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Report User Chances are unless you live in Serbia or are of Serbian descent, you probably don't know too much about the Serbian Premier League. Well that's about to change. Here is our 'cheat-sheet' on the twelve (12) clubs that make up the MSL (Meridian SuperLiga). The list goes from the Winter-break standings, with the last place team mentioned first and the league leaders at the bottom. While the list doesn't give you information on players, it does give you a brief overview on where the clubs are located and a bit of their history. Chances are that if you're going to follow the league, you'll support team at the end of this article, but at least this way you get to see the variety in our small league.
As Mentioned above, the league has twelve clubs from all over Serbia. While the league does have clubs from various parts of the country, most of them play in or around the capital of Belgrade. While this makes sense considering that close to 2 million people live in the region (metropolitan), it does limit the oppertunity of fans from other parts of the country to see the bigger clubs in action. While Novi Sad, the 2nd largest city in Serbia also has a major club playing in the top flight, we can't say the same for the 3rd and 4th biggest cities of Nis (located in Southern Serbia) and Kragujevac (smack-dab in Central Serbia). Neither city has a club playing in the premier division and it has been that way for since 2003 when Radnicki Nis were relegated. These two cities both metropolitan pppulations over over 200,000 people, so it's a bit disapointing that neither have clubs playing the top division.
The league plays its season from Early or Mid-August until the end of May. The league stops for nearly two months from mid-December until mid-February as weather conditions are not suitable for play this time of year. Clubs, if they can afford it will conduct training in Cyprus, Turkey or some-where in Northern Africa or in the Mid-East.
In the past when the league was 14,16,18 or 20 clubs, each team would play each other twice and the team with the best record won the league title. Last year, when they reduced the league to 12 teams they tried out a two-tier league system. For the first half of the season, all 12 clubs played against each other twice, then after 22 games the league was split into two. The Top 6 clubs would play in the Play-Off Group, which essentially was for the title and a European Qualifying spot. The bottom 6 clubs would play in the Play-Out Group where the bottom two clubs would be relegated and the 3rd worst club would have to play in a play-off relegation series against a club from the 1st Division (technically the 2nd division).
For this season, they changed the format and went back to the standard single table. Each club will play each other 3 times for a total of 33 matches. The last match of the season is usually the League Cup final that is usually played in one Belgrade's two largest stadiums (Red Star's Marakana or Partizan's JNA). If one of those two teams reaches the final, they tend to play the match in the other's stadium to avoid home-field bias. It hasn't been since the 2000/01 season that both clubs played against each other in the final and that was also the last time the cup was played in the Marakana Stadium. The Cup is usually the best chance for the smaller clubs to win a trophy and has been won by two clubs outside of the big two.
Traditionally, looking only at Serbia, there are two big clubs, that being FK Partizan and FK Crvena Zvezda. In the past as Yugoslavia, there were four big sides. Along with Partizan and Zvezda you had Hajduk Split and Dynamo Zagreb who all fought for the league trophy. There might have been a big four, there were a lot of other competitive clubs from other parts of the country and the league was extremely competitive. Unfortunately, with the downfall of the country, the league suffered greatly. Since the break-up, Zvezda and Partizan have won every league title except for the 97/98 season when FK Obilic won the title. FK Obilic at that time was owned by Arkan (famous Serbian 'crime' figure) and it was alleged that the league titled was 'bought' that season. The club, was expected to become a big picture in the league, but with UEFA fines and the eventual death of Arkan, the club began to crumble and now play in the 2nd division. While the money was coming in for Obilic, they often were involved in the top three and did also finish runner up after winning the league. Partizan and Zvezda have afinished 1st and 2nd every season since the 2000 season. Most clubs are usually playing for 3rd and the chance at Europe. There have been clubs in the early part of the season that do keep pace with the two big-boys, but as the season winds down the pack just cannot keep up. Also, because of this domination, clubs that reach the final of the Cup often get a spot in Europe.
Well there you have a short overview of the league in general, now I present to you the Clubs of the Meridian SuperLiga.
FK Bežanija
Bežanija are from the Belgrade suburb of Novi Beograd (New Belgrade). The club is in only their second season of Top Flight Football in Serbia and in their first season they managed to finish 4th. This great start earned them a berth in the UEFA Cup. Although reaching Europe in their first season, their time there was short lived as they were eliminated in the first qualifying round to Besa Kavaje of Albania on the away goals rule. The club plays their football at the Bežanije Stadium in Novi Beograd which has a capacity of 9,350. If the team continues to play in the top flight, there are rumors that the stadium could be expanded to add at least another 4,000 seats.
FK Hajduk Rodic M&B Kula
Last season Hajduk Kula (as they're commonly known) finished 5th in the Serbian Superliga and were within minutes of reaching the UEFA Cup through the Intertoto Cup until they gave up a late goal to Portuguese side Uniao Leiria which ultimately defeated the club in extra time in their second leg match. The season prior, the club took part in the UEFA Cup qualifying rounds losing to CSKA Sofia yet again in extra time on the away goals rule. With the clubs recent experiences in Europe, you would expect the club to continue to fight for a chance to play in Europe. If that success continues and they can add further progress, we could see the emergence of a strong club outside of the major cities. The city of Kula is located in Western Vojvodina and has municipality population of just over 48,000. The team is hoping to build a new stadium but currently play on pitch that seats about 11,000 fans.
FK Napredak Kruševac
Originally missing out on a place in the first division after losing the relegation playoff to Borac Cacak over two legs, the club was awarded with promotion after FK Mladost Apatin, who finished 6th in the 2006/07, could not handle the financial strain of playing in the first division. Napredak do not have a very rich history in the first division, usually only spending a season in top flight before return to the lower leagues, the club has had some success including reaching the Yugoslav Cup final in 2000 (which was also the season they were extremely dominant in the 2nd division). They have had some European experience reaching the first round of the UEFA Cup in 2000 and in 1980. The club is probably not expected to do much this season, but a strong fan base could help the team through it's ups and downs. The city of Krusevac is located in Central Serbia and has a municipality of over 130,000. Their Mladost Stadium is located in a residential area in the city and is one of the few stadiums that approved for European matches outside of Belgrade.
FK Smederevo
Known as FK Sartid up until the 2004, the club has been a permanent club in the first division since the 1998/99 season. Owned by US Steel, the club has had ties with the industrial manufacturing plants for many years and that little connection has helped the club over the years. From 2001 until 2004 the club was usually fighting with Partizan and Zvezda for a top three place, the club even managed to win the 2003 National Cup over Zvezda and reached the first round of the 2002 UEFA Cup where they were beaten 2:1 by Ipswich Town. The achievements were not long lasting as the club struggled to continue their success and if it wasn't for the break-up of Montenegro from Serbia, they would have been relegated during the 2005/06 season. While they managed to finish 8th last season, the success of past years has not returned but the club and its fans must stay committed if they want the highs of the early part of the decade to return.
Mladnost Lucani
This club ran away with the 2nd division title last season finishing twelve points ahead of second place FK Cukaricki Stankom. The club from central Serbia has not been a regular name in the Serbian or former Yugoslav leagues having last spend time in the first division back in the 2001/02 season for one year. The club has a rivalry with FK Borac Cacak due to their close proximity and for their fans, the biggest success this season would not only be avoiding relegation but finishing ahead of Cacak. The municipality of Lucani only has about 24,000 people so any type of success for the side would be incredible and the more they can fill their 6,000 seat stadium the better.
FK Banat Zrenjanin
FK Banat play in the town of Zrenjanin which is located in the Northern Province of Vojvodina. The municipality of Zrenjanin has approximately 131,500 people. The club was formed in 2006 when two clubs, Buducnost Banatski Dvor and Proleter Zrenjanin merged. In terms of success, the most experience the club has in it's history is reaching the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Cup in 2004, losing out to NK Maribor. The club finished last season in 9th place and play their matches in the Karadjordjev Park Stadium which has a capacity of 18,700.
OFK Beograd
If you want to talk about teams from the capital, some would say that you have to add OFK Beograd to the mix. While not as historically significant as Partizan or Red Star, the club has been a factor in Yugoslavian soccer for many years. Known for their youth academy, the club is known for producing talent and two former Yugoslav National team coaches, Slobodan Santrac and Ilija Petkovic, were former players at OFK Beograd. During the season, the club is usually always in the fight and has often had periods where they lead the league but usually falling from the top and finishing mid-table. Although only finishing 7th last season, they took part in the two seasons prior in the UEFA Cup, losing both times in the 2nd qualifying round. If OFK can return to Europe and qualify for the UEFA Cup group stage, that would signal a huge advancement for all of Serbian Football.
FK Borac
The Municpality of Cacak Cacak located in Central Serbia have followed the club since 1926. Nicknamed the Zebras for their horizontal striped kits (although Red and White and not Black and White as you'd think). Having been promoted in 2003, the club has usually spent their seasons hovering just above the relegation zone. Last season they finished 10th place and took part in the relegation playoff where they managed to defeat FK Napredak Krusevac to stay in the first division. The club would love nothing more than to earn a berth into Europe and to host a match in their 6,000 seat Borca Kraj Morave stadium and reward their loyal 'Cete' (troops).
FK Cukaricki Stankom
Cukarica is one of the ten urban municipalities that make up the city of Belgrade. The club was formed in 1926 and has had some success in the lower division of Yugoslavia and Serbia. The club spent last season in the 2nd division and managed to finish second to get promotion. In the past twelve years, the club has had some success in the first division competing twice in the Intertoto Cup in 1996 and again in 1997; they even managed to finish 6th in 2000 but were relegated to the 2nd division three seasons later. They have returned this season with hopes of permanent placement in the league and would love nothing more than to play spoiler to one of the bigger clubs in the league.
FK Vojvodina
The club from the second largest city of Novi Sad is also one of the more successful clubs in Serbia and can boast being Yugoslav League champions on two occasions (1966 and 1989). While the club had spent the first part of the decade in mid-table mediocrity, they managed to finish 3rd last season and reached the 2nd qualifying round of the UEFA Cup losing to Spanish powerhouse Atletico Madrid. On top of finishing the top 3, they even reached the final of the Serbian Cup Final, losing 2:0 to Red Star. The club would love to continue the success of last season and will hope that they can go farther in Europe. FK Vojvodina plays their matches in the 20,000 seat Karadjordje Stadium.
Crvena Zvezda Beograd
To the English speaking world they are Red Star Belgrade, to Serbia and the former Yugoslavia they are the most successful club ever. Winners of the 1991 European Champions Cup, Intercontinental Cup and UEFA Cup finalist, there is no club in the region that can come close to the pedigree that Zvezda have (you'd have to travel to Bucharest to find a club with more success). While in recent years the club has been known to be a stepping stone for Serbian player en route to greater success in Europe, the club is still a strong competitor in the European stage. They may not have had the ability to reach the Champions League yet, the club and it's executives are trying their hardest to make the club return to its European Elite status.
FK Partizan Beograd
If Zvezda is the bride of Serbia, then FK Partizan is the bride's maid. Always a strong side, they are often overshadowed by the fierce rivals from down the road. While Partizan was the first Serbian and Yugoslavian side to reach the Champion's Cup final, outside of Partizan fans few know of its occurrence. Since the fall of Yugoslavia, Partizan have won more titles than Red Star (8 titles compared to 7 for Red Star) and has even managed to reach the Champions League and was the first and still only Serbian club to continue playing UEFA football into the 2nd half of the season. Last season was pretty poor for Partizan, although finishing 2nd they never really put up much of a fight. Their low point was being banned earlier this season from the UEFA Cup for fan violence although managing to win their first-round tie with an 11-1 score-line. Partizan are always a favorite at the beginning of the season and would love nothing more than to finish as league winners and to get back into Europe. If they do manage to win the league this year, they do have the players and organization to reach the group stage of the Champions League, all they need is a favorable draw.
The twelve clubs that make up Serbian top-flight Football. There is a good mix here. Hopefully this has given you some information on the clubs, but there are a lot more places to get information on these teams. Chances are if you're picking a side, you'll probably choose from the last three mentioned above, but all the clubs have loyal fans in their home-towns.