Fudbalski klub Crvena Zvezda, is the most glorious club in Slavic football. The first and only club from the former Yugoslavia to win the European Cup in the final in Bari in 1991.
It was founded by students of the University of Belgrade in February 1945, during the Second World War from the ashes of SK Yugoslavia, from which it inherited the stadium, players, logo (to which a red star was added) and club colors, red and white.
Red Star is the “Army Squad” for the entire Serbian population.
The backdrop to Red Star’s exploits is the Marakana stadium, inaugurated in 1963, so called because just like the Brazilian stadium of the same name, it could hold 110,000 people.
Its capacity was almost halved in the 1990s, to bring the stadium up to safety standards.
Currently, the capacity can hold 55,000 people and was named after Rajko Mitic, the team’s legendary player and coach, who passed away in 2008.
