FK Vardar (Macedonian: ФК Вардар), commonly referred to as Vardar, is a football club based in the capital city of Skopje, in the Republic of Macedonia . Founded in 1911, they have been members of the Macedonian First Football League since its inception in 1992. Vardar (named after the eponymous river) is the most popular and renowned Macedonian football club both domestically and abroad, winning 8 national championships and 5 national cups. Its home venue is the Philip II Arena, with a capacity of 33,460.
History
Beginnings
FK Vardar was created with the merger of city rivals FK Pobeda and FK Makedonija, in the hall of cinema "Vardar" on 22 July 1947. The foundation assembly had decided the club color to be blue and it was, but already at the next assembly the decision was changed to red and white. FK Pobeda has competed in the first season of the Federal First League after the World War II, finished at the 8th place and won the relegation play-offs against FK Sloga from Novi Sad, so Vardar was a member of the Federal First League from the very beginning. However, during the following decade they were several times relegated and promoted back again. The present recognizable red and black color was adopted after the 1963 Skopje earthquake.
Federal First League
The club won its first major trophy in the 1961 Federal Cup.[1] Many famous players from the region started their careers at Vardar, and their triumph in the Yugoslavian Cup was a highlight. The leader of that particular generation of players was Andon Dončevski, who would later find success as coach of the 1987 title winners. Due to massive irregularities during the last 34th week of fixtures, the 1985-86 Federal First league season ended notoriously. Federal Football Association headed by Slavko Šajber voided the last week results ordering a replay of all 9 fixtures. Twelve clubs were docked 6 points due to alleged participation in the match-fixing scandal. All teams agreed to replay their games with the exception of FK Partizan who refused. That decision would eventually cost them the championship. The league title was awarded to Red Star Belgrade. What followed is a series of lawsuits on behalf of FK Partizan and the case was taken to the Constitutional Court. The following 1986-87Federal First league season saw 10 teams starting with −6 points. Vardar would go on to win the league title that year with 38 points. After the completion of the 1986–87 season, following strong pressure from politicians supporting Partizan, the court ruled that there was no evidence of wrongdoing in the week 34 of the previous season. The title was given back to FK Partizan and that also meant that there was no merit for the 6-point docking thus the final standings were re-counted. Partizan became the new champion with 42 points. The UEFA didn't recognize this politically motivated decision, hence Vardar went on to play in the 1987-88 European Cup. The 1987 championship team brought together a group of wonderful players, led by the talented Darko Pančev and including Ilija Najdoski, Dragan Kanatlarovski and Vujadin Stanojković. FK Vardar went on to spend 33 seasons in the top flight from 1947 to 1992 and is ranked 11th on the all-time table.
All-Time Federal First League Table (1945–1992) [2]
| Rank |
Club |
MP |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
P |
|---|
| 1 |
Red Star |
1335 |
719 |
328 |
288 |
2560 |
1415 |
+1145 |
1766 |
| 2 |
Partizan |
1335 |
657 |
354 |
324 |
2285 |
1428 |
+857 |
1668 |
| 3 |
Dinamo Zagreb |
1302 |
597 |
366 |
339 |
2151 |
1495 |
+1006 |
1560 |
| 4 |
Hajduk Split |
1302 |
587 |
346 |
369 |
2088 |
1486 |
+602 |
1520 |
| 5 |
Vojvodina |
1221 |
465 |
311 |
445 |
1670 |
1595 |
+75 |
1241 |
| 6 |
Sarajevo |
1228 |
447 |
311 |
470 |
1674 |
1773 |
−99 |
1205 |
| 7 |
Velež Mostar |
1174 |
435 |
309 |
430 |
1668 |
1615 |
+53 |
1179 |
| 8 |
Željezničar |
1063 |
403 |
274 |
386 |
1456 |
1424 |
+32 |
1080 |
| 9 |
OFK Beograd |
977 |
343 |
281 |
353 |
1355 |
1355 |
0 |
967 |
| 10 |
Radnički Niš |
979 |
339 |
250 |
390 |
1088 |
1244 |
−156 |
928 |
| 11 |
Vardar |
1005 |
328 |
251 |
426 |
1195 |
1459 |
−264 |
907 |
After the split of the Federation
Vardar celebrated the Republic of Macedonia independence by winning three consecutive titles including going unbeaten in the inaugural season.
During the 90's they remained at the top of Macedonian football reaching five Cup finals (winning four) and have always been the team to beat. After a lean spell by their standards, they won the league again in 2002 and the following season just missed out on qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage. A remarkable achievement, in the 2nd round of qualifying they eliminated CSKA Moscow and came within a goal of getting past Sparta Prague.[3] In 2011, Vardar was originally relegated from the First League, but after a merger with Miravci it stayed. The following season they won the league after nine years. To date they have 13 major honors to their name. In 2012, with the new transformation football club Vardar became the first team in Macedonia organized as a joint stock company incorporated under the companies act.[4]
- Deducted points (already accounted): FK Makedonija Gj. P. -19, FK Sloga Jugomagnat −11, FK Vardar −9, FK Cementarnica −3 and FK Škendija −3.
Memorable moments
In their history, Vardar has had many memorable matches. Among those, the one that stands out the most was defeating Partizan Belgrade by a score of 5:0. In early history, the 2:1 victory over Varteks in the Marshal Tito Cup final is remembered by the club as its first major trophy win. A game that had the highest attendance was a match up against Trepča where Vardar won 2:1 and earned promotion to the Federal First League. Other matches to remember came against the great four : Red Star Belgrade, Partizan Belgrade, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split. At the beginning of the Macedonian First League the most memorable matches were all the wins against rival Pelister, including the first ever Macedonian Cup final in 1993 where Vardar won 1–0 at the old Skopje City Stadium. The biggest international achievement of the club came in 2003 when Vardar came one goal short of qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Honours
League
Federal Second League:
Macedonian First League:
Cup
Federal Cup:
Macedonian Football Cup:
- Winners (5): 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2007
- Runners-up (1): 1996
Macedonian Super Cup:
Macedonian Republic Cup:
- Winners (12): 1955, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1979, 1980, 1992
International
Mitropa Cup:
- Semi-finalists (1): 1968
- Round of 16 (2): 1969, 1970
Balkans Cup:
- Runners-up (2): 1972, 1974
Other tournaments
Vuko Karov Tournament:
- Winners (3): 1993, 2001, 2006
- Runners-up (1): 2011
Stadium
FK Vardar's home venue is Philip II Arena. Its current capacity is 36,460[7] spectators which puts it among 10 largest stadiums on the Balkans. The pitch is 105 x 68 m. Two big scoreboards, 18 x 6 m are installed on both East and West stands. There are 494 VIP boxes and 386 media seats, all of them on the North stand. Philip II Arena is an all-seater ground with 80% of the seats covered from inclement weather.
Philip II Arena
| Capacity |
|---|
| North – 11,974 |
| South – 11,562 |
| East – 6,462 |
| West – 6,462 |
| Total – 36,460 |
Vardar in Europe
Vardar's first competitive European match was a 0–5 loss against Dunfermline Athletic in the 1961–62 European Cup Winners' Cup. Muarem Zekir holds the record for most appearances in Europe for the club with 21. Top scorer in UEFA club competitions is Wandeir with 13 goals. The biggest win in UEFA competition was against Ethnikos Achnas in the 2004 Intertoto Cup, defeating them twice by the score of 5–1 and 10–2 on aggregate.
UEFA club coefficient ranking
As of 26.08.2015, Source:
Current squad
As of 20 February 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Out on loan
As of 8 July 2015
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Coaching Staff
As of 25 July 2015.[8]
Club Management
Notable former players
Managers
- Kiril Simonovski (1953–55)
- Ilij Shpits (1960–61)
- Antal Lyka (1961)
- Aleksandar Tomashevikj (1963–64)
- Hugo Rushevljanin (1964–??)
- Chaslav Bozhinovski (19??)
- Petar Shulinchevski (19??)
- Stjepan Bobek (July 1, 1978 – June 30, 1981)
- Vukashin Vishnjevac (1983–84)
- Ilija Dimovski
- Andon Donchevski (July 1, 1985–88)
- Metodije Spasovski (1988–89)
- Petar Sjulinchevski (1989–90)
- Kiril Dojchinovski (1990)
Gjoko Hadjievski (1991–93)- Dragan Tomovski (1993–94)
- Gjoko Hadjievski (1994–95)
- Ilija Dimovski (1995–96)
- Vancho Trpevski
- Perica Gruevski
- Slobodan Gorachinov (1996–97)[9]
- Dragi Kanatlarovski (1997)
- Gjore Jovanovski (May 24, 1998 – May 27, 1999)
- Kocho Dimitrovski (1999)
- Alekso Mackov (2000–01)
Zharko Odjakov (2001)- Gjoko Hadjievski (2001–03)
- Zoran Stratev (2003–04)
- Toni Jakimovski (2004)
Gildo Rodrigues (2004)- Vujadin Stanojkovikj (2004–05)
- Dragi Kanatlarovski (July 1, 2005–07)
- Zoran Stratev (Aug 24, 2007 – April 6, 2008)
- Kiril Dojchinovski (April 6, 2008–08)
Radko Dostanikj (July 1, 2008 – Oct 11, 2008)- Milko Gjurovski (Oct 31, 2008 – Feb 5, 2009)
- Zhikica Tasevski (Feb 15, 2009 – May 09)
- Pane Blazhevski (June 24, 2009 – Aug 17, 2009)
- Mario Vujovikj (Aug 18, 2009 – Nov 17, 2009)
- Gjorgji Todorovski (Nov 17, 2009–10)
- Ilcho Gjorgioski (2010)
- Zoran Stratev (Jan 2011 – May 17, 2011)
- Ilcho Gjorgioski (July 30, 2011 – July 29, 2012)
- Blagoja Milevski (July 30, 2012 – Jan 11, 2013)
- Nikola Ilievski (Jan 11, 2013 – April 14, 2013)
- Blagoja Milevski (April 15, 2013 – Feb 1, 2014)
Sergei Andreev (February 3, 2014 – July 25, 2015)- Goce Sedloski (July 25, 2015–)
Presidents
[10]
Club records
[11]
Recent seasons
Rivalries
Eternal Derby
The macthc against Pelister Bitola is the biggest and most violent match in Macedonia. An important aspect of this match-up is the intense rivalry in the Macedonian Tifo scene between the clubs supporters Komiti Skopje and Chkembari Bitola. The rivalry began in the season 1989/1990 at a match in Skopje, between Vardar and Red Star Belgrade. A conflict occurred between the "Skopje fans" and a few Bitola fans who went to cheer for Vardar, at that time the most popular Macedonian football club in the former Federation. On 8 March 1991 in Bitola, Pelister and Vardar met in the Federal second league and the first incident occurred. From that day forward, started the big rivalry between Komiti and Chkembari along with the Vardar-Pelister match becoming the Eternal derby of Macedonia. In recent years the rivalry wained slightly in importance as Pelister stopped being as competitive.
Skopje derby
Rabotnichki is the team from Skopje with organised fans, although the rivalry is rarely manifested on the football pitch, it is widely upheld however in handball and basketball.
Inter-regional rivalries
There is also a friendly "brotherhood derby" with Teteks Tetovo; the fans of these two clubs have been dubbed as "Macedonian Christian Brothers".
Supporters
Main article:
Komiti SkopjeFK Vardar supporters are known as Komiti (Macedonian: Комити). Komiti are the first organized supporters group of Vardar and they were founded on 4 June 1987 in Skopje, at the match between Vardar and Crvena Zvezda. Throughout their existence, they left significant seal in the history of Vardar and with their support becoming the 12th player of the team. FK Vardar as a club is supported by most Macedonians worldwide. The team has always been a symbol of the Macedonians and Macedonia in the world. Komiti have great relations with Teteks fans Vojvodi and Schalke 04 fans Ultras Gelsenkirchen.[12]
Soborna Church Skopje, place where '
Komiti Skopje' are gathered before FK Vardar matches
References
External links
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