FK Smederevo
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| Full name | Fudbalski klub Smederevo 1924 |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Oklopnici (The Armors) |
| Short name | FKS |
| Founded | 6 May 1924 |
| Ground | Smederevo Stadium |
| Capacity | 17,200 |
| League | Serbian League West |
| 2015–16 | Serbian League West, 3rd |
Fudbalski klub Smederevo 1924 (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Смедерево 1924) is a Serbian professional football club based in Smederevo.
Acting on suggestion from chief engineer Ernest Radlinski, the club was first founded on 6 May 1924 by SARTID (Srpsko akcionarsko rudarsko topioničarsko industrijsko društvo) as FK Sartid. At the beginning, FK Sartid's roster was mostly filled with professional players from Hungary, Austria and Germany and the club failed to make much noise in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's football scene. Then in 1944, it was essentially disbanded by Yugoslavia's new communist authorities following the end of World War II, along with the entire Sartid factory whose property was nationalized.
Though it's not certain if what followed can be viewed in continuity with FK Sartid, many fans consider it to be a part of club's history, so depending on one's opinion, either a new club appeared or the name was simply changed to FK Metalac in 1944.
The following period was marked by numerous name changes. Two years later in 1946 the name was switched to FK Jedinstvo, and it lasted only three years until 1949 when it was changed to FK Smederevo.
In 1958, FK Smederevo merged with FK Metalac to form OFK Budućnost, the name that stuck around until 1962 when it was switched back to FK Smederevo. That setup lasted until 1967, when the club became FK Metalurg.
In 1976, the name was switched to FK Smederevo for the third time, lasting until the breakup of Yugoslavia in 1992.
All throughout this 48-year period, the club toiled in lower leagues (Serbian regional league, etc.).
FK Sartid was reborn in 1992 when Sartid metallurgical concern took over the club's ownership and sponsorship, and promptly switched to its original name. The renaissance commenced immediately as the club went from Smederevo Zone League to Yugoslav First League in six seasons. The 1998–99 campaign will go down in history as the club's first in top flight. The club's success in this period was tied to their main board president Dušan Matković. In addition to his position at FK Sartid, Matković was also a high-ranking official of Slobodan Milošević's party SPS as well as Minister of Industry in the government of Mirko Marjanović. The allegations that the club was involved in various illegal and irregular activities, and also protected from persecution because of their powerful benefactor, during this period are numerous.
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