FK Smederevo 1924

Fudbalski klub Smederevo 1924 (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Смедерево 1924), commonly known as Smederevo, is a Serbian professional football club based in Smederevo.

Smederevo 1924
Full nameFudbalski klub Smederevo 1924
Nickname(s)Oklopnici (The Armors)
Founded6 May 1924 (1924-05-06)
GroundSmederevo Stadium
Capacity17,200
Head coachSaša Mićović
LeagueSerbian First League
2022–23Serbian League West, 1st (promoted)

At the beginning of the 2000s, the club (then known as Sartid Smederevo) became one of the most successful clubs in the country and took part in European competitions in five consecutive seasons, with some memorable matches against the likes of TSV 1860 Munich and Ipswich Town. The club achieved its greatest success by defeating Red Star Belgrade 1–0 in the 2002–03 Serbia and Montenegro Cup final.

History

Acting on suggestion from chief engineer Ernest Radlinski, the club was first founded on 6 May 1924 by SARTID (Srpsko akcionarsko rudarsko topioničarsko industrijsko društvo) as FK Sartid. At the beginning, FK Sartid's roster was mostly filled with professional players from Hungary, Austria and Germany and the club failed to make much noise in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's football scene. Then in 1944, it was essentially disbanded by Yugoslavia's new communist authorities following the end of World War II, along with the entire Sartid factory whose property was nationalized.

Though it is not certain if what followed can be viewed in continuity with FK Sartid, many fans consider it to be a part of club's history, so depending on one's opinion, either a new club appeared or the name was simply changed to FK Metalac in 1944.

The following period was marked by numerous name changes. Two years later in 1946 the name was switched to FK Jedinstvo, and it lasted only three years until 1949 when it was changed to FK Smederevo.

Sartid crest (1992–2004)

In 1958, FK Smederevo merged with FK Metalac to form OFK Budućnost, the name that stuck around until 1962 when it was switched back to FK Smederevo. That setup lasted until 1967, when the club became FK Metalurg.

In 1976, the name was switched to FK Smederevo for the third time, lasting until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.

All throughout this 48-year period, the club toiled in lower leagues (Serbian regional league, etc.).

FK Sartid was reborn in 1992 when Sartid metallurgical concern took over the club's ownership and sponsorship, and promptly switched to its original name. The renaissance commenced immediately as the club went from Smederevo Zone League to Yugoslav First League in six seasons. The 1998–99 campaign will go down in history as the club's first in top flight. The club's success in this period was tied to their main board president Dušan Matković. In addition to his position at FK Sartid, Matković was also a high-ranking official of Slobodan Milošević's party SPS as well as Minister of Industry in the government of Mirko Marjanović. The allegations that the club was involved in various illegal and irregular activities, and also protected from persecution because of their powerful benefactor, during this period are numerous.

After losing the national cup final to Crvena Zvezda in 2002, the club won the competition against the same opponent in 2003.[1] In the summer of 2004, the club changed its name back to FK Smederevo.[2][3]

The most noted player is former team captain Goran Bogdanović. He retired after the 2003–04 season.[4]

In summer 2014, FK Smederevo merged with FK Seljak from Mihajlovac to form FK Semendrija 1924. In January 2015, the club changed its name to FK Smederevo 1924. They finished 7th in the 2014–15 Serbian League West.[5]

In the 2018–19 season FK Smederevo 1924 finished first in the Serbian League West and were promoted to the Serbian First League.

In the 2022–23 season FK Smederevo 1924 won the Serbian League West and were promoted to the Serbian First League again.

Names of the club through history

Year Club
1924–1944FK Sartid Smederevo
1944–1946FK Metalac Smederevo
1946–1949FD Jedinstvo Smederevo
1949–1952ŽSD Smederevo
1952–1958FK Smederevo
1958–1962OFK Budućnost Smederevo – fusion FK Smederevo and FK Metalac
1962–1967FK Smederevo
1967–1976FK Metalurg Smederevo
1976–1992FK Smederevo
1992–2004FK Sartid Smederevo
2004–2014FK Smederevo
2014–2015FK Semendrija 1924 Smederevo – fusion FK Smederevo and FK Seljak Mihajlovac
2015–FK Smederevo 1924

European seasons

2001–02

The trio of Nenad Mirosavljević (15 league goals), Vladimir Mudrinić (earned a mid-season move to Zenit Saint Petersburg) and Goran Bogdanović led the way on pitch during 2001–02 campaign that, among other things, will be remembered for the absence of now customary mid-season Sartid coaching changes. Head coach Jovica Škoro confidently guided his team to a 3rd place league finish and a Yugoslav Cup final where they were unlucky to lose to the more experienced Red Star side.

On the European front, Sartid competed in UEFA Intertoto Cup where they recorded a memorable first round win versus Dundee (0–0 away, 5–2 at home before 16,000 fans). Unfortunately, the journey ended in second round versus an experienced TSV 1860 München side featuring veterans Thomas Häßler and Vidar Riseth (1–3 away, 2–3 at home).

2002–03

The year that started off in high style almost turned sour towards the end with a string of poor results that sent the team spiraling down the table. Management reacted quickly, sacking coach Škoro in April,[6] and bringing in Milenko Kiković for his second stint with the club.[7] The move paid immediate dividends and relegation was avoided comfortably. And if that wasn't enough cause for celebration, Sartid managed to beat Crvena Zvezda 1–0 in Serbia and Montenegro Cup final at Partizan Stadium, achieving the club's greatest success in history.[8]

Similarly to Sartid's domestic campaign, the year in Europe started off glowingly. They quickly disposed of Welsh side Bangor City to reach the UEFA Cup first round where Ipswich Town was waiting. The hopes were further raised following a favourable away result 1–1, meaning they just needed to keep a clean sheet at home to progress.[9] However, the combination of Marcus Bent converting an early 9th-minute penalty and Sartid failing to score for the remainder of the match spelled painful elimination.[10]

2003–04

The 2003–04 campaign was another fairly stable season in top league result wise. Though as usual not on the coaching front. New head coach Ratko Dostanić, brought in before the season, started off tremendously. In UEFA Cup, he led the squad to a memorable win in a tie against Sarajevo. With Dostanić firmly in charge, Sartid's form continued in the domestic league, too. At the midway point of the season Sartid was sitting in third place, just behind Belgrade powerhouses Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. During the winter break, Dostanić wanted the team captain Goran Bogdanović promoted to the role of technical director, but new club president Thomas Kelly would have none of it so Dostanić decided to leave.[11][12] In January 2004, Zvonko Varga was appointed as a new coach,[13] but he left the club after only few matches. Afterwards, old face Milenko Kiković was brought back to coach and he managed to complete a successful season for the club.

2004–05

The following 2004–05 season was not nearly as happy. It started off alright with demolition of lowly Andorran side Sant Julià in Intertoto Cup first round, but the painful next round exit at the hands of Dinamo Minsk turned out to be ominous. All throughout the domestic campaign Smederevo battled relegation threat. During the winter break coach Kiković resigned leaving the team in 10th place with 17 points. New head coach Tomislav Sivić managed to narrowly keep the club in top flight.

2005–06

The 2005–06 season has been another difficult one for the club. The embarrassing Intertoto Cup first round exit to Prilep's Pobeda was a sign of things to come. After managing only 13 points from 11 league matches, head coach Tomislav Sivić resigned on 1 November 2005 in the wake of the team's third straight league loss. Following a period under a caretaker, club appointed Spaniard Jaume Bauzà on 28 November 2005. Though the team's overall play somewhat improved, it was enough to avoid relegation at the end of the season.

Season-by-season record

Key

Champions Runners-up Promoted Relegated

Seasons

Domestic and international results of Smederevo
Season League Cup Europe
Division Pos P W D L F A Pts
1996–97 Div 2 ↑ 1st † 34 26 4 4 77 20 82
1997–98 Div 1B ↑ 2nd ‡ 33 19 6 8 46 23 63 QF
1998–99 Div 1 9th 24 7 9 8 24 27 30 QF
1999–00 Div 1 16th 40 14 8 18 42 47 50 R2
2000–01 Div 1 4th 34 17 3 14 49 47 54 R2
2001–02 Div 1 3rd 34 17 7 10 46 36 58 F UEFA Intertoto Cup – R2
2002–03 Div 1 11th 34 10 15 9 44 44 45 W UEFA Cup – R1
2003–04 Div 1 5h 30 14 7 9 43 36 49 R2 UEFA Cup – R1
2004–05 Div 1 10th 30 9 10 11 28 36 37 QF UEFA Intertoto Cup – R2
2005–06 Div 1 11th 30 11 6 13 30 37 39 QF UEFA Intertoto Cup – R1
2006–07 Div 1 8th 30 12 7 13 33 40 43 R1
2007–08 Div 1 ↓ 10th 33 10 6 17 33 44 36 R2
2008–09 Div 2 ↑ 2nd ‡ 34 19 9 6 47 24 66 QF
2009–10 Div 1 10th 30 8 10 12 23 30 34 QF
2010–11 Div 1 10th 30 8 11 11 24 31 35 R2
2011–12 Div 1 13th 30 9 2 19 22 42 29 QF
2012–13 Div 1 ↓ 16th 30 3 6 21 18 53 15 R2
2013–14 Div 2 ↓ 16th 30 8 7 15 26 38 31 R1
2014–15 Div 3 7th 30 12 8 10 39 35 44 PR
2015–16 Div 3 3rd 30 16 4 10 46 33 52
2016–17 Div 3 7th 30 11 6 13 33 27 39
2017–18 Div 3 3rd 34 19 7 8 60 31 64
2018–19 Div 3 ↑ 1st † 30 19 8 3 46 18 64[lower-alpha 1]
2019–20 Div 2 ↓ 16th 30 9 5 16 27 47 22[lower-alpha 2]
2020–21 Div 3 6th 34 15 8 11 53 40 53 R1
2021–22 Div 3 6th 30 13 9 8 51 34 48
2022–23 Div 3 ↑ 1st † 30 24 5 1 62 17 77
2023–24 Div 2 37 R1

UEFA competitions

Season Competition Round Country Club Home Away Aggregate
2001–02 Intertoto Cup R1 Scotland Dundee 5–2 0–0 5–2
R2 Germany 1860 München 2–3 1–3 3–6
2002–03 UEFA Cup QR Wales Bangor City 2–0 0–1 2–1
R1 England Ipswich Town 0–1 1–1 1–2
2003–04 UEFA Cup QR Bosnia and Herzegovina Sarajevo 3–0 1–1 4–1
R1 Czech Republic Slavia Praha 1–2 1–2 2–4
2004–05 Intertoto Cup R1 Andorra Sant Julià 3–0 8–0 11–0
R2 Belarus Dinamo Minsk 1–3 2–1 3–4
2005–06 Intertoto Cup R1 North Macedonia Pobeda 0–1 1–2 1–3

Stadium

Smederevo's stadium, its unofficial and popular name is The Fortress,[14] is one of the most modern stadiums in Serbia. The stadium can hold up to 17,200 spectators. It also has one of the best pitches in the country. It was first built in 1930, but it was greatly expanded into a modern-day stadium in 2000.

The unofficial name of the stadium is based on one of the biggest fortresses in Europe that is located in Smederevo.[15]

Supporters

The supporters of FK Smederevo are known as Despoti (The Despots).[16] The name is based on a famous ruler of medieval Serbia Đurađ Branković and his title of Despot.

Current squad

As of 9 October 2023[17]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Serbia SRB Strahinja Jović
3 DF Serbia SRB Ivan Ćorković
4 DF Serbia SRB Aleksa Jovanović
5 MF Serbia SRB Miroljub Kostić
6 MF Serbia SRB Nikola Vujičić
7 MF Serbia SRB Dimitrije Petronijević
8 MF Serbia SRB Nikola Stojković (captain)
9 FW Bosnia and Herzegovina BIH Nemanja Dragutinović
10 DF Serbia SRB Nikola Dimitrijević
11 DF Serbia SRB Aleksa Marković
12 GK Serbia SRB Lazar Kaličanin (on loan from Čukarički)
14 DF Serbia SRB Stefan Radić
15 DF Serbia SRB Petar Panić
No. Pos. Nation Player
16 FW Serbia SRB Igor Marisavljević
17 FW Serbia SRB Nikola Jovanović
18 MF Serbia SRB Vladimir Ilić
19 DF Serbia SRB Luka Luković
20 MF Serbia SRB Krsta Bojić
21 FW Serbia SRB Nemanja Obradović
22 MF Serbia SRB Miloš Ožegović
23 MF Serbia SRB Stefan Stevanović
24 FW Serbia SRB David Ivić (on loan from Železničar Pančevo)
25 FW Serbia SRB Dušan Ristić
26 DF Serbia SRB Miloš Radivojević
27 MF Serbia SRB Stefan Pirgić
31 GK Serbia SRB Petar Kašić

Notable players

Below are the notable players who have represented the club in national and international competitions since the club's foundation in 1924. To appear in the section below, a player must have played in at least 100 league matches for the club, at least 50 league matches for the club and have at least 1 appearance for their national team, or have at least 5 appearances for their national team.

Rank. Player Period Apps Goals Int. Apps Int. Goals
1Serbia Milorad Zečević2000–201024039n/a
2Serbia Saša Kocić1995–2001; 2002–200622418n/a
3Serbia Dejan Ranković2000–2001; 2002–20121800n/a
4Serbia Dejan Živković2006–201316616n/a
5Serbia Marko Sočanac2000–20081662n/a
6Serbia Dragan Radosavljević2000–2006; 2007–2008; 201315711n/a
7Serbia Vladimir Mudrinić2000–2001; 2003–2004; 2006–200814830n/a
8Serbia Nenad Mirosavljević2000–2004; 200713063n/a
9Serbia Dragan Ćeran2005–201112918n/a
10Serbia Ivan Milosavljević2010–2012; 2015–20191291n/a
11Serbia and Montenegro Dragan Paunović2000–20061142n/a
12Serbia Dragan Žilić2001–2005112080
13Serbia and Montenegro Goran Bogdanović2000–20041057n/a
14Serbia Željko Kovačević2003–2007; 20091043n/a
15Serbia Saša Antunović1998–2002; 200410221n/a
16Serbia Dejan Kekezović2002–20061023n/a
17Serbia Nenad Mladenović2006–2010922110
18Serbia and Montenegro Boris Vasković2000–200392430
19Serbia Saša Zorić2003–200663720
20Montenegro Dejan Ognjanović2010–20124527[lower-alpha 3]0
21Serbia Marko Pantelić200331134310
22North Macedonia Blaže Georgioski1998–199923170
23Serbia Mateja Kežman19981444917
24Serbia Goran Trobok2017140100
25Liberia Omega Roberts2012–201314081
26Serbia Ivan Radovanović2007130100
27North Macedonia Vlade Lazarevski2012130430

For a list of all Smederevo players with a Wikipedia article, please see: Category:FK Smederevo 1924 players.

Managerial history

Honours

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
20012003 NAAI SARTID
20032004 USS
20052011 Nike
2012 City of Smederevo
20122014 NAAI None

See also

References

  1. "Sartid osvojio Kup Srbije i Crne Gore!" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  2. "FK Sartid menja ime u FK Smederevo" (in Serbian). b92.net. 7 July 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  3. "Sartid revert to Smederevo". uefa.com. 26 July 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  4. "Oproštajna utakmica Gorana Bogdanovića" (in Serbian). b92.net. 30 July 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  5. "Srpska liga Zapad - Rezultati".
  6. "Škoro quits Sartid". uefa.com. 20 April 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  7. "Kikovic glad of second chance". uefa.com. 23 April 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  8. "Pantelic strike seals it for Sartid". uefa.com. 30 May 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  9. "Sartid hold Ipswich". bbc.co.uk. 19 September 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  10. "Ipswich overcome Sartid". guardian.co.uk. 3 October 2002. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  11. "B92: Dostanić napustio Sartid" (in Serbian). b92.net. 23 December 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  12. "Dostanic quits at Sartid". uefa.com. 24 December 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  13. "Varga faces Sartid challenge". uefa.com. 6 January 2004. Retrieved 22 August 2011.
  14. "SRBIJA DOBIJA JOŠ JEDAN FUDBALSKI OBJEKAT ZA PONOS: "Tvrđava" u potpuno novom ruhu? (VIDEO)". Republika.rs | Srpski telegraf (in Serbian). 2023-05-03. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  15. Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "Smederevo Fortress". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
  16. FANATIK: Kup je praznik za Ultrase! at mozzartsport.com, 24-9-2014, retrieved 19-4-2016 (in Serbian)
  17. Smederevo 1924 squad at prvaliga.rs, 5-8-2023 (in Serbian)
  1. 1 point deducted by FA
  2. 10 point deducted by FA
  3. 2 international apps for FR Yugoslavia and 5 for Montenegro
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