[FM24] FK VELEZ - The red side of Mostar

[CDGBruno]

Fudbalski klub Velež Mostar (Serbo-Croatian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Beлеж Мостар; English: Football club Velež Mostar) is a professional football club based in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The club has a history of being one of the most successful clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was founded on 26 June 1922.The club currently plays at Rođeni Stadium (7,000 capacity), but its historic stadium is the Bijeli Brijeg (9,000 capacity). Due to the divisions between Bosniak and Croat territories, Velež lost its previous home ground of Bijeli Brijeg. That ium was largely used by Velež during the glory days of the club, when they triumphed in the 1981 and 1986 Yugoslav Cups. The club also reached the quarter-final stage of the 1974–75 UEFA Cup. Velež have a bitter rivalry with city neighbours, HŠK Zrinjski Mostar.

The club is named after a nearby mountain Velež, which in itself is named after one of the old Slavic gods, Veles.

During the time of former Yugoslavia, Velež was always in the Yugoslav First League and the team often ended the season in the top ten. Velež was the most popular and most successful team from Herzegovina to play in the top Yugoslav League. The team was very popular in Herzegovina, but also had fans all over Yugoslavia, and had a mixture of fans from all three main ethnic groups.

In the summer of 2005, the club's assembly returned the five-pointed red star, also known as the petokraka, to their logo. The red star has been the symbol of the club since its founding in 1922.

History

Before World War II (1922–1941)

On 26 June 1922, in a suburb of Mostar called Sjeverni logor, Velež Mostar were founded with the prefix RŠD (Radničko športsko društvo) or Workers' Sports Club. There were many suggestions for the name, however according to an urban legend the name Velež was picked due to the nearby mountain, as there was nothing higher. Velež's first kits were black and white due to destitution and poverty. Velež only started playing in red after a board member named Vaso Pucarić brought them from Zagreb. Velež's first derby with another club from Mostar, Zrinjski was canceled after Zrinjski's players wanted Velež's players to take off the red stars from their kits and Velež refused to do so. The club was sympathetic to worker's rights and socialism.

Velež in SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992)

In the 1952–53 season for the first time ever, Velež appeared in the top flight of any league but were relegated. Velež's top scorers were Vladimir Zelenika with 9 goals in 11 games and captain Haldun Hrvić with 7 goals in 22 games. After 2 seasons in the second tier Velež were promoted and competed in the 1955–56 Yugoslav First League where they finished seventh out of 14 teams. For the duration of the entire Yugoslav First League Velež were never relegated again.

n 1968, former player Sulejman "Sula" Rebac who had played over 500 games for Velež became manager. At this point, Velež were a steady midtable-team in the first division however under the guidance of Rebac Velež would experience a meteoric rise that culminated in reaching the UEFA cup quarterfinals.

. His first full season in 1968–69 saw an 8th-place finish in which the main focus was Rebac successfully utilizing Velež's youth team, a tradition Velež held right up until the Bosnian War. The first players to come through the academy were goalkeeper Enver Marić and striker Dušan Bajević. They and midfielder Franjo Vladić would make up the famous BMV trio (named after the German car manufacturer) which was one of the most prolific partnerships in the history of Bosnian football.

The famous BMV trio (from left to right): Enver Marić, Dušan Bajević and Franjo Vladić.

Edited February 20 by CDGBruno

[CDGBruno]

The 1973–74 season was one of Velež's best. In the league, Velež were in a neck and neck race with Hajduk Split. After the 32nd and 33rd round, Hajduk and Velež had the same number of points; with Hajduk having the better goal difference. On the final day of the season, both won their games and Hajduk won the league on account of goal difference

Rebuilding and first trophies (1976–1992)

 

In the league Velež finished a lowly 9th place, but their real shining moment came in the cup that season. Velež had beaten Borac Banja Luka in the first round 3–2, and after a walkover from Sutjeska Nikšić in the second round, advanced to the quarterfinals where they faced FK Bregalnica Štip, a lower league side from North Macedonia, and beat them 2–0. Velež beat Budućnost Podgorica 2–1 in the semi-final and ensured that they would be in the cup final for the first time in 23 years. Their opponents were Željezničar, who had finished 14th the same season. This tie resulted in the first and only ever all-Bosnian final in the Yugoslav Cup. Halilhodžić had signed a contract with French side FC Nantes and would leave Velež after the final, no matter the result, but the game was praised for being one of his finest hours for Velež. After joining Nantes he became one of their most iconic and legendary players and would go on to manage them in 2018. In the cup final, the first goal came in the 36th minute after a penalty was given to Željezničar. Mehmed Baždarević scored and by the end of the first half the score remained 1–0 to Željezničar. Halilhodžić scored a brace in the space of 3 minutes and Velež were in the lead. In the 62nd minute another penalty was called for Željezničar, which Baždarević converted again. Dragan Okuka scored the winning goal with a header in the 80th minute, and Velež won their first ever major trophy.

Velež	3              –        2	Željezničar

Halilhodžić  55', 58' Okuka  80'

Baždarević  36' (pen), 62' (pen)

As a result of winning they were admitted into the Cup Winners' Cup, and played their first game in Europe in 6 years. They also took part in the 1980–81 Balkans Cup, which they won 12–7 on aggregate against Trakia Plovdiv, later Botev Plovdiv. In the 1981–82 Cup Winners' Cup beat Jeunesse Esch 7–2 on aggregate in the first round and faced Lokomotiv Leipzig in the second, which they lost on penalties. The 1981–82 league season saw Velež finish 7th and Milutinović left for FK Partizan. Without him, Velež struggled and finished 13th, even with the efforts of Vladimir Skočajić (14 goals) and Dušan Bajević (11 goals). Bajević eventually became manager in 1984. In the 1984–85 season Velež finished 11th but the next season saw a huge improvement, with Velež finishing 3rd, their best season since 1973–74. This was largely due to the efforts of a new golden generation including goalkeeper Vukašin Petranović, defenders Nenad Bijedić and Vladimir Matijević, midfielder Vladimir Skočajić and forwards Predrag Jurić, Sead Kajtaz and Semir Tuce.

       

Velež	3          -                1	Dinamo Zagreb

Bijedić  6' (pen), 51' P. Jurić  87'

Mlinarić  58'

In 1989, Velež's youth team reached the final of the Yugoslav Youth Football Cup for the fourth time (after losing the final in 1969, 1977 and 1987) and won 4–1 versus FK Vardar with a team featuring Franjo Džidić, Slaven Musa and Sergej Barbarez. This would be the only piece of silverware ever won by Velež's youth team.

Velež in an independent Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–present)

On 15 March 1992, Velež would play their last ever game at the Bijeli Brijeg stadium; a 2–0 win versus FK Zemun.  After the war, a new municipality within Mostar called Jugozapad (eng. Southwest) awarded the Bijeli Brijeg stadium to Zrinjski, which would lead to controversy for the next few years.^[16] Zrinjski had positioned themselves as a club specifically for Croats, which led to a large number of Velež's supporters abandoning them (Velež were a multiethnic club for all of their history, including players of Bosniak, Serb and Croat origin). 

Velež didn't play another game until 1994, when they were placed in the "Zenica Group" of the 1994–95 First League of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a wartime cuplike competition. Velež lost their first game 3–0 to Slaven Živinice and things didn't improve, they lost their next 2 games and exited the competition along with NK Đerzelez as the only 2 teams who lost all of their games.

 

In the second tier Velež were a strong contender for promotion, first in the 2003–04 season, however a goal in injury time for Budućnost Banovići ensured that they would be promoted instead of Velež. In 2004–05 another title challenge was mounted but a 2–1 loss versus Rudar Kakanj made sure Jedinstvo Bihać would get promoted. In 2005–06 Velež were finally promoted, 14 points clear of second placed Rudar Kakanj.

Comeback and collapse (2006–2017)

For the next few seasons Velež would be a consistent midtable team in the Premier League with no major cup.

 

In June 2015, Velež were bought out by president of the Bosnian Social Democratic Party, Nermin Nikšić. Things quickly turned worse as the club failed to organize friendlies, pay player's wages, repeatedly fired coaches and fans got involved in brawls with opposing players. Velež ended the 2015–16 season in last place with only 9 points out of 30 games, which is one of the worst records in any top-flight league. The Nikšić board and subsequent emergency board was eventually replaced by a board led by Šemsudin Hasić, director of local pharmaceutical company Hercegovinalijek. That didn't mean the 2016–17 season started off easy. After 8 games Velež had not won a single game and were in 15th place out of 16 teams. The previous coach Avdo Kalajdžić was sacked and replaced with Ibrahim Rahimić, who had previously played for and coached Velež.^[ Velež miraculously stayed up on the final day of the season and FK Goražde were relegated instead of them. Between seasons the stadium "Vrapčići" changed their name to "Stadion Rođeni" named after fans of Velež.

 

[CDGBruno]

Mostar derby

The Mostar derby (Serbo-Croatian: Mostarski gradski derbi) is a football rivalry in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina between HŠK Zrinjski and FK Velež. The derby took place for the first time in 1922 and is the oldest major football derby in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Both Mostar clubs are among the oldest in the country. HŠK Zrinjski (Croatian: Hrvatski športski klub Zrinjski, English: Croatian Sports Club Zrinjski) was formed in 1905 while FK Velež was formed in 1922. However, the clubs had vastly different histories. Zrinjski was a reasonably successful club in the first half of the century, but was banned by communist Yugoslav authorities for competing in the 1. HNL under the Ustaše regime during World War II. At this point its records, along with those of other Croatian clubs, were destroyed. On the other hand, FK Velež during the Yugoslav communist period, winning the Yugoslav Cup in  1981 and 1986.       

Statistics

Meeting totals (66)

Wins:  Zrinjski (36); Velež (21); Drawn (9)

Edited February 20 by CDGBruno

[CDGBruno]

HONOURS

League

First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:

Winners (2): 2005–06, 2018-2019

Yugoslav Second League:

Winners (2): 1952, 1954–55

Cups

Yugoslav Cup:^[34]

Winners (2): 1980–81, 1985–86

Balkans Cup:

Winners (1): 1980–81

[CDGBruno]

PREMIJER LEAGUE

 

The Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian: Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine; Croatian: Premijer liga Bosne i Hercegovine; Serbian Cyrillic: Премијер лига Босне и Херцеговине), officially known as the Wwin League of Bosnia and Herzegovina for sponsorship purposes, is the top tier football league in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is operated by the Football Association of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As the country's most prestigious level of football competition, the league changed format in the 2016–17 season and is contested by 12 clubs with the last two teams relegated at the end of every season.

Premier League creation (2000)

The first 2000–01 season saw clubs from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity only, while clubs from the Republika Srpska entity continued to compete in their own separate league as their entity association still refused to join the agreed unified N/FSBiH and its new competition. However, UEFA and FIFA never intended to recognize this separate organization nor its competition, which meant clubs could not compete outside the territory of the entity and would not compete internationally. This situation forced clubs to insist that their organization also join the N/FSBiH, and two years later they became part of the competition for the 2002–03 season. Ever since the year 2000 the Premier League is the top tier of Bosnia and Herzegovina football, with two entity-based leagues, the First League of Republika Srpska and the First League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, being pushed to the second tier of the Bosnian football pyramid and serve as feeder leagues to the Premier League.

Premier League as Liga 12 (2016–2018)

 

During the seasons 2016–17 and the 2017–18, the league had entirely changed its format, reducing the number of clubs from 16 to 12, thus sometimes referred to as "Liga 12" (League 12), with the calendar also modified accordingly, reintroducing the play-offs (also known as the "title playoffs") and introducing the play out.

The number of matches was played by each club during the regular season after which, according to their position, they entered to the play-offs or the play out. The play-offs were contested by the top six clubs in the regular season, with each club playing each other twice for the title, which guaranteed Champions League qualifications, while second and third place guaranteed Europa League qualifications berths. The play out was contested by the bottom six clubs to avoid relegation, with the last two teams being relegated.

Old format (2018–present)

Since the 2018–19 season, after all the 12 clubs have played against each other two times, once home and once away, they play against each other one more time, playing either home or away depending on how the schedule is made. With that, the league season has 33 full rounds, instead of the 22 rounds and an additional 10 rounds in the relegation and championship games in the 2016–17 and 2017–18 seasons.

 

Bosnia and Herzegovina Champions

 

 

Season	Champions (Premier League titles)	Runners-up	Third place	Winning manager	Top scorer(s)
					Player(s) (Club)	Goals
2000–011	Željezničar (2)	Brotnjo	Sarajevo	Amar Osim (1)	Dželaludin Muharemović (Željezničar)	31
2001–021	Željezničar (3)	Široki Brijeg	Brotnjo	Amar Osim (2)	Ivica Huljev (Željezničar)	15
2002–03	Leotar (1)	Željezničar	Sarajevo	Milan Jovin (1)	Emir Obuća (Sarajevo)	24
2003–04	Široki Brijeg (1)	Željezničar	Sarajevo	Ivo Ištuk (1)	Alen Škoro (Sarajevo)	20
2004–05	Zrinjski (1)	Željezničar	Široki Brijeg	Franjo Džidić (1)	Zoran Rajović (Zrinjski)	17
2005–06	Široki Brijeg (2)	Sarajevo	Zrinjski	Ivica Barbarić (1)	Petar Jelić (Modriča)	19
2006–07	Sarajevo (2)	Zrinjski	Slavija	Husref Musemić (1)	Stevo Nikolić (Modriča)  Dragan Benić (Borac)	19
2007–08	Modriča (1)	Široki Brijeg	Čelik Zenica	Slaviša Božičić (1)	Darko Spalević (Slavija)	18
2008–09	Zrinjski (2)	Slavija	Sloboda Tuzla	Dragan Jović (1)	Darko Spalević (Slavija)	17
2009–10	Željezničar (4)	Široki Brijeg	Borac	Amar Osim (3)	Feđa Dudić (Travnik)	16
2010–11	Borac (1)	Sarajevo	Željezničar	Vlado Jagodić (1)	Ivan Lendrić (Zrinjski)	16
2011–12	Željezničar (5)	Široki Brijeg	Borac	Amar Osim (4)	Eldin Adilović (Željezničar)	19
2012–13	Željezničar (6)	Sarajevo	Borac	Amar Osim (5)	Emir Hadžić (Sarajevo)	20
2013–14	Zrinjski (3)	Široki Brijeg	Sarajevo	Branko Karačić (1)	Wagner (Široki Brijeg)	18
2014–15	Sarajevo (3)	Željezničar	Zrinjski	Dženan Uščuplić (1)	Riad Bajić (Željezničar)	15
2015–16	Zrinjski (4)	Sloboda Tuzla	Široki Brijeg	Vinko Marinović (1)	Leon Benko (Sarajevo)	17
2016–17	Zrinjski (5)	Željezničar	Sarajevo	Blaž Slišković (1)	Ivan Lendrić (Željezničar)	19
2017–18	Zrinjski (6)	Željezničar	Sarajevo	Blaž Slišković (2)	Miloš Filipović (Zrinjski)	16
2018–19	Sarajevo (4)	Zrinjski	Široki Brijeg	Husref Musemić (2)	Sulejman Krpić (Željezničar)	16
2019–20[nb 1]	Sarajevo (5)	Željezničar	Zrinjski	Vinko Marinović (2)	Mersudin Ahmetović (Sarajevo)	16
2020–21	Borac (2)	Sarajevo	Velež	Marko Maksimović (1)	Nemanja Bilbija (Zrinjski)	17
2021–22	Zrinjski (7)	Tuzla City	Borac	Sergej Jakirović (1)	Nemanja Bilbija (Zrinjski)	33
2022–23	Zrinjski (8)	Borac	Željezničar	Krunoslav Rendulić (1)

[CDGBruno]

FK VELEZ MOSTAR (CAST)

 

We have a safe goalkeeper, however the substitutes are not at the same level we will have to look for someone

The main problem of the team, we don't have good defenders, everyone leaves something to be desired, this will be the focus of the negotiations

The central part of the midfield is good, I won't mess with it for now

The attack also leaves nothing to be desired, maybe an extreme of speed can be brought in if we have the opportunity

Edited February 20 by CDGBruno