FK Sloga Kraljevo

Football club infobox
clubname = FK Sloga Kraljevo
fullname = _sr. Fudbalski Klub Sloga Kraljevo


nickname = "Beli (The Whites)"
founded = 1947
ground = Gradski stadion, Kraljevo
capacity = 10,000
chairman = flagicon|Serbia Milutin Lukić
manager = flagicon|Serbia Đorđe Koković
league = Srpska Liga
season = 2006-07
position = 3rd
pattern_la1=|pattern_b1=|pattern_ra1=|pattern_so1=_whitetop
leftarm1=FFFFFF|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=FFFFFF|shorts1=FFFFFF|socks1=DD0000
pattern_la2=|pattern_b2=|pattern_ra2=
leftarm2=00BFFF|body2=00BFFF|rightarm2=00BFFF|shorts2=00BFFF|socks2=00BFFF

Fudbalski Klub Sloga (English: "Sloga Football Club" or Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Слога) is a football club based in Kraljevo,Serbia. It currently plays in Serbian 3rd league known as Srpska Liga.

History

In 1909 former cavalry captain Mr. Delić came to Kraljevo from Šibenik and brought the first ball which he bought in Zemun. He ran away from the Austro - Hungarian army to Belgrade,and shortly afterwards he moved to Kraljevo. First games were played in Divlje Polje ,the playground was across the street of an old train station. Žiča was the first football club in Kraljevo founded in 1919. Its first matches were played against Viktorija from Čačak and the soldier academy. On both games Žiča suffered heavy defeats. Three years later the club changes its name to Ibar and competes in the Kragujevac League. The club existed till 1941. After the war ended a group of sport enthusiasts in April 1945 founded a football club by the name of Sloboda.

The first president of the club was Mile Mitrović. The staff was composed of Mile Pribaković, Desanka Vitorović, Stanko Lekić, Milja Tanasijević, Ratko Stojić, Nikola Naumović, Mijo Kostić, Hrane Strijelić and others. The games were played in the town centre, at the place where today lies a swimming pool.

The first game played by Sloboda was against Streljački bataljon (Firing squad) which was based on Kraljevo. Their jerseys were red and white they were made from parachutes. The result was 10:1 for Sloga. The qualifier game for the First League was against Borac in Čačak ,Sloboda led by 2:0 at the halftime. Borac scores a goal that should be an offside at the start of the second half a few minutes later Borac scores another and another one 10 minuter before the final whistle. After the match, a fight broke out between the players and soon the fans got involved. The club was suspended, because of this incident. A few months later Lokomotiva and Sloboda merge into one club Sloga. At the beginning of the 1950s Sloga competed in the Second Serbian Liga, which then consisted of forty clubs. In the end of the season in the Serbian League Sloga finished first and was promoted to the First Serbian League. After a letter from CK KPJ all Serbian leagues are eliminated and regional leagues were formed. Sloga the competed in the Kragujevac League. In 1958 competition changed once again: instead of four regions there were two - East and West. The biggest success in the history of Sloga was in the 1969/70 season when competing in the Second League they finished in first place in front of their eternal rival Borac Čačak. There remained only one thing in their way and that was Crvenka to beat then they would certainly be in the First League, but Sloga did not have the luck to get past their opponents and the First League remained an unfulfilled wish. Even today people in Kraljevo talk about the events that took place on that game.

From then on the club performed less well, until they were relegated to a lower league. From then until the early 1990s Sloga never got promoted or relegated. In 1992/93 season Sloga played in the Second League where they finished seventeenth (they were relegated). The first match they played in the new league was versus their rival Mladost Bački Jarak , the first match was a draw 0:0. They lost 5:2 in return leg. Sloga returns to the Second League in 1998 and stays there till 2002. After only one year in the Serbian League Sloga fall to the Šumadija Zone. After two years they return to the Serbian League "Zapad" (West).

Stadium

Stadium of FK Sloga is located in the Industrijska street bb. Near the stadium are main bus and railway station. The stadium has two stands: north and south. The capacity of the stadium is 10000, but the biggest attendance was close to 20000 people, at the qualifying game versus Crvenka for the First Yugoslavian League in 1970.

Fans

The project of organizing fans from Kraljevo goes back to 1987 when a group of guys full of enthusiasm wanted to show their town how fans should be like and how much they love "Sloga". The name that was chosen was Kasapi (meaning "The Butchers"). Many people from Kraljevo still wonder why did they choose this name, after whom was this name given, how, where and when. Everything began in 1987 when fans of Sloga wanted to give their group a name, and show other fans in the country that they are not behind them in any way. They wanted to prove that their name will be remembered. They started to plan their transportation for the away matches. Everything turned out as planned and the number of the Butchers was growing. The first match that the Butchers attended as an organized group was a basketball game, and after that a soccer game. The best memories of traveling around the country back in the old days of the Butchers was in: Belgrade, Kragujevac, Užice, Čačak (basketball), Smederevo, Požarevac, Smederevska Palanka, Užice, Čačak. There were times when KK Sloga (basketball club) was competing in the First Division, where they played against the strongest opponents in the League: Partizan, Red Star Belgrade, Cibona, Jugoplastika, but their football club was always divisions lower of their basketball team. First or second, they were always first in the eyes of their fans.

One of the biggest incidents of the Butchers took place in Smederevo in 1994 when a group of Butchers about 500 strong, after defeat 3:0 they started to force home crowd out of the stadium. After a fight with the police, there were injuries on both sides. Times were changing, and in 1994 KK Sloga was relageded from the First Division to a lower one. FK Sloga falls from the second division and their beloved fans are leaving the stadium in which most never returned.

But love toward Sloga still stayed in their hearts. After two years on the scene arrives a younger generation.W ith the help of the club staff new flags are being made, drums are banging and the Butchers are returning once again to the stands. Their number rises to around 130 at the end of 1996. The Butchers started supporting another club (not leaving Sloga), KK Mašinac. It began in 1996 with a match between KK Mašinac and Ibon from Nikšić, when help of the Butchers was much needed. 3500 Sloga's fans supported Mašinac in that game. The home side won but that was not enough, after that they went to away game in Kragujevac. Also in 1996 a match was postponed between Mašinac and Berane due to incidents between the fans. Mašinac was forced to play three games behind closed doors. The first home match away from home was followed by severe riots, while other two were a bit more peaceful. It was a regular friendship with the handball club OK Ribnica (volleyball club) and the help of the Butchers was needed for the games in Europe. The atmosphere at the games was fantastic, regular attendance was 3500 people at the stands, chanting from the start of the game to the end so the away fans feel like they are in hell. The Butchers have a long friendship with fans of Radnički Kragujevac, the Crveni Đavoli (The Red Devils). That friendship can be seen on soccer games and basketball games where you can see them chanting together in the stands.

Notable players

Present member of the Serbian national team Nenad Kovačević has started his career in Sloga, and continued it in Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, where he became captain. Former national team players Dragan Mladenović, Milan Dudić and Aleksandar Trišović are also Kraljevo-born and had played for Sloga.

External links

* [http://www.fksloga.com/ FK Sloga] (Unofficial Site)