After a crushing victory over the Sarajevo team (4:1), which was basically the only rival during the Championship in the season 1979/1980, Crvena zvezda became the Champion of Yugoslavia for the 13th time during its 35 year-long history. Sarajevo had been ahead of Crvena zvezda for a very long time, but Crvena zvezda managed to surpass them and secure the first position two rounds before the end, thus proving once again what everyone knew – that in the world of Yugoslavian football, no-one could top the red and white team, which was the best, the most popular and the most successful!
Thirteen titles in 35 years is a tremendous deed not many clubs in Europe or even in the world could carry out. Having won this title, or team was also to participate in the European Cup. Crvena zvezda was already very ambitious back then. The plan was to become the European Champion, but that would only be achieved 10 years later, when on May 29th 1991 in Bari the Crvena zvezda team accomplished the biggest success in the history of Yugoslavian football. The aim was very ambitious, even though that Crvena zvezda generation didn’t have such aces as the first three Crvena zvezda’s stars – Rajko Mitić, Dragoslav Šekularac and above all Dragan Džajić, whose generation began the Crvena zvezda’s football domination. But the final years of the seventies gave us some extraordinary players like Vladimir Petrović, Dušan Savić, Srebrenko Repčić, Miloš Šestić...
Before Sarajevo, Crvena zvezda played brilliantly as well and thus defeated the great rivals Velež (2:0) and Hajduk (3.1), and had a traditionally positive score against Partizan - 2:0, 0:0. When the team was handed over to the legendary player and coach Branko Stanković, the title collectors continued their work. A year before not even the generation switch could stop Crvena zvezda on their way to the final show – UEFA Cup Finals against Borussia from Mönchengladbach, who took the trophy home, after a fierce struggle.
The leader of the new generation was an extraordinary midfield player Vladimir Petrović Pižon, who would deserve to be promoted into the fourth Crvena zvezda’s star. That season, Ljukovčan certainly guarded the goal very well, Mile Jovin and Boško Đurovski (whose time was yet to come) stood out in the defense line. The players whose game was constantly good are Blagojević, Borovnica, Krmpotić, Milosavljević and one of the most experienced players, striker Filipović, who was the biggest threat to the opponent’s goal-keepers, along with Dušan Savić.
- I got the nickname of “Iron-man” for no reason at all! - said Branko Stanković - I did ask the players to do more than they were used to, I did “shake” some "stars" when it was necessary, but I also loved and respected the players as my own sons. Borussia team wasn’t better than us in the two final matches, and the referee Michelotti did do his bit, but I have no regrets...
During that season, Crvena zvezda was ranked well ahead of the other teams with 48 points scored, which was seven more than the second-placed Sarajevo and nine more than Radnički from Niš and Napredak from Kruševac ... "The eternal rival" Partizan, ended the Championship in the 13th position with only one point more than the penultimate Osijek, who went down a league.
Roster:
Cvijetin Blagojević 31-2, Zdravko Borovnica 24, Boško Đurovski 14-1, Nikola Jovanović 14, Milan Jovin 31-1, Ivan Jurišić 19, Zlatko Krmpotić 25, Živan Ljukovčan 23-16 received goals, Dragan Miletović 18, Đorđe Milovanović 14-3, Nedeljko Milosavljević 24-3, Zoran Mitić 1, Borko Mitrović 1, Slavoljub Muslin 15, Dušan Nikolić 16-1, Vladimir Petrović 28-5, Srebrenko Repčić 33-7, Dušan Savić 28-11, Radomir Savić 9-3, Srboljub Stamenković 1, Goran Stevanović 1, Aleksandar Stojanović 11-10 received goals, Zoran Filipović 24-6, Miloš Šestić 28-4.
Coach:
Branko Stanković