Greek basketball coach Ioannis Sfairopoulos is the current head coach.

KK Crvena zvezda is a men's professional basketball club based in Belgrade, Serbia. Crvena zvezda is a part of the Adriatic Basketball Association and competes in the ABA League, EuroLeague and in the Basketball League of Serbia. The Crvena zvezda squads have played in three different National Leagues since 1945, including the Yugoslav First Federal League (1945–1992), the First League of Serbia and Montenegro (1992–2006), and the Serbian League (2006 onwards). The team plays domestic home matches in the Aleksandar Nikolić Hall, and the EuroLeague or EuroCup home matches in Štark Arena. Since November 2022, the head coach has been Duško Ivanović.

There have been 42 head coaches in the club's history. Montenegrin coach Dejan Radonjić is the all-time leader in both official games coached and wins. Nebojša Popović won ten National Championships, while Radonjić won five National Cups and he is the only head coach who has won multiple Cup tournaments. Radonjić and Bratislav Đorđević won both national titles, a Championship and a Cup. Also, Crvena zvezda won five Adriatic Leagues under Radonjić and an Adriatic Super Cup under Milan Tomić. Coaches Radonjić and Tomić won the Adriatic Championship and the National Championship in the same season. Furthermore, Radonjić recorded three titles (Serbian League, Adriatic League, and Serbian Cup) in a single season four times (2014–15, 2016–17, 2020–21, and 2021–22), of which the lasest were back-to-back. Coach Aleksandar Nikolić won the only European-wide competition in the club's history, the FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup in 1974.

Nikolić, Ranko Žeravica, and Svetislav Pešić are members of FIBA Hall of Fame as coaches, while Nikolić is a member of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. American coach Tom Ludwig, hired in 1997, was the first foreign head coach and the only non-European. Montenegrins Radonjić and Duško Ivanović, and Slovenian Zmago Sagadin were the other foreign head coaches. Head coaches Vladislav Lučić and Aleksandar Trifunović were hired three times.

Head coaches Popović, Aleksandar Gec, Milan Bjegojević, Đorđe Andrijašević, Nikolić, Nemanja Đurić, Strahinja Alagić, Dragiša Vučinić, Zoran Slavnić, Lučić, Stevan Karadžić, Trifunović, Milenko Topić, and Saša Obradović were also Crvena zvezda's players. Popović and Vučinić were player-coaches, while Popović, Bjegojević and Topić won the National Championships both as the players and head coaches.

Key

GC Games coached
W Wins
L Losses
Win% Winning percentage
# Number of coaches[a]
† Elected into the FIBA Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a coach
* Elected into the FIBA Hall of Fame
Spent entire head coaching career with Crvena zvezda

Coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the start of the 2022–23 season.

FIBA Hall of Famer Svetislav Pešić coached Crvena zvezda in two separate single season stints.
Dejan Radonjić, who coached Crvena zvezda in two stints totalling five and a half seasons, leads the club's all-time list for most games coached (453) and most games won as a coach (322).
# Name Nationality[b] Period GC W L Win% Trophies Ref.
1 Nebojša Popović *  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1946–1955 184 155 29 .842 10× Yugoslav champion
2 Aleksandar Gec  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1956–1959 37 24 13 .649 None
3 Milan Bjegojević  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1960–1970 242 142 100 .587 Yugoslav champion
4 Đorđe Andrijašević  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1970–1971 26 19 7 .731 Yugoslav Cup winner
5 Bratislav Đorđević  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1971–1973 78 56 22 .718 Yugoslav champion
Yugoslav Cup winner
6 Aleksandar Nikolić †  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1973–1974 41 29 12 .707 FIBA European Cup Winner's Cup winner
7 Nemanja Đurić  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1974–1976 50 Yugoslav Cup winner
8 Strahinja Alagić  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1976 20 None
– Bratislav Đorđević  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1976–1979 70 None
9 Dragiša Vučinić  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1979 7 None
10 Mile Protić  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1979 8 None
11 Ranko Žeravica *  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1979–1986 265 160 105 .604 None
12 Vlade Đurović  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1986–1988 72 42 30 .583 None
13 Zoran Slavnić  Yugoslavia[SRB] 1988–1991 111 64 47 .577 None
14 Duško Vujošević  Yugoslavia[MNE][a] 1991–1992 32 20 12 .625 None
15 Vladislav Lučić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1992–1994 99 2× Yugoslav champion
16 Veselin Matić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1994 2 None
– Zoran Slavnić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1994–1995 32 None
17 Mihailo Uvalin  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1995 4 4 0 1.000 None
18 Borislav Džaković  Serbia and Montenegro[BIH][a] 1995–1996 45 27 18 .600 None
19 Mihailo Pavićević  Serbia and Montenegro[MNE] 1996–1997 33 14 19 .424 None
– Ranko Žeravica *  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1997 10 10 0 1.000 None
20 Tom Ludwig  United States 1997 13 9 4 .692 None [A]
– Vladislav Lučić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1997–1998 28 None [B]
– Mihailo Pavićević  Serbia and Montenegro[MNE] 1998 5 4 1 .800 Yugoslav champion [C]
– Borislav Džaković  Serbia and Montenegro[BIH][a] 1998 9 None [D]
21 Jovica Antonić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1998–1999 35 23 12 .657 None [E]
22 Momir Milatović  Serbia and Montenegro[MNE] 1999 4 None [F][1]
– Vladislav Lučić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 1999–2000 21 None [G]
23 Stevan Karadžić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2000–2001 40 None [H]
24 Miroslav Nikolić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2001 9 None
25 Zoran Krečković  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2001–2002 8 4 4 .500 None
– Miroslav Nikolić  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2002 20 None
26 Aleksandar Trifunović  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2002–2003 52 36 16 .692 None [I]
27 Zmago Sagadin  Slovenia 2003–2004 65 41 24 .631 Serbian Cup winner [J]
– Aleksandar Trifunović  Serbia and Montenegro[SRB] 2004–2005 50 30 20 .600 None
28 Dragan Šakota  Serbia[b] 2005–2007 102 63 39 .618 Serbian Cup winner [K]
– Stevan Karadžić  Serbia 2007–2008 71 44 27 .620 None [L]
29 Milan Škobalj  Serbia 2008 12 6 6 .500 None
30 Svetislav Pešić *  Serbia[c] 2008–2009 56 37 19 .661 None
31 Aleksandar Petrović  Serbia 2009 18 9 9 .500 None [M]
– Aleksandar Trifunović  Serbia 2009–2010 37 18 19 .486 None
– Mihailo Uvalin  Serbia 2010–2011 28 9 19 .321 None [N]
32 Saša Nikitović  Serbia 2011 14 6 8 .429 None
– Svetislav Pešić *  Serbia[c] 2011–2012 50 25 25 .500 None
33 Milivoje Lazić  Serbia 2012 2 0 2 .000 None [O]
34 Vlada Vukoičić  Serbia 2012–2013 44 31 13 .705 Serbian Cup winner [6]
35 Dejan Radonjić  Montenegro 2013–2017 326 239 87 .733 3× Serbian champion
3× Serbian Cup winner
3× Adriatic champion 		[7][8]
36 Dušan Alimpijević  Serbia 2017–2018 69 40 29 .580 None [9][10]
37 Milenko Topić  Serbia 2018 10 10 0 1.000 Serbian champion [11][12]
38 Milan Tomić  Serbia[b] 2018–2019 75 56 19 .747 Adriatic champion
ABA Supercup winner
Serbian champion 		[13]
39 Andrija Gavrilović  Serbia[d] 2019 11 5 6 .455 None
– Dragan Šakota  Serbia[b] 2019–2020 35 20 15 .571 None
40 Saša Obradović  Serbia 2020 26 14 12 .538 None
– Dejan Radonjić  Montenegro 2020–2022 127 83 44 .654 2× Serbian champion
2× Serbian Cup winner
2× Adriatic champion
41 Vladimir Jovanović  Serbia 2022 12 5 7 .417 None
42 Duško Ivanović  Montenegro 2022–2023 69 50 19 .725 Serbian champion
Serbian Cup winner
43 Ioannis Sfairopoulos  Greece 2023– 0 0 0 – None

Head coaches with 100 games coached

This list includes all head coaches who have coached at least 100 games in all competitions.

Note: Statistics are correct through the start of the 2022–23 season.

# Name Period Games
1
 Montenegro Dejan Radonjić 2013–2017, 2020–2022
453
2
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Ranko Žeravica * 1979–1986; 1997
275
3
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Milan Bjegojević 1960–1970
242
4
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nebojša Popović * 1946–1957
184
5 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Bratislav Đorđević 1971–1973; 1976–1979
148
Serbia and Montenegro Vladislav Lučić 1992–1994; 1997–1998; 1999–2000
148
7
 Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Zoran Slavnić 1988–1991; 1994–1995
143
8
 Serbia Aleksandar Trifunović 2002–2003; 2004–2005; 2009–2010
139
9
 Serbia Dragan Šakota 2005–2007; 2019–2020
137
10
 Serbia Stevan Karadžić 2000–2001; 2007–2008
111
11
 Serbia Svetislav Pešić * 2008–2009; 2011–2012
106

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Ludwig got fired in 1997 after one of the losses. His firing came before the Korać Cup round-of-32 return leg at home against Mens Sana Siena in which Red Star was chasing a 9 point deficit from the first game. The return game was played in Novi Sad because Pionir Hall was busy with something else and, led by newly arrived head coach Lučić, Red Star ended up winning by 18 points and thus overcoming the deficit and moving on to the Korać Cup round-of-16.
  2. ^ In an unprecedented move, Lučić was fired in the early morning hours of 7 May 1998 after the game 2 loss to FMP Železnik during the ongoing YUBA League playoff finals. The series score was tied at 1-1 at the time of his firing. Red Star went on to win the series by winning next two games versus Železnik with returning head coach Pavićević at the helm and thus become the champion of FR Yugoslavia.
  3. ^ Pavićević got fired 27 September 1998, two days following a 66-69 home loss on September 25 to Cibona in EuroLeague. He got replaced by his assistant Bora Džaković.
  4. ^ Džaković got fired on 3 November 1998 after getting eliminated from the Yugoslav Cup on November 1. He didn't fare much better in EuroLeague as the club had a 0-5 record at the time of his firing.
  5. ^ Antonić and Red Star parted ways on 10 October 1999. The club sat well in domestic league (two wins out of two games), but fared poorly in EuroLeague.
  6. ^ Milatović got fired on 8 November 1999 following a crushing defeat to FMP Železnik in the Yugoslav Cup. In total, his head coaching stay at the club was less than a month.
  7. ^ Lučić resigned as head coach in early February 2000 after six consecutive losses in a row (2 in EuroLeague, and 4 in YUBA League). He then temporarily decided to stay after talking to club president Vojislav Stojaković. Finally, on 22 February 2000, it was decided that Lučić would stay with the club in managerial capacity while his assistant Stevan Karadžić took over as head coach.
  8. ^ Karadžić got fired on 7 February 2001 following a Saporta Cup round-of-16 return leg incident in Antwerp versus Telindus RB Antwerpen where the players of two teams got into an infamous on-court brawl. Domestically, the club was in complete disarray, facing a relegation threat.
  9. ^ First time coach Trifunović performed the role only formally while all coaching decisions were made by sporting director Zmago Sagadin.
  10. ^ Sagadin got fired November 2, 2004 following a crushing defeat to KK Partizan in week 9 of the 2004–05 ABA Goodyear League.
  11. ^ Šakota and Red Star parted ways on 4 March 2007 following a series of losses in the Adriatic League, elimination from the domestic Cup, and quarter-final elimination from ULEB Cup. Šakota resigned wanting to be let out of his contract and the club accommodated him. His assistant Stevan Karadžić took over the main bench role.
  12. ^ Karadžić resigned on 18 April 2008, one day before the club's game against eternal rivals KK Partizan. He cited "poor situation in the club" as the reason for his decision to leave.
  13. ^ Aco Petrović resigned his post on 23 December 2009 due to difficult financial and organizational situation at the club. Aleksandar Trifunović was brought in as replacement.[2][3]
  14. ^ Mihailo Uvalin got fired mid-March 2011. His firing came on the heels of various manifestations of disarray in the club such as the players' strike due to unpaid wages and fan protests.[4]
  15. ^ Milivoje Lazić got fired on 4 October 2012 after two consecutive losses in the first two games at the start of the 2012–13 ABA League. He was replaced with Vlada Vukoičić.[5]
Former nationalities
  1. ^
    Holds Bosnian-Herzegovinian nationality following dissolution of Yugoslavia.
  2. ^
    Holds Serbian nationality following dissolution of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.
  3. ^
    Holds Montenegrin nationality following dissolution of Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro.
Other nationalities
  1. ^ a b c Also holds Serbian citizenship.
  2. ^ a b c Also holds Greek citizenship.
  3. ^ a b Also holds German citizenship.
  4. ^ Also holds Italian citizenship.
Other

References

  1. ^ "Trenirao je Zvezdu 28 dana i napravio istorijsku grešku! Nije prepoznao najboljeg evropskog pleja, koga je posle oteo Partizan!". telegraf.rs. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Aco Petrović: Savest mi je čista". rts.rs. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  3. ^ "Trifunović novi trener Crvene zvezde". rts.rs. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  4. ^ "Uvalin dobio otkaz". rts.rs. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  5. ^ "Vukoičić trener Zvezde". rts.rs. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  6. ^ "Vlada Vukoičić preuzeo Zvezdu". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). Večernje Novosti. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Zvezda potvrdila: Radonjić novi trener!". mondo.rs (in Serbian). April 15, 2013. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  8. ^ "Dejan Radonjić and Crvena zvezda mts reunite after three-and-a-half years". aba-liga.com. Retrieved 25 December 2020.
  9. ^ "Zvezda finds new coach in Alimpijevic". euroleague.net. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  10. ^ "NASLEDIO RADONJIĆA Čović: Alimpijević novi trener Zvezde!". sport.blic.rs (in Serbian). Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  11. ^ "NOVI ZVEZDIN TRENER Ko je Milenko Topić, miljenik navijača i čovek koji je pobedio Olimpijakos u Beogradu". sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  12. ^ "SMENA ALIMPIJEVIĆA Topić vodi Zvezdu do daljeg". sport.blic.rs. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
  13. ^ "TOMIĆ NA TRI GODINE: Crvena zvezda rešila pitanje trenera ugovorom sa legendom Olimpijakosa". novosti.rs. Retrieved 13 July 2018.
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