FK Železnik

FK Železnik (Serbian Cyrillic: ФК Железник) is a defunct football club formerly based in Železnik, Belgrade, Serbia. They competed in the First League of Serbia and Montenegro from 1996 to 2005. The club made its solo European appearance in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup and later won the Serbia and Montenegro Cup in the same season.

Železnik
Full nameFK Železnik
Nickname(s)Lavovi (The Lions)
Founded1930
Dissolved2015
GroundStadion Jusa Bulić
Capacity6,900
2014–15Serbian League Belgrade, 8th of 16

History

Early years (1930–1992)

Founded as Železnički SK on 28 May 1930,[1], the club became more organized during the 1950s. They changed their name to FK Železnik in 1961, following a merger with FK Napredak, which was originally created by the Ivo Lola Ribar Institute.[1] Between 1963 and 1967, the club competed in the Serbian League North, the third tier of Yugoslav football. In 1965, they lost to Sloboda Užice in the promotion playoffs to the Yugoslav Second League.

Rising to the top (1992–2005)

The club continued to participate in the lower regional leagues without notable achievements until 1993, when Jusuf "Jusa" Bulić took over the club, together with his associates. In the 1994–95 season, Železnik won the Serbian League North and took promotion to the Second League of FR Yugoslavia. In the 1995–96 season, the club was promoted to the First League of FR Yugoslavia (IB League). They finished second in the IB League in the 1996–97 season, which gave them a spot in the IA League in the 1997–98 season.[2]

After the assassination of his father, Dragan "Aca" Bulić took over the club in May 1998.[3] Led by the youngest president in the history of Serbian football, Železnik continued to progress rapidly, finishing in a higher league position every season. Likewise, the club reached the semi-finals of the national cup in two consecutive seasons (2002 and 2003; they were eliminated by Sartid Smederevo on both occasions).[4][5]

In the 2003–04 season, the club achieved its best league performance by finishing in third place, thus securing a spot in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup. They were eliminated by Romanian club Steaua București in the second qualifying round (4–5 on aggregate). Despite only finishing ninth in the league that season, their worst result in six years, Železnik made the biggest success in their history by winning the Serbia and Montenegro Cup.[6][7] During this time, numerous Železnik players were selected to represent the country at both senior and youth levels.

New beginning and ceasing (2005–2015)

In June 2005, due to financial difficulties, Železnik was forced to withdraw their participation from the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.[8] They subsequently merged with another Belgrade-based club Voždovac, which continued to compete in the 2005–06 Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga.[9][10]

Refounded as FK Železnik Lavovi, the club started competing in the Belgrade Third League, the seventh tier of the Serbian football league system. They subsequently earned two promotions in two seasons (2006–07 and 2007–08), reaching the Belgrade First League in the 2008–09 season. After three years in the fifth tier, the club gained promotion to the Belgrade Zone League in the 2010–11 season. They subsequently earned promotion to the Serbian League Belgrade following the 2011–12 season.

After spending three seasons in the Serbian League Belgrade, the club merged with Radnički Beograd in the summer of 2015.[11]

Honours

League

Serbian League North (Tier 3)

  • 1994–95

Belgrade First League (Tier 5)

  • 2010–11

Belgrade Second League (Tier 6)

  • 2007–08

Belgrade Third League (Tier 7)

  • 2006–07 (Group A)

Cup

Serbia and Montenegro Cup

Seasons
Season League Cup Continental
Division P W D L F A Pts Pos
 Serbia and Montenegro
1996–97 1 – IB 3320495434642nd Round of 32 —
1997–98 1 – IA 33951943623210th Round of 32
1998–99[lower-alpha 1] 1 24751229432613th Round of 16
1999–2000 1 40159165547548th Quarter-finals
2000–01 1 34128144956448th Round of 16
2001–02 1 34147134142496th Semi-finals
2002–03 1 3418885637625th Semi-finals
2003–04 1 3017764820583rd Quarter-finals
2004–05 1 30115143845389th[lower-alpha 2] Winners UEFA Cup – Second qualifying round
 Serbia
2006–07 7 – Belgrade 2018028314541st — —
2007–08 6 – Belgrade 3423568718741st —
2008–09 5 – Belgrade 34135164945448th —
2009–10 5 – Belgrade 3423476436733rd —
2010–11 5 – Belgrade 34271610936821st —
2011–12 4 – Belgrade 34204106832642nd —
2012–13 3 – Belgrade 30127113936435th —
2013–14 3 – Belgrade 30118113833419th —
2014–15 3 – Belgrade 30127113033438th[lower-alpha 3] —
Notes
  1. The season was cut short due to the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
  2. The club ceased to exist after merging with Voždovac at the end of the 2004–05 season. However, a phoenix club was formed shortly afterwards.
  3. The club ceased to exist after merging with Radnički Beograd at the end of the 2014–15 season.

UEFA competitions
Season Competition Round Opposition Score
2004–05 UEFA Cup Second qualifying round Steaua București 2–4 (H), 2–1 (A)

Notable players
National team players[12]

For a list of all FK Železnik players with a Wikipedia article, see Category:FK Železnik players.

Managerial history

References
  1. "FK Zeleznik - Early History". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. "RAT, RASPAD SFR JUGOSLAVIJE, SANKCIJE" (in Serbian). FSG Zrenjanin. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  3. "Porodica Železnik" (in Serbian). Glas javnosti. 5 December 2000. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  4. "Déjà vu for Zvezda and Sartid". UEFA. 9 April 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  5. "Oklop tvrđi od zuba" (in Serbian). Glas javnosti. 10 April 2003. Retrieved 3 December 2015.
  6. "Famous first for Železnik". UEFA. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  7. "Železnik do trofeja sa igračem manje" (in Serbian). Sportska centrala. 24 May 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  8. "Železnik's European dream dies". UEFA. 15 June 2005. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  9. "Spajanje Železnika i Voždovca" (in Serbian). B92. 26 June 2005. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  10. "Železnik merger solves crisis". UEFA. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  11. "BULIĆ PONOVO OSNIVA ŽELEZNIK: "Lavovi" će opet osvajati trofeje!" (in Serbian). Informer. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
  12. "Železnik Beograd". National Football Teams. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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