FK Zemun

FK Zemun
Full name Fudbalski klub Zemun
Founded 1946
Ground Zemun Stadium, Belgrade
Ground Capacity 10,000
President Dušan Ostojić
Head coach Milan Milanović
League Serbian First League
2015–16 Serbian First League, 11th

Fudbalski klub Zemun (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Земун) is a Serbian football club based in Zemun, Belgrade.

History

Immediately after the end of the Second World War, the sports activities in Zemun were restored. By early 1945, a club FK Maksim Divnić was formed, named in honour of a player with that name that played before the war and who died as Partisan fighter during the war. After just a couple of played matches the club changed its name into FK Sremac Zemun. By the end of that year another club is also formed in Zemun, FK Sparta Zemun. On October 20, 1946, the two clubs were merged to form a new sports society whose football section was FK Jedinstvo Zemun.[1]

By 1962 the club got promotion into the group East of the Yugoslav Second League, that was divided back then into two geographical groups, East and West. It stayed at Second national level for two seasons, after which it returned into the Serbian republic league, Yugoslav third tier. In the late 1960s, the club struggled financially, and on February 23, 1969, it is merged with FK Galenika, a club sponsored by the Galenika a.d., a pharmaceutical company located in Zemun. Under the new name FK Galenika Zemun, and with new financial backing, the club soon returned to the higher leagues, winning promotion as soon as 1970 to the Yugoslav Second League.[2]

Coached by Ivan Čabrinović, the club became one of the strongest teams in the second league, and after several times being close, it finally reached promotion to the Yugoslav First League in 1982. In that same season, the club reached the semi-finals of the 1981–82 Yugoslav Cup where they lost against the cup winners Red Star Belgrade. The club played in the 1982–83 Yugoslav First League however it finished bottom of the table subsequently relegated back to the Second League. On January 1, 1985, the club changed its name into the one that still carries nowadays, FK Zemun.[3]

During the late 1980s, the club had fallen into the lower leagues, but after the stabilization of their financial situation the club began rising again. In 1990, after two consecutive promotions, the club was back in the 1990–91 Yugoslav First League. This time the club stabilized in the top league and even managed to achieve good results, like fourth place in the 1992–93 First League of FR Yugoslavia, just behind the best Serbian clubs Partizan, Red Star and Vojvodina, or the 5th place archive in the 1993–94 First League of FR Yugoslavia. In the 1992–93 season the club had reached again the semi-finals of the Yugoslav Cup.[4]

FK Zemun competed in the top league all the way until 2007. In the season 2004–05 they managed to achieve 5th place once more.[5]

In 2007 Zemun competed in the Serbian First League and came away with the 15th position and an automatic relegation to the Serbian League Belgrade, third tier. FK Zemun played in the 2007–08 Serbian Cup and found its way to the final. The club won three matches after penalties, defeated two first league sides and goalie Nemanja Jovšić was voted most valuable player. They lost the final 3–0 to Serbian team Partizan but since Partizan had already qualified for the Champions League Zemun were given the UEFA Cup spot as they were the runners-up. During the summer however, Zemun was not able to obtain a license from UEFA and had to give their spot to fourth-placed side Borac Čačak. Borac then gave their Intertoto Cup spot to OFK Beograd.

In 2008–09, Zemun became the champion of Serbian League Belgrade and were back to the Serbian First League after only one season.

In 2015–16, Zemun was promoted again to the Serbian First League. The following year after a bad start, they fired coach Dragoljub Bekvalac and hired Milan Milanović[6]

Honours

Yugoslav Second League (2)
Serbian Cup
Serbian League Belgrade
Serbian Republic League

Stadium

The official stadium of FK Zemun is Zemun Stadium and can host up to 10,000 spectators.

Current squad

As of 3 November 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
1 Serbia GK Aleksandar Kirovski (captain)
2 Serbia MF Igor Stanojević
3 Serbia DF Nemanja Vučić
4 Bosnia and Herzegovina DF Željko Đokić
5 Serbia MF Ivan Šubert
6 Serbia DF Nenad Cvetković
7 Serbia MF Uroš Ljubomirac
8 Serbia MF Đorđe Ivelja
9 Serbia FW Nenad Injac
10 Serbia MF Mihajlo Cakić
11 Serbia DF Vladimir Branković
12 Serbia GK Bojan Jović
No. Position Player
13 Serbia MF Nikola Beljić
14 Serbia MF Nenad Lukić (on loan from Radnik Surdulica)
15 Serbia DF Vladimir Bubanja
16 Serbia DF Stefan Radovanović
17 Serbia MF Stevan Luković
18 Bosnia and Herzegovina MF Amer Osmanagić
Serbia DF Ivan Božović
Serbia MF Stefan Dimić
Serbia MF Nikša Stojanović
Montenegro FW Stefan Denković
Serbia FW Anto Vasović
Serbia FW Vladimir Radočaj

Other

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Serbia GK Ivan Babović
Serbia DF Danilo Kuzmanović
Serbia DF Nemanja Zlatković [7]
Montenegro MF Bojan Magud
Montenegro MF Srđan Ajković [7]
No. Position Player
Sierra Leone MF Mustapha Bangura [7]
Serbia FW Marko Jakšić
Serbia FW Vuk Sotirović [7]
Nigeria FW Issa Hare Diawara [8]
Nigeria Franklin Azubuike Ononaobi [8]

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player
Serbia GK Miloš Krunić (dual with IM Rakovica until the end of 2016)
Serbia GK Predrag Kovačević (at Milutinac until the end of 2016–17 season)
Serbia DF Aleksa Milošević (at Milutinac until the end of 2016–17 season)
Serbia DF Stefan Todorović (at Dunav Stari Banovci until the end of 2016)
Serbia DF Aleksandar Miodragović (at Radnički Novi Beograd until the end of 2016–17 season)
No. Position Player
Serbia MF Luka Bilanović (at Milutinac until the end of 2016–17 season)
Serbia MF Jovan Jevtić (at IM Rakovica until the end of 2016)
Serbia MF Mladen Preradović (at Dorćol until the end of 2016–17 season)
Canada FW Aleksa Marković (dual with Radnički Novi Beograd until the end of 2016)

For recent transfers, see List of Serbian football transfers summer 2016.

Notable players

The following list contains players that played in the club and that have national team appearances:[9][10]

For the list of all current and former players with wikipedia article, please see Category:FK Zemun players.

Coaching history

Supporters

The supporters of the club are known as the Taurunum Boys. The group was formed in 1987.

The first organised supporting groups of back then FK Galenika begin to appear by mid-1980s. In 1986 the first ultras groups were formed under the names of Testas Caldas, Pajtosi and Godfathers. In 1987 the three groups united under the name Taurunum. The name comes from the Latin name of a settlement that existed in Roman period in the place where Zemun is located nowadays, and that was named Taurunum. The group stands in the north stand of the stadium. Some supporting groups out of the town of Zemun are formed, the most important being the Rangers from Pančevo. In 1995 by the end of the Yugoslav Wars there is a generational turn-over, and the group standing in the east stand formed by younger supporters and named The Boys – Dragons, joins Taurunum in the north stand forming a bigger group renamed Taurunum Boys. The moto of the group becomes "One city, one club, only Zemun".[11]

Nowadays the group is composed of several sub-groups, and beside supporting their club FK Zemun, they are usually present at the matches of the Serbian national team. They have friendly relationships with the fan group of Radnički Kragujevac, Crveni Đavoli.[12] and Young Rats Firm of Krylia Sovetov Samara.[13]

References

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