Coach: •
Ljupko Petrović, born in
Brusnica Velika,
SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, spent his career in
Yugoslavia playing with
Osijek in the 1970s, and afterwards, in the
United States playing
indoor soccer during the early 1980s. In 1982, he returned to Yugoslavia and started his coaching career at Osijek youth levels. In 1984, he became assistant manager at
Spanish side
Espanyol and not long afterwards returned to Osijek, this time to be head coach of the main team. Later, he spent one season with
Spartak Subotica before taking charge of Yugoslavia national team youth levels during 1987 and 1988. Next, he replaced
Ivica Brzić in
Vojvodina in 1988 and achieved an exceptional result by winning the Yugoslav championship in
1989, a title they were chasing for 33 years. It became clear that in between much stronger clubs, Vojvodina won due in large of the exceptional skills of Petrović as coach. This success made him become desired by Red Star directive board, who brought him shortly after along with their star player,
Siniša Mihajlović. After winning the
European Cup with Red Star, Petrović notability expanded abroad and, as result, in the following decades he coached clubs in Spain, Uruguay, Greece, UAE, Austria, Croatia, China, Kazakhstan, Rwanda, Bulgaria, Vietnam, and the list is still expanding. •
Željko Kaluđerović, born in
Bar,
SR Montenegro, came to Red Star from
Mornar. He later played with
Djurgården in
Sweden. •
Milić Jovanović, born in
Belgrade, SR Serbia, came to Red Star from
Napredak, and later played in
Portugal.
Defenders: •
Duško Radinović, born in SR Montenegro, played with
OFK Titograd and
Sutjeska before joining Red Star. Afterwards, he played in Sweden. He got injured day before the final and missed the game because of it, but his contribution in the campaign was significant. After retiring, "Radin" continued living in Sweden, where he became a high school
teacher and kept his links with football by being the assistant manager of
Malmö City FC. •
Slobodan Marović, born in Bar, SR Montenegro, played with Osijek before joining Red Star. Afterwards, he continued his career in Sweden,
Denmark and
China. He was a
Yugoslav international. After retiring, he dedicated to tourism, renting apartments in his hometown, Bar. Later, between 2010 and 2012, he was assistant manager at Red Star while
Prosinečki was the coach. •
Refik Šabanadžović, born in
Tuzi, SR Montenegro, a
Montenegrin Bosniak, he played with
Željezničar Sarajevo where he became one of their most notable players during the mid-1980s and a Yugoslavia national team player. He came to Red Star in 1987 and played four seasons in Belgrade. Later, he moved to
Greece where he played seven seasons in the very top of Greek football with
AEK Athens and
Olympiacos. He finished his career in the United States. He was a member of the Yugoslav 1988 Olympic squad and played in the
1990 FIFA World Cup. Nowadays, he lives between
Podgorica and
Sarajevo where he owns two cafes, Studio 5 and Studio 4 respectively. •
Miodrag Belodedici, born in
Socol,
Romania, was the only foreigner in Red Star that season, although his family is member of the
Serbian minority in Romania. He came to Red Star after defecting from
Ceaușescu's regime in 1988. By the time he came, he was already a well established player. He had already won the European Cup with
Steaua in
1986, five
Romanian championships, and was an established player of the
Romania national team. After three seasons in Belgrade, he continued his career in Spanish
La Liga with
Valencia,
Valladolid and
Villarreal, before finishing his career in
Mexico playing with
Atlante. He made over 50 appearances for the Romania national team and was part of Romanian squad at the
1994 FIFA World Cup,
UEFA Euro 1996 and
UEFA Euro 2000. After retiring, he became executive director in the
Romanian Football Federation responsible for the youth program. •
Ilija Najdoski, born in
Kruševo,
SR Macedonia, was one of the key
Vardar players during the 1980s. He joined Red Star in 1988. After four seasons with the Red & Whites, he moved to Spain where he played two seasons in La Liga with Valladolid. He later played with
Denizlispor,
CSKA Sofia and
Sion before retiring. He was Yugoslav international, and later during the mid-1990s one of the most experienced players of the
Macedonian national team. For a short period he was in the direction board of the
Football Federation of Macedonia. His son, Dino, also became a footballer. •
Goran Vasilijević, born in SR Serbia, played with
Zemun and
Radnički Niš before coming to Red Star. He later played in
Bulgaria and
Japan. •
Rade Tošić, born near
Ugljevik, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a
Bosnian Serb, he played most of the 1980s with
Sloboda Tuzla. He became a Yugoslavia national team player and was signed by
Hajduk Split in 1988. After two seasons in which he displayed great performances with Hajduk, it became no surprise that it was time for the next step in the evolution of his career, which effectively materialised by his signing with Red Star. He spent two seasons with Red Star at the peak of his career, which later continued in Spain where he played with
Mérida and
Castellón.
Midfielders: •
Vladimir Jugović, born in
Milutovac, SR Serbia, was one of the top Yugoslav midfielders during the 1990s. He came at young age to Red Star, and three seasons were all he needed to make the journey from anonymity to the glory of climbing to top continental and world podiums, and win it all. While Red Star fans could obviously be proud for their club being a giant which managed to bring and attract a constellation of stars formed by most of the best players from the entire region, Jugović provided them a different, special, pride for being a product of their academy and managing to shine and earn his spot in such a privileged group. When time arrived for his departure, he joined
Sampdoria in 1992, later made an impressive career in Serie A with
Juventus,
Lazio and
Inter. Jugović played in the
Italian Serie A until 2001, with the exception of the 1998–99 season that he played in the Spanish
La Liga with
Atlético Madrid. He played 41 matches for the Yugoslavia national team, scoring on three occasions, playing at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. Among all members of this generation, he is the one that won most trophies in his career. After ending his career, he spent a short period in the direction board of Red Star. Later he became certified players agent and spends much of his time scouting players and helping them build a successful career. He has established himself in
Vienna, but spends time regularly in Belgrade,
Monaco and
Palma de Mallorca. •
Robert Prosinečki, born in
Schwenningen,
West Germany, is a son of Yugoslav emigrants. He started playing while still in Germany, in the youth team of
Stuttgarter Kickers. In 1980, his family decided to move back to Yugoslavia. Arriving with high recommendations and displaying unique technical skills, Prosinečki was admitted in the renown
Dinamo Zagreb academy. He made it to the seniors and debuted for Dinamo in the
1986–87 season. Despite debuting with a goal, Dinamo coach
Miroslav Blažević only gave him one more appearance in the league that season. Clearly showing not much appreciation for Prosinečki's talent, Blažević refused to give him a professional contract, further claiming, in what later became his famous quote, that he would eat his shoe if Prosinečki ever becomes a professional player. Consequently, after season ended, Prosinečki went on trial with Red Star, where football director, club legend
Dragan Džajić, along with coach
Velibor Vasović, immediately recognised his talent and offered him a contract. This resulted in one of the most successful and lucrative transfers ever in football history, in which Red Star got Prosinečki from one of their main rivals, Dinamo, for free! With his signature on the contract still wet, Prosinečki joined the rest of the
Yugoslav U20 team on their way to Chile where they showed the world the quality of Yugoslav football at that time, and conquered the gold at the
1987 FIFA World Youth Championship, with Prosinečki taking the best of this opportunity to show his talent and earn the best player of the tournament title. Despite facing a team full of excellent established players, he adapted immediately and earned his spot in Red Star's first team in his first season upon arrival. He proved wrong all those who didn't believe in him, and his four seasons at Red Star became one of the most successful and happiest stories ever in football. When time came for departure, in 1991, it was no surprise his destination could only be what is in number of titles and many other parameters the greatest team in the world,
Real Madrid. He spent three seasons in
Madrid with Real, and another three also in Spanish La Liga, with
Oviedo,
Barcelona and
Sevilla, one season with each. By this time the old Yugoslavia got dismembered, and Prosinečki chose to represent his father's country,
Croatia. He became a regular in the
Croatia national team and played with them in the UEFA Euro 1996, 1998 FIFA World Cup (where Croatia finished third) and
2002 FIFA World Cup. After retiring, he became a coach. He started as assistant of
Slaven Bilić in the Croatia national team and then it was precisely Red Star that gave him the chance to debut as main coach, where he stayed between 2010 and 2012. •
Dejan Savićević, born in Titograd, SR Montenegro, was playing with
Budućnost when, during the
1987–88 season, he became a transfer target to all big Yugoslav clubs. The back then 21-year-old talented youngster ended up signing with Red Star at the end of the season and he will become one of club's legends. He was only 20 when he debuted for the Yugoslavia national team and since then became a regular. He stayed four seasons with Red Star, a period which was crowned with the 1991 European Cup and
1991 Intercontinental Cup. Besides, he was awarded as the Yugoslav best athlete that same year. In 1992, he joined
A.C. Milan and stayed at
San Siro for the next six and a half years. With Milan he won the
1994 UEFA Champions League and the
1994 European Super Cup, besides three Serie A titles and two
Supercoppa Italiana titles. He became known by the Milan fans as
Maestro and one of his main highlights was the goal he scored against Barcelona in the
1994 UEFA Champions League Final. He left Milan during the 1998–99 winter break and joined again Red Star. However, he stayed only until the end of that season, and left to
Rapid Wien where he played two more years before retiring. During the entire 1990s he was among the key players of the Yugoslavia national team, and has played in the 1990 and 1998 FIFA World Cups. After retiring, he coached
FR Yugoslavia national team for a period, and in 2004 he became the president of the
Football Association of Montenegro. •
Siniša Mihajlović, born in
Vukovar,
SR Croatia, a
Serb from Croatia, started playing with a local club,
Borovo, from where he moved to Vojvodina. He was part of Vojvodina golden generation that won the Yugoslav championship in 1989. This, obviously, put him under Red Star radars and, year later, he was signed and became one of the most influential and charismatic players for the next seasons. Just as in Vojvodina championship winning season, at Red Star, he was also under coaching of Ljupko Petrović, and the great relation of the two coming from before, proved to be another of the major factors which contributed to Red Star major success. In 1992, when economical and sports sanctions were imposed to FR Yugoslavia not allowing its teams to compete internationally, he moved to Italy where he played the rest of his career with Serie A teams
Roma, Sampdoria, Lazio and Inter. He is considered by numerous football specialists as one of the best free-kick takers of all time. He played 63 matches and scored 10 goals for the Yugoslavia national team, and was present at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2000. After retiring, he became a coach. •
Vlada Stošić, born in
Vranje, SR Serbia, was only 19 when he came to Red Star in 1984. He stayed in the club until the winter break of the
1991–92 season when he moved to Spain, where he played with
Mallorca and
Betis during the mid-1990s. Then, in 1997, he joined Belodedici in Mexico and played a season at Atlante. He ended his career in Portugal playing with
Vitória de Setúbal. He played one match for the Yugoslavia national team in 1990. Since mid-1990s, he became involved in the direction of Betis where he became sports director. •
Ivica Momčilović, born in
Bojnik, SR Serbia, played with Napredak before joining Red Star. Afterwards, he played in
Cyprus and Sweden.
Forwards: •
Darko Pančev, born in
Skopje, SR Macedonia, started playing with Vardar where he debuted as senior in 1982. He impressed by becoming Yugoslav First League top scorer in the
1983–84 season while being only 19. Red Star brought him in the summer of 1988 and during the four seasons he spent in Belgrade, he became club's main goalscorer. He was again Yugoslav championship top scorer in three consecutive seasons (1989 to 1992), and he won the
European Golden Boot in 1991. He made 91 appearances and scored 84 goals in the league for Red Star. In 1992 he signed with Inter, however he didn't adapt well in Italy, and afterwards he played in
Germany and
Switzerland. Regarded as one of the best Macedonian players ever, he was a regular in the Yugoslavia national team during the late 1980s and played with Yugoslavia in the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Later, he played for the Macedonian national team in their historical first matches between 1993 and 1995. After retiring, he worked shortly in the Macedonian Football Federation and, later, became the sports director of Vardar. However, he decided to step away from football and dedicate to a cafe that he owns in Skopje. •
Dragiša Binić, born in
Kruševac, SR Serbia, played with Napredak and Radnički Niš before joining Red Star in 1987. He played with Red Star only one season and will play with
French side
Brest and Spanish
Levante before returning to a second spell with Red Star in what was the European Cup winning season. After that season he moved abroad again, playing with a number of clubs such as
Slavia Prague,
APOEL and
Nagoya Grampus. He played for the Yugoslavia national team in 1990 and 1991. After retiring, he entered the direction board of
FK Obilić, first as a sports director, and then as club president. He kept his ties with Red Star by being member of the club assembly. He was also the president of Napredak Kruševac. His son,
Vladan, is also a footballer. •
Vladan Lukić, born in
Sopot, SR Serbia, came to Red Star in 1986 aged only 16. His great scoring abilities made him become a regular in the Yugoslavia national team in 1991, however his luck turned around in a match against
Austria when he got an injury. He left Red Star in 1993 when he joined Atlético Madrid. During his career, until 2000, he also played with Vojvodina,
OFK Beograd,
Marbella, Sion,
Metz and
Paniliakos. In 1998, he played two more games for FR Yugoslavia national team. After retiring, he became the chairman of his hometown club, FK Sopot, and between 2009 and 2012 he was Red Star president. •
Ljubiša Milojević, forward, born in SR Serbia, was a Rad academy player who was brought to Red Star exclusively this season. Having debuted as senior with Rad a season earlier, he managed to impress with consistency and skills for such a young player. Brought to be the ultimate option, ended up not having his chance in Europe, and, at the end of the season moved back to Rad. In 1992, he moved to Greece where he gained notoriety at
Aris Thessaloniki where he played five seasons. He ended his career at
Panetolikos. It is important to mention the other players which were part of the squad, and which, although not having appearances in the European Cup games, contributed as well by replacing those when injuries, sanctions, or needs of rotation, were necessary. They were: •
Aleksandar Ilić, defender, born in
Niš, SR Serbia, debuted as senior precisely in this season at Red Star, and moved on to a career that included clubs in Serbia, Spain, Greece, Belgium and Netherlands. He begin his coaching career in 2007, and after Serbia and Greece, he has mostly been working in Saudi Arabia, and, more recently, Iraq. •
Dejan Joksimović, midfielder, born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, started his career in the capital by playing with
Rad and
OFK Beograd, before arriving to Red Star to have his first spell at the club in the season
1987–88. He spent the next two seasons at Vojvodina and Partizan, becoming one of the first and few players who have played for all three top Serbian clubs. Back in 1990 for his second spell at Red Star, he made the jackpot and became part of the team in the most successful season in all Serbian and Yugoslav club football history. At the end of the season, he moved to
Sparta Prague and played as well with
CD Lugo and
Heidelberg United before retiring. Afterwards, he stayed in football by becoming a players agent. •
Ivan Adžić, midfielder, born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, is a product of Red Star's academy. Having debuted in the previous season, he made only league appearances in this season, however, unlike most others, he stayed in the club much longer afterwards, all until 1996. Except one 6-months loan spell at
Borac Banja Luka in 1991, he was steady in the club and became regular starter in the most difficult period of the UN sanctions. After making 114 league appearances for Red Star, he moved to
Logroñés to play in Spanish La Liga, and later played with Spanish
Toledo,
Borac Čačak back home, before finishing his career in 1999 in Austrian
Rapid Wien. Between 2004 and 2006, he was assistant manager to
Ratko Dostanić and
Walter Zenga at Red Star, and main coach of Montenegrin side
Rudar Pljevlja. He held the post of football director in Red Star between 2009 and 2011. •
Duško Savić, midfielder, born in SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a Bosnian Serb, made his name in
FK Sloboda Tuzla where Red Star picked him in 1990. Utilitarian player, he moved abroad in 1992 for a spell with
Ionikos in
Super League Greece. In 1990, transfer market was already highly active, and this meant a number of players moved in, or out, at winter-break, having been present only half of the season. They were: •
Goran Jurić, defender, born in
Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, a
Bosnian Croat, he gained notoriety playing in
Velež before joining Red Star. Afterwards, he played in Spain, Croatia and Japan. He was member of the Croatian squad at the
1998 FIFA World Cup where Croatia finished third. •
Mitar Mrkela, midfielder, born in Belgrade, SR Serbia, began his career in 1981 with
OFK Beograd from where he transferred to Red Star in 1983. When he debuted for OFK at the age of 16 he became, at the time, the youngest ever player to play in the Yugoslav First League. In Red Star, he became one of the key players of the mid-1980s. Unknowing it was the start of one historical season, he started the 1990–91 season by making his 154th league appearance for Red Star, when he decided to accept a move to Dutch side
FC Twente. Watching his former teammates reach the glory from a TV in Netherlands, he went on to be a regular player at Twente where he spent two seasons, and afterwards he played in Turkish side
Beşiktaş J.K. and Dutch
SC Cambuur. He was also a Yugoslav international between 1982 and 1986. Upon retiring, he has been involved with football. In early 2000s, he became president of the Belgrade Football Association. In OFK Beograd, he held the posts of youth team coach and later sports director. At Red Star, he held a post of youth academy director. •
Enes Bešić, midfielder, born in SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, made his name at
Čelik Zenica where he became a key player between 1980 and 1988, when he was brought by Red Star. A utilitarian player known as a trusted substitute, he made 24 league appearances at Red Star during his two and a half years stay. He made three league and one cup appearance in this season before moving abroad during winter-break and signing with Portuguese side
Salgueiros, known during 1990s for having a vast ex-Yugoslav colony. •
Milorad Ratković, midfielder, born in
Zenica, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, began his career in 1983 at Čelik Zenica where he was teammate of Bešić for three seasons. Red Star brought him in the summer of 1990 but, by winter, he had managed to get a chance to make only one appearance in league and one in cup. Being an established experienced player, he desired more game play, thus his loan move to Borac Banja Luka was agreed that same winter. He returned to Red Star following season and became a key player in 1991–92. This earned him a move to Spanish La Liga and a contract with
Celta de Vigo where his performances made him became a fans favourite in the six seasons he spent there, between 1992 and 1998. He finished his career in Spain with a one-season spell with
Sevilla FC. •
Slaviša Čula, forward, born in
Kostolac, SR Serbia, began his career in 1988 and played with Napredak and Sutjeska before joining Red Star in the summer of 1990. Utilitarian player, he was loaned to
Proleter during winter-break of 1990–91. He made ten appearances in league for Red Star before moving to Borac Banja Luka in 1992. Between 1993 and 2001, he will become a globetrotter playing in Sweden, Romania, Israel and Cyprus. He ended his career at his hometown club
Rudar Kostolac in 2005. ==Results==