What is FK Crvena zvezda? Facts and background

FK Crvena zvezda, in full Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda (Serbian: Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда), or Kızılyıldız as it is referred to in Turkish sources, is a football team based in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

Crvena zvezda was founded in 1945 by students of the University of Belgrade. They played in the UEFA Cup final in 1979. They won the European Champion Clubs' Cup in Bari, Italy, in 1991 and the Intercontinental Cup in Tokyo the same year, but lost the UEFA Super Cup. 1991 was the golden year of their history and Crvena zvezda was never as successful again.

According to statistics, Crvena zvezda, the most popular team in Serbia and Yugoslavia, has included many stars in its squad for a long time, such as Dragan Stojković, Vladimir Jugović, Robert Prosinečki, Siniša Mihajlović, Dejan Savićević and Dejan Stanković. But he could not maintain this stability.

Rajko Mitić Stadium, which hosts the team, has a capacity of 57,328 people. It was previously called Maracanã, after the famous Maracanã Stadium, as it had a capacity of 100,000 people.

History

II. Red Star, which became the symbol of the Yugoslav societies uniting against Hitler's German armies in World War II, was one of the many teams founded together with Partizan in 1945 at the end of the war. The reason why it was loved more by the public was that Partizan was an army team, while Red Star was a people's team and became the number 1 team in Yugoslavia with successive successes.

Although it was not successful at first in the Yugoslavian league, which started again after 7 years, it won the Yugoslavian cup three times in a row (1948, 1949 and 1950). Famous players of Red Star, who won their first championships in the league in 1951 and 1953, are; The talented midfielder and forward was Rajko Mitic, goalkeeper Vladimir Beara, right-back Branko Stankovic, midfielder Branko Zebec and then forward Dragoslav Sekularac.

Red Star's great climb began with the second half of the 1950s. Overshadowing Partisan and Croatian teams Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split, Red Star had 4 championships and 1 second place in 5 years during this period; In the European Champion Clubs' Cup, in which it participated for the first time, it reached the semi-finals in 1956-57 and the quarter-finals the following year.

Dragan Djazic, who shined in the 1960s and is the biggest name of Yugoslav Football, wore the Yugoslavia National jersey 85 times until 1978. Red Star, which became the Central European Cup champion in 1968, reached the finals of the UEFA Cup in the 1978-79 season after reaching one semi-final and one quarter-final in the European Champion Clubs' Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.

Red Star, which eliminated Dinamo Berlin, Sporting Gijon, Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Hertha Berlin, drew 1-1 with Mönchengladbach in the first leg of the final in Belgrade with an own goal, and lost the rematch 1-0 with Simonsen's goal. The squad that year; It was Stojanovic, Jovanovic, Miletovic, Jurisic, Jovin-Muslin (Krmpotic), Petrovic, Blagojevic, Miloslavijevic (Milovanovic)-Savic, Setic.

In the 1980s, Red Star, which was quarter-finalist three times in the Champion Clubs' Cup and once in the Cup Winners' Cup, trained stars such as Kostic, Petrovic and Acimovic. In 1990-91, the Red-White team became the biggest in Europe. Having eliminated Grasshopper, Rangers, Dynamo Dresden and Bayern Munich in the European Champion Clubs' Cup, Red Star faced Marseille in the final.

The match played in Bari's San Nicola Stadium ended goalless for 120 minutes and Red Star won the European championship by winning 5-3 in the penalties. Although the 1991 European Super Cup was played as a single match in Manchester and lost 1-0 to Manchester United, it became the World Champion by beating Chile's Colo-Colo team 3-0 in the Club World Cup match played in Tokyo with goals from Jugovic and Pancev (2).

As a result of the civil war that started in Yugoslavia in 1991, Red Star first had to play its international matches in foreign countries, and then could not participate in the cups until 1995 due to the embargo. In addition, Red Star Red Star lost its Bosnian and Croatian players and then quality Serbian players to big European clubs due to economic reasons, thus entering a period of decline.

Staff

3 As of September 2026

award winners

Ballon d'Or

2nd: Dejan Savićević (1991)
3rd: Dragan Džajić (1968)
3rd: Darko Pančev (1991)

European Golden Shoe Award

Darko Pančev (1991)

Copa América Champion

Mauricio Molina (2001)

retired number

12 - Delije (July 27, 2010)

Jersey and shorts sponsors

1977-1979 — Admiral
1980-1991 — Puma — Lee Cooper - Kristal Zaječar - Drina - Casucci - DEXIM
1991-1994 — Hummel — Classic
1994-1996 — Diadora — Beobanka
1996-1998 — Kappa — Beobanka
1998-2001 — Kappa — Pils Light
2001-2002 — Adidas
2002-2005 — Adidas — Wiener Städtische Sharp
2005-2006 — Adidas — Toyota
2006-2008 — Nike — Toyota
2008-2009 — Nike
2010 — Nike — 2344 - Za moju Zvezdu
2010-2012 — Nike — Gazprom
2012-2013 — Legea — Gazprom
2013- — Puma — Gazprom

Good luck

National

Prva Liga (Yugoslavia)

Champion (20): 1946, 1951, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992

Second (9): 1949, 1950, 1952, 1961, 1972, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1989,

Third (7): 1947, 1954, 1965, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1987

Superliga / Serbia and Montenegro Super League

Champion (5): 1995, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006

Second (8): 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005

Third (1): 1999

Superliga

Champion (12): 2007, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026

Second (7): 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017

Third (1): 2009

Kup Maršala Tita

Champion (19): 1948, 1949, 1950, 1958, 1959, 1964, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1985, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002

Second (8): 1952, 1954, 1973, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1991, 1992

Serbia and Montenegro Cup

Champion (9): 1993, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006

Second (3): 2001, 2003, 2005

Kup Srbije

Champion (7): 2007, 2010, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024

International

Red Star is the most successful club from the Former Yugoslavia and Serbia in European cups. It is the only club from Eastern Europe to win the UEFA Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup.