FK Spartak Subotica

Fudbalski klub Spartak Subotica (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Спартак Суботица) is a professional football club from Subotica, Serbia, that plays in the Serbian SuperLiga.

Spartak Subotica
Full nameFudbalski klub Spartak Subotica
Founded21 April 1945 (1945-04-21)
GroundSubotica City Stadium
Capacity13,000
PresidentNikola Simović
Head coachAleksandr Kerzhakov
LeagueSerbian SuperLiga
2022–23Serbian Superliga, 10th of 16

The club was founded in 1945 and was named after Jovan Mikić Spartak, the leader of the Partisans in Subotica, who was a national hero and was killed in 1944.

After the end of the 2007–08 Serbian League Vojvodina, the club merged with Zlatibor Voda which won promotion to the Serbian First League thus gaining the name Spartak Zlatibor Voda. In 2013, the board decided to return to the original name of the club.

History

Origins

Founded in 1945, FK Spartak Subotica is, after Vojvodina, the most successful club in northern Serbia. They participated in the first after-war club championship, in the 1946–47 Yugoslav First League and from then on, they played always in between the first and second national leagues. The biggest success of the club was achieved when the club played in the 1993–94 FR Yugoslavia Cup final against Partizan (1–6 loss).

However, football in Subotica has long tradition. During the pre-WWII period, the city was the seat of the Subotica Football Subassociation, one of the subassociations which existed within the Yugoslav Football Association, and which organised league competitions whose winners qualified for the Yugoslav championship where the national champion was decided. Subotica was home to three major clubs that made it to the Yugoslav championship before 1941: Bačka, SAND and ŽAK Subotica. Bačka has furthermore the record of being the oldest football club in the entire territory of former Yugoslavia.

When Second World War started in 1941 in Yugoslavia, Subotica was invaded by the Axis forces and incorporated into Hungary with its clubs being included in the Hungarian league system. At the end of the war Yugoslavia took control again of Subotica. Some clubs such as SAND were dissolved, others like Bačka kept existing although played a much lesser role from then on, and, some new ones were formed, like Radnički or Građanski. ŽAK Subotica kept being active for a while, however, their main sponsor, the Yugoslav Railways, decided to dissolve it and form a new club in its place which would be named "Spartak" which was the nickname of a legendary athlete from Subotica and World War II Yugoslav Partisans commander Jovan Mikić – Spartak. Besides the players, the stadium, the colors and the fans, Spartak also inherited from ŽAK the tradition of being backed by the Yugoslav Railways.[1]

1946 to 2006

During the period of socialist Yugoslavia, Spartak was a regular participant either in Yugoslav First or Second leagues. Although they never won the national championship, they were a feared adversary known for both, producing good homeground players that achieved quality careers domestically and abroad, and also bringing talented players from regions all around Yugoslavia. Spartak also contributed a number of players for the national team. During this period, the highlight was their presence as losing finalist of the 1961–62 Yugoslav Cup.

Spartak was cup finalist again, in the 1993–94 FR Yugoslavia Cup. By then the old SFR Yugoslavia broke-up and FR Yugoslavia formed by Serbia and Montenegro took its place. Spartak was a regular participant of the First League of FR Yugoslavia all way until 1999–2000 season when they were relegated and a period of crisis started.

During the first decade of the new millennium the club went downhills all way until 2008 when they merged with FK Zlatibor Voda from neighbouring town of Horgoš. Playing under the name FK Spartak Zlatibor Voda, the club started recovering finally reaching its come-back to top tier when they were promoted to the 2009–10 Serbian SuperLiga.

2006 till nowadays

Spartak's biggest success since Serbia restored its name as country in 2006, came in the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League qualifying rounds. They first defeated Northern Irish club Coleraine F.C. in Round 1, then went on to achieve what is considered their brightest moment in club history defeating Czech powerhouse AC Sparta Prague over two legs. They were eventually eliminated from the UEFA Europa League in the 3rd qualifying round, losing to Danish club Brøndby IF over two games.[2]

Supporters

Spartak's fans are known as Marinci (Marines), which were formed in early 1989.

Stadium

Subotica City Stadium (Gradski stadion[3]) is a multi-use stadium in Subotica, Serbia. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the club's home ground since 1945. The stadium holds 13,000 people. There is a football pitch and a registered track for athletics suitable for competitions. One part of the Stadium is covered. There are also two subsidiary football pitches.

Spartak in Europe

Mitropa Cup

The Mitropa Cup, officially called the La Coupe de l'Europe Centrale, was one of the first really international major European football cups that the club participated in. After World War II, in 1951, a replacement tournament named Zentropa Cup was held to resume the rich tradition of this competition.

Season Contest Round State Club Score Place
1987 Mitropa Cup semi-finals  Italy Ascoli 1–2 Ascoli
3./4. place  Hungary Vasas 0–2 Porto Sant'Elpidio

UEFA competitions

  • Qualified for Europe in 2 seasons
Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
2010–11 Europa League QR2 Luxembourg Differdange 03 2–0 3–3 5–3
QR3 Ukraine Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 2–1 0–2 2–3
2018–19 Europa League QR1 Northern Ireland Coleraine 1–1 2–0 3–1
QR2 Czech Republic Sparta Prague 2–0 1–2 3–2
QR3 Denmark Brøndby 0–2 1–2 1–4

Honours

League

National Championships – 1

Cup

Players

Current squad

As of 15 September 2023[5]

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 Aleksandar Vulić
2 DF Serbia SRB Ilija Miodragović
3 DF Serbia SRB Vladimir Vitorović
4 DF Serbia SRB Mihailo Bogićević
5 MF North Macedonia MKD Milosh Tosheski
6 MF Serbia SRB Aleksa Đurasović
7 FW Serbia SRB Veljko Jocić
9 FW Serbia SRB Ognjen Mudrinski
10 FW Serbia SRB Luka Bijelović
11 MF North Macedonia MKD Andrej Todoroski
12 GK Serbia SRB Marin Dulić
13 GK Serbia SRB Filip Manojlović
14 FW Serbia SRB Vojo Ubiparip
15 DF Serbia SRB Nemanja Ćalasan
16 MF Serbia SRB Danijel Kolarić
19 DF Serbia SRB Strahinja Tanasijević
20 MF Serbia SRB Miloš Mijić
No. Pos. Nation Player
21 FW Serbia SRB Ilija Babić
22 MF Serbia SRB Jug Stanojev
23 MF Serbia SRB Jovan Lukić
25 MF Serbia SRB Srđan Šćepanović
26 DF Serbia SRB Vladimir Prijović
27 MF Serbia SRB Miloš Rošević
29 MF Serbia SRB Lazar Stajković
30 DF Serbia SRB Ognjen Mitrović
34 DF Montenegro MNE Aleksa Đurasović
37 FW Nigeria NGA Collins Atule
44 MF Serbia SRB Vladan Vidaković (on loan from Maribor)
55 DF Serbia SRB Dejan Kerkez (captain)
81 DF Serbia SRB David Dunđerski
88 FW Serbia SRB Stefan Simin
99 FW Serbia SRB Boris Krstić

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Tanzania TAN Alphonce Msanga (at Novi Sad)
MF Tanzania TAN Morice Abraham (at Novi Sad)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Ghana GHA Kwaku Bonsu Osei (at Al-Kharaitiyat)

Players with multiple nationalities

Notable players

To appear in this section a player must have either:
  • Played at least 80 games for the club.
  • Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club.
  • Played at least one international match for their national team at any time.

For the list of all current and former players with Wikipedia article, please see: Category:FK Spartak Subotica players.

Managers

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

References

  1. gradsubotica.co.rs (in Serbian)
  2. "Spartak se odbranio i srušio Spartu!". b92.net (in Serbian). 2 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
  3. FK Spartak ZV Archived 22 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine at srpskistadioni.in.rs
  4. "Champions 1946". crvenazvezdafk.com. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  5. "Licensed for the Serbian SuperLiga". superliga.rs. Retrieved 6 October 2021.
  6. Od Zone do Zone by Radiša Dragićević, page 37 (in Serbian)
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