FK Železnik


FK Železnik 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.

History

Early years (1930–1992)

Founded as Železnički SK on 28 May 1930,, 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. 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. 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.
After the assassination of his father, Dragan "Aca" Bulić took over the club in May 1998. 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.
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. 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. 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. They subsequently merged with another Belgrade-based club Voždovac, which continued to compete in the 2005–06 Serbia and Montenegro SuperLiga.
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, 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.

Honours

League

Serbian League North
Belgrade First League
Belgrade Second League
Belgrade Third League
Serbia and Montenegro Cup
;Notes

UEFA competitions

Notable players

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

Managerial history

PeriodName
Cvijetin Blagojević
Aleksandar Trifunović
Josip Duvančić
Dževad Prekazi
Baja Marić
1998–2000 Slobodan Dogandžić
2000 Saša Milanović
2000 Dževad Prekazi

PeriodName
2001 Goran Milojević
2001–2002 Goran Stevanović
2002–2003 Saša Nikolić
2003–2004 Mile Tomić
2004 Branislav Novaković
2004 Saša Nikolić
2005 Miloljub Ostojić
2005 Čedomir Đoinčević