State Champions 1990.

Crvena Zvezda won both domestic trophies in 1990, and the national championship for the 18th time. All things considered, Zvezda had only one failure in the 1989/90 season: they did not make it to the UEFA Cup final, because after winning at Marakana against the German Cologne (2:0), they were defeated away 3:0, and in the second leg, coach Dragoslav Šekularac was expelled and punished by UEFA. Šekularac resigned as a result, because he could not lead the team in the European Champions Cup.

"Didn't I say this fall that this team would only show its full value in the spring ?" said Šekularac.

And so it was. Out of 14 games in the championship, Crvena Zvezda won 11, and only three games ended in a draw. However, the second part of the championship Crvena Zvezda did not start well: in December, they were defeated by Sloboda in Tuzla with 3:0. That was also the only match in which they conceded three goals. However, the following week, they defeated Vojvodina with 3:1.

Šekularč's wish was fulfilled during the winter break and Miodrag Belodedic, who won the European Champions Cup with Steaua, and would later achieve the same feat in the red and white jersey, became a member of Red Star. This solved a key problem in the defense, which gained self-confidence, security, solidity and impenetrability. When you add to this that Stevan Dika Stojanović defended exceptionally in the spring, that the full-backs were good, and Ilija Najdoski was a reliable partner for Belodedic, that's the answer to the question of how no one could beat Red Star in the spring.

Apart from the championship title, Crvena Zvezda won some more trophies, or awards, in the 1989/90 season. They again scored the most goals. Not counting the official 3:0 victory against Dinamo, they scored 76 goals, thus improving their (and Dinamo's) record for the number of goals scored in the 18-club league by one goal. Center forward Darko Pančev was the championship's top scorer with 25 goals.

The Red and Whites won more points as home team (30) and away team (20) than any other club, and suffered the fewest defeats (five). In the spring part of the championship, they won by far the most points - a total of 27. Dragan Stojković Pixi was named the best player of the season, Dragoslav Šekularac the most successful coach, Stevan Stojanović was the best goalkeeper. All this shows how much Crvena Zvezda was truly superior in the times before the collapse of the common state and the bloody war in the former Yugoslavia. It was far ahead of its biggest rivals, and Dinamo was 11 points behind in the championship, Hajduk 13, Partizan 14...