Football in Serbia

Football in Serbia is the most popular team sport. It has been played from the beginning of the 20th century and there were a number of very successful Serbian football players and coaches throughout history. One of Serbia's top football clubs FK Crvena Zvezda has won the prestigious UEFA Champions League in the season 1990-1991 and has also won the World Club Cup the same year.

History

Competitions

The governing body of football in Serbia is the Football Association of Serbia. It oversees the organization of:

* Leagues:
** Serbian Superliga
** Serbian First League
** Srpska Liga
* Cup tournaments:
** Serbian Cup
* National teams:
** Serbia national football team
** Serbia national under-21 football team
** Serbia national under-19 football team

Note: the aforementioned competitions are for men if not stated differently. Women's football exists but is much less developed or popular.

Teams

By far the two most popular clubs in the country are Crvena Zvezda and Partizan, both from Belgrade.

Names

Many Serbian teams have names which are prefixed by Communist era slogans, names of historical figures or geographical landmarks, as the following list explains.

Name explanation:

*borac = fighter
*mladi borac = young fighter
*bratstvo = brotherhood
*jedinstvo = unity
*sloboda = freedom
*sloga = harmony
*mladost = youth
*napredak = progress
*zmaj = dragon
*polet = enthusiasm
*turbina = turbine
*policajac = policeman
*postar = postman
*pekar = baker
*lokomotiva = locomotive
*trudbenik = worker
*rudar = miner
*omladinac = young man
*železničar = railway worker
*zastava = flag
*radnički = labour
*budućnost = future
*cement = cement
*radnik = worker
*mladi radnik = young worker
*trgovacki = commercial
*lasta = swallow
*Sindjelić, Obilić, Karadjordje = Serbian historical persons
*kablovi = cables
*metalac = metal-worker
*pobeda = victory
*Kolubara, Drina, Morava, Ibar, Jablanica, Ribnica, Veternica = names of rivers
*Dunav = Danube (river)
*Kopaonik, Goc, Zlatar, Zlatibor, Jastrebac, Juhor, Rtanj, Ozren = names of mountain
*bezbednost = safety
*zadrugar = cooperator
*hajduk = ruffian, rebel
*putevi = ways, roads

External links

* [http://www.fss.org.yu/cms/item/home/sr/istorijat/HISTORY.html History of Football in Serbia] via the Serbian FA