Fudbalski klub Lovćen is a football club based in Cetinje, Montenegro. It was founded on 20 June 1913. It was named after Mount Lovćen near Cetinje. Lovćen is the oldest football club in Montenegro and one of the oldest in Southeastern Europe. Today, Lovćen is a member of Montenegrin Second League. FK Lovćen is a part of Lovćen Cetinje sports society.

Full nameFudbalski klub Lovćen
Nickname(s)Orlovi (Eagles), Crveni (Reds)
Founded1913; 111 years ago (1913)
GroundSveti Petar Cetinjski
Capacity5,192
ChairmanMiroslav Ivanišević
ManagerPredrag Vukotić
LeagueMontenegrin Second League
2023–24Montenegrin Second League, 8th
Websitehttp://www.fklovcen.me/
Current season
Active sport clubs of
SD Lovćen
Football Football Women Handball
Basketball Basketball Women Athletics
Volleyball Women Volleyball Rugby
Table tennis Car racing Kickboxing
Powerlifting

History

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Period 1913–1941

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The club was founded on 20 June 1913, as a Workers' sports club Lovćen (RŠK Lovćen). Among the founders were Montenegrin painters Luka and Milo Milunović, and Luka Milunović was the first president and a captain of the team.[1]
As the oldest Montenegrin football club, Lovćen participated in its first national competitions in the 1910s and 1920s. First trophy of Lovćen was 'Sports olympiad' on Cetinje 1914, a tournament which included football clubs from Montenegro, Albania and Austria-Hungary.[2] Until World War II, Lovćen won five Montenegrin championships (Spring 1925, Autumn 1925, Spring 1927, Autumn 1928, 1935).[3][4][5] They also won two Zeta Olympiad annual tournaments (1926, 1927) and seven City Championships of Cetinje. During that era, Lovćen had strong rivals in another club from Cetinje, SK Crnogorac, and in two clubs from Podgorica, FK Budućnost and GSK Balšić. These four teams were the best football clubs in Montenegro before World War II.
For supporting the prohibited Labours' Party, FK Lovćen was prohibited during the 1937, same as FK Budućnost. The club was renewed in 1944 and in 1945. Lovćen played its first matches after the restructuring. That year, in Cetinje, Lovćen and Budućnost played the first Montenegrin clubs' match after World War II. Budućnost won – 4:2.

Competition Titles Runner-up Champion seasons
Montenegrin championship
5
5
Spring 1925, Autumn 1925, Spring 1927, Autumn 1928, 1935
'Zeta olympiad'
2
1
1926, 1927
'Sports olympiad'
1
-
1914

Montenegrin championship - Elimination tournament for Montenegrin football clubs; 'Zeta olympiad' - Cup tournament for Montenegrin football clubs; 'Sports olympiad' - tournament held on Cetinje, with participation of clubs from Montenegro, Albania and Austria-Hungary.

Period 1945–1992

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With FK Budućnost (Podgorica), FK Sutjeska (Nikšić) and FK Arsenal (Tivat), Lovćen was a member of the first official football competition after World War II - 1946 Montenegrin Republic League. FK Lovćen finished as a second team and gained an opportunity to participate in the qualifiers for the inaugural season of Yugoslav First League, but didn't succeed. In the first leg, Lovćen won against Makedonija Skopje (3:0), and in the second they eliminated Borac Banja Luka (5:1, 5:1). In the last qualifier for the First League, Lovćen lost against Metalac Beograd (0:2, 2:6).
Another chance to get promotion to the First League, Lovćen got as a champion of Yugoslav Second League – group 'B' in 1956. In the first leg, Lovćen eliminated Zenica (2:1, 0:0) and participated in the play-off group. During the group matches, the club from Cetinje played against Vardar Skopje (1:2, 0:2), Lokomotiva Zagreb (4:1, 1:6) and Borovo (2:1, 1:0). After the six group matches Lovćen failed to get promotion, with one point below the First League zone.
In their third and last play-off for the First League in the SFR Yugoslavia, in 1957, Lovćen was eliminated in the first qualifying leg against Željezničar Sarajevo (0:0, 0:2).
One more big success of Lovćen was in 1947, by winning the U21 Championship title of Yugoslavia.
Until the collapse of Yugoslavia, Lovćen usually participated in Yugoslav Second League. Montenegro's oldest club played 552 games in that competition. The best performance in a united Yugoslav Second division was achieved in the 1954/55 season, when together with seven wins, two draws and nine defeats, they secured sixth place in the standings. The most successful season, however, was in 1968/69 – Lovćen won fourth place with a score of 12–11–7. After Budućnost and Sutjeska, Lovćen was the most successful Montenegrin club at that time.

Period 1992–2006

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In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003), and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro (2003–2006), Lovćen played in the second and third league. The best results, Lovćen made during the 1998/99 season, when they finished the Second league 8th of 18 table places. For a few seasons, the club was the winner of the Montenegrin Republic Cup.
During the last days of the Serbia and Montenegro Federation, Lovćen was relegated in the Third League (Montenegrin Republic League) and in its last seasons (2004/05, 2005/06) they made the weakest appearances during the newest history.

Period 2006–

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After the independence of Montenegro, Lovćen participated in the first season of the Montenegrin Second League. Lovćen finished first in the 2006/2007 season of the Second League, and was directly promoted to the Montenegrin First League.
At the first match in the First League, Lovćen played on 11 August 2007. against OFK Petrovac in Cetinje – 2:2, with attendance of 2,000 supporters. In 2009, for the first time since the independence, Lovćen appeared in the final Cup of Montenegro, when they lost the game against OFK Petrovac. Before that match, in the semifinals, Lovćen eliminated FK Budućnost.
Lovćen made its greatest success in the First League during the 2013/14 season. After the first half-season, the club from Cetinje finished third. During the spring season, the club made a historic row of 11 matches without a loss (7 consecutive wins). Lovćen finished the season in second place, which was the best ever result in the club's history.
In the same season, on 21 May 2014, for the first time, Lovćen won the Montenegrin Cup. During the 2013/2014 Montenegrin Cup, Lovćen eliminated Zora (1:0), Crvena stijena (8:0, 1:2), Zeta (1:0, 1:2) and Petrovac (3:0, 0:0). In the finals, Lovćen won the game against Titograd, so the club from Cetinje won their first national trophy.
With that success, for the first time in the club's history, Lovćen qualified for the European Cups.
After 10 consecutive seasons in top-tier competitions, in the 2016/17 season, FK Lovćen finished in 11th position, so they were relegated to Montenegrin Second League. They spent a single season in second-tier, with comeback to First League after the playoffs against Kom (2–1; 0-0). Next year, FK Lovćen made an impressive result in Montenegrin Cup, crowned with third performance in the finals. But, in the game for trophy, team from Cetinje was defeated against Budućnost (0–4). At the same time, FK Lovćen was relegated from the First League, again after the playoffs against Kom (0–1; 0–1).
The worst days in the history of club started on 2019/20 season. FK Lovćen finished as ninth on the table, which meant relegation to Montenegrin Third League. That was the first-ever performance of FK Lovćen in the bottom-tier competition. In October 2020, they reached another depth when they were beaten 10–1 by Obilić.[6]

Lovćen in European competitions

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For the first time, Lovćen gained a participation in the European competitions after the season 2013/14. As a Montenegrin Cup winner and the runner-up in the Montenegrin First League, Lovćen debuted in Europa League 2014/15.

During their first appearance in European competition, Lovćen was eliminated by Željezničar Sarajevo. After the draw in the first match in Sarajevo (0:0), Lovćen lost 0:1 at the game, which was played at Petrovac Stadium.

Matches

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Season Competition Round Club Home Away Agg.
2014–15 UEFA Europa League 1Q   Željezničar Sarajevo 0–1 0–0 0–1  
Notes
  • 1Q: First qualifying round

Honours and achievements

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List of competitive matches (1946–)

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Most of their seasons, Lovćen spent in the second and third football level in SFR Yugoslavia and, after that, in FR Yugoslavia. In the 1940s and 1950s, Lovćen participated in the Yugoslav First League playoffs, but without promotion to the top-tier. After Montenegrin independence, the club made their first appearances in the First League (since the season 2007–08). Except for that, the club for Cetinje often played play-off matches for placement to the First or Second Yugoslav League. Lovćen played one season in the UEFA Europa League.

Competition Level Seasons First season Last season Matches W D L GD
First League 10 2007-08 2018-19 366 122 91 153 362:428
Second League 30 1953-54 2019-20 899 332 204 363 1141:1233
Third League 3 1988-89 1991-92 101 39 18 44 129:160
Republic League 30 1946 2005-06 656 370 144 142 1341:645
Playoffs 11 1946 2018-19 43 17 8 18 61:71
National Cup 25 1950 2019-20 76 31 12 33 103:102
UEFA competitions 1 2014-15 2014-15 2 0 1 1 0:1
OVERALL (1946–) 2143 911 478 754 3137:2640

Source:[7]

Sponsors

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  • Official kit supplier : Legea (2013–2014), Givova (2014–)
  • Main sponsor : Prijestonica Cetinje / Old Royal Capital Cetinje (municipal government)
  • Other sponsors : Lovćen Osiguranje / Lovćen Insurance

Players

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Current squad

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As of 20 May 2024 [8] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
FW   UKR Roman Antonenko
MF   MNE Luka Bojić
DF   MNE Danilo Bracanović
MF   MNE Božidar Bujiša
MF   MNE Matija Ćupić
DF   MNE Marko Draganić
FW   MNE Nikola Draganić
MF   MNE Luka Drmač
MF   MNE Benjamin Kacić
FW   MNE Vladan Kaluđerović
DF   ISR Elad Koren Pinto
GK   MNE Petar Kustudija
DF   MNE Igor Marković
FW   MNE Vuk Milačić
MF   MNE Nikola Mudreša
FW   MNE Baćo Nikolić
DF   MNE Zaid Niković
MF   MNE Ivan Pejaković
MF   MNE Miloš Pejaković
No. Pos. Nation Player
DF   MNE Matija Pejović
GK   MNE Jovan Perović
MF   MNE Nikola Perović
FW   MNE Balša Radović
DF   MNE Miloš Radunović
DF   MNE Ilija Radunović
FW   JPN Tatsuto Sensui
FW   MNE Savo Stojanović
MF   BIH Amer Tabak
MF   MNE Borko Tomašević
MF   MNE Nikola Tripković
MF   MNE Vuko Vicković
FW   MNE Miljan Vučeljić
MF   MNE Andrija Vujičić
DF   MNE Filip Vujović
MF   MNE Risto Vujović
GK   MNE Vuko Vujović
FW   MNE Stanko Vušurović
MF   MNE Petar Zuber

Notable players

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For the list of former and current players with Wikipedia article, please see Category:FK Lovćen players.

During the history, several notable players started their careers or played for FK Lovćen. Below is the list of international players and domestic players who, during their career, played for FK Lovćen and their national teams at full international level.

Coaches

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Current staff

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Position Staff
Manager   Dragan Kanatlarovski
Assistant Manager   Đuro Mijušković
Goalkeeping coach  
U21 Team coach   Filip Radojičić
U17 Team coach   Predrag Vukotić
U14 coach   Ivan Vujović
U12 Coach   Gojko Ražnatović

Last updated: 4 August 2016
Source: FK Lovćen official website

Historical list of coaches

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Since their promotion to the First League, Lovćen was led by 10 different coaches. During that period, the club had best results with club Mojaš Radonjić in the 2013/14 season. At that time, Lovćen won their first and only national title (Montenegrin Cup 2013/14) with first promotion to the European competitions.

Stadium

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FK Lovćen plays their home games at Stadion Sveti Petar Cetinjski, whose capacity is 5,192 seats. Sveti Petar Cetinjski is home of FK Lovćen since 1957.[16] Before that, the team played their home games at the old stadium near today's location (1913–1943) and on the stadium near the Cetinje Monastery (1943–1957).[17]
First game on Sveti Petar Cetinjski was Yugoslav Second League match FK Lovćen - NK GOŠK, played in August 1957.[18] Highest attendance in the history of stadium was recorded on Yugoslav Cup game between FK Lovćen and NK Dinamo Zagreb (1971). Game was attended by 6,500 spectators.[19][20][21]

Women's football

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While FK Lovćen is the oldest men's club in Montenegro, Women's Football Club Lovćen (ŽFK Lovćen) was founded in May 2010.[22] Since then, the club played and organized numerous tournaments, and on the 2015–16 season for the first time played in Montenegrin Women's League and Montenegrin Cup (women).

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "U prilog jubileju F.K.Lovćen". Archived from the original on 2017-04-18. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  2. ^ "Istorija: 1913-1936 | FK Lovćen Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  3. ^ "1924-1925". Exyufudbal.in.rs. Archived from the original on 2018-08-07. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  4. ^ "1925-1926". Exyufudbal.in.rs. Archived from the original on 2018-08-09. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  5. ^ "1928-1929". Exyufudbal.in.rs. Archived from the original on 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2017-01-19.
  6. ^ Lovćen dotakao dno dna Archived 2020-11-01 at the Wayback Machine - CG Fudbal (in Montenegrin)
  7. ^ 'Crnogorski klubovi u fudbalskim takmičenjima 1946-2016', Podgorica, 2016.
  8. ^ "Fudbalski savez Crne Gore". Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  9. ^ Vukotić novi trener Lovćena Archived 2020-08-03 at the Wayback Machine - Vijesti (in Montenegrin)
  10. ^ Slobodan Halilović preuzeo Lovćen Archived 2023-07-15 at the Wayback Machine - Vijesti (in Montenegrin)
  11. ^ Lovćen promijenio trenera, Đukanović zamijenio Halilovića - CDM (in Montenegrin)
  12. ^ Malovrazić i zvanično trener Lovćena Archived 2023-07-15 at the Wayback Machine - Vijesti (in Montenegrin)
  13. ^ FK Lovćen: Predstavljen Dragan Kanatlarovski Archived 2023-07-15 at the Wayback Machine - CDM (in Montenegrin)
  14. ^ Drašković naprasno otišao, Roganović novi trener Lovćena Archived 2023-05-15 at the Wayback Machine - Vijesti (in Montenegrin)
  15. ^ Aleksandar Miljenović novi trener Lovćena Archived 2023-05-12 at the Wayback Machine - Vijesti (in Montenegrin)
  16. ^ "Prijestonica Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  17. ^ "Stadion | FK Lovćen Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  18. ^ "Stadion | FK Lovćen Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  19. ^ 'Crnogorski klubovi u fudbalskim takmičenjima 1946-2016', Podgorica, 2016.
  20. ^ "Stadion | FK Lovćen Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  21. ^ "Prijestonica Cetinje". Archived from the original on 2017-05-12. Retrieved 2017-04-17.
  22. ^ "ŽFK Lovćen". 15 October 2013.
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