Fudbalski Klub Crvena Zvezda, commonly known in English as Red Star) is one
of the two major association football teams in Belgrade, the capital city of
Serbia and Montenegro. Their great rivals are Partizan Belgrade, and the
derby matches between the two clubs are usually spectacular, if not for the
football, at least for the action off the field.
Red Star's greatest achievement was winning the European Cup in 1991 in
Bari, Italy. The club also made the final of the UEFA Cup in 1979, losing to
Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Red Star also played a peripheral role in one of the great tragedies of
football history. In 1958, Manchester United played at Red Star in a
European Cup fixture. Shortly after the plane that was to carry the team
back to England refueled in Munich, it crashed. Among the dead were eight
Man U players; manager Matt Busby and several other players were injured.
The incident would forever be known as the Munich air disaster.
In contrast with other teams' reliance on imported footballers, Red Star
have had many homegrown superstars, such as Dejan Savicevic and Dragan
Stojkovic. |
