FK Željezničar Sarajevo

FK Željezničar Sarajevo
Basic data
Surname	Fudbalski club Željezničar Sarajevo
Seat	Sarajevo
founding	September 19, 1921
Colours	blue - white
Members	7,083 (March 2020)
president	Admir Džubur
Board	Enis Džihanić
Website	fkzeljeznicar.ba
First soccer team
Head coach	Amar Osim
Venue	Grbavica
Places	16,100
league	Premier League
2019/20	2nd place
home Away

Fudbalski klub Željezničar ( Football Club Željezničar ) is one of the most famous and successful football clubs from the Bosnian capital Sarajevo . The club name means railway workers and was founded by a group of railway workers on September 19, 1921 . In Bosnia the club is known for producing talented players rather than signing them. Željezničar sells his most talented players at the end of the season in order to stabilize his financial problems. The club is the current record champions in the country with six championships.

During the time of the former Yugoslavia, FK Željezničar became national champion of the 1st Yugoslav Football League in the 1971/72 season and thus qualified for the first time in the European Cup . The club’s greatest successes were reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup in 1984/85 and 1971/72 . They were the first Bosnian club to reach the semi-finals and one of the few from the former Yugoslavia.

Željezničar never qualified for the UEFA Champions League . They came furthest in the 2002/03 season where they were eliminated in the third qualifying round against Newcastle United .

The club's nicknames are Željo or Plavi (The Blue).

history

Before independence (1921-92)

The club was founded on September 15, 1921 by conductors and rail workers from the railways of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes . At the beginning of the 20th century there were a lot of football clubs in Sarajevo. These were usually rich and supported by ethnically homogeneous organizations. Željezničar, however, was a working class association which included all layers of the city. Since the club was doing very badly financially at the time, the players organized dance nights. The money gained was used to buy footballs and shoes.

Financial problems weren't the only ones at FK Željezničar. The multi-ethnic image of the club was seen as a threat by many, so the club was suppressed for years. Nevertheless, FK Željezničar survived. The first game was played in Kovačići, a district of Sarajevo, against the NK SAŠK which ended in a 1-5 defeat. The second game they lost against the Sarajevski ŠK 1–2.

When the Second World War came to Sarajevo in 1941 , all sporting activities came to a standstill. A great many members of Željo were supporters of resistance movements and some of them were even killed. After the war, Željezničar was formed again and immediately won the Bosnian championship in 1946. This success guaranteed them a place in the Yugoslav League. Soon afterwards, the UDBA, together with other Sarajevan citizens, founded the FK Torpedo , now known as FK Sarajevo.

1971/72 season

Pl.	society	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	FK Željezničar Sarajevo	34	21st	9	4th	055:200	+35	51:17
2.	FK Red Star Belgrade	34	19th	11	4th	057:210	+36	49:19
3.	OFK Belgrade	34	17th	11	6th	056:260	+30	45:23
4th	FK Vojvodina	34	15th	12	7th	050:380	+12	42:26
5.	FK Partizan Belgrade	34	15th	9	10	041:350	+6	39:29

The greatest domestic success was 1st place in the 1st Yugoslav Football League in the 1971/72 season. It is also noteworthy that FK Željezničar landed in the top 3 in the following season.

1984/85 UEFA Cup

Željezničar's greatest success ever was reaching the semi-finals of the 1984/85 UEFA Cup . The team, led by Ivica Osim , was eliminated by Videoton SC from Hungary. Progress would have enabled the team to face Real Madrid in the final .

After independence (1992 – present)

The Grbavica Stadium in ruins

After the declaration of independence of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Yugoslavia , the Bosnian War broke out and football then came to a standstill again. On April 5, 1992, the game between FK Željezničar and FK Rad Belgrade was interrupted after 35 minutes after several shots had been fired. On May 7, 1992, the stadium was targeted by the Serbian besiegers and then destroyed. The war ended in 1995. In the immediate post-war period, initially only teams from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina played in the newly founded Premijer Liga ; Clubs from the Republika Srpska were only added in the 2002/03 season.

Fans

Fans at a game against FK Sloboda

Graffiti in front of the stadium in the Grbavica district with the words: For a lifetime!

The ultras of the club are called Manijaci ( English The Maniacs ) and were founded in 1987. Sub-groups such as Blue Tigers , Stari Grad , Urban Corps and Joint Union also emerged . The most important and best known leader was Dževad Begić-Đilda, who died in the Bosnian War while defending the city of Sarajevo . You are on the south grandstand of the Grbavica Stadium .

successes

• Bosnian-Herzegovinian Championship
  • Master (1): 1946

• Yugoslav Championship
  • Master (1): 1972
  • Runner-up (1): 1971

• Yugoslav Cup
  • Finalist (1): 1981

• Premier League
  • Champion (6): 1998, 2001, 2002, 2010, 2012, 2013
  • Runner-up (7): 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020

• Bosnian Herzegovinian Cup
  • Winner (6): 2000, 2001, 2003, 2011, 2012, 2018
  • Finalist (4): 1997, 2002, 2010, 2013

• Super Cup Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Winner (3): 1998, 2000, 2001

European Cup balance sheet

In the 1984/85 season Željezničar played in the UEFA Cup. The club played their first game against DFS Sliven. In Bulgaria he lost 0-1, at home Željezničar won 5-1 and entered the second round of the UEFA Cup. Against FC Sion from Switzerland, Željezničar won 2-1 at home, and in Switzerland the clubs parted 1-1. Željezničar came to the last sixteen. There he met Universitatea Craiova from Romania. In Romania Željezničar surprisingly lost 2-0, but in Sarajevo they won 4-0 and were in the quarter-finals. In the round of the last eight, Željezničar had to play against Dinamo Minsk from what was then the Soviet Union. At home Željezničar was able to win 2-0, in Minsk they played 1-1 and were in the semifinals. There Željezničar met FC Videoton Székesfehérvár and lost 3-1 in the first game. In Sarajevo he only won 2-1 and was eliminated from the UEFA Cup. The top scorer this season was Edin Bahtić of Željezničar with 7 goals.

season	competition	round	opponent	total	To	Back
1970/71	Exhibition cities cup	1 round	RSC Anderlecht	7: 9	3: 4 (H)	4: 5 (A)
1971/72	Uefa cup	1 round	Club Bruges	4: 3	3: 0 (H)	1: 3 (A)
		2nd round	Bologna FC	( a ) 3: 3(a)	1: 1 (H)	2: 2 (A)
		3rd round	St. Johnstone FC	5: 2	0: 1 (A)	5: 1 (H)
		Quarter finals	Ferencváros Budapest	3: 3 (4: 5 on  behalf )	1: 2 (A)	2: 1 a.d. (H)
1972/73	European Champions Cup	1 round	Derby County	1: 4	0: 2 (A)	1: 2 (H)
1984/85	Uefa cup	1 round	DFS Sliven	5: 2	0: 1 (A)	5: 1 (H)
		2nd round	FC Sion	3: 2	2: 1 (H)	1: 1 (A)
		3rd round	Universitatea Craiova	4: 2	0: 2 (A)	4: 0 (H)
		Quarter finals	FK Dinamo Minsk	3: 1	2: 0 (H)	1: 1 (A)
		Semifinals	Videoton SC	3: 4	1: 3 (A)	2: 1 (H)
1998/99	Uefa cup	1 round	FC Kilmarnock	1: 2	1: 1 (H)	0: 1 (A)
2000/01	Uefa cup	qualification	Wisła Krakow	1: 3	0: 0 (H)	1: 3 (A)
2001/02	UEFA Champions League	1st qualifying round	Levski Sofia	0: 4	0: 4 (A)	0: 0 (H)
2002/03	UEFA Champions League	1st qualifying round	ÍA Akranes	4-0	3: 0 (H)	1: 0 (A)
		2nd qualifying round	Lillestrøm SK	2-0	1: 0 (A)	1: 0 (H)
		3rd qualifying round	Newcastle United	0: 5	0: 1 (H)	0: 4 (A)
2002/03	Uefa cup	1 round	Málaga CF	0: 1	0: 0 (H)	0: 1 (A)
2003/04	Uefa cup	qualification	Anorthosis Famagusta	4: 1	1: 0 (H)	3: 1 (A)
		1 round	Heart of Midlothian	0: 2	0: 0 (A)	0: 2 (H)
2004/05	Uefa cup	1st qualifying round	SS Pennarossa	9: 1	5: 1 (A)	4: 0 (H)
		2nd qualifying round	Litex Lovech	1: 9	1: 2 (H)	0: 7 (A)
2010/11	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round	Hapoel Tel Aviv	0: 6	0: 5 (A)	0: 1 (H)
2011/12	UEFA Europa League	2nd qualifying round	Sheriff Tiraspol	1-0	1: 0 (H)	0: 0 (A)
		3rd qualifying round	Maccabi Tel Aviv	0: 8	0: 2 (H)	0: 6 (A)
2012/13	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round	NK Maribor	2: 6	1: 4 (A)	1: 2 (H)
2013/14	UEFA Champions League	2nd qualifying round	Viktoria Plzen	4: 6	3: 4 (A)	1: 2 (H)
2014/15	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	FK Lovćen Cetinje	1-0	0: 0 (H)	1: 0 (A)
		2nd qualifying round	FK Metalurg Skopje	(a)2: 2 ( a )	0: 0 (A)	2: 2 (H)
2015/16	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	FC Balzan	3-0	2: 0 (A)	1: 0 (H)
		2nd qualifying round	Ferencváros Budapest	3-0	1: 0 (A)	2: 0 (H)
		3rd qualifying round	Standard Liege	1: 3	1: 2 (A)	0: 1 (H)
2017/18	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	FK Zeta Golubovci	3: 2	1: 0 (H)	2: 2 (A)
		2nd qualifying round	AIK Solna	0: 2	0: 0 (H)	0: 2 (A)
2018/19	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	JK Trans Narva	5: 1	2: 0 (A)	3: 1 (H)
		2nd qualifying round	Apollon Limassol	2: 5	1: 2 (H)	1: 3 (A)
2020/21	UEFA Europa League	1st qualifying round	Maccabi Haifa

Legend: (H) - home game, (A) - away game, (N) - neutral place, (a) - away goal rule , (i. E.) - on penalties , (n. V.) - after extra time

Overall record: 72 games, 25 wins, 15 draws, 32 defeats, 90: 104 goals (goal difference −14)

Youth department

FC Salzburg versus FK Zeljeznicar Sarajevo U19

The youth department and football school of FK Željezničar is one of the best in the whole country. The U-19s are regular participants in the UEFA Youth League . They are also the first team from Bosnia-Herzegovina to have wintered in Europe.

	total		First leg	Return leg
FC Salzburg	5: 2	FK Željezničar Sarajevo	4-0	1: 2
Ludogorez Razgrad	3: 4	FK Željezničar Sarajevo	1: 1	2: 3
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb	1: 1 ( a )	FK Željezničar Sarajevo	1: 1	1: 1
FK Željezničar Sarajevo	1: 3	Atlético Madrid	1: 3

Known players

Avdija Vršajević Edin Džeko Elvir Baljić Ivica Osim Ivica Baskarada Kenan Hasagic Mehmed Baždarević

Samir Muratović Semir Stilic Mario Stanic Goran Vidović Edin Višća Semir Štilić Riad Bajić

Web links

• Official club website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Berjan: Željo je dobijao aplauz po cijeloj Jugoslaviji , fkzeljeznicar.ba. Retrieved August 19, 2015. 
2. ↑ Osnivanje kluba - FKZ , fkzeljeznicar.ba. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved August 14, 2015.  
3. ↑ ^{a b} PALJBA NA GRBAVICI , oslobodjenje.ba. Archived from the original on April 9, 2012. Retrieved on April 6, 2012. 
4. ↑ Joldić: Prva smo ekipa koja će prezimiti u Evropi , fkzeljeznicar.ba. Retrieved November 25, 2017.