Dragan

Stojković was simply born to succeed in football, because his virtuosity from the fields of Pasi Poljana and Radnički from Niš left all experts and spectators breathless. He caressed the ball, he controlled it with such perfection that it seemed as if it was a part of himself, and with lucidity, creation and great execution, he very quickly became a world brand.

Shortly after arriving at the Marakana in 1986, he assumed the captain's armband and became one of the best players in the history of the red and whites. After less than four years, on May 3, 1989, he was promoted to the "order of the immortals", i.e. the fifth Zvezda's star. When he came to our club, it was already clear after the first games that a new leader of the noblest kind had arrived, a conductor who possessed the charisma of a winner, the successor of great stars - Rajko Mitic, Dragoslav Šekularac, Dragan Džajić, Vladimir Petrović. He won the hearts of all Zvezda fans, selflessly always giving the best moments. His dribbles, goals, especially from free kicks are remembered. Those famous matches with Milan on November 9, 1988 are also remembered, spectacular goals against a team that was saved from elimination by the fog, and which, after surviving penalties at the Marakana, ruled Europe for two years. His goal directly from the corner in the eternal derby will also be recorded in the annals. He won two titles of the champion of Yugoslavia in 1988 and 1990, and after being promoted to the fifth Zvezda's star, he went to Marseille in the summer of 1990. He had no idea then that he would meet his former teammates the following spring in the final of the European Champions Cup in Bari.

He played only ten minutes in that game, and Crvena zvezda fans proudly point out that their idol did not want to take a penalty kick, so that it would not affect the final result of the match. The football path continues to take him to Verona, where after one season, to the surprise of many, he goes to Nagoya, Japan, where he received the status of a deity and spent eight seasons until the end of his playing career in 2001. That passion for football to the point of fanaticism, fighting to the last drop of sweat, along with virtuosity - gave Stojković the status of one of the most respected players in Europe and the world at that time.

He played 84 games for the national team of Yugoslavia and FR Yugoslavia, and scored 15 goals. He made his debut on November 12, 1983 against France, and played his last match on March 14, 2001 in a duel with Slovenia.

He participated in two World Championships in 1990 in Italy and in 1998 in France, as well as in the continental competition in 1984 in France and in 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands. As the youngest member of the national team in France, in the match against the hosts in 1984, he took responsibility and successfully scored a penalty, which clearly told everyone that the national team had a future leader. He played spectacularly at the World Cup in Italy in 1990, when Yugoslavia was fifth. His goal in the round of 16 against Spain, when he faked the entire defense of the "red fury" in the penalty area, entered the list of the 50 most beautiful goals at the World Championships.

After the end of his career, from March 2001 to June 2005, he was the president of the Football Association of FR Yugoslavia, bringing with his authority a better status and rating of the national association. From July 2005 to October 2007, he served as the president of Crvena zvezda and during that period the club achieved notable results, winning two double crowns. From Zvezda, he again went to the East, that is, Japan, where he took over Nagoya as a coach, with whom he won third place in his debut season and was declared the best coach in the league there. The culmination, however, followed later, more precisely in the 2010/2011 season when he won the first championship title in the history of Japan with Nagoya. After five years at the head of the club from 2015 to 2020, he successfully led the Chinese Guangzhou RF. After that, he led the national team of Serbia as the head of the professional staff.