FK Borac Čačak
| Full name | Fudbalski Klub Borac 1926 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Nickname | Zebre (The Zebras) | ||
| Founded | 1 May 1926 | ||
| Ground | Čačak Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 8,000 | ||
| President | Vladimir Stanisavljević | ||
| Manager | Zoran Kostić | ||
| League | Serbian First League | ||
| 2024–25 | Serbian First League, 8th of 16 | ||
| Website | fkborac1926.com | ||
|
| |||
Fudbalski klub Borac 1926 (Serbian Cyrillic: Фудбалски клуб Борац 1926), commonly known as Borac Čačak, is a professional football club based in Čačak, Serbia. The home ground is Čačak Stadium, which has seating capacity of 8,000. As of 2024–25 season, the club competes in second tier Serbian First League.
The word Borac in translation means fighter in English. Mainly because of the horizontal stripes, Borac's nickname is "Zebras".
History
At the end of World War I, football began to be played in Čačak. According to some sources the first football match took place in 1920. Six years later, a group of union workers who organized on 1 May 1926 founded the club. Initially, the uniform was red and later was changed to red-and-white. The first president of the club was a carpenter, Jovan Jolović. On 6 August 1932, FK Borac had its first night match under stadium floodlights, with the Arsenal football club. Before World War II the club's biggest success was winning 1st place in the West Morava district league in 1934.
After a break during World War II, the club started up again and in 1946 played in the qualifications for the Yugoslav First League against Red Star Belgrade but lost. Its next achievement was to win the Serbian Cup in 1958 (regional Yugoslav Cup back then) and four years later won promotion to the Yugoslav Second League. The first play-off match against OFK Titograd was lost 1–3, but in the home match on 15 July 1962, with six goals in the second half, FK Borac secured a promotion to the Second Federal League.
For many years Borac played in the Second Federal League but the dream of the promotion to the top-tier competition came through in 1994 when Borac got promoted to the First League of FR Yugoslavia. Previously Borac had failed in three attempts to make it to the top flight, losing play-off matches in 1970, 1971, and 1973. The club has been relegated three times since first making the Yugoslav First League but they have also three times managed to win promotion back to the top league, last time in 2003. In the 2005–06 season, Borac finished in 7th place, the club's highest finish at the time.
2006–present
In 2006, Serbian SuperLiga was established as top-tier competition in Serbia following the Montenegrin independence from state union. Borac Čačak finished the 2007–08 in 4th place, thereby securing a place in European competition for the first time. In the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, Borac defeated Dacia Chișinău from Moldova 4–2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round, and Lokomotiv Sofia from Bulgaria 2–1 on aggregate in the second qualifying round. However, Dutch giants Ajax denied Borac entry into the group stage by defeating them twice, 1–4 in Belgrade and 0–2 in Amsterdam.[1]
In 2011–12 Serbian SuperLiga, Borac Čačak finished in 15th place and were relegated to the Serbian First League. After mediocre performance in 2012–13 Serbian First League, Borac finished in second place of 2013–14 Serbian First League as runners-up over Metalac Gornji Milanovac, with whom they were tied on points and promoted to the top-tier competition. On 2 August 2014, Borac for the second time in their history played a night match under floodlights, defeating Metalac 1–0 at the reconstructed Čačak stadium.
Borac Čačak finished in 16th place of 2017–18 Serbian SuperLiga and were relegated once again to the Serbian First League.[2] In 2018–19 Serbian First League, Borac had yet another turbulent season, barely escaping the relegation zone in the last round of the competition, following the win over Novi Pazar and Bečej's loss to Trajal.[3] In July 2019, the club was expelled from the Serbian First League due to 1.7 million euros debt in taxes and around 270,000 euros in debts to its former players.[4][5]
Recent league history
| Season | Division | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020–21 | Serbian First League | 34 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 14th |
| 2021–22 | Serbian League West | 30 | 16 | 4 | 10 | 42 | 30 | 52 | 4th |
| 2022–23 | Serbian League West | 30 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 74 | 24 | 76 | 2nd |
| 2023–24 | Serbian League West | 30 | 23 | 5 | 2 | 69 | 18 | 74 | 1st |
| 2024–25 | Serbian First League | 30 | 12 | 9 | 9 | 39 | 35 | 45 | 6th |
Honours
- Serbian Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2011–12
- Second League FRY/SCG
- Champions (3): 1993–94, 1998–99, 2002–03 (Group West)
UEFA competitions
- Qualified for Europe in 1 season
| Season | Competition | Round | Country | Club | Home | Away | Aggregate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | UEFA Cup | QR1 | Dacia Chișinău | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| QR2 | Lokomotiv Sofia | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |||
| R1 | Ajax | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–6 |
Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
| Period | Kit Manufacturer | Shirt Sponsor |
|---|---|---|
| 2008–present | NAAI | Škoda |
First-team squad
- As of 21 September 2025[6]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
|
Out on loan
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
|
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Manager | Igor Bondžulić |
| Assistant manager | Radojica Vasić |
| Goalkeeping coach | Zoran Savić |
| Analyst coach | Siniša Kotorčević |
| Physiotherapist | Mitar Popović |
| Doctor | Stefan Veljović |
| Security commissioner | Nebojša Ilić |
| General secretary | Milanko Heleta |
Notable former players
Former players with senior national team appearances:[7]
- Radojko Avramović
- Igor Bogdanović
- Boban Dmitrović
- Ljubiša Dunđerski
- Jovan Gojković
- Slobodan Marković
- Radovan Radaković
- Milivoje Vitakić
- Branimir Aleksić
- Ivica Dragutinović
- Radiša Ilić
- Aleksandar Jevtić
- Darko Lazović
- Marko Lomić
- Nemanja Milunović
- Filip Mladenović
- Miljan Mutavdžić
- Ivan Stevanović
- Mario Božić
- Rade Krunić
- Misdongarde Betolngar
- Bacar Baldé
- Ilija Spasojević
- Nenad Erić
- Omega Roberts
- Darko Krsteski
- Stefan Spirovski
- Damir Čakar
- Vladimir Gluščević
- Milan Jovanović
- Rade Petrović
- Risto Radunović
- Darko Zorić
- Javier Cohene
- Mustapha Bangura
- Eugene Sseppuya
- Mike Temwanjera
For the list of all current and former players with Wikipedia article, please see: Category:FK Borac Čačak players.
Historical list of coaches
A great number of coaches have passed through the club. Before the World War II the main coach was the former BSK Belgrade and national team player Dragomir Tošić. After 1945 the main coaches were Ivan Stevović, Dragoslav Filipović, Prvoslav Dragićević, Kosta Tomašević, Živorad Stanković, Vasilije Šijaković, Gojko Zec, Dragan Bojović, Momčilo Ilić, Žarko Nedeljković, among others. More recently, the club was managed by Dušan Radonjić, Slobodan Ostojić, Mihailo Kolarević, Dušan Marić, Milovan Đorić, Milovan Ćirković, Dragutin Spasojević, Nenad Starovlah, Ivan Čančarević, Milorad Kosanović, Dimitrije Mitrović, Branko Smiljanić, Božidar Vuković, Slavenko Kuzeljević, Dušimir Vulović, Radovan Gudurić, Milutin Marušić, Miodrag Božović and Milovan Rajevac.[8]
- Gojko Zec (1966-1968)
- Milovan Ćirković (–1990)
- Slobodan Ostojić (1990–)
- Milovan Đorić (–1993)
- Dragutin Spasojević (October 1993 – ?)
- Nenad Starovlah (? – 1994)
- Ivan Čančarević (1994–1995)
- Slavko Vojičić (1995 – September 1995)
- Milorad Kosanović (September 1995 – November 1995)
- Dimitrije Mitrović (1996)
- Mihailo Kolarević (1997)
- Branko Smiljanić (1998 – February 1998)
- Slobodan Dogandžić (February 1998 – 1998)
- Dušan Radonjić (1998 – ?)
- Branko Smiljanić (? – 1999)
- Slavenko Kuzeljević (1999–2000)
- Radovan Gudurić
- Miodrag Božović (23 September 2003 – 2004)
- Slavko Vojičić (2004-2005)
- Miodrag Božović (2005 – 2006)
- Radovan Ćurčić (2006 – 3 March 2007)
- Miodrag Božović (8 March 2007 – 8 January 2008)
- Milovan Rajevac (17 January 2008 – 13 August 2008)
- Nenad Milovanović (14 August 2008 – 11 November 2008)
- Ljubiša Dmitrović (12 November 2008 – 2009)
- Žarko Đurović (2009)
- Miodrag Martać (2009–10)
- Nenad Milovanović (2010)
- Slavko Petrović (10 January 2011 – 30 May 2011)
- Ljubiša Dmitrović (2011)
- Slavko Petrović (3 October 2011 – 26 March 2012)
- Slavko Vojičić (2012)
- Zoran Njeguš (2012-2013)
- Dejan Vukićević (2013)
- Bogić Bogićević (2013-2015)
- Nenad Lalatović (29 June 2015 – 10 November 2015)
- Milorad Kosanović (2015)
- Ljubiša Stamenković (2015 – April 2016)
- Thomas Vasov (April 2016 – May 2016)
- Milorad Kosanović (2016)
- Ljubiša Dmitrović (May 2016 – August 2016)[9]
- Mladen Dodić (2 Nov 2016- Apr 17)[10]
- Vladimir Stanisavljević (Apr 2017) (caretaker)
- Milorad Kosanović (8 Apr 2017- Jun 17)[11]
- Igor Spasić (26 Jun 2017-24 Feb 18)[12]
- Miloš Đolović (2018) (caretaker)
- Vladimir Stanisavljević (6 Mar 2018-Dec 20)[13]
- Thomas Vasov (12 Jan 2021-Apr 21)[14]
- Vladimir Stanisavljević (2021)
- Željko Kovačević (2021-22)[15]
- Darko Rakočević (2022-21 Jun 25)[16]
- Igor Bondžulić (1 Jul 2025-Oct 25)[17]
- Zoran Kostić (27 Oct 2025-)[18]
References
- ^ "Ajaks ubedljiv protv Borca - 4:1". b92.net (in Serbian). 18 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Borac ispao, Radnik siguran, Bačka je živa!". mozzartsport.com (in Serbian). 5 May 2018. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ Борац победио Новопазарце и опстао у Првој лиги, Бечеј испао, Златибор у баражу. zurnal.rs (in Serbian). 5 May 2019. Archived from the original on 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
- ^ "Borac Čačak ISTUPIO iz lige, nema dovoljno igrača!". mondo.rs (in Serbian). 29 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ Živanović, V. (5 August 2019). "Mirko Poledica u Čačku iznosi dokaze o malverzacijama u FK Borac". danas.rs (in Serbian). Archived from the original on 25 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
- ^ "Tim" (in Serbian). prvaliga.rs. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
- ^ FK Borac Čačak Archived 2014-12-02 at the Wayback Machine at National-Football-Teams.com
- ^ History at official website
- ^ "Borac dobio novog trenera". Ozon Press (in Serbian). 17 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Mladen Dodić novi trener Borca". ATA Stars (in Serbian). 3 November 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Smenjen trener Borca, Kosanović ponovo šef". Ozon Press (in Serbian). 8 April 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2025.
- ^ "Spasić "digao ruke" od Borca". Mondo (in Serbian). 24 February 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Direktor Čačana seo na trenersku klupu". Mondo (in Serbian). 6 March 2018. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Tomas Vasov za Mozzart Sport: Borac preuzimam u delikatnom trenutku". Mozzart Sport (in Serbian). 12 January 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Željko Kovačević novi trener omladinaca FK Borac Čačak". Morava Sportlanguage=sr. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Darko Rakočević više nije trener Borca 1926: Verujem da smo svi zajedno ostavili trag". Morava Info (in Serbian). 21 June 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ Đorđević, Milan (3 July 2025). "SUPERLIGAŠKI TRENER PRED NOVIM IZAZOVOM: Promocija je obavljena pre par dana!". Sportissimo (in Serbian). Retrieved 16 November 2025.
- ^ "Zoran Kostić Pirgo novi trener Borca 1926, očekuju se promene i u drugim strukturama kluba". Morava Info (in Serbian). 27 October 2025. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
External links
- Club profile and squad at Srbijafudbal