What happened to Dinamo Zagreb in the championship of 1951, almost happened to Crvena zvezda in the season 1958/1959 – a season of large trials, ups and downs and unexpected turn-overs. Nevertheless, Crvena zvezda earned the fifth championship star! This championship story is also very exciting, filled with strange events, sometimes sad, and sometimes happy, and the best part is the ending - a happy ending.
Crvena zvezda's start was fantastic - four games, four wins. Hajduk was overrun with 7:0 and Dinamo with 4:0. After such a superb start the team faced the first serious blow- defeat by Radnički from Niš 4:1. But then two teams went down in two derbies, Partizan and Vojvodina, both with the same score, 2:0. The balance of the autumn session was beyond expectations: 11 games - 9 wins and 2 losses (the other one in Sarajevo, 1:0) and 32:9 goal difference. Crvena zvezda was first in the rank with 18 points, four more than Vojvodina, five more than Dinamo, six more than Rijeka, seven more than Partizan ...
Troubles began in the spring. A few players were constantly missing, and the best formation was impossible to put together. Club’s preparation was variable. The team returned from Skopje and from Split as well with no points won. But Vojvodina lost to Partizan and then drew with Sarajevo, and Crvena zvezda, managed to maintain the first position since the second round. Partizan was rising from the middle to the top, and Crvena zvezda won only five points in the first seven rounds of the spring session, and the situation in the rank got complicated: Crvena zvezda 23, Partizan 23, Vojvodina 22, Dinamo 20 points.
Those were critical times: every point was very important, every goal and every game were a great challenge ... Partizan and Vojvodina were seriously threatening, but Crvena zvezda defended the throne ardently.
The finishing part of the season went without a break, following a pace unseen in our championships. Crvena zvezda's team was up to the task at the end as well as at the beginning of the season and they were scooping forward with might and main. In the last four games, Partizan and Vojvodina beat all the rivals, but in that last part of the season Crvena zvezda was relentless and the team eventually deservedly won their fifth National Champion title. Below the table for the season:
Crvena zvezda 22 14 3 5 50:19 31
Partizan 22 14 3 5 39:29 31
Vojvodina 22 13 4 5 47:22 30
The best scorer of the championship was Bora Kostić with 25 goals.
Roster:
Vladimir Beara 19 - 10 received goals, Ranko Borozan 13, Vladimir Durković 18, Špira Đurić 1-4 primljena gola, Miljan Zeković 20, Bora Kostić 22-25, Dušan Maravić 15-3, Selimir Milošević 3-1, Rajko Mitić 11-2, Branko Nešović 2, Vladimir Nikolovski 2, Vladica Popović 15-6, Ivan Popović 10-6, Tatomir Radunović 2-5 received goals, Anton Rudinski 17-7, Dimitrije Stojanović 7, Ljubiša Spajić 20, Nikola stipić 17-3, Lazar Tasić 15-1, Ivan Toplak 1, Dragoslav Šekularac 13-3.
Coach:
Miša Pavić