FK Napredak Kruševac facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Napredak Kruševac

Full name	Fudbalski Klub Napredak Kruševac
Nickname(s)	Čarapani (The socks man)
Founded	8 December 1946; 78 years ago (1946-12-08)
Ground	Mladost Stadium
Ground Capacity	10,331
President	Miloš Nenezić
Head coach	Milan Nikolić
League	Serbian SuperLiga
2024–25	Serbian SuperLiga, 14th of 16
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Fudbalski klub Napredak Kruševac is a professional football club from Kruševac, Serbia. The club is often called Napredak Kruševac. Its name, Napredak, means "progress" in the Serbian language.

The team's nickname is Čarapani, which means "sock-men". This name comes from a story during the First Serbian Uprising. Local fighters took off their slippers and quietly defended their land in socks. Another idea is that men in this area used to wear beautiful, long embroidered socks a long time ago.

Club History: From Founding to Today

Napredak was started on December 8, 1946. It was formed by joining three local clubs: Zakić, Badža, and 14. Oktobar. In January 1947, they played their first official game, which ended in a 1–1 draw against Vardar. The first goal for Napredak was scored by Marko Valok. He later became a famous player for Partizan Belgrade.

In 1949, Napredak became champions of Serbia, winning their first title. In 1951, they joined the top league in Yugoslavia for the first time. However, they quickly moved down to a lower league. They started playing in the new Yugoslav Second League format in the 1958–59 season.

In 1976, with coach Dragan Bojović, the club won the second league. They moved up to the top league again after a big 8–2 win over Rad Belgrade. But they were moved down again in the same season. In the 1978–79 season, they returned to the top league. That year, they famously beat the strong team Partizan 3–0 at their home stadium.

In the 1979–80 season, led by coach Tomislav Kaloperović, Napredak finished 4th in the league. This was a great achievement, placing them above many top Yugoslav clubs. It also meant they qualified for a European competition for the first time, the 1980–81 UEFA Cup. However, they were knocked out in the first round by Dynamo Dresden from East Germany. Sadly, in the same season, the club finished last in the league and moved down to the second league. They stayed there until 1988.

In the 1987–88 season, Napredak won the East Division of the second league and moved up to the top league. But again, they could not stay in the first league and were moved down for the third time in their history. Napredak remained in the second league until the 1991–92 season. This was the last season of the old Yugoslavia. Napredak then became a member of the new First League of FR Yugoslavia. In 1993, Napredak finished in a good sixth place. But in the next season, 1993–94, they moved down to the second league again.

New Millennium: Ups and Downs (2000–2010)

During the 1990s, Napredak often moved between the first and second leagues. In the 1999–2000 season, they won their group in the Yugoslav Second League and returned to the top division. In the same season, Napredak had their biggest success in a national cup. They reached the Yugoslav Cup final in 2000. They lost to the big Serbian team Red Star Belgrade.

Because they reached the cup final, they earned a spot in the 2000–01 UEFA Cup season. This time, the team did a little better. They beat Viljandi Tulevik from Estonia in the first round. But they were knocked out in the second round by OFI Crete from Greece. Their return to the top league in the 2000–01 season was not successful, and they moved down again right away. The club slowly gained a reputation as an "elevator team" because they often moved up and down between leagues.

In 2003, the country was renamed from Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Serbia and Montenegro. The football leagues also changed their names. In 2003, Napredak won their group in the Second League of Serbia and Montenegro. They moved up to the 2003–04 First League of Serbia and Montenegro season. But they moved down again immediately. This was the fifth time in their history they moved down right after moving up.

After Montenegro became independent in 2006, clubs from Montenegro left the league. Since then, the leagues have only included clubs from Serbia. In the 2006–07 season, Napredak finished third in the Serbian First League. This was the second-highest league in Serbia. Usually, the top two teams would move up. But on July 19, 2007, the Football Association of Serbia decided that Napredak would move up to the Serbian SuperLiga. They replaced Mladost Apatin, who left the league because they couldn't afford to play in the top division. In 2008, Napredak almost qualified for the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. However, two years later, in 2010, Napredak moved down again and played in the Serbian First League.

New Management: A Fresh Start (2011–Present)

Napredak began to change a lot in early 2012. New management and players joined the club. One of the new players was striker Nenad Mirosavljević. He was a well-known player in Serbian football. He joined from Olympiakos Nicosia. Less than a month after he joined, the club brought in a new director, Goran Karić. His job was to bring the club back to the top league from the Serbian First League.

After the first half of the 2011–12 season, Napredak was in the bottom half of the league table. But the new team started winning many games. They finished the season in 6th place, just missing out on moving up to the top league. On September 17, 2012, Vladimir Arsić replaced Karić as the new director. One of the first things the new management did was redesign the club's logo.

The renovation of Napredak's home stadium, the Mladost Stadium, was finished by the end of April 2012. The club could play at home again. On December 9, 2012, Napredak celebrated its 66th birthday. At that time, the club was in first place at the end of the first half of the 2012–13 Serbian First League season. This was a huge success for the club. Napredak finally moved up to the Serbian SuperLiga after winning the First League championship.

Napredak finished 9th in the SuperLiga in the 2013–14 season. But in the 2014–15 season, they finished 14th. They had to play a special play-off game against Metalac, who were 3rd in the Serbian First League. Napredak lost 3–1 away on May 30, 2015, and drew 1–1 at home on June 3, 2015. This meant Napredak moved down to the second league again.

Club Colors and Crest

Napredak has always played in red as their main color. This is a way to honor the Labour movement. They also use an all-white jersey for away games. The club's crest (logo) has red and white colors. It also shows the year 1946, which is when the club was founded. In the middle, there is a football. The top part of the crest looks like the wall of the Kruševac Fortress. People believe this fortress was built by the Serbian medieval ruler, Tsar Lazar.

Stadium: Mladost Stadium

Mladost Stadium, home of FK Napredak Kruševac

Napredak's home field is the Mladost Stadium. It is a football stadium with seats for 10,331 people. The stadium was built in 1976 in a very short time, just 60 days. It first had space for 25,000 people. It is special because it is one of the few stadiums in Serbia made only for football. It doesn't have a running track like many other stadiums. This means the fans are closer to the field, making the atmosphere louder and more exciting for both home and visiting teams.

In 2012, Napredak did a big renovation project. They installed seats all over the stadium and put up four tall floodlight masts. That year, the stadium hosted the 2012 Serbian Cup Final. It is also used for games by the Serbian national under-21 football team.

Supporters: The Jakuza

The organized group of Napredak supporters is called Jakuza. This group was formed in 1988. They have a special friendship with the organized supporters of Mačva Šabac, who are called the Šaneri.

People from Kruševac and the surrounding area support Napredak. They are all known as Čarapani. They have a song called "Svake noći tebe sanjam" (Every night I dream of you) and a chant "Samo napred Čarapani!", which means "Long live socks wearing man!".

Club Achievements

Domestic League Titles

• Yugoslav Second League
  • Winners (4): 1957–58, 1975−76, 1977−78, 1987–88
• Second League of Serbia and Montenegro
  • Winners (2): 1999–2000, 2002–03
• Serbian First League
  • Winners (2): 2012–13, 2015–16

Cup Achievements

• Serbia and Montenegro Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 1999–2000 (meaning they reached the final but didn't win)

Recent League Performance

European Competitions Record

1R = First round, QR = Qualifying round.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1980–81	UEFA Cup	1R	Dynamo Dresden	0–1	0–1	0–2
2000–01	UEFA Cup	QR	JK Viljandi Tulevik	5–1	1–1	6–2
		1R	OFI Crete	0–0	0–6	0–6

Current Players

No. Position Player 1 GK Vladimir Savić 4 MF Filip Krstić 5 DF Stefan Bukorac 6 DF Strahinja Ristić 7 DF Nikola Vukajlović 8 MF Damjan Jovanović 9 FW Mateja Bubanj 11 FW Andrija Majdevac 12 FW Nebojša Bastajić (captain) 14 MF Luka Laban 15 DF Aleksandar Lutovac 16 FW Đorđe Skočajić 18 MF Mateja Gajić 20 DF Nikola Marinković 22 MF Miloš Tošeski 23 MF Lazar Zličić 24 DF Uroš Ignjatović

No. Position Player 25 DF Nemanja Đeković 27 DF Dragan Čubra 31 DF Ivan Šubert 33 FW Nikola Bogdanovski 44 DF Stefan Hajdin 55 FW Đorđe Kotlajić 70 DF Lazar Miladinović 77 DF Luka Drobnjak 84 GK Lazar Balević 88 FW Marko Šarić 89 MF Andrej Smiljković 95 MF Vladimir Miletić 99 DF Pavle Mihajlović DF Petar Ćirković MF Miloš Vulić FW Mario Marković

Club Officials

Current Technical Staff
Position	Name
Manager	Milan Nikolić
Assistant coach	Bratislav Punoševac
Goalkeeper coach	Srđan Soldatović
Fitness coach	Vladimir Živanović
Coach analyst	Jovan Dabić
Club doctor	Daniel Tomićević
Physiotherapist	Saša Miletić
Physiotherapist	Svetomir Tomić
Physiotherapist	Bogdan Kostić
Economic	Saša Miladinović
Economic	Veroljub Lazarević
Secretary of the coaching staff	Zoran Ristić
Source: FK Napredak

Famous Former Players

Here is a list of former players who also played for their national teams:

For a list of all current and former players with Wikipedia articles, please see Category:FK Napredak Kruševac players.

Club Managers Through the Years

Kit Sponsors and Manufacturers

See also

In Spanish: FK Napredak Kruševac para niños