Fan blog of Partizan Sports Society (JSD Partizan) in Belgrade, Serbia. Football, basketball, volleyball, handball, ice hockey, water polo, news, players, all that are a matter of curiousity.
A subjective blog. English is not my mother tongue.
English version of http://jsdpartizanfan.blogspot.com/
I'm rolling on the floor from laugh.
It's unbelievable. You just browse through the headlines of news sites and the end-of-summer depression dissolves into thin air. Then in the next moment you fell off your chair. What an irony.
Bojan Šaranov leaves Partizan. Miroslav Radović is just a step away from leaving, and if rumours are true, Bojinov is also packing his suitcases.
Šaranov has signed to Qarabag in Azerbaijan. Radović is about to return to his former team, Legia Warsaw. (He was seen in Warsaw, it is only the question of time. Partizan has nothing against the transaction, Radović wants to get back to Poland as quickly as possible, or maybe rather he wants to leave the Serbian championship with this speed.)
Bojinov heard the call of an unnamed Turkish as well as an unnamed Greek team. Both are told to have a very tempting offer for the Bulgarian. Bojinov, according to Hotsport, has said farewell to Partizan-fans on his Instagram.
I still can’t believe it. The Butterfly-catcher, the Pensioner and the Show-off leave. Only these two Brazilians, Everton and Leonardo should be sold out, possibly to a faraway championship, e.g. to UAE or China. Then I may even be excited to see Partizan-matches, regardless of the low level.
To cut it short, I haven’t been this happy very long ago to see the selling of Partizan-players.
***
Lately I pretty much forgot to tell about the basketball team,
mea culpa
even though life hasn’t stopped around them for a minute. First, almost the entire team has left. The three Americans, Jones, Wilson and Williams all left right after the end of the season, as their contract expired. Aranitović and Cvetković have signed to Manresa (ESP), Murić left to Turkey, Magdevski is still on loan at OKK Beograd, Đumić has signed to Sloboda Tuzla. There’s no info about Vitkovac and Veličković, but their photos have been removed from Partizan’s website.
Those who are still KK Partizan’s players: Adin Vrabac, Mihajlo Andrić, Miloš Koprivica and Vanja Marinković. There are a few new signings, e.g. Branislav Ratkovica, Uroš Luković, Đorđe Majstorovic (from Metalac), Stefan Birčević (who was a national team member at the Olympic Games) and two Americans, Frank Robinson and William Hatcher.
What is more, if rumours are true, Saša Pavlović wants to return to Partizan.
The team is playing preseason friendly games now, then in autumn they will take part in the fresly founded basketball Champions League.
ABA League will kickstart on 1st October with two newbies in the championship, Karpoš Sokoli from Macedonia and Mornar BAR from Montenegro.
I’ll be honest: it’s a hell of a work to be enthusiastic about a team, where you could punch half the squad right in the face, because they don’t deserve to wear Partizan’s jersey. (Because they are talentless, soulless, second-rate players, just right now they are lucky or it’s merely by circumstances - whichever it may be, they will be men of no account anyway.) So, 4:0 this or that, I’m not dancing around from joy.
Those who regularly read this blog, know which player(s) I’m talking about. Those who don’t... well, never mind.
The game started with a small celebration. Branko Vućićević, Partizan’s treasurer will get retired on 1st September, the club said farewell to him now.
Afterwards it seemed this time the "full court press in the first 20 minutes"-tactics will bring their reward. Our first attempt came in the 3rd minute - the ball was crossed from left, Bojinov headed it, "zicer", 1:0.
The next attempt came around the 23rd minute. In between the two teams were running around, it seemed Rad attacked a little bit more, but there were no actual attempts on either sides. Even at this point the game was tensed, players kicked into each other a lot. Everton got a yellow card already in the 18th minute.
At games like this Everton reveals his jerk side (as well as how useless he can be). While Leonardo is totally neurotic who yells more than actually playing football.
Then in the 23rd minute, at our second attempt came another "zicer". Corner kick, Milenković headed it, 2:0.
In the 32nd minute hell broke loose. Leonardo got the ball at Rad’s penalty area line, he wanted to attack, but clashed with a Rad-defender inside the penalty area. The referee didn’t whistle for penalty kick.
ArenaSport replayed it in slow motion at least 4 times from more angles, from frame to frame. Honestly, even I couldn’t say whether it was really a penalty or not. From one angle it seemed that the defender stopped Leonardo with a bodycheck, so it was an offensive foul. From another it seemed that Leonardo ran into the innocent defender and fell on the ground. The devil is always in the details...
To cut it short, referee Simović did not point at the penalty mark, but waved "go ahead". Yet the game did not go ahead, because everyone started to yell. Partizan-players complained for penalty kick, surrounding the referee, later the 4th official as well.
Bojinov debating with the referee, Leonardo is there for decorational purposes (as he surely understood nothing from the discussion)
Then Marko Nikolić also joined the discussion, and that was a big mistake. There’s no info about what he said to the referee (or what he didn’t), nevertheless the referee showed him the red card. Marko Nikolić had to leave the pitch.
Other than these there were two free kick, one for us in the 40th minute, one for Rad in the 43rd. Both missed. There were two nervous, tensed teams as well, kicking mostly each other instead of the ball.
Rad’s goalkeeper had his first actual save in the second half, when Bojinov shot in the 47th minute. (It was far not that dangerous though.) A minute later Bates was excluded from the game, after kicking off Everton. He already had a yellow card, he got his second one and had to leave the pitch. Free kick for Partizan. Leonardo stood behind the ball, he shot, the goalkeeper was just watching in amazement, 3:0.
Then in the 50th minute Uroš Đurđević (signed just a few days ago) debuted, substituting Bojinov.
At his first touch with the ball he ran up, shot, but the goalkeeper saved.
Rad’s biggest chance came - and was missed out - in the 55th minute.
Other than this they didn’t actually have any other chance...
Mladenović got a great pass, ran up, leaving Partizan-defenders behind. He arrived at our penalty area all alone, all doors and windows were wide open, Mladenović shot... and missed. It was too wide with just a few centimetres. Then Đurđević had two attempts, but the goalkeeper saved them.
I don’t say we played well, but at least we did it now without that nerve-racking minimalist style we practiced at the previous games. The match was tensed, nervous, maybe that’s why there was not that much idle time. We attacked, Rad got stuck at their penalty area for a while.
It was already the 79th minute, Partizan got 4 corner kicks in a row. Finally, after the 4th the ball was dropping around the penalty area like a pinball, then it dropped into the box from Radović. Literally. One very awkward goal. But it was inside the box. 4:0
Rad had one more very weak try in the 85th minute, then Stevanović shot once in the 88th, but it was too wide.
Highlights:
Facts:
Venue: Partizan stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 4000
Official: Novak Simović (assistants: Matija Olajos-Nagy, Attila Harmat - 4th official: Nemanja Gajdobranski)
FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Balažic, Milenković, Miletić, Everton, Marjanović, Leonardo, Mihajlović (Janković, 70.), Radović (Stevanović, 83.), Bojinov (Đurđević, 49.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić
After one year in Macedonia (Rabotnički Skopje) Vanja Ilić is again the player of RK Partizan. Balkan Handball shared the info about the Skopje-based team having a financial meltdown at the end of the season, so Ilić decided to return home.
Meanwhile other players left Partizan: Sretenović signed to Nimes (FRA), Radojković to Besiktas (TUR), goalkeeper Tomić to Krka (SLO), while Popović has been the player of Bidasoa (ESP) since this summer. All of them explained their decision with the same reason: the financial struggles of the team.
It seems though it’s still not as tough as in Macedonia.
The men's marathon was scheduled on the last day of the Olympic Games. The athletes started it in heavy rain. 140 runnes could complete the race out of the 155, Anđelko Rističević finished 119th clocking 2:30:17. Eliud Kipchoge from Kenya won the race with 2:08:44.
Then came the basketball final. There isn't much to talk about the mutant aliens of Area 51 American team knocked out Serbia to 66:96.
If we see the positive side: nobody is better than Serbia in the world. (Americans don't count now, their position in basketball is the same as Germans' in football.) Well done, boys!!!
A message to Nemanja Bjelica from the podium (Bjelica had to cancel his participation at the Olympic Games in the last minute because of an injury): this medal is yours, too!
The water polo boys were there to support the team
Serbia earned 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 2016 Olympic Games:
Gold - Davor Štefanek (Greco-Roman wrestling, 66 kg), men's water polo team
Silver - Tijana Bogdanović (women's tae-kwon-do, 49 kg), men's basketball team, women's volleyball team, the Marko Tomičević/Milenko Zorić duo (men's kayak double 1000 m)
Bronze - Ivana Španović (women's triple jump), women's basketball team
Our Olympic broadcast has ended, thank you for your attention.
We interrupt our Olympic broadcast to report about a scandalous, shitty football match, just to get on your nerves.
I really like it (not!), when everyone is so full of themselves before a game, showing off for the media about our chances, then comes such a cold shower that we can't recover from that for a week. Afterwards there is always a bullshit-tsunami in the press about "how very much we didn't deserve this defeat" - yes, you idiots, we did, absolutely, because since when can anybody win with such a terrible, soulless game?... We should be happy to survive with only 2 goals received... This crap would be unacceptable even in the Hungarian championship. Better to pull out your faces from your asses.
Not mentioning the fact that we sold out our Partizan-kids quickly before this round (Golubović signed to Sinđelić, Miladin Stevanović is sold to Turkey, while Brašanac was given away to Guimaraes for 1 million euros). As an encore Iliev announced he would sign a few more players in the near future.
That’s how you destroy a renowned football club. After all these is it still a miracle we got defeated by Spartak?...
Our matches look the same, with the same eleven talentless morons starting eleven and probably the same tactics. And every single game we attack heavily in the first 20 minutes, then we got deflated, the team becomes one grey mass that plays alibi football. We score if one of these bastards is lucky enough to push the ball into the box, then usually in the last 10 minutes we wake up and start to do something that already reminds of football. More or less.
It might be enough in Prva Liga or in the Belgrade league. But not in the superliga.
Even Saša Ilić didn’t have anything extraordinary in his performance. Only his brand-new, yellow armband with that Nike-logo made him come into sight
So, in the first 20 minutes we attacked. We wanted so much to have a quick start and a goal, but we failed. The first really big chance came in the 15th minute, when Mihajlović crossed from the right, someone headed it to the box, but the ball literally slipped on Radović’s head and flew out of the pitch.
It was so bizarre that it might even get to some New Year’s Eve compilation of football flubs, with the usual Benny Hill theme.
Saša Ilić had a try with a distant shot in the 16th minute (too high), Mihajlović missed out another in the 19th. Then after the 20th minute Spartak, which played defensive footbal until then, started to play with more and more courage, while we slowly started to deflate.
Question of the day: why the hell does Đurđić have to be in the starting 11 every single time? The dude is a big ZERO. I don’t know what performance he has on trainings, but on matches it’s less than nothing. He had no memorable moment so far at all, I could count on one hand how many times he had any encounter with the ball during Partizan’s 8 games in this season.
In the 36th minute Mudrinski had a try with a shot to the target. (Between this and the previous one NOTHING happened.) Then Vulićević sent a distant shot to Spartak’s goal, too high.
Fans were again much more spectacular than the game
At the end of the first half the picture of the game showed a square fight
if we can talk about "fight" at all...
with no attempt on goal though.
Nor in the second half. Okay, there were two shy attempts, one by Farkaš, the other by Everton, but both were way too high. Other than these only minimalist football happened, at least by Partizan. No run. No fight. If this is the maximum they can provide, then all of them should leave ul. Humska as quickly as possible.
We made routine attacks. No fighting spirit, or just the slightest idea about what they should do. Spartak didn’t risk anything. They had one shot on target though in the 59th minute, it was distant and weak, it was maybe enough to wake up Šaranov. In the 61st minute Everton shot from the distance, the goalkeeper had a great save. Right then Bojinov shot, it was too high.
Then in the 68th minute Makarić tackled Everton, then ran up and shot from 17 minutes. Šaranov was wandering around (maybe searching for four-leaf clovers in the grass) in the goalmouth. The ball flew above him, he couldn’t even touch it and landed in the box. 1:0
In the 74th minute Balažic headed the ball on target after a corner kick. Radović pushed the ball just a bit near the goal line - nobody knows why... because this way the ball just missed the box. Plus Radović clashed with the goalkeeper (who needed medical attendance).
In the 79th minute Leonardo suddenly shot from the distance. Spartak’s goalkeeper probably fell asleep, because the ball fell into the box while he was just watching it with amazement. It pretty much looked like a "soft snap goal", but it was inside. 1:1
We couldn’t be happy with the draw too long.
And it says all that we were happy with the draw...
In the 82nd minute Milić scored Spartak’s second and winning goal. He ran up, left Partizan’s defenders behind, Šaranov ran out of the goalmouth, but Milić easily lifted the ball above his head, then he could run to celebrate. 2:1
In the last minutes Partizan desperately attacked, with absolutely no result. Just like at previous games, all our attempts were blocked by defenders. If we could somehow get through the defense line, then goalkeeper Janošević saved with a wide grin. We should say a prayer if we can stay in superliga for the next season.
Highlights:
Facts:
Venue: Stadium "Karađorđe", Novi Sad
Number of spectators: 4000
Official: Milorad Mažić (assistants: Milovan Ristić, Dalibor Đurđević - 4th official: Nenad Minaković)
What a game it was.
They splashed into the water and sank the Croatian team. It was no question even for a moment who'll win.
The Croatians could keep the pace only in the very beginning. They equalized after 0:1, but then they couldn't. Not once.
Serbia was leading to 2:3 at the end of the first quarter. Goalkeeper Mitrović made amazing tricks and saves. He saved everything. Every possible and impossible shot. I’m sure he allowed those 7 scores into the box by fraternal sympathy. To keep those poor neighbours away from complete destruction. He saved 12 from 19 (!!!) shots.
In the half-time it was 3:6 for Serbia.
The other hero of the day was Dušan Mandić. Partizan’s former team captain was more wicked than all the devils of hell. He scored such goals that made the pool dry. Both from distance and from nearby. All you could see was the water started to boil as if you’d threw a piece of raw meat among piranhas. Then a mighty left hand raised, swung the ball, shot and scored a giant goal. Then Dušan Mandić appeared, too (belonging to the left hand mentioned above) to celebrate.
(photo: mozzartsport.com)
For the third half the standing was 5:9, even though Croats substituted their goalkeeper in the meantime. Josip Pavić arrived and the totally done Marko Bijač could have a rest.
Filip Filipović nevertheless had a nice welcome gift for Pavić (4:8).
It was already sure even at this point that the Croatian team needs a smaller miracle to be able even just to equalize.
For the last quarter the Croatians fell apart. The most typical moment was when the Croatian coach asked for timeout at 6:10, then when the teams returned to the pool Mandić scored just another goal. Serbs started to celebrate in the very last minute of the game already, and then when the end buzz came...
Vladimir Savanović finished 42nd out of 80 competitors in men’s 50 km race walk. Only 49 athletes could finish the race
salutations to the other Serbian, Predrag Filipović to also be able to cross the finish line
but racers freaked out completely by the 32 degrees Celsius and the 80 % humidity. It’s a miracle 49 people could finish it at all.
I caught an interview with Bence Venyercsány, the only Hungarian athlete, who could finish the race. He said (while trying to find his breath) that it was his toughest race ever, the heat was killer and the worst was seeing fellow athletes giving it up, one after the other, many of them collapsing while walking.
Big respect to every single athlete, but especially to Vladimir Savanović, who completed the race. You are all champions!
Here is Vladimir Savanović’s post-race message to the fans.
In the evening came the men’s basketball semifinal. Australia vs. Serbia.
The Serbian team washed off Australia with a fantastic, amazing game, winning to 61:87 and marching into the final.
First quarter: 5:16
Second quarter (half-time): 14:35
They had such a game that they could make even this at the end of the first half. Teodosić throws the ball, and then... ALLEEEEY-OOOOOP!
And it continued like this, until the final buzz. Great game, basketball gala, at the end Australians just had a dry smile on their faces while assisting for Serbia. The final will be on Sunday, Serbia plays against the United States for the Olympic championship title.
Another silver medal for Serbia!!!
Congratulations and salutations to Marko Tomičević and Milenko Zorić for their silver medal in men's 1000 m kayak double!
Asmir Kolašinac could not qualify to the men’s shot put final. He finished 8th in Group B at the qualifications with 20.16 m.
A photo posted by Kolasinac Asmir (@asko_kolasinac) on
The Serbian water polo team had a sweeping victory against Italy to 8:10, and they qualified to the final!!!
The truth is that it was a totally smooth game, the reason the difference is "just" 2 goals is that Serbs practically joked the end off. The first quarter finished with 0:3, the half time was 2:6 (it was 0:6 in the middle of the second quarter, Italians scored their first goal less than two minutes before the end). The third quarter brought just one single goal (2:7), in the fourth it grew to 5:10, Italians scored three goals in the last 4 minutes, while Serbs were just chilling on the waves with a big smile, knowing well, that whatever Italians try, they won’t be able even just to equalize.
The finall will be tomorrow against Croatia. It will be a real, true derby, the best kind.
Before to leave Rio, I took some time to wish an happy birthday to Bogdan and wish him good luck for the rest of the competition ! ⚪️⚫️
Posted by Joffrey Lauvergne on Thursday, August 18, 2016
Congratulations and salutations to Tijana Bogdanović for the silver medal and Ivana Španović for the bronze!
Bogdanović clashed with Kim So-hui from South Korea in the final of women’s 49 kg tae-kwon-do. Getting to the Olympic final at the age of 18 is a victory in itself. For the next Games it will surely be a gold medal :)
Tijana Bogdanović on the podium
Ivana Španović finished 3rd in women’s triple jump with 7.08. Two Americans got the two other medals, the gold went to multiple world and Olympic champion Tianna Bartoletta (7.17), while also multiple world and indoor world champion Brittney Reese won silver (7.15).
Ivana Španović and her bronze jump
And now the best part: the Serbian basketball team WON over Croatia in a bloody battle and qualified to the semifinal!
In the first quarter Serbia was leading with one point (19:20), for the half-time it changed to 38:32. Then came the Raduljica-Bogdanović-Mačvan trio
PARTIZAN!!!
and brought up Serbia to 52:66.
In the last quarter the Croats clenched their teeth and came up to 72:74. Bogdanović was fouled out around the end. Croats were just one step behind Serbs (79:80). The last minute was about fouls and free throws only. The game was fragmented. Finally Serbia won to 83:86 scoring their last points only from free throws. (Adriatic League feeling...) In the semifinal they will play against Australia.
Serbia won its first medal at the Olympic Games!!! And it's a gold!!!
Big big congratulations and salutation to Davor Štefanek, who is the Olympic champion of Greco-Roman wrestling in 66 kg!!!
He won over Migran Arutyunyan from Armenia in the final. First the Armenian was leading to 0:1 after pushing Štefanek off the mat, but then he got a caution that brought one point for the Serbian. According to regulations in case of draw the winner will be the one who earned a point the latest and the Armenian didn't have enough time to gain any more points.
Davor Štefanek with his gold medal
During the national anthem
Yes, that’s the Serbian flag on the top... above all...
Posing for the photographers. Only Bokvadze from Georgia was willing to pose with Štefanek. The Armenian was so down by the end result that he was not willing even to shake hands. (The Azeri medalist doesn’t seem to be too happy either.)
But the gold medalist is Serbia and no one can take it away from them
As for Partizan’s athletes, the water polo team clashed with Spain in the quarterfinal and washed them off. It was an easy game, the Serbian team was leading to 7:3 in the half-time. In the third quarter Spain could reduce it to 7:5, but in the final part they capitulated, and Serbia won to 10:7.
Filipović celebrating
Mandić (on the right) supports his teammates
Unity is strength
Question of the day: how did that Yugoslav flag get there?
There was only one event this day with a Partizan-athlete, men’s 110 m hurdles (athletics). Milan Ristić started in Heat 5. Ronnie Ash from the US won the heat clocking 13.31, Ristić finished 6th (13.66), he couldn’t qualify to the semifinal.
Athletes line up for the start, Ristić is checking the court
The starter pistol fires...
...athletes run, Ristić with Souza (BRA) on his right and Kaba (CAN) on his left...
...just a few more steps until the finish line...
Photo-finish
(photo: rio2016.com)
No matter which place you finished at, for us you're the Olympic champion
(unmarked photos: Facebook/Olimpijski komitet Srbije)
The basketball and water polo teams have played their last matches in the group stage. In the swimming pool the water polo team won over Japan at a seemingly easy game to 12:8. In reality it could be a nightmare. At the end of the first quarter Japan was leading to 2:5.
To 2:5. Against Serbia.
Against the world and European champion Serbia.
You get what I mean.
I bet Jakšić, Filipović, Mandić and all the others will remember this even at their old age.
As if FK Partizan would be leading against Real Madrid to 3:0 in the 30th minute.
I have no idea what could be going on, I’m looking at the statistics, but I see e.g. no missed out attempt by Serbia, or overwhelmingly lots of power play for Japan. There could be a very heavy water wrestling, the Japanese team entered the game as underdogs, they knew the Olympic Games have ended for them anyway, so they just wanted to have fun.
The Serbian team equalized in the second quarter struggling. Nothing happened for about 6 minutes, then Serbs scored 3 goals in the last two minutes. In the third quarter they could finally take the lead (9:7), the world’s order was back and at the end they had a convincing win to 12:8.
Huuuhhhhh. (relieved sigh)
So, the water polo team qualified to the next round, where they’ll clash with Spain tomorrow, on 16th August at 21:30 CET.
All the best, boys!!!
The basketball team clashed with China. They won, as it just had to happen, to 90:64 and qualified to the next round. (No info yet about the upcoming opponent.)
The entire water polo team rushed from the swimming pool to the basketball hall to support the boys
National anthem
I want such a flag. Where can I get/buy/find/steal/rob one?
