Red Star Belgrade

Crvena zvezda

Full name	Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda
Nickname(s)	Crveno-beli (The Red-Whites) Zvezda (The Star)
Short name	FKCZ
Founded	4 March 1945 (1945-03-04)
Ground	Rajko Mitić Stadium
Ground Capacity	55,538[1]
President	Svetozar Mijailović
Head Coach	Vladan Milojević
League	Serbian SuperLiga
2016–17	Serbian SuperLiga, 2nd of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Active sport clubs of SD Crvena Zvezda
Football (Men's) Basketball (Men's) Volleyball Handball Athletics Water Polo Tennis Football (Women's) Basketball (Women's)

Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, IPA: [t͡sř̩ʋenaː zʋěːzda]), commonly known in English as Red Star Belgrade (Serbian: Црвена звезда Београд / Crvena zvezda Beograd) or simply Red Star, is a Serbian professional football club based in Belgrade, the major part of the Red Star multi-sport club. They are the only Serbian and ex-Yugoslav club to have won the European Cup, having done so in 1991, and the only team from Southeastern Europe to have won the Intercontinental Cup, also in 1991. With 27 national championships and 24 national cups between Serbian and the former Yugoslav competitions, Red Star was the most successful club in former Yugoslavia and finished as first in the Yugoslav First League all-time table,^[2] and is the most successful club in Serbia. However, since the 1991–92 season, Red Star has failed to qualify in the group stages of UEFA Champions League.

According to 2008 polls, Red Star Belgrade is the most popular football club in Serbia, with 48.2% of the population supporting them.^[3] They have many supporters in all other former Yugoslavian republics and in the Serbian diaspora. Their main rivals are fellow Belgrade side Partizan. The championship matches between these two clubs are known as The Eternal derby. In September 2009, British Daily Mail ranked the Red Star – Partizan derby fourth among the ten greatest football rivalries of all-time.^[4]

According to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics' list of the Top 200 European clubs of the 20th century, Red Star is the highest-ranked Serbian and ex-Yugoslavian club, sharing the 27th position on the list with Dutch club Feyenoord.^[5]

History

In February 1945, during World War II, a group of young men, active players, students and members of the Serbian United Antifascist Youth League, decided to form a Youth Physical Culture Society, that was to become Red Star Belgrade on 4 March. Previously, as of December 1944, all pre-war Serbian clubs were abolished, and on 5 May 1945, communist Secretary of Sports Mitra Mitrović-Djilas signed the decree dissolving formally all pre-war clubs on the territory of Socialist Republic of Serbia. The clubs were dissolved because during the German occupation, there was an attempt to organize the league so all the clubs were labelled collaborators by Josip Broz Tito's communist regime. Two of the most popular clubs from Belgrade were SK Jugoslavija and BSK Belgrade. Red Star was formed on the remains of SK Jugoslavija and they were given SK Jugoslavija's stadium, offices, players and even their red and white colors, along with the logo with addition of a red star. The entire BSK Belgrade roster also joined along with some other players from Belgrade and central Serbia.

The name Red Star was assigned after a long discussion. Other ideas shortlisted by the delegates included "People's Star", "Blue Star", "Proleter", "Stalin", "Lenin", etc.^[6] The initial vice presidents of the Sport Society – Zoran Žujović and Slobodan Ćosić – were the ones who assigned it.^[7] Red Star was soon adopted as a symbol of Serbian reactionary element within Yugoslavia and a sporting institution which remains the country's most popular to this day.^[8] On that day, Red Star played the first football match in the club's history against the First Battalion of the Second Brigade of KNOJ (People's Defence Corps of Yugoslavia) and won 3–0.

Red Star's first successes involved small steps to recognition. The club won its first championship in 1951. It was a team of players consisting of Branko Stanković, Vladica Popović, Rajko Mitić, Bora Kostić and Dragoslav Šekularac. Those 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. As champions, Red Star were Yugoslavia's entrants into the 1957–58 European Cup where they were famously beaten 5–4 on aggregate by English champions Manchester United in the quarter-finals. Manchester United, managed by Matt Busby defeated Red Star 2–1 in the first leg in England before drawing 3–3 with them in Yugoslavia in the return match on 5 February at JNA Stadium.^[9] The second leg is notable for being the last match played by the "Busby Babes": on the return flight to England the following day, the plane crashed in Munich, resulting in the deaths of 23 people, including eight Manchester United players.

After the Miljan Miljanić era, it was the time of Gojko Zec, whose reign as head coach was to last four years and bring Red Star three trophies and the first great European final. The first season with 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. In the following season, Red Star finished second in the league, paving the way for a great performance in the 1978–79 season of the UEFA Cup. After eliminating teams like Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Hertha BSC, Red Star made for the first time the Cup final. There, Red Star met Borussia Mönchengladbach, who played five European finals from 1973 to 1980. The Germans, who were backed by approximately 100,000 supporters, fell behind one goal from Miloš Šestić, but Jurišić’s own goal gave Gladbach a psychological advantage before the rematch. This game was played at the Rheinstadion in Düsseldorf, where the Italian referee gave a questionable penalty to the Germans, and the Danish player Allan Simonsen sealed Red Star's fate. The Foals won, 2–1, on aggregate.^[10]

After the 1970s, historical matches against Udo Lattek's Barcelona followed during the 1982–83 European Cup Winners' Cup. In both matches, Barcelona were the better team and Red Star was eliminated. Remarkably, when Barça's Diego Maradona scored his second goal in front of approximately 100,000 spectators at the Marakana, the Belgrade audience were so excited about the goal that even the loyal Belgrade fans applauded Maradona.^[11] Gojko Zec returned 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 club's triumph from his previous mandate by winning the championship immediately upon his arrival. Zec would later leave the club in a controversial Scheiber's case-style scandal which was the result of irregularities in the 1986 season.

After Zec left in 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 sides. 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 Borislav Cvetković stood out. In the first season that started with penalty points, Red Star focused on the European Cup and achieving good results. In 1987, a five-year plan was developed by the club with the only goal being to win the European Cup. All that was planned was finally 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, Red Star won four National Championships; in the last of those four years of heyday, the club won the 1991 European Cup Final, played in Bari, Italy.

Red Star coach Ljupko Petrović brought the team to Italy a week before the finals in order to peacefully prepare the players for a forthcoming encounter with Marseille. By that time, Red Star had 18 goals in 8 matches, whereas the French champions had 20. Therefore, the 100th European competing final was expected to be a spectacle of offense. Nonetheless, both Petrović and Raymond Goethals opted for defence and the match settled down into a war of attrition. After a 120-minute match and only few chances on both sides, the match was decided following the penalty shootout. After several minutes of stressful penalties, one of Marseille's players, Manuel Amoros, missed a penalty, and Darko Pančev converted his penalty to bring the European Cup to Yugoslavia for the first time. Red Star won the shootout, 5–3, on 29 May 1991 in front of 60,000 spectators and the millions watching on television around the world. Twenty-thousand Red Star fans at the Stadio San Nicola and millions of them all over Yugoslavia and the world celebrated the greatest joy in Red Star's history.^[12][13] Red Star went unbeaten at the 1990–91 European Cup in Bari and the 1991 Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo.

In 1992, the club was weakened by the departure of almost the whole champions generation (new players were later added, such as Anto Drobnjak and Ilija Ivić). In addition, Red Star had to defend the trophy out of their country due to the war in former Yugoslavia (not even in Serbia, although there was possible locations), thereby reducing their chances of defending their title. UEFA changed the form of the championship that year and instead of the cup they started the 1991–92 Champions League, in which eight best teams from the continent participated. In domestic competition, main rival Dinamo Zagreb left the league, just as all the other clubs from Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia did, and the championship in a Yugoslavia that was cut in size was played on the edge of observance of regulations around the beginning of the Bosnian War. At the end of May, the United Nations had the country under sanctions and dislodged Yugoslav football from the international scene. The disintegration of Yugoslavia, the civil war (1992–95), the inflation and the UN sanctions have hit Red Star hard. In the period between May 1992 and May 2000, only one championship victory was celebrated at the Marakana. However, they did manage to win five cups, along with several glorious European performances, including the famed 1996 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup showdown against a Barcelona side which featured Ronaldo and Hristo Stoichkov.

Immediately after the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia ended, Red Star won the 17th cup in its history by winning 4–2 against Partizan. Just a season later, the club returned to the European spotlight by making it to the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League qualification, where Red Star was eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen (0–0 and 0–3 in away), which would later be a finalist in the Champions League that year. Muslin left the bench in September 2001, after which Red Star's subsequent seasons became more volatile.

In the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, Red Star was barely eliminated (by 3–1 aggregate score) by the same Milan side which ultimately won that year's competition. Furthermore, the campaign in Group F of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup was a large disappointment, especially given that the first game against Bayern Munich was a sensational last-minute loss (by a score of 2–3 in Belgrade). In those recent years, Red Star's teams featured the likes of Nikola Žigić, Marko Pantelić, Boško Janković, Aleksandar Luković, Dušan Basta, Milan Biševac, Nenad Milijaš, Ognjen Koroman, Segundo Castillo, Ibrahima Gueye and Dušan Đokić. After a six-year drought, Red star won their 26th league title in season 2013–14.

Despite Red Star's success on the pitch in 2013–14, the financial situation at the club has worsened, so much so that the club were banned from participating in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League for which they qualified by winning the Serbian SuperLiga. The UEFA Club Financial Control Body found Red Star's debts to players, some of whom had not been paid for at least six months, staff and other clubs, totalled €1.86 million. The club board were also alleged to have hidden debts and falsified documents. This, on top of an earlier UEFA disciplinary measure in 2011, meant Red Star did not meet the necessary Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play criteria and, as such, should not have been granted a UEFA license by the Serbian FA.^[14] Rivals Partizan took Red Star's place in the UEFA Champions League.

Crest and colours

At the end of the World War II, several of pre-war Yugoslav clubs were dissolved because they had played matches during the war and were labelled collaborators by Josip Broz Tito communist authorities. One of these clubs was SK Jugoslavija from Belgrade. Red Star was formed from the remains of Jugoslavija and they were given their red and white colours. The typical kit of Red Star is a shirt with red and white vertical stripes, and red or white shorts and socks. Sometimes used the club also an all-red one next to the all-white one. Red Star used also as away kit or third kit, an all-blue jersey, but very rarely, so that the club used all the colours of the Serbian flag. The crest is a red five-pointed star, white framed, on a red-white background. In addition, the whole crest is framed with gold colour. There are two golden stars on the top of their emblem, symbolizing the 20 titles won.

Stadium

Red Star's home ground is the Rajko Mitić Stadium (since 21 December 2014), formerly known as Red Star stadium. With a seated capacity of 55,538, it is the largest stadium in Serbia and in the former Yugoslavia. The stadium was opened in 1963, and in the course of time and due to the fact that stadium's former capacity was about 110,000, it got the unofficial moniker Marakana, after the large and famous Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Belgrade's sold-out Marakana garnered the reputation of being a very tough ground for visiting teams to play in. During the mid-1990s, in order to meet UEFA demands for spectators comfort and security, standing places at the stadium were completely done away with and seats were installed on all four stands. In the years, since the stadium's capacity was gradually decreased, followed different stadium modernisations.

In 2008, the club reconstructed the stadium's pitch, under-soil grass heaters, improved drainage systems were installed and new modern turf replaced the old surface. The training pitch, located next to the stadium, was also renovated by laying down synthetic turf and installing new lighting equipment. In 2011, the stadium received also a new modern LED scoreboard. Today, the stadium has a central lodge, named 5 Zvezdinih Zvezda (English: 5 Stars of Red Star), which consist of five segments, each bears the name of one of Red Star's legendary players (Mitić, Šekularac, Džajić, Petrović, Stojković), two other VIP lounges and a special VIP gallery with over 450 seats. It has also a modern press box with a capacity of 344 seats including seven extra-comfortable seats, an extra media center, the Red Cafe and a restaurant. On the west stand of the stadium exist also an official Red Star shop along with a Delije shop. The playing field measures are 110 × 73 m, and is illuminated by 1,400 lux floodlights. According to the known German Web portal "Stadionwelt", Belgrade's "Marakana" is in the top 50 football stadiums in Europe.^[15] In 2012, American Bleacher Report ranked the Red Star Stadium, especially if it is sold out, as the among the most intimidating stadiums in the world.^[16]

Youth school

History

Some of the most notable home-grown players are Dragan Džajić, named the best player in the history of Serbia (the choice of the Football Association on the 50th anniversary of UEFA, known as the Golden Player), who reached third place at the election for the European Footballer of the Year in 1968, then Dragoslav Šekularac – a runner-up with Yugoslavia at UEFA Euro 1960, Vladimir Petrović "Pižon" – the fourth Star of Red Star, Vladimir Jugović – two times the European Cup winner (with Red Star and Juventus), as well as Nemanja Vidić, Dejan Stanković and Dušan Savić.

Other former home-grown players include Stanislav Karasi, Vladica Popović, Vladislav Bogićević, Boško and Milko Đurovski, Zoran Filipović, Ratomir Dujković, Ognjen Petrović, Stevan Stojanović (the goalkeeper of the 1991 European Cup-winning squad) and Miloš Šestić. Further notable players from the last 25 years include Nemanja Vidić, Dejan Stanković, Perica Ognjenović, Nebojša Krupniković, Goran Drulić, Zoran Jovičić, Vladan Lukić, Goran Gavrančić, Nikola Lazetić, Marko Pantelić, Boško Janković, Dušan Basta, Nenad Tomović, Zvonko Milojević, Filip Đorđević, Vladimir Stojković, Dragan Mrđa, Dejan Milovanović and Vladimir Dišljenković.

Former Red Star and Real Madrid coaching legend Miljan Miljanić was also a member of Red Star's youth school.

Current coaching staff

Supporters

The organized supporters of Red Star are known as Delije, the plural of the singular form Delija, which in Serbian generally signifies a courageous, brave, strong or even handsome young man. A rough English translation might be simply "Hardman" or "Studs". The name Delije first began to be used by hardcore Red Star supporters during the late 1980s, with official inauguration taking place in 1989. Up to that point, the Red Star fans were scattered amongst several organized fan groups that shared in the north stand of Red Star's stadium. The Delije are today one of the most famous supporter groups in the world, who support all clubs in the Red Star multi-sport club. Their style of supporting includes the use of large and small flags, displaying of banners and especially the creation of colorful and large choreographies, noisy and constant cheering and other supporters stuff. The acoustic support is often coordinated by a so-called "Vođa" (Serbian: leader) by a megaphone and accompanied by drums. Subgroups of Delije exist outside of Belgrade as well, in cities across Serbia and all other ex-Yugoslav republics. As a sign of appreciation, Red Star painted in the late 1990s, the word Delije in block letters across their stadium's north stand.

Since the mid-1980s the supporters maintain brotherhood relations with Olympiacos CFP ultras – a friendship based on common Orthodox faith and same club colours. Since the mid-2000s FC Spartak Moscow fans are also included in this friendship.

The Eternal derby

Red Star’s fiercest and long standing city rival is FK Partizan, the other large and popular sport society in Serbia. They also have many supporters in all other former Yugoslavian republics and also in the Yugoslavian diaspora. The rivalry started immediately after the creation of the two clubs in 1945. Red Star was founded with close ties to the Interior ministry and Partizan as the football section of the Yugoslav People's Army. Since then, both clubs have been dominant in domestic football. The match is particularly noted for the passion of the Red Star's supporters, called Delije, and Partizan's supporters, the Grobari (English: "Gravediggers" or "Undertakers"). The stands of both teams feature fireworks, coloured confetti, flags, rolls of paper, torches, smoke, drums, giant posters and choreographies, used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on the visiting teams, hence the slogan, "Welcome to Hellgrade." Some fans also sometimes use trumpets, similar to the supporters in South America. This creates for the region a typical and distinctive Balkan Brass Band atmosphere. Both sets of supporters sing passionate songs against their rivals, and the stadiums are known to bounce with the simultaneous jumping of the fans. There are many derbies in world football but very few compare to this, it is more than just game and has a deeper meaning. The duel is regarded as one of the greatest football rivalries in the world and the matches between these rivals have been labeled as the Eternal derby. Given its widespread touch on the entirety of a major city, it's dubbed one of, along with the Old Firm, the Rome derby and the Istanbul derby, the most heated rivalries in European football.^[23] In 2009, British newspaper Daily Mail ranked the Eternal derby as fourth among the ten greatest football rivalries of all-time.^[4] The biggest attendance for a Red Star – Partizan match was about 108,000 spectators at the Red Star Stadium.

Honours and achievements

Red Star has won 2 international, 2 regional and 51 domestic trophies, making them the most successful football club in Serbia and the former Yugoslavia.

Domestic

National Championships – 27 (shared record)

• Yugoslav First League
  • Winners (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
• First League of Serbia and Montenegro
  • Winners (5): 1994–95, 1999–00, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbian SuperLiga
  • Winners (3): 2006–07, 2013–14, 2015–16

National Cups – 24 (record)

• Yugoslav Cup
  • Winners (12): 1948, 1949, 1950, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1963–64, 1967–68, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1981–82, 1984–85, 1989–90
• Serbia and Montenegro Cup
  • Winners (9): 1992–93, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–00, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2005–06
• Serbian Cup
  • Winners (3): 2006–07, 2009–10, 2011–12

International

Red Star is the most successful club from Serbia (and former Yugoslavia) in all European competitions, and the only club from Southeastern Europe that has won both UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup. The club competed in 50 European seasons, and the most notable results are:

International titles – 4

• European Cup/Champions League
  • Winner (1): 1990–91
• UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League
  • Runners-up (1): 1978–79
• Mitropa Cup
  • Winner (2): 1958, 1967–68
• Intercontinental Cup
  • Winner (1): 1991
• UEFA Super Cup:
  • Runners-up (1): 1991

Friendly Tournaments – 17

Individual awards

Domestic

International

Club records

Dragan Džajić is Red Star’s record appearance holder, with 389 matches. The goalscoring record holder is Bora Kostić, with 230 goals. Numerous Red Star players were in the Yugoslavia national team and Branko Stanković, Rajko Mitić, Vladimir Beara, Bora Kostić, Vladimir Durković, Dragoslav Šekularac, Miroslav Pavlović, Jovan Aćimović, Dragan Džajić, Vladimir Petrović, Dragan Stojković and Dejan Savićević (a former Milan player) are among them. Dragan Džajić played 85 matches for the Yugoslavian national football team, a national record. Red Star holds records such as to be only the second foreign team that could beat Liverpool on the Anfield Road (after Ferencváros in the 1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup), which was also the only defeat of Liverpool at home in the European Cup history in the whole 20th century (during 1973–74 European Cup).^[24] Red Star was also the first team that could beat Bayern Munich on the Olympic Stadium in its long UEFA competition history (during the 1990–91 European Cup).^[25] They are the only Serbian (and ex-Yugoslav) club, and only the second team from this southern corner of Europe and Southeastern Europe, to have ever won the European Cup, having done in 1991, which was also the 100th UEFA competing final. Red Star is among the nine clubs, which have ever won the European Cup unbeaten. They are also the only team from the Balkans and Southeastern Europe to have ever won the Intercontinental Cup, which it won also in 1991. Red Star is the most successful club from the Balkans and Southeastern Europe, being the only club to win both UEFA Champions League and Intercontinental Cup. The Romanian football player Miodrag Belodedici was the first ever Red Star player to have won the European Cup with two different teams, Steaua București and Red Star, and very curious both of the team's names mean "Star". Later, the double winners were also Dejan Savićević (Red Star and Milan) and Vladimir Jugović (Red Star and Juventus).

Top ten most appearances of all-time

No	Player	Period	App.
1	Dragan Džajić	1963–75; 1977–78	389
2	Bora Kostić	1951–61; 1962–66	341
3	Vladimir "Pižon" Petrović	1972–82	332
4	Jovan Aćimović	1965–76	318
5	Boško Đurovski	1978–89	299
6	Rajko Mitić	1945–58	294
7	Vladica Popović	1953–65	291
8	Miloš Šestić	1973–84	277
9	Ratomir Dujković	1964–74	266
10	Miroslav Pavlović	1967–74	264

Last updated on: 23 May 2017

Top ten scorers of all-time

Rank.	Player	Period	Goals
1	Bora Kostić	1951–61; 1962–66	230
2	Dragan Džajić	1963–75; 1977–78	155
3	Dušan Savić	1973–82	149
4	Zoran Filipović	1970–80	138
5	Kosta Tomašević	1946–54	137
6	Vojin Lazarević	1966–70; 1972–73	134
7	Darko Pančev	1988–92	116
8	Rajko Mitić	1945–58	109
9	Mihajlo Pjanović	1999–03	92
10	Antun Rudinski	1953–62	79

Last updated on: 23 May 2017

Club all-time European record

Red Star Belgrade	Seasons	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	Match %W
Representing Serbia	11	54	19	14	21	75	74	35.19
Representing Serbia and Montenegro	11	66	26	20	20	109	80	39.39
Representing SFR Yugoslavia	33	175	87	30	58	346	237	49.72
Total	55	295	132	64	99	530	391	44.75

Competition	P	W	D	L
European Cup / UEFA Champions League	112	57	20	35
UEFA Cup / Europa League	147	62	34	51
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	34	12	10	12
UEFA Super Cup	1	0	0	1
Intercontinental Cup	1	1	0	0
Total	295	132	64	99

As of August 3, 2017

UEFA Ranking

As of 04/08/2017^[26]

Rank	Team	Points
218	Tromsø IL	5.685
219	FH	5.650
220	Red Star Belgrade	5.625
221	Ruch Chorzów	5.475
222	Hapoel Tel Aviv F.C.	5.425

Best results in European competitions

Season	Achievement	Notes
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
1991	Winner	defeat Marseille 0–0 in Bari, 5–3 pen.
1971	Semi-final	lost to Panathinaikos 4–1 in Belgrade, 0–3 in Athens
1957	Semi-final	lost to Fiorentina 0–1 in Belgrade, 0–0 in Firenze
UEFA Cup / Europa League
1979	Runners-up	lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach 1–1 in Belgrade, 0–1 in Düsseldorf
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1975	Semi-final	lost to Ferencváros 1–2 in Budapest, 2–2 in Belgrade
Mitropa Cup
1968	Winner	defeat Spartak Trnava 0–1 in Trnava, 4–1 in Belgrade
1958	Winner	defeat Rudá Hvězda Brno 4–1 in Belgrade, 3–2 in Brno

Biggest win in UEFA competition:

Season		Match		Score
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
1957–58		Red Star – Stade Dudelange		9–1
1969–70		Red Star – Linfield		8–0

Current squad

As of 7 August 2017.^[27][28][29]

First team

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Damir Kahriman 3 MF Branko Jovičić 4 MF Damien Le Tallec 5 DF Abraham Frimpong 6 MF Uroš Račić 8 MF Guélor Kanga 10 MF Nenad Milijaš (captain[30]) 11 MF Luka Adžić 14 FW Richmond Boakye 15 DF Srđan Babić (on loan from Real Sociedad[31]) 16 FW Nemanja Milić 20 MF Mitchell Donald (3rd captain[32]) 23 DF Milan Rodić

No. Position Player 30 DF Filip Stojković 33 DF Dušan Anđelković (vice-captain[33]) 40 MF Luka Ilić (on loan from Manchester City[34]) 44 DF Zé Marcos 45 FW Aleksandar Pešić 49 FW Nemanja Radonjić (on loan from Roma[34]) 55 MF Slavoljub Srnić 77 MF Marko Gobeljić 82 GK Milan Borjan 89 MF Ricardinho 90 DF Vujadin Savić 98 FW Vanja Vučićević

Players with multiple nationalities

• Filip Stojković
• Mitchell Donald
• Richmond Boakye
• Abraham Frimpong
• Vujadin Savić
• Milan Borjan

B List^[35]

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

No. Position Player 19 MF Veljko Nikolić 24 DF Slađan Rakić 28 FW Dejan Joveljić 29 DF Mateus Viveiros 32 GK Aleksandar Stanković

No. Position Player 34 DF Miloš Stojanović 73 FW Jug Stanojev 93 DF Aleksa Terzić 95 MF Ivan Ilić (on loan from Manchester City[34])

Other^[36]

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

No. Position Player 21 DF Stefan Milošević 41 GK Jovan Vićić –– GK Ognjen Obradović –– GK Ilija Ćatić –– DF Draško Đorđević –– DF Marko Mijailović –– DF Nemanja Stojić –– MF Stefan Ćosić –– MF Andrija Crnadak –– MF Milan Milanović

No. Position Player –– MF Viktor Živojinović –– MF Miloš Z. Nikolić –– MF Nikola Puzić –– MF Andrija Luković –– MF Damjan Gojkov –– MF Milan Senić –– FW Milan Panović –– FW Miloš Vukić –– FW Darko Grozdanoski

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player 9 FW Milan Pavkov (at Radnički Niš until the end of the 2017–18 season)[37] –– DF Bogdan Račić (at Sremac Vojka until the end of the 2017–18 season)[38]

No. Position Player –– FW Lazar Romanić (at Borac Čačak)[39]

For recent transfers, see List of Serbian football transfers summer 2017.

Retired number(s)

12 – Delije (the 12th Man)

Club officials

Coaching history

For details see List of Red Star Belgrade football coaches

Club presidents

Notable players

Stars of Red Star

Red Star has almost a 50-year-long tradition of giving the title of the Star of Red Star (Serbian: Звездина звезда / Zvezdina zvezda) to the players that had a major impact on the club's history and 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 1st Star of Red Star: Rajko Mitić
• The 2nd Star of Red Star: Dragoslav Šekularac
• The 3rd Star of Red Star: Dragan Džajić
• The 4th Star of Red Star: Vladimir Petrović "Pižon"
• The 5th Star of Red Star: Dragan Stojković "Piksi"
• The 6th Star of Red Star: The 1991 European Cup Winner Generation

The 1991 European Cup Winner Generation

Coach:

• Ljupko Petrović, born in Brusnica Velika, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, spent his playing career in Yugoslavia with Osijek in the 1970s, and in the United States playing indoor soccer during the early 1980s. In 1982, he returned to Yugoslavia and began his coaching career at youth levels of his former club Osijek. In 1984, he became assistant manager at Spanish side Espanyol, but soon returned to Osijek to become manager for three years. Later, he spent one season with Spartak Subotica before coaching the Yugoslavia national team youth levels in 1987 and 1988. Next, he managed Vojvodina between 1988 and 1990, where he won the Yugoslav championship in 1989. This success opened the door for him at Red Star, who brought him in alongside Siniša Mihajlović from Vojvodina. After winning the European and Intercontinental Cups with Red Star, he went on to coach numerous clubs throughout the world.^[40]

Goalkeepers:

• Stevan Stojanović (Captain), born in Kosovska Mitrovica, SR Serbia, was Red Star goalkeeper for almost a decade. He later played with Royal Antwerp in Belgium. He was Yugoslav U-21 and Olympic international. He was the captain of the team and after retiring became players agent. During the period Dragan Stojković was Red Star president he returned to the club as sports director.^[40]
• Milić Jovanović, born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, came to Red Star from Napredak, and later played during the 1990s in Portugal.
• Željko Kaluđerović, born in Bar, SR Montenegro, came to Red Star from Mornar. He later played with Djurgården in Sweden.

Defenders:

• Miodrag Belodedici, born in Socol, Romania, was the only foreigner in Red Star that season, although his family was part of the Serbian minority in Romania. He came to Red Star after defecting from Ceaușescu's regime in 1988. By the time he came, he already won the European Cup with Steaua in 1986, and 5 Romanian championships, and was an established player of the Romanian national team. After 3 seasons in Belgrade, he continued his career in Spanish La liga with Valencia, Valladolid and Villarreal, before finishing his career in Mexico playing with Atlante. He made over 50 appearances for the Romanian national team and was part of Romanian squad at the 1994 World Cup, Euro 1996 and Euro 2000. After retiring, he became director in the Romanian Football Federation responsible for the youth program.^[40]
• Goran Jurić, born in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, played with Velež before joining Red Star. Afterward he played in Spain, Croatia and Japan. He was in the Croatia squad for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, where Croatia finished third.
• Slobodan Marović, born in Bar, SR Montenegro, played with Osijek before joining Red Star. Afterward he continued his career in Sweden, Denmark and China. He was a Yugoslav international. After retiring he involved himself in the turism business renting apartments in his hometown Bar. Later between 2010 and 2012 he was assistant manager at Red Star while Prosinečki was the coach.^[40]
• Ivica Momčilović, born in Bojnik, SR Serbia, played with Napredak before joining Red Star. Afterward he played in Cyprus and Sweden.
• Ilija Najdoski, born in Kruševo, SR Macedonia, was one of the main Vardar players during the 1980s. He joined Red Star in 1988. After 4 season with the Red&White's he moved to Spain where he played 2 seasons in La liga with Valladolid. He later played with Denizlispor, CSKA Sofia and FC Sion before retiring. He was Yugoslav international, and later during the mid-1990s one of the main players of the Macedonian national team. For a short period he was in the direction board of the Football Federation of Macedonia. His son, Dino, also became footballer.^[40]
• Duško Radinović, born in SR Montenegro, played with OFK Titograd and Sutjeska before joining Red Star. Afterward he played in Sweden. He got injured day before the final and missed the game because of it, but his contribution in getting there was significant. After retiring "Radin" continued living in Sweden where he became a highschool teacher and where also keeps his links wiith football by being the assistant manager of Malmö City FC.^[40]
• Refik Šabanadžović, born in Tuzi, SR Montenegro, a Montenegrin Bosniak, he played with Željezničar Sarajevo where he became one of their main players during the mid-1980s and a Yugoslav national team player. He came to Red Star in 1987 and played 4 seasons in Belgrade. Later he moved to Greece where he played 7 seasons in the very top of Greek football with AEK Athens and Olympiacos. He finished his career in the United States. He was a member of the Yugoslav 1988 Olympic squad and played in the 1990 World Cup. After retiring, he lives between Podgorica and Sarajevo where he owns caffe's, Studio 5 and Studio 4 respectively.^[40]
• Goran Vasilijević, born in SR Serbia, played with Zemun and Radnički Niš before coming to Red Star. Later he played in Bulgaria and Japan.

Midfielders:

• Vladimir Jugović, born in Milutovac, SR Serbia, was one of the main Yugoslav players during the 1990s. He came young to Red Star, however, in three seasons he won it all. He joined Sampdoria in 1992, later Juventus, Lazio and Inter, and will play in the Italian Serie A until 2001, with the exception of the 1998–99 season that he will play in the Spanish La Liga with Atlético Madrid. He played 41 matches for the Yugoslav national team, scoring on three occasions, and was present at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. Among all members of this generation, he is the one that won most trophies in his career. After ending his career he spent a short period in the direction board of Red Star. Later he became players agent and spends time scouting players and helping them build a strong career. He mainly lived in Vienna, but also in Belgrade, Monaco and Palma de Mallorca.^[40]
• Siniša Mihajlović, born in Vukovar, SR Croatia, a Serb from Croatia, started playing with a local club, Borovo, from where he moved to Vojvodina. He was part of Vojvodina golden generation that won the Yugoslav championship in 1989. A year later he came to Red Star and became one of the more influential and charismatic players. In 1992 when economical and sports sanctions were imposed to FR Yugoslavia not allowing its teams to compete internationally, he moved to Italy where he played the rest of his career with Serie A teams Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter. He is considered by specialists as one of the best free-kick takers of all time. He played 63 matches and scored 10 goals for the Yugoslav national team, and was present at the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. After retiring he became a coach.
• Robert Prosinečki, born in Schwenningen, West Germany, was a son of Yugoslav emigrants. Still in Germany he started playing in the youth team of Stuttgarter Kickers. In 1980 he returned with his family to Yugoslavia and joined Dinamo Zagreb. He debuted for Dinamo senior team in 1986–87, however in the next season he was brought to Belgrade by Red Star. He immedatelly established himself as one of the most talented Yugoslav youngsters, a fame which will be confirmed by his exhibitions at the 1987 FIFA youth championship where he helped Yugoslav team win the gold and got himself acclaimed as tournament's best player. He was among the crutial players of Red Star during his 4 seasons in the club. In the meantime he also became Yugoslav national team player and played in the 1990 World Cup where he got the title of the best young player. With all this, it was no surprise his move to Real Madrid in 1991. After three seasons in Madrid, he played another three seasons in Spanish La liga, with Oviedo, Barcelona and Sevilla, one season each. By this time the old Yugoslavia got dismembered, and Prosi chose to represent his father country, Croatia. He became a regular in the Croatian national team and played with them in the Euro 1996, 1998 World Cup (where Croatia finished third) and 2002 World Cup. After retiring he became a coach. First he was assistant of Slaven Bilić in the Croatian national team and then it was preciselly Red Star that gave him the chance to debut as main coach where he stayed between 2010 and 2012.^[40]
• Dejan Savićević, born in Titograd, SR Montenegro, was playing with Budućnost when during the season 1987–88 he became chased by major Yugoslav clubs. The back then 21-year-old talented youngster at the end of the season ended up signing with Red Star and will become one of clubs legends. He was only 20 when he debuted for the Yugoslav national team and since then became a regular. He stayed three and a half seasons with Red Star, a period which was crowned with the 1991 European Cup and him winning the Ballon d'Or in 1991. Besides, he was awarded as the Yugoslav best athlete that same year. In 1992 he joined AC Milan and stayed in San Siro for the next 6 and a half years. With Milan he won in 1994 the Champions League and the European Supercup, besides 3 Serie A titles and 2 Italian Supercup titles. He became known by the Milan fans as Maestro and one of his main highlghts was the incredible goal he scored against Barcelona in the 1994 Champions League final. He left Milan during the 1998–99 winter break and joined again Red Star. However, he stayed only half a season, and left to Rapid Wien where he played two more seasons before retiring. During the entire 1990s he was among the main players of the Yugoslav national team, and has played in the 1990 and 1998 World Cups. After retreing for a period he coached FR Yugoslavia national team for a period, and in 2004 he became the president of the Football Association of Montenegro.^[40]
• Vlada Stošić, born in Vranje, SR Serbia, was only 19 when he came to Red Star in 1984. He stayed in the club until the winter break of the 1991–92 season when he moved to Spain and play with Mallorca and Betis during the mid-1990s. Then, in 1997, he joined Belodedici in Mexico and played a season with him at Atlante. He finished his career in Portugal with Vitoria Setubal. He played one match for the Yugoslav national team in 1990. Since mid-1990s he became involved in the direction of Betis where he later became sports director.^[40]
• Rade Tošić, born near Ugljevik, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, played most of the 1980s with Sloboda Tuzla. He became Yugoslav national team player and joined Hajduk Split in 1988. Red Star brought him from Hajduk in 1990. After two seasons with Red Star, he continued his career in Spain with Mérida and Castellón.

Strikers:

• Darko Pančev, born in Skopje, SR Macedonia, started playing with Vardar Skopje in 1982 and became Yugoslav First League topscorer in the 1983–84 season being only 19. Red Star brought him in summer 1988 and during the 4 seasons he spent in Belgrade, he became club's main goalscorer. He was again Yugoslav championship topscorer in 3 seasons in a row between 1989 until 1992, and he will win the European Golden Boot in 1991. He made 91 appearances and scored 84 goals in the league for Red Star. In 1992 he signed with Inter, however he didn't adapted well in Italy, and later played in Germany and Switzerland before finishing his career. Regarded as one of the best Macedonian players ever, he was a regular in the Yugoslav national team during the late 1980s and played with Yugoslavia in the 1990 World Cup. Later he played for the Macedonian national team in their first matches between 1993 and 1995. After retiring he worked shortly in the Macedonian Football Federation and later became the sports director of Vardar. However he decided to step away from football and became a caffe owner in Skopje.^[40]
• Dragiša Binić, born in Kruševac, SR Serbia, played with Napredak and Radnički Niš before joining Red Star in 1987. He played with Red Star only one season and will play with French side Brest and Spanish Levante before returning to a second spell with Red Star in what will be a European Cup winning season. After that season he moved abroad again playing with a number of clubs such as Slavia Prague, APOEL and Nagoya Grampus. He played for the Yugoslav national team in 1990 and 1991. After retiring, he entered the direction board of FK Obilić, first a sports director and then as club president. He kept his ties with Red Star by being member of the club assembly. He was also the president of FK Napredak Kruševac. His son, Vladan is also a footballer.^[40]
• Vladan Lukić, born in Sopot, SR Serbia, came to Red Star in 1986 aged only 16. His great scoring abilities made him become a regular in the Yugoslav national team in 1991, however his luck turned around in a match against Austria when he got an injury. He left Red Star in 1993 when he joined Atlético Madrid. During his career until 2000 he also played with Vojvodina, OFK Belgrade, Marbella, Sion, Metz and Paniliakos. In 1998 he played 2 more games for FR Yugoslavia national team. After retiring he became the chairman of his hometown club, FK Sopot, and between 2009 and 2012 he was Red Star president.
• Ljubiša Milojević, played with Rad Belgrade before joining Red Star. Afterward he played in Greece.

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have played at least 80 matches for the club.

Flags indicate national teams they played for, not nationality.

Notable foreign players

To appear in this section a player must have played at least 30 matches for the club.

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit Manufacturer	Shirt Sponsor
1977–79	Admiral
1979–91	Puma	Kristal Zaječar – Drina – de LUXE – Lee Cooper – Casucci – Mister Baby – DEXIM
1991–93	Hummel	Classic
1993–94		Komercijalna banka
1994–96	Diadora	Beobanka
1996–98	Kappa
1998–01		Pils Light
2001–02	Adidas
2002–05		Wiener Städtische Sharp
2005–06		Toyota
2006–08	Nike
2008–09
2010		2344 – Za moju Zvezdu
2010–12		Gazprom
2012–13	Legea
2013–17	Puma
2017–	Macron

In popular culture

The club's name in Serbian is also the title of the 2013 Italian novel Crvena Zvezda by Enrico Varrecchione. Written in the alternate history genre, utilizing elements of uchronia, its story is based on the premise of what if the 9 November 1988 return leg of the European Cup second round clash between Red Star and AC Milan hadn't been ordered abandoned by German referee Dieter Pauly in the 65th minute due to thick fog that night in Belgrade. Red Star were leading 1–0 after a goal by Dejan Savićević and were also a man up due to Milan striker Pietro Paolo Virdis receiving a red card. After abandonment, UEFA cancelled the match and ordered it replayed in full the next day. This time it finished 1–1 and went to penalties (the first leg in Milan also ended 1–1) where Milan won and went through to the quarter-finals, eventually winning the European Cup — thus getting the coveted trophy again after twenty years, the club's first under its recently arrived owner, ambitious businessman Silvio Berlusconi. In the novel's parallel universe, Red Star won the 8 November 1988 match in Belgrade and eliminated AC Milan, which thus never won its 1989 European Cup, meaning that Berlusconi's ultimate entry into Italian politics had a much weaker background push, which adversely affected his performance at the 1994 Italian general election.^[41] The novel also follows the fate of Red Star's fictional striker, loosely based on Savićević, Jovan Eldzic who scored the famous goal in the fog and later went on to transfer to AC Milan where he achieved more accolades, eventually taking Italian citizenship, remaining living in Italy upon retiring from football before entering politics and running for mayor of a small town in Piedmont's Alessandria province.^[41]

Billy Bragg's 1991 UK top thirty hit song "Sexuality" contains the lyric "I had an uncle who once played for Red Star Belgrade." When interviewed many years later Bragg was asked if this was true, to which he replied that his uncle actually played for Fulham but that did not fit the rhyme with played.^[42]

Two non-related bands, one of them from Great Yarmouth, Great Britain,^[43][44] and the other one from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States,^[45] shared the name Red Star Belgrade.

A football club in Ecuador, in the city of Cuenca, created in 1961, is inspired in Red Star Belgrade. It is named CDS Estrella Roja. Estrella Roja is the translation and the way Red Star is known in Spanish speaking countries. The club crest is even the same as the one Red Star had between 1995 and 2011.^[46]

References

External links

Official

• Official website
• Red Star Belgrade at UEFA