and references

1. ^ Zvezdaša više od Partizanovaca, retrieved from www.sport.novosti.rs, 18 September 2007 (Serbian)
2. ^ Svaki drugi Srbin navija za Crvenu zvezdu retrieved from www.b92.net, 18 March 2008 (Serbian)
3. ^ THE LIST: The greatest rivalries in club football, Nos 10–1
4. ^ Europe's Club of the Century retrieved from www.iffhs.de, 13 September 2009
5. ^ After the end of WW2 several of pre-war Yugoslav clubs were dissolved because they had played matches during the war and were labelled collaborators by Marshal Tito's communist authorities. Two of these clubs from Belgrade were SK Jugoslavija and BSK Belgrade. Red Star was formed from the remains of Jugoslavija - they got Jugoslavija's stadium, offices, players, and even their red and white colours. However, Red Star Belgrade has always considered itself to have not been a successor to SK Jugoslavija. On the other hand, OFK Beograd, which was formed on the remains of BSK, claims continuity with BSK, and even managed to regain the name BSK during the mid-1950s (but this lasted for only one season)
6. ^ "History Start". crvenazvezdafk.com. http://www.crvenazvezdafk.com/en/istorija1.htm. 
7. ^ [1]
8. ^ Stadion at official website.
9. ^ „Delije“ – Die lautesten Jungs aus Belgrad

External links

Official

• Official Website
• UEFA Profile
• Classic Football – FIFA.COM

Supporters

• Delije Fan Site (Serbian)
• Moja Crvena zvezda – The official fan site
• Red Star Sport Association fan site (Serbian)
• Delije Caffe – FC Red Star Fans (Serbian)
• Red Star merchandise
• Red Star International Domain name in Cyrillic
• Red Star Stats at utakmica.rs
• Latest news from FC Red Star at kapiten.rs