Having made the win against the team of OFK Beograd in the 29th week, the week before the last, with a score of 4:2, players of Crvena Zvezda secured the 26th title of the state champions, the first one after six years of long fast. Darko Lazovic, Nejc Pecnik, Dragan Mrdja and Milos Ninkovic were scorers in this game. There was no organized celebration of the title due to floods that previously hit Serbia and because of which many have suffered material and human losses.
Crvena Zvezda was defeated, in a way traditionally, in the first week match of the championship at Ivanjica with 4:2, and soon eliminated in the third round of the Europa League qualifiers. Although strengthened with experienced players such as Milos Ninkovic, Nikola Mijailovic and Nejc Pecnik, the team of coach Slavisa Stojanovic failed to open the season as everybody expected. Before the first derby match of the season Crvena Zvezda was four points behind Partizan, but in the 145th eternal derby it celebrated with 1:0 and that way came to only one point deficit. The deficit of one point remained at the end of the autumn part of the championship, although it came quite close not to be so. In the game of the 15th week against Vojvodina, Crvena Zvezda made a win with a goal of Dragan Mrdja in the 90th minute, which may have been the key win in the championship race. Previously, three days earlier, Vojvodina eliminated Crvena Zvezda from the Cup, by winning at Marakana stadium.
The win in the 145th eternal derby was at the same time the introduction to a long winning run that lasted for 15 weeks. Slavisa Stojanovic this way became the coach with the longest winning run in the club’s history. Crvena Zvezda waited the next 146th derby with six points ahead of the eternal rival and had the opportunity with a win to go nine points ahead and to practically secure the title at the JNA stadium. However, Partizan celebrated with 2:1 thus ending the Crvena Zvezda’s winning run, and also postponing the champion celebration of the red-whites, who subsequently beat Rad at Marakana stadium and Sloboda at Uzice before theoretically securing the championship title, the first after six long years.
While on shoulders of players he had faith in even at most difficult times, Stojanovic has barely managed to hide his emotions.
- This was a crazy game in an even crazier season. We saw six goals. We decided the game at the very finish. My congratulations go to players, who mostly deserved this great success, as well as to fans that supported us throughout the entire season. I consider this to be a really great success for the club. This is not the first title for me, but it is definitely the most important one in my career – said Slavisa Stojanovic.
In the last week at Novi Sad, Vojvodina and Crvena Zvezda play a draw (3:3), and the third goal for the red-whites was scored by sixteen year old Luka Jovic only two minutes after he entered the game, breaking the record of Dejan Stankovic who was previously, with 16 years and 11 months of age, the youngest scorer in Crvena Zvezda’s history.
Roster:
Miguel Araujo 5-0, Boban Bajkovic 29-27 received goals, Marko Vesovic 12-0, Goran Gogic 23-1, Abiola Dauda 20-11, Luka Jovic 1-1, Filip Kasalica 22-3, Dejan Kelhar 15-0, Aleksandar Kovacevic 22-0, Jovan Krneta 13-0, Darko Lazic 9-0, Darko Lazovic 14-5, Novak Martinovic 6-0, Nikola Mijailovic 27-1, Nenad Milijas 29-8, Luka Milunovic 8-0, Marko Miric 5-0, Stefan Mihajlovic 1-0, Filip Mladenovic 4-0, Dragan Mrdja 27-19, Ljuba Nenadic 4-0, Milos Ninkovic 27-5, Roberts Omega 2-0, Ifeani Onyilo 7-0, Savo Pavicevic 15-1, Marko Petkovic 17-0, Nejc Pecnik 28-7, Predrag Rajkovic 1-3 received goals, Djordje Rakic 8-3, Vukan Savicevic 17-0.
Coach:
Slavisa Stojanovic