Contents

NK Čelik Zenica

Čelik Zenica

Full name	Nogometni klub Čelik Zenica
Nickname(s)	Crno-crveni (The Black-Reds) Starac (The Old Man)
Founded	16 June 1945; 79 years ago (1945-06-16)
Ground	Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Capacity	15,293
Chairman	Denis Mušović
Manager	Dario Damjanović
League	First League of FBiH
2023–24	First League of FBiH, 4th of 16
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Nogometni klub Čelik Zenica (English: Football Club Čelik Zenica) is a professional football club based in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name Čelik means SteelinBosnian and it symbolizes the strength and power of the club in an industrial city well known for steel production. Throughout its history, the club has been known for the excellent support of its fans at its Bilino Polje Stadium which hosts the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

NK Čelik is one of the most prominent and successful football teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina being one of only two Bosnian clubs to win the national championship three times in a row – from 1994 to 1997. The club also won two national cups in a row – from 1995 to 1996. During the time of the former Yugoslavia, Čelik had played 17 seasons in the Yugoslav First League. Čelik won the Mitropa Cup two times, and was joint winner of the UEFA Intertoto Cup once.

In addition, Čelik is the only fan-owned football club in Bosnia and Herzegovina where club members democratically elect its leadership.^[1]

Today, Čelik is active in the First League of FBiH, having previously played in the Bosnian Premier League before getting relegated in the 2019–20 season.^[2] In order to stabilise the club due to financial difficulties, its General Assembly voted to continue competing in the fourth tier-League of Zenica-Doboj Canton on 13 July 2020.^[3]

The club had been founded on 16 June 1945 by a group of World War II veterans. The name of the club had been proposed by one of the founders, Zdenko Mazanek, to symbolize the strength of the club and its link to the workers of the city's metallurgic industry.^[4]

Over the years, the club developed a strong identification with its hometown, Zenica, becoming one of its symbols. The club has produced many important international players including Elvir Bolić, Mirsad Hibić and Mladen Krstajić.

Čelik plays their home games at the Bilino Polje stadium which is also the biggest stadium in the city. Over the years the club had changed four different stadiums settling at their current ground in 1972.

During the first few years of the club's existence, following World War II, Čelik's stadium was located roughly on the place of the current Bilino Polje stadium, close to the Bosna river. The ground was covered in clay, as was the practice of lower-level football grounds at the time. The stadium itself had one wooden stand which was built over time and the club often played in front of full capacity.

However, due to the increased popularity of the club and the need for a better surface, during the early 1950s the club moved to the nearby Stadion Blatuša which was located in the Blatuša neighborhood of Zenica. It was there that Čelik started its first run of successes when they had reached promotion to the Yugoslav First League in 1966 and won the Mitropa Cup in 1971 (the final was played on neutral ground in Gorizia, Italy^[5]).

Shortly after the first Mitropa Cup victory, plans were made for a new, modern stadium, built in place of Čelik's first stadium. The construction took 8 months to complete and it was officially opened on 4 October 1972 for the second leg of the 1972 Mitropa Cup final against Fiorentina which Čelik won 1–0 to claim their second title in a row. The attendance record of 35,000 still stands today due to the introduction of seats on the stadium over the years. The stadium went through a number of renovations and reconstructions, the most recent being in 2012.

From July to August 2012, the stadium went through another renovation process where the pitch had been changed and under-soil heating installed beneath. During the reconstruction, Čelik played two Bosnian Premier League matches as well as one Bosnian Cup match on the Stadion Kamberovića Polje, winning all of them. In the second part of the same season, the club played one more game there which ended in a draw.

The youth squads of Čelik usually play their games at the smaller stadium Kamberovića Polje.

The ultras supporter group of Čelik, established in 1988 in Zenica, is called Robijaši (The Convicts in English) because Zenica is famous for its prison. Widely known for their fanatic support, they have been fighting to preserve the club and support it through difficult financial times.^[6]

• First League of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Winners (3): 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Second League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Winners (1): 2022–23 (center)
• Yugoslav Second League:
  • Winners (4): 1965–66 (west), 1978–79 (west), 1982–83 (west), 1984–85 (west)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1994–95, 1995–96
  • Runners-up (2): 2010–11, 2013–14

• Intertoto Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1975 (group 10)
• Mitropa Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1970–71, 1971–72
  • Runners-up (2): 1972–73, 1979–80

As of match played 11 June 2023.

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goals difference. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Denizlispor	1–0	5–3	6–3
		2R	Gent	1–0	0–2	1–2
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Grbalj	3–2	1–2	4–4 (a)

As of 6 May 2023^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BIH Emel Mlaćo 2 DF  BIH Haris Šehić 3 DF  BIH Davud Arnautović 4 DF  BIH Amar Muslić 5 MF  BIH Harun Vardo 6 MF  BIH Mahir Mehić 7 MF  BIH Filip Arežina 8 FW  BIH Ali Međuseljac 9 DF  BIH Aladin Isaković (Captain) 10 FW  BIH Fenan Salčinović 11 FW  BIH Emir Karalić

No. Pos. Nation Player 15 FW  BIH Tarik Zukić 16 MF  BIH Selim Žuna 17 MF  BIH Mahir Karić 18 FW  BIH Besim Kolić 20 DF  BIH Mirsad Sijerkić 21 MF  BIH Eldar Sivac 23 GK  BIH Adi Durmo 26 DF  BIH Aner Mujić 31 MF  BIH Edin Durmiš 99 DF  BIH Dženan Smajić

• Dženan Smajić

Position	Staff
Head coach	Dario Damjanović
Goalkeeping coach	Vacant
Physiotherapist	Albin Mašić

Chairman of the board	Denis Mušović
Head coach	Dario Damjanović

Source: NK Čelik Zenica at sportsport.ba

Dates	Name	Honours
1970–1971	Dušan Varagić	1970–71 Mitropa Cup
1971–1972	Midhat Mujkić	1971–72 Mitropa Cup
1974–1975	Marcel Žigante	1975 Intertoto Cup (Joint Winner)
1992–1996	Nermin Hadžiahmetović	1994–95 Bosnian Championship 1994–95 Bosnian Cup 1995–96 Bosnian Championship 1995–96 Bosnian Cup
1996–1997	Kemal Hafizović	1996–97 Bosnian Championship

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NK Čelik.

• NK Čelik ZenicaonFacebook
• ČelikatUEFA.com