So Stamenic gets a winners medal, as FCK are victorious in the Danish Cup 1-0. He came on in the 70th min (1-0) for FCK's goal scoring Portuguese left winger, presumably in a more defensive role.
Now to see if FCK can get the league & Cup double. Currently lead the Superliga, 1 point ahead of Nordsjælland with 3 games left.
From Flying Kiwis, missed the game on the weekend due to yellow card accumulation. Which seems ironic given how little he has played in 2023.
That recent momentum for Stamenic took a halt after the cup final but only because he was one of a trio of players (Viktor Claesson and Hákon Arnar Haraldsson being the other two) who missed the quick turnaround league game against AGF because of yellow card accumulation suspensions.
What a season for All Whites midfielder Marko Stamenic. League-cup double and made his Champions League debut. Now he’s off to Serbia to join Red Star.
Finishes up in Denmark riding the pine in a 1-1 draw. Stamenic started 8 of 32 Superliga games, and was subbed on another 7 times. Most of that involvement was in 2022.
Now off to Serbia. Red Star Belgrade won the league there 22 points clear of 2nd! Also won the Cup Final 2-1 last week. New season there kicks off in only about 5 weeks.
Finishes up in Denmark riding the pine in a 1-1 draw. Stamenic started 8 of 32 Superliga games, and was subbed on another 7 times. Most of that involvement was in 2022.
Now off to Serbia. Red Star Belgrade won the league there 22 points clear of 2nd! Also won the Cup Final 2-1 last week. New season there kicks off in only about 5 weeks.
Going to a polar opposite, leaving one of the tightest, most competitive leagues to one of the least. FCK lost nine of their 32 league matches this season, to find Red Star's ninth most recent league loss you have to go back 257 games to a 1-3 defeat to Vojvodina on the 8th of May 2016. Red Star have two invincible league seasons in the last three.
Bit of an incredible stat that you have to go back 7 years, to accumulate 9 league losses for Red Star.
Another barometer. AaB who were relegated from the Superliga, made the Danish Cup final. Losing to FCK 0-1. Yes a much much tighter league than Serbia. Another measure Red Star were 22 pts clear of 2nd in Serbia End of the regular season in Denmark, 1st to 10th in the ladder were separated by only 20 pts
Apart from the heritage aspect (his dad being Serbian), I guess it's really all about the UCL. RS with direct entry to UCL group stages. FCK having to go through UCL qualifying again.
If Stamenic doesn't start most of Red Star's UCL group games, you'd have to question whether the move was great for his football development.
Red star have a new coach in Israeli Barack Bachar, who coached Maccabi Haifa to wins vs juventus in the champions league and competitive performances vs PSG & Benfica, so he’s a decent coach. coochiee
FK Crvena zvezda in English @crvenazvezda_en
We've done the business in February by securing the free transfer of New Zealand international midfielder Marko Stamenić from Copenhagen.
The boy of Serbian heritage signs a four-year deal at Marakana and will wear the number six shirt.
Coach looks chuffed...😄😄😄 Really wish Marco the best which is a couple of domestic titles and some good performances and hopefully reaching the R16 or QF of the UCL. I still think he could have done better in terms of a move away from DK, but still. Hopefully a couple of good seasons and he's off to one of the big leagues
Yes Barack looks a happy go lucky chap. 4 year deal, so imagine yes Red Star hope to make a tidy sum off Marko at some point.
Promising signs he's got the no 6 shirt. Good looking lad, playing for the country's most high profile football team. I'd take good odds on, he'll leave Belgrade with a model WAG. Bring her back to Stokes Valley for a visit.
That’s Barak Bachar 😀 the guy pictured with Marco is Serbian great Mitar Mrkela who is the sporting director newzealandpower
Coach looks chuffed...😄😄😄 Really wish Marco the best which is a couple of domestic titles and some good performances and hopefully reaching the R16 or QF of the UCL. I still think he could have done better in terms of a move away from DK, but still. Hopefully a couple of good seasons and he's off to one of the big leagues
Red Star's technical director, Marko Marin (remember him!?) had this to say about Marko:
"He is a guy with experience playing in the Champions League. We managed to bring him as a free agent. Serious character. I remember a match in Denmark. He got the chance to play as a stopper against Brandby, so in an unnatural position, and was the best player on the field. That's the character for Red Star. He is young, he knows what he wants in his career. Physically, he's great. He plays box to box, and as a six. There is a lot of room for improvement. I think we did a great job... He played against the Užice team after a five or six month break. He consciously decided on Red Star in January and knew that because of that he would not have adequate playing time. He took a risk. That's the character issue I was talking about. He wanted to join Zvezda, just as he now wants to submit to the team."
And another start, this time against Zenit in the Pari Premier Cup (friendly tournament also including Fenerbahce and Azerbaijani club Neftchi).
78 mins in a 2-1 win (1-1 when subbed off) - and more great praise online. They seem to love him, mostly referencing his technical ability and composure
Marko Stamenic has started all three preseason games for Red Star Belgrade so far, looking very much at home in their midfield
Here’s another classic Marko yellow card reaction from a 2-1 win vs Zenit - nearly getting his head taken off by the referee 😅 #FlyingKiwispic.twitter.com/Xihqx20cNG
Followed up a 4-0 win against Neftçi with a 3-1 win against Fenerbahçe, ensuring Red Star takes home the Pari Premier Cup with three wins from three. Marko with starts in both games.
Hard to overstate just how highly Red Star fans view Stamenić. He’s a nailed-on starter and one of the team’s best every single night. Might genuinely top the Kiwi power rankings
Crvena Zvezda take on Fiorentina in their final friendly before the SuperLiga kicks off over the weekend. They're six for six so far, with Marko starting every match, beating some decent teams like Zenit and Fenerbahce.
Game's at 6am tomorrow, will defo find a way to watch
Also, check him out here, snatching an opposition player's ankles:
And it’s a demolishing. Crvena Zvezda up 5-0 against a strong Fiorentina side within 27 minutes, and that’s the way it ended. Stamenić with 70 mins, coming off in the second wave of subs, looked very very good out there as a DM
New coach Barak Bachar looks a gem. Real chance for Crvena Zvezda to do some damage in the UCL. Such incisive football, Stamenić acts almost exactly like Busquets did for the older Barca sides for context
And it’s a demolishing. Crvena Zvezda up 5-0 against a strong Fiorentina side within 27 minutes, and that’s the way it ended. Stamenić with 70 mins, coming off in the second wave of subs, looked very very good out there as a DM
New coach Barak Bachar looks a gem. Real chance for Crvena Zvezda to do some damage in the UCL. Such incisive football, Stamenić acts almost exactly like Busquets did for the older Barca sides
Is it fair to say they're going to be judged almost exclusively on how they go in the UCL this season?
I mean winning the league will be their #1 priority, and I'd imagine they're already at extremely short odds to do that. But is there any real optimism in Belgrade that they can do well in continental competition?
And it’s a demolishing. Crvena Zvezda up 5-0 against a strong Fiorentina side within 27 minutes, and that’s the way it ended. Stamenić with 70 mins, coming off in the second wave of subs, looked very very good out there as a DM
New coach Barak Bachar looks a gem. Real chance for Crvena Zvezda to do some damage in the UCL. Such incisive football, Stamenić acts almost exactly like Busquets did for the older Barca sides
Is it fair to say they're going to be judged almost exclusively on how they go in the UCL this season?
I mean winning the league will be their #1 priority, and I'd imagine they're already at extremely short odds to do that. But is there any real optimism in Belgrade that they can do well in continental competition?
Ask anyone in red in Belgrade and they'll tell you they're winning it all. Optimism seems sky-high, especially considering the ease at which they're dismantling some good European sides. Vibes I'm getting on Twitter (or X, whatever) is that qualifying out of the group into the UCL knockouts is the goal - one person saying "Zvezda hasn't been this ready for 15 years".
I genuinely think they consider the league as a side show, they're clearly too good for the competition and seem to have stepped up even further over the offseason
I think you have to take presseason results with a pinch of salt. Fiorentina don't start Serie A until 20th August, they have about another 5-6 friendlies before then.
The league in Serbia starts next week, this was Red Star's final hitout before then.
But yes I imagine we will judge whether Stamenic made the right move, on how RS go in the UCL. Most games in the Serbian Super Liga, will be a drop inquality from Denmark.
But good to hear Stamenic sounds like a locked in starter for RS.
