In the most uncertain Yugoslavian Championship after WWII, in 1983/1984, whose outcome remained unknown to the last moment, Crvena zvezda managed to heroically triumph, in spite of all the troubles, and won the 15th Champion Title after a serious crisis, thanks to all the club departments: the management, the coaching staff, the fans and above all, the players. It was the most tiring, but also the most successful Champion’s cycle for the red and white team.
They had to play seven tough matches in three weeks. They were no ordinary championship or cup matches, they were seven derbies, which decided upon the faith of many. Even the best prepared professional team would’ve been extremely physically and mentally challenged. For the crippled red and white team, playing during those three weeks without 4-6 lead players (Stojanović, Banković, Janković, Mrkela, Boško brothers and Milko Đurovski), it was a psycho-physical torture, a true agony.
But, despite all the troubles, the red and white team resisted and they became the Champions. Needless to say that the Championship wasn’t gained in the last five rounds during May, but during a heroic struggle in 34 rounds. It was characterized by extreme team equality, higher than ever before, and that might just explain the low point score of the winning team in the end – just 44. Another characteristic, important for the Crvena zvezda team, was a misleading preparation and two faces that the protégés of Gojko Zec showed.
The autumn session didn’t go too well, so five points were lost in home-games from the teams regarded as potential victims (Osijek, Željezničar, Priština). At the end of the first part of the Championship, Crvena zvezda was ranked sixth and everybody had given up on them, but they were so wrong! The spring session brought a huge twist and a new, radically changed face of the team. They was homogenous, playful, highly motivated and combative, full of strength and will, and finally, in the end – lethal! The tempestuous start of the spring session brought Crvena zvezda a fantastic goal difference 14:2. The team continued to collect points even after they triumphed over their direct Trophy rival, Željezničar in Grbavica (3:1) in the 26th round, thus taking the first place in the rank.
The third and the most strenuous phase was the final part of the Championship. Every team was trying to attack the first team in the rank and somehow the team had to resist, crippled, with half the team injured, dancing to the never ending derby-rhythm once every three days. Such a “siege” could’ve been resisted only by a group of extremely physically prepared and stable players, with a huge will to triumph. This was a phase of fierce fighting, and the fighters-true heroes. After all the hard work throughout the winter, the Crvena zvezda team was far better prepared than the others, and Gojko Zec organized them very well in the 4-4-2 formation, where the strikers were Miloš Šestić and Milko Đurovski.
The goalkeeper, Tomislav Ivković, made a record by playing all 34 games. Marko Elzner, the defense setter, was the calmest player in the defense line, and the “hidden” striker Boško Đurovski also stood out as well as Jovica Nikolić, who scored eight goals. The captain, Šestić, was unstoppable, and Milko Đurovski, the forward-striker’s scoring results were excellent. In spite of suffering seven defeats, Crvena zvezda heroically fought and won the 15th Champion title, being ahead of Partizan, Željezničar and Rijeka by 2 points and Hajduk by 5 points.
Roster:
Zoran Banković 19-3, Cvjetin Blagojević 3, Ranko Đorđić 14-3, Boško Đurovski 23-8, Milko Đurovski 27-13, Žarko Đurović 13, Marko Elzner 32, Radoslav Žugić 1-1, Tomislav Ivković 34-26 received goals, Milan Janković 16-2, Rajko Janjanin 14, Milan Jovin 21, Ivan Jurišić 19, Dragić Komadina 9, Zlatko Krmpotić 2, Miodrag Krivokapić 4, Dragan Miletović 17, Đorđe Milovanović 21-3, Goran Milojević 14, Mitar Mrkela 20-2, Jovica Nikolić 22-8, Slavko Radovanović 1, Radomir Savić 1, Ljubiša Stojanović 15-1, Miloš Šestić 29-7, Miroslav Šugar 22.
Coach:
Gojko Zec