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 name	Fudbalski klub Smederevo 1924
Nickname(s)	Oklopnici (The Armors)
Founded	6 May 1924; 98 years ago (1924-05-06) as SK Sartid July 8, 2004; 18 years ago (2004-07-08) as FK Smederevo
Ground	Smederevo Stadium
Capacity	17,200
Head coach	Sava Šašić
League	Serbian League West
2021–22	Serbian League West, 6th
Home colours Away colours

During Yugoslavia the club mainly played in amateur ranks of competition.

Sartid Smederevo as the club was known in this era (Srpsko akcionarsko rudarsko topioničarsko industrijsko društvo) managed to beat Crvena Zvezda 1–0 in the 2002–03 Serbia and Montenegro Cup final at Partizan Stadium, achieving the club's greatest success in its history. Marko Pantelic scoring the winning goal in the 110th minute of the game.

At the start of the year 2000 the club started to become significant within Serbian football and even managed to qualify for UEFA Cup where they had some memorable wins against the likes of Dundee FC, Bangor City, FK Sarajevo, UE Sant Julià. The club also played some big opposition been competitive but eventually losing ties to clubs such as 1860 München, Ipswich Town and Slavia Praha.

The club's most famous European tie came against Ipswich Town FC in the 2002–03 UEFA Cup, following a favourable away result 1–1 in England, Sartid were favourites to go to the next round meaning they just needed to keep a clean sheet at home to progress. 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. Even though the club was eliminated, it was still a proud moment for its supporters coming up against an historic English club in Ipswich Town FC.

Key players during this successful era for the club were : Nenad Mirosavljević, Vladimir Mudrinić, Goran Bogdanović and Marko Pantelic.

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.

Names of the club through history

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

League P = Matches played W = Matches won D = Matches drawn L = Matches lost F = Goals for A = Goals against Pts = Points won Pos = Final position

Serbia Div 1 = Serbian SuperLiga Div 2 = Serbian First League Div 3 = Serbian League West Cup = Serbian Cup

Cup / Europe N/A = Was not held — = Did not compete QR = Qualifying round PR = Play-off round R1 = First round R2 = Second round QF = Quarter-final SF = Semi-final F = Final/Runner-up W = Competition won

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^[a]	—	—
2019–20	Div 2 ↓	16th	30	9	5	16	27	47	22^[b]	—	—
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	—	—

UEFA competitions

Season	Competition	Round	Country	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2001–02	Intertoto Cup	R1		Dundee	5–2	0–0	5–2
		R2		1860 München	2–3	1–3	3–6
2002–03	UEFA Cup	QR		Bangor City	2–0	0–1	2–1
		R1		Ipswich Town	0–1	1–1	1–2
2003–04	UEFA Cup	QR		Sarajevo	3–0	1–1	4–1
		R1		Slavia Praha	1–2	1–2	2–4
2004–05	Intertoto Cup	R1		Sant Julià	3–0	8–0	11–0
		R2		Dinamo Minsk	1–3	2–1	3–4
2005–06	Intertoto Cup	R1		Pobeda	0–1	1–2	1–3

Stadium

Main article: Smederevo Stadium

Smederevo's stadium 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.

Supporters

The supporters of FK Smederevo are known as Despoti (The Despots).^[14]

Current squad

As of 21 July 2020^[15]

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   SRB Nikola Tasić 2 DF   SRB Petar Panić 3 DF   SRB Milan Blagojević 6 DF   SRB Saša Marković 7 MF   SRB Nikola Nešović 8 MF   SRB Nikola Stojković 9 FW   SRB Miloš Zličić 10 MF   SRB Miroslav Stanić (captain) 11 DF   SRB Aleksa Marković 12 GK   SRB Ivan Lučić 14 MF   SRB Stefan Nedović 15 DF   GHA Sadick Abubakar 16 MF   BIH Marko Simović 17 FW   SRB Marko Kilibarda

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 MF   SRB Igor Milovanović 20 MF   SRB Krsta Bojić 21 FW   NGA Moses John 22 MF   SRB Predrag Luka 24 DF   CRO Arian Mršulja 26 FW   SRB Miloš Rnić 27 DF   SRB Predrag Stanimirović 28 DF   UKR Maksym Andrushchenko 30 MF   SRB Nikola Đuričić 33 FW   SRB Slobodan Babić (on loan from Napredak Kruševac) 50 GK   SRB Žarko Trifunović 55 MF   SRB Stefan Levićanin 69 DF   SRB Slađan Rakić (on loan from Spartak Subotica) 99 FW   SRB Miloš Bajić

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 5 DF   SRB Marko Marković (at Mladi Radnik until the end of the 2019–20 season)^[16] 7 MF   SRB Nemanja Stojanović (at Proleter Mihajlovac until the end of the 2019–20 season)^[16] 9 FW   SRB Nenad Milentijević (at Proleter Mihajlovac until the end of the 2019–20 season)^[16]

No. Pos. Nation Player 10 DF   SRB Goran Lepojević (at Mladi Radnik until the end of the 2019–20 season)^[16] — GK   SRB Danijel Dobrić (at Proleter Mihajlovac until the end of the 2019–20 season)^[16]

For recent transfers, see List of Serbian football transfers summer 2019 and List of Serbian football transfers winter 2019–20.

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
1	Milorad Zečević	2000–2010	240	39	n/a
2	Saša Kocić	1995–2001; 2002–2006	224	18	n/a
3	Dejan Ranković	2000–2001; 2002–2012	180	0	n/a
4	Dejan Živković	2006–2013	166	16	n/a
5	Marko Sočanac	2000–2008	166	2	n/a
6	Dragan Radosavljević	2000–2006; 2007–2008; 2013	157	11	n/a
7	Vladimir Mudrinić	2000–2001; 2003–2004; 2006–2008	148	30	n/a
8	Nenad Mirosavljević	2000–2004; 2007	130	63	n/a
9	Dragan Ćeran	2005–2011	129	18	n/a
10	Ivan Milosavljević	2010–2012; 2015–2019	129	1	n/a
11	Dragan Paunović	2000–2006	114	2	n/a
12	Dragan Žilić	2001–2005	112	0	8	0
13	Goran Bogdanović	2000–2004	105	7	n/a
14	Željko Kovačević	2003–2007; 2009	104	3	n/a
15	Saša Antunović	1998–2002; 2004	102	21	n/a
16	Dejan Kekezović	2002–2006	102	3	n/a
17	Nenad Mladenović	2006–2010	92	21	1	0
18	Boris Vasković	2000–2003	92	4	3	0
19	Saša Zorić	2003–2006	63	7	2	0
20	Dejan Ognjanović	2010–2012	45	2	7^[c]	0
21	Marko Pantelić	2003	31	13	43	10
22	Blaže Georgioski	1998–1999	23	1	7	0
23	Mateja Kežman	1998	14	4	49	17
24	Goran Trobok	2017	14	0	10	0
25	Omega Roberts	2012–2013	14	0	8	1
26	Ivan Radovanović	2007	13	0	10	0
27	Vlade Lazarevski	2012	13	0	43	0

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

Managerial history

Date Name 1998   Branko Radović 1998–1999   Boško Antić 1999   Ivan Golac 2000   Milenko Kiković 2000   Slobodan Dogandžić 2000–2003   Jovica Škoro 2003   Milenko Kiković 2003   Ratko Dostanić 2004   Zvonko Varga 2004   Milenko Kiković 2005   Tomislav Sivić 2005–2006   Jaume Bauzà 2006–2007   Mihailo Ivanović 2007   Goran Milojević 2007–2008   Radmilo Ivančević 2008–2009   Dragan Đorđević 2009–2010   Blagoje Paunović 2010–2012   Dragan Đorđević

Date Name 2012   Aleksandar Janjić 2012–2013   Miloš Velebit 2013   Ljubomir Ristovski 2013   Radovan Radaković 2013   Branko Smiljanić 2013–2014   Mile Tomić 2014   Nemanja Smiljanić 2014–2016   Dragan Paunović 2016   Mihailo Ivanović 2016–2018   Milorad Zečević 2018   Ljubiša Stamenković 2018–2019   Zoran Vujičić 2019   Nikola Puača 2019   Nebojša Vučićević 2019–2020   Ognjen Koroman 2020   Nebojša Maksimović 2020–   Igor Savić

Honours

Serbia and Montenegro Cup

• 2002–03

Second League of FR Yugoslavia

• 1996–97 (Group West)

Serbian League West

• 2018–19

Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
2001–2003	NAAI	SARTID
2003–2004		USS
2005–2011	Nike
2012		City of Smederevo
2012–2014	NAAI	None

See also

• List of football clubs in Serbia

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. FANATIK: Kup je praznik za Ultrase! at mozzartsport.com, 24-9-2014, retrieved 19-4-2016 (in Serbian)
15. Smederevo 1924 squad at prvaliga.rs, 30-7-2019 (in Serbian)
16. Koroman na prvoj prozivci imao 33 fudbalera at podunavlje.info, 15-1-2020 (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

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to FK Smederevo.

• Profile club www.uefa.com (in English)
• Profile, results and tables club www.srbijasport.net (in Serbian)
• Profile, results and tables club (youth) www.srbijasport.net (in Serbian)