H N K B o r o v o

HRVATSKI NOGOMETNI KLUB "BOROVO"

Address: Sportska bb, Borovo naselje, Vukovar
President:
Vicepresident: Pavle Marošičević
Telephone: 091/7883328

First public football game in Vukovar was played in 1901. and organized playing of football started in the year of 1911. when high school students Lj. Miler, S. and F. Gruber formed Croatian student’s football club Srijemac (Hrvatski djački nogometni klub Srijemac). In the same year Student’s sports club Šparta (Djački športski klub Šparta) was formed and rivalry between the teams developed almost immediately. Today city of Vukovar have eight registered football clubs: HNK Vukovar ’91, NK Vuteks-Sloga, HNK Vupik, HNK Radnički, ŠNK Dunav Sotin, HNK Lipovača, HNK Mitnica & HNK Borovo.

Since the Bata days and formation of first sections and social clubs, sport has always been an important part of everyday life in Borovo naselje. Tomáš Bat'a, who was socialy aware and progressive industrialist, encouraged numerous activities of his workers of which sport was one. From the very beginnings and formation of Borovo settlement sport sections and social clubs were formed. Football, tennis, b oxing, handball, volleyball, swimmning and waterpolo, basketball, table tennis, karate, chess… are just some of the sports in which Borovans participated and grew up with during years. As Bat'a was establishing his factory and a settlement for the workers football was on its way too. Workers first played at the so-called 'Temza', which was a land area near Danube river near today's stadium.

Organized football playing in Borovo naselje started with the formation of SK Bata Borovo in the year of 1933. The Club was an advertising team of Bata Borovo factory and in 1937. had formed a women's section too. SK Bata Borovo competed in Championship of Osijek Sub-federation (1933-39) and their best success before the World War II was in the 1938./39. season, winning 1st place and gaining a chance to participate in qualifying games for promotion to Federal League. In the thirties of the last century the biggest rivals of SK Bata Borovo were Osijek's clubs, Slavija and Olimpija in Osijek Sub-federation and BSK and Jugoslavija from Belgrade and Slavija from Sarajevo in Serbian football league. In the year of 1939. there was a complete reorganization of football in Yugoslavia. On the basis of a federal system a completely autonmous nacional federations were formed inside one high Yugoslavian football federation. Nacional federations played their leagues after which Nacional League was played. In the 1939./40. season Nacional League was played by 3 best placed clubs from Croatian-slovenian football league and 3 best placed clubs from Serbian football league. In the 1940./41. season 4 best placed clubs from Serbian, 3 from Croatian and 1 from Slovenian leagues were supposed to play Nacional League. After reorganization SK Bata Borovo was competing in Serbian football league and in 1939./40. season finished 6th and was placed 6th in the season 1940./41. which was never finished because of the war. During the years of World War II HSK Bata Borovo continued activity by playing in football league of Independent State of Croatia (1942-44). The Club was, at that time, under the guidence of František Koželuh (1887-1969), a renowned Czech coach who will stay with the Club for the full eight years (1940-48), after which he went back to his hometown of Prague. In 1945. after the war the Club continued as FD Bata and then in the same year changed name to SFD Slaven.

Football section of SFD Slaven was formed by the players of HSK Bata Borovo, Blagoje Stanković, Zvonko Vukelić, Nikola Perlić, Antun Nagyszombaty, Tonča Rok and others. From the year of 1946. Slaven competes in Osijek District Championship and successfully competes in Slavonian cup. After becoming Champions of Osijek District and winning in qualifying games, Slaven advanced to Croatian football league where in a series of good results secures participation in qualifying cup to enter 3rd Federal division for the year 1947. In the 1947./48. season Slaven plays in newlyformed CFF Zone (Slavonian football zone) and in 1948./49., 1949./50. season Slaven competes in Croatian football league and then in 1950./51. season in Croatian football league - North. In the seasons 1952, 1952./53. Slaven again competes in Sub-federal championship of Osijek Football District and as the best club in that competition secures participation in Croatian-Slovenian league for the 1953./54. season where at the end finishes fourth with a score of 20 8 6 6 46:28 22.

In December of the year 1954. Slaven changed name to FC Borovo.

In the 1954./55. season, competing in Croatian-Slovenian league FC Borovo achieves excellent 3rd place behind FC Split and FC Rijeka with a score of 22 13 1 8 38:25 27. These are the times of coach Mijo Kiš from Osijek and FC Borovo under his guidance achieves another success in the 1955./56. season with inclusion to 3rd Football Zone and after winning 1st place opens up a path to 1st Federal League but fails to advance after qualifying games and then stays in the Zone. In those qualifying games from the year 1956. with FC Borovo there were teams: FC Vardar (Skopje), FC Lokomotiva (Zagreb) and FC Lovćen (Cetinje). At the and entrants to 1st Federal League were FC Vardar (Skopje) and FC Lokomotiva (Zagreb). In 1956./57. season Borovo won a 1st place in 3rd Football Zone for the second year in a row and again entered qualifying for promotion into 1st Federal League but missed it's chance to advance. That year, 1957., in qualifying games participants were FC Željezničar (Sarajevo), FC Split, FC Borovo and FC Radnički (Kragujevac) and in the end a decisive was one repeated game. The game in which Borovo needed atleast a draw with Radnički. First game between the teams was cancelled by Football Federation of Yugoslavia because of Radnički’s players acts of roughness, which referee Petrovski tolerated. A unique case, because of roughness cancelled game of YU-football, ended with the same result as the first one, 2:1 for Radnički and that made it possible for FC Split to, on a better goal difference, enter 1st Federal league with already qualified FC Željezničar. Next season, 1957./58. Borovo is again in 3rd Football Zone and at the end of the season finishes solid 7th. In 1958. re-organisation of League is made and Borovo, through additional qualifications, enters newly formed 2nd Division West where in 1958./59. season finishes 11th and goes down to a Zone league. New season os 1959./60. is a succesful one but after winning 1st place Borovo couldn't go past FC Čelik in qualifying games and stays in Zone league.

In July 1960. first qualifying game for entering a 2nd Division was played in Zenica, between FC Čelik and FC Borovo, in front of 10,000 spectators at the old stadium ‘Blatuša’. FC Borovo started well and surprised the home team by leading 0:1 with the goal from Ekmedžić. Dominating over the big part of the first half Borovo successfully warded off a strong team of FC Čelik. Second half was all about FC Čelik which turned the game and at the end won 2:1 with Malešević and Renić beign scorers. The return game in Borovo naselje at the ‘Borovo’ stadium was refereed by Života Vlajić from Belgrade and in presence there was also more than 2,000 FC Čelik supporters who travelled from Zenica in a specially for that occasion organized train. The game ended 0:0 in controversial circumstances and with two Borovo players in hospital, after suffering injuries on the field. The score of 0:0 was enough for FC Čelik to progress into the 2nd Division. In these two games FC Borovo played in this line-up: Gligorijević, Bajramović, Rastija, Marković, Backović, Rajzner, Stamenković, Čop, Gotal, Gordoš, Ekmedžić.
Season of 1960./61. is another succesful one and Borovo, after winning 1st place in Zone and qualifying games, goes back to 2nd Division.

The 1960’s and up to 1972./73. season have seen the club competing in 2nd Federal league West and North respectively. In that period there were great results from the years of 1961., 1968., and 1972., when FC Borovo played well in Maršal Tito Cup and reached quarter-finals on three occasions but lost to FC Varteks (0:1 1961.), FC Crvena zvezda (0:2, 1968.) and FC Dinamo Zagreb (1:2, 1972.). All three of them later played in the final. The most important game from that period was, by all means, a game played in 1966. between FC Borovo and FC Čelik. The game was refereed by Lado Jakše from Ljubljana, the well known football referee of that time in Yugoslavia. This time the qualifying game to enter 1st Federal league, in front of capacity crowd of ‘Borovo’ stadium, after another great battle, FC Čelik won by 1:0 (scorer was Lazović with a header in 83rd minute of the game). The year of 1973. can be considered a turning-point in Club’s activity, up to that moment, because FC Borovo was relegated from 2nd Federal league and from then on up to 1991. plays in State league which was a 3rd level of the Yugoslavia leagues pyramid. Final results score of FC Borovo in 2nd Federal league of Former Yugoslavia is: Games played: 391, Win: 127, Draw: 114, Lost: 150, Goal Difference: 482:596, Points: 368.

From the year 1991. and the Croatian Homeland war, when city of Vukovar suffered great devastation, up to the 2005./06. season Club was not active and just before the start of the 2005./06. season the Club was reactivated and the tradition of Football Club Borovo is continued. After reactvation the Club, under the name HNK Borovo, enters 2nd County league of the Vukovar Football Centre where in 2005./06. and 2006./07. seasons achieves two second places and in 2007./08. season, under the guidance of coach Vjekoslav Karaula, wins the League and promotion to 1st Vukovarsko-srijemska county league (the equivalent to 5th level of Croatian Football League pyramid). Season 2008./09. in 1st Vukovarsko-srijemska county league was a turbulent one and Borovo ended it at 11th place after securing a spot and survival in the very last round, with 2:1 home win over Jadran Gunja.

1983. FC Borovo received CFF award: ‘Trofej podmladka HNS-a’.
1984. Josip Kezdi received CFF award: ‘Trofej podmladka HNS-a’.
1991. FC Borovo received a CFF’s Golden plaque for work with youth categories.

Some of the players that played for the Club:

Milan Antolković, Blagoje Stanković 'Bagi', Zvonko Vukelić, Ivica Čović 'Ćorkan', Nikola Perlić, Milan Relić 'Mico', Antun Nagyszombaty, Tonča Rok, Ratimir Car, Lovre i Andre Radonić, Ivica Švaljek, Jovica Sremac, Ante Lovrić 'Baška', Petar Bešenji, Josip Tićak 'Joja', Josip Kezdi, Miroslav Šakić, Antun Bambir, Franjo Pakter, Antun Hajar 'Kara', Stipo Rastija, Nikola Jarić, Djuka Jarić, Stevan Becin, Mirko Fišer, Dubravko Dokonal, Zvonko Popović, braća Horvat, Ivan Virc 'Minda', Ahmed Turković 'Bosna', Jordan Gligorijević, Mile Stamenković, Rudolf Norković, Dragan Gocić, Mile Čop, Vinko Bego, Ivan Gotal 'Cigo', Miroslav Gotal 'Suljo', Ante Tilić, Rudolf Vilhelm 'Ruca', Nikola Marjanović 'Kiko', Stanislav Karasi, Ratomir Dujković, Milan Bajić, Željko Jurčić, Edo Bulić, Slobodan Djurica, Branko Skeledžija, Nešović, Savo Djekić, Ivan Vidoš, Željko Mikulić, Puljić, Gordan Gotal, Alojzije Lukić, Slavko Baketa, Ivan Polhert, Enes Biogradlija, Josip Biškić, Nikola Živković 'Žile', Ante Miše, Velimir Kuprešak, Ivica Tunjić, Dragan Gemeri 'Germa', Siniša Mihajlović 'Miha'…

Note:
Croatian Football Federation (CFF) established the award of ‘Trofej podmladka HNS-a’ in the year 1979 and is awarded every year to individuals and organizations, societies and institutions respectively as a reward for lifelong work in football and exceptional contribution in development of football in Republic of Croatia. Trophy (a figure of a footballer) is in bronze with a marble pedestal and is a work of academic sculptor Marijan Zaradić.

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