With four games to go, Red Star Belgrade can no longer be denied the Serbian league title
Former Bundesliga player Aleksandar Dragovic (106 games for Bayer 04 Leverkusen) has once again become champion with Red Star Belgrade. After a 2:1 win against Backa Topola and a defeat of rivals Partizan Belgrade on Thursday evening, Red Star secured the title in Serbia with four rounds to go.
Central defender Dragovic played as captain in the 27th win of the season, his third success with the club from the capital, which triumphed for the seventh time in a row and clinched its 35th championship overall. Record champions Red Star once again underlined their exceptional position in Serbia.
Change of coach has paid off
At one point, it even looked as if Red Star might stumble. There were numerous disappointing performances in the fall, particularly at international level, and in December the club finally reacted after a painful 2:1 derby defeat against arch-rivals Partizan and parted ways with the hapless Barak Bakhar.
After four years, former successful coach Vladan Milojevic returned to the bench. Under the 54-year-old, the Belgrade side got back on track and are unbeaten in the league so far (12-2-0). After the championship, Red Star can also win the double, with the cup final against Vojvodina Novi Sad on May 21.
Title hamster Dragovic
Dragovic, for his part, further increased his personal collection of championships, with the 33-year-old Viennese with Serbian roots now having nine championship titles to his name. He won the Swiss championship with FC Basel in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014, triumphed twice with Dynamo Kiev in Ukraine (2015, 2016) and has now won three in a row with Belgrade.
Dragovic is the second most successful Austrian ever in this regard, only David Alaba has won more championships – ten times with Bayern Munich (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021) and once with Real Madrid (2022).
