FK Partizan - Napredak 3:2 (superliga, round 17)

It has been long since a football game freaked me out and racked my nerves this much. Well, Partizan has been trying hard in the past months to try my endurance, but last time I was this done was probably the game Austria vs. Hungary at Euro2016.

That was completely different though. That was magic, miracle, when you can’t sleep for the whole night afterwards. As for this game, I could listen to only some vibraphone jazz on a very low volume, but still had some twitching fits every now and then.

The first attempt was in the 4th minute. Vukanović shot, Kljajić saved. Two minutes later Leonardo had a try with a 25-metre free kick, but it was too high, way too high.
Jump to the 18th minute. Leonardo shot from 16 metres, the goalkeeper pushed it to corner kick with a great save.
Then a minute later N’Diaye and Markovski passed the ball around at our penalty area. It resulted a huge scramble and and almost-fight scene. Finally one of the Napredak-players pushed the ball ahead, right to Gobeljić. Gobeljić very aggressively attacked, literally exploded out from the mass scene and shot the ball into the box. 0:1
It was a very bad, nervous game. Referee Nenad Đokić was in the worst possible shape ever. He handed out a good handful of yellow cards in the first 30 minutes, waved "go ahead" numerous times when he should have whistled it off and he was simply unable to keep the game under control. Players fought with each other, there were many fouls and the level of the match was simply awful.
Bojinov tried the already racked nerves in the 29th minute, when he hit the crossbar from the goalmouth - again. Then Leonardo was dribbling on the left side then crossed to the middle - where everyone was just WATCHING it, with mouth open, as the ball rolled through the penalty area. Nobody made a move. Just nobody. This should have been the moment to stop the game and put the whole team into a line, make them bend over and kick everyone right in the ass. They would have deserved it, all of them.
A minute later Đurđević ran up inside Napredak’s penalty area. N’Diaye was behind him, forcing Đurđević out of the pitch through the baseline, then Đurđević fell to the ground. The slow motion replay showed N’Diaye slightly pushing Đurđević, but that was enough for Partizan’s striker to fall. But referee Đokić had a totally different point of view. For him Đurđević was just acting, probably with the hope to get a penalty kick. He showed Đurđević the yellow card, but Đurđević already had a yellow card - so he was sent off with a red one.

Needless to say it resulted a huge chaos. Partizan-players complained, while Đurđević had to be kept back by a Napredak-player not to do something stupid.

42nd minute. Balažic made a huge mistake, my teeth almost fell out seeing it. The punishment by Napredak was fast and ruthless. Vukanović grabbed the ball, ran away with it towards our penalty area. Kljajić ran out of the goalmouth, Vukanović passed the ball above him, right into the box. 0:2
Bojinov again screwed up an attempt in the 43rd minute. All doors and windows were open, and it was so very painful, that Leonardo (from whom Bojinov got the pass before the attempt) ran to the Bulgarian and started to yell at him with big gestures. Honestly? I could totally understand the Brazilian’s rage. Bojinov has been sinking lower and lower in the past games. An average coach would kick him out of the stadium... I very much hope Marko Nikolić will not allow this talentless sloth into the starting eleven anymore after this horrible performance, not just into the starting eleven, but even to the substitute squad. (By the way, young Vlahović could get more chance. He is a million times more talented and skilled than this stupid brat Bulgarian.)
It was already the extra time, when Leonardo forced our first goal into the box. He got the ball from Saša Ilić at the half-line, ran up wrestling with a defender (the defender fell, and for Leonardo’s great luck the referee just waved "go ahead", didn’t whistle it off), reached the penalty area, passed to Saša Ilić, the Captain passed him back, Leonardo shot and scored. 1:2

There was time one last Napredak-attack, Šarac shot, barely missing it.

Lazar Ćirković was there to watch the game (in yellow hooded sweatshirt)

When the two teams walked out for the second half, there was some boo and hiss from the stands, and not really for the guests... Partizan started the second part with big pace, but the truth is that Napredak played with a much more collected style (so did they in the first half), and they could turn Partizan’s weak points for their own advantage. Other than that they had great and very fast counter-attacks. No wonder they are 4th on the league table.
In the 54th minute Partizan got a penalty kick. Bojinov fell to the ground inside the penalty area, the referee whistled, stood at the white dot, while gave a second yellow card to Leković, so Napredak also continued the game with 10 players.
But before continuing Leonardo stood to the white dot to shoot the penalty kick. He did so, and scored. 2:2

I’m still not really impressed by Leonardo, because Partizan had much better players in the past, and even the not-so-talented, not-so-skilled ones were better than this Brazilian. Still he is the only one right now in Partizan’s current squad who is willing to shoot on target. You can take a look at our statistics, our numbers at "shoot on target" are scandalous. And well, goal comes only by shooting on target. The ball will not roll into the box by itself.

Partizan’s equalizing goal turned everyone into a nervous idiot as much that at a free kick Bojinov started to yell with Janković. (Before that Balažic missed out a chance when heading Leonardo’s cross to the box, just the goalkeeper saved. Napredak made an instant counter-attack, Urošević shot, too high.) In the 75th minute we had another try. Vulićević, who has been as invisible as a ghost lately, crossed to the middle. Leonardo headed it to the box, it was too wide. Then Bojinov again missed out an attempt. Task done for him.
Everyone was waiting for the final whistle, when Stevanović shot out of the blue. It was all of a sudden, nobody expected it, probably that’s why he could score. 3:2, miracles exist.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Official: Nenad Đokić (assistants: Vladimir Jovanović, Nemanja Petrović - 4th official: Igor Stojilković)

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Vulićević, Balažic (Janković, 65.), Milenković, Miletić, Jevtović, S. Ilić, Leonardo (Vlahović, 90.), A. Stevanović, Đurđević, Bojinov (Ostojić, 87.)
Head coach: Marko Nikolić

Napredak: Petrović, N’Diaye, Leković, Simonović, Miladinović, Šljivić, Šarac (Jovović, 64.), Markovski, Gobeljić, Urošević, Vukanović (Frimpong, 84.)
Head coach: Dragan Ivanović

Goal scorers: Gobeljić (19.), Vukanović (42.), Leonardo (45+2., 54. - pen.), A. Stevanović (84.)
Yellow card: Leković (17.), S. Ilić (26.), Markovski (32.), Đurđević (34.), Miletić (49.), Milenković (53.), N’Diaye (74.), Miladinović (80.)
Red card: Đurđević (37.), Leković 54.) - second yellow card for both

League table will be brought tomorrow.
Update: league table.
1. CZ 44 points
2. Partizan 38 points
3. Vojvodina 38 points
4. Napredak 31 points
5. Mladost 31 points
6. Radnički Niš 27 points
7. Spartak Subotica 25 points
8. Javor 23 points
9. Metalac 20 points
10. Rad 20 points
11. FK Voždovac 18 points
12. Čukarički 17 points
13. Radnik 16 points
14. Novi Pazar 12 points
15. OFK Bačka 11 points
16. Borac 8 points

(photos: partizan.rs)

FK Partizan - Rad 4:0 (superliga, round 7)

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

FK Rad: Dejanović, Obradović, Ćulum, Đenić (Petković, 45.), Lutovac, Maraš, Mladenović, Jovanović, Bates, Veselinović (Vico, 51.), Stanojević (Petrović, 61.)
Head coach: Nebojša Petrović

Goal scorers: Bojinov (3.), Milenković (23.), Leonardo (49.), Radović (79.)
Yellow cards: Everton (18.), Ćulum (21.), Milenković (27.), Marjanović (37.), Bates (38.), Veselinović (41.), Đurđević (56.), Jovanović (56.)
Red card: Marko Nikolić (34.) - complaining,. Bates (48.) - second yellow card

League table will be brought tomorrow.

Update: current championship standings
1. CZ 19 points
2. Vojvodina 16 points
3. Metalac 13 points
4. Radnički Niš 13 points
5. Spartak Subotica 12 points
6. FK Voždovac 11 points
7. FK Partizan 10 points
8. Napredak 9 points
9. Mladost 9 points
10. Rad 9 points
11. Novi Pazar 7 points
12. Radnik 6 points
13. FK Javor 6 points
14. Čukarički 5 points
15. Borac 5 points
16. OFK Bačka 4 points

(photos: partizan.rs)

FK Partizan - Čukarički 1:2 (superliga, round 32 - play-off, round 2)

A bunch of bizarre news were released on the match week.
First, Čukarički announced that they’d have loved to sign Partizan’s left-winger, Nemanja Mihajlović. Partizan’s reaction was just a loud laugh, even Mihajlović himself said that playing in Partizan is his childhood dream, no way he’d sign to anywhere else. Finally Ivica Iliev appeared and said to the press: sure, of course Mihajlović can sign to Čukarički - if they pay 10 million euros for him.

If I were for Iliev, I’d be careful with saying such things. Who knows, one day Čukarički might knock the door of ul. Humska 1 in the company of a Pini Zahavi-alike Croesus, throwing a suitcase on the table saying 'hey, here are the 10 milkos, now we'd take the kid, thxbai'.
A message to Mihajlović: learn from the Živković-case, boy. If there’s anything nobody is interested in, that’s what you yourself would like to do.

Apropos, Živković. If this case above didn’t make everyone annoyed yet, then some time later Crvena Zvezda’s head coach, Miodrag Božović appeared out of the blue and said, how great it would have been if Zvezda had signed Andrija Živković.

Whether you’re a fan of Partizan or CZ, this definitely goes beyond common sense.

Then the dot to the letter "i" was that unnamed sources told the press which players Ivan Tomić won’t need in the upcoming season.

Well, I will surely not cry after Bojinov. Leković hasn’t played enough to be able to say anything on him. The rest will be missed.

After all these the team surely prepared with joy and confidence against Čukarički.
(Or not.)

10 minutes before kick-off

(photos: Twitter)

After the kick-off Čukarički immediately started to attack. It was clear they mean no-nonsense and they want our scalps. They attacked already in the 2nd minute. Pavlović got the ball, it was dangerous, but the referee whistled it off, because Pavlović pulled Milenković on the ground while attacking. Two minutes later they appeared again at our penalty area. A cross came from the right, Šaranov again caught butterflies

is it really necessary that he drops the ball at least once in every match, while the opponent is crowding with full force in the goalmouth?...

then for the next try he could catch it. We had great luck for not receiving a goal.
In the 5th minute Mihajlović was tricking with the ball on the left, then he shot, the goalkeeper saved. Two minutes later again he shot, now getting a pass to the left from Bojinov in the middle. His shot missed the box with just centimetres.
In the 8th minute a Čukarički-attack arrived from the right. Nikola Janković (if I’m not wrong) crossed it to the middle, from there Jovanović get it on the left. Jovanović shot, barely missing it.
In the 11th minute Čukarički got a free kick, almost at the baseline, with just 1-2 metres from the left side of the penalty area. The cross came, Đurić took it by the head, forwarding it to Branislav Janković. Janković shot fron only 2 steps and scored. 0:1

Bandalovski is angry, while Šaranov collapsed right to the goal line

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 16th minute again Branislav Janković got a huge pass. He ran up on the left, with Bandalovski behind him. He then shot, the ball hit Šaranov, ending the attempt in a corner-kick.
In the 20th minute Bandalovski possessed the ball on the right. He attacked the middle, then passed to Bojinov. Bojinov sped up, ran by the goalkeeper and shot into the box from a sharp angle. 1:1

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 23rd minute we got a corner kick. There came the ball, making a big goalmouth scramble. Partizan-players all complained that someone from Čukarički played handball, but the referee didn’t whistle.

This scene has been cut from the superliga’s official highlights. On Youtube it’s available, here you can see it. ArenaSport’s slow motion replay clearly showed Čukarički’s player hitting the ball with his hand.

The atmosphere on the field became tensed. The pace was medium, yet Čukarički kept the ball surprisingly well.
In the 30th minute Milenković... well, there’s nothing to attenuate it. Milenković brutally kicked off Bojić, so heavily that Čukarički’s player had to come off the field. The referee showed the red card to Milenković.

Here is a video about it, because the official highlights don’t contain this scene either.

The referee shows the red card to Milenković...

...it almost ended in a fight

(photos: hotsport.rs)

In the 33rd minute Mihajlović ran up on the left. He made a great solo, dribbled then shot, it ended in a corner-kick.
In the 38th minute Nikola Janković kicked off Everton. The referee showed the red card him, too.

Video about the scene:

There was only one action left for the first half. Bogosavac got the ball on the left and shot from a sharp angle, the goalkeeper saved.
For the entire game Grave Diggers were chanting, firing up the southern tribune. Sometimes they made a much more spectacular sight than the often slow and struggling game.

Čukarički started the second half as well with attacking. A cross came from the left, Pavlović headed it to the box, but it was too high. A minute later Kosović passed the ball to Everton. The Brazilian shot from the right, it was also too high.
In the 49th minute we got a free kick at the left side of the penalty area line. Mihajlović passed it to Bogosavac, the young defender shot, it was too high.
In the 53rd minute Stevanović passed to Mihajlović in the middle. He immediately shot from approx. 16 metres, missing it with just centimetres again. In the 59th minute Saša Jovanović had a distant shot to our box, it was too high.
In the 65th minute Bojinov got a huge pass. After some goalmouth/penalty area scramble he shot from the left, barely missing it. A minute later Matić sent a flat, weak shot to our box, it was too wide. Another minute later Čukarički had another attempt, Šaranov saved.
In the 68th minute Bogosavac had another attempt. Mihajlović ran upfield, but he was tackled. The ball dropped to Bogosavac, but his shot was too wide.
In the 70th minute we got a free kick on the left side, 25 metres from the goal line. Mihajlović shot it right into the wall, but the ball dropped to Marko Jovanović. He shot, it was too high.
In the 76th minute Pavlović was wrestling with two Partizan-defenders, then he fell on the ground inside the penalty area. The referee didn’t whistle for penalty shot.

I have to mention nevertheless that Pavlović gave himself the starting kick with a fantastic Oxford-trick. Hats off, I have never seen anything like this yet.

In the 79th minute Brašanac passed the ball to Golubović on the right. He crossed it to the middle, the defenders headed it out. Corner-kick, again Golubović got the ball. He again crossed to the middle, but there Lukić kicked into the air instead of the ball.
In the upcoming minutes we constantly tried to attack, but they were all blocked by the defenders. Finally in the 85th minute Vlahović got a cross from the left, which he tried to head into the box. He wasn’t successful, the ball dropped to Lukić. He tried, too, without success.
In the 90th minute we got a corner-kick. Bandalovski headed it to the box, but the goalkeeper saved. Čukarički started a counter-attack. Knežević ran upfield on the right side and crossed to Pavlović in the middle. Pavlović thanked it and shot it ruthlessly into the box. 1:2

Sad, weary players after the final whistle

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Official highlights, thoroughly censored:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 3000
Referee: Nenad Đokić (assistants: Nemanja Petrović, Marko Dimitrijević - 4th assistant: Slobodan Pavlović - goal line assistants: Petar Piper, Zoran Široki)

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, Milenković, M. Jovanović, Bogosavac - Brašanac, Everton, Kosović (Lukić, 78.) - A. Stevanović (Golubović, 71.), Bojinov (Vlahović, 71.), Mihajlović
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Čukarički: N. Stevanović - Stojković, Ostojić, Đurić, Živković - Srnić, B. Janković (Knežević, 86.) - Bojić (Matić, 29.), N. Janković, S. Jovanović (Radonjić, 83.) - Pavlović
Head coach: Milan Lešnjak

Goal scorers: B. Janković (11.), Bojinov (20.), Pavlović (90.)
Yellow card: Đurić (42.), Srnić (61.)
Red card: M. Jovanović (30.), N. Janković (38.)

Current standing of the play-off:
1. CZ 42 points*
2. Čukarički 33 points
3. Partizan 28 points
4. Vojvodina 26 points
5. Radnički Niš 26 points
6. Surdulica 25 points
7. Borac 23 points*
8. FK Voždovac 20 points

*Match between Borac and Crvena Zvezda was postponed

151st eternal derby: Crvena Zvezda - FK Partizan 1:1 (round 31 - play-off, round 1)

I slept it over, not to write this blogpost under violent emotions. I still won't be politically correct, so old-school fans and/or sensitive souls, please, press Alt+F4 now.
Nevertheless I bought a lot of photos and videos.
There was a small celebration before the start of the game. 5th May is the world day of rare diseases, and the two teams had a campaign for pulmonary hypertension awareness. Partizan started the campaign days before the derby, players appeared in the public wearing such T-shirts.

Before the game Saša Ilić (as team captain) received such a certification.

The game started right with a smoke pause. As soon as the referee whistled for kick-off, both sides, North and South started to throw firecrackers and smoke torches. The match continued in the 3rd minute.
Right there Zvezda got a free kick about 30 metres from our goal line on the right side, almost at the sideline. Ibanez kicked, Le Tallec headed it to the box, it was too high.
A minute later Šaranov presented one of his awful goal-kicks. It was such an unbelievable kick that the ball flew out of the field through the sideline approx. in the level of the penalty spot. Throw-in for Zvezda. Finally our defenders cleared downfield.

Seriously, who the hell brought Šaranov here? Even my grandmother would have done a better goal-kick. Why is this miserable creature in our box? Why and for whom was Živko Živković not good enough?

We started very nervously. We passed away the ball too often, losing it. Zvezda continuously attacked. In the 8th minute they got another free kick. Ibanez could cross it from almost the same place like in the 4th minute. Now the defenders headed the kick downfield.

The stream started to die here. Me too.

In the 11th minute Grujić ran up with the ball on the right side and crossed to Kátai at the other side. Kátai dribbled himself to the middle (the defenders were just watching) then shot, Šaranov pushed it out. Corner-kick, Ibanez headed it to the box, it was too wide.
Then Šaranov continued to tear my nerves to pieces, together with Gogoua.

What was going on with Gogoua? He was totally out of himself for the whole game. As if he would have been at somewhere else in the head. He made such mistakes that are unacceptable even at a U6-game.

In the 13rd minute Bogosavac passed the ball backwards. Šaranov forwarded it to Gogoua, while a few Zvezda-players stayed there to get on the defenders’ nerves. One of them ran towards Gogoua as he received the ball - Gogoua seemingly got shocked and kicked the ball out to the wide world. Right through the baseline. Corner-kick for Zvezda, as a gift. Average Fan fell under the table and started to cry.
For our luck the defenders headed out the corner-kick, it didn’t cause any trouble.
Other than that our defense line was not on the top, so to speak. Zvezda kept on attacking, Bogosavac was the only one who didn’t shit into his pants, but bravely stopped them, tackled, ran after them, slid, fought, grabbed them and if needed, he immediately ran up with the ball for an attack.

Big high-five to you, young man. Keep up this great work

In the 18th minute Srnić ran up with the ball. Bogosavac tackled him, the referee gave a free kick to Zvezda. Again Ibanez stood behind the ball, again approx. from the same place as earlier, just the angle was now a bit more sharp. He kicked, Šaranov punched it out.
It seemed, the only job of our defenders was to kick out the ball downfield, as far from the penalty area as possible. Not just this time, but for the entire first half. Zvezda still attacked. They easily tackled Partizan’s players and appeared right then at our penalty area. We got stuck to our half.
We had our first mentionable attack in the 23rd minute. Stevanović got the ball and ran up on the right side. He crossed to the middle, but nobody was there, out of a few Zvezda-defenders. They pushed the ball out, corner-kick. It was followed by another corner, then Saša Ilić dribbled, then after a goalmouth scramble Zvezda suddenly started a counter-attack. We could stop them, but they still possessed the ball.

Saša Ilić some time during the game

In the 28th minute Cvetković sent a long pass to Grujić. It was too long, Šaranov caught it. In the 32nd minute Mihajlović ran up on the left, he crossed it to the middle, but Stevanović was way too much behind to catch it.

Someone please, tell me, why was it that we suddenly started to kick the ball backwards in the middle of the attack? Why?... Why didn’t we grab them by their throat? Why didn’t we dribble them so tricky that they would have remembered it even in their old age? Why did Stevanović passed the ball backwards to Everton rather than running forward with it?

At this point Zvezda kept the game under control. Our defense line was weak, but they easily tackled us anyway, whatever we tried. The pace slowed down, finally in the 42nd minute Kátai got fed up with the fumbling

again they got the initiative and not us

attacked, dribbled himself to the middle and shot. Šaranov pushed the ball outside through the baseline.
A minute later Gogoua lost the ball at the penalty area (I almost started to cry again). Grujić grabbed it, finally Šaranov stopped the attempt.
Then in the 45th minute Rendulić and Mihajlović clashed in front of Zvezda’s penalty area. They both fell on the ground. It ended up in a big upheaval, both teams complaining heavily to the referee.

Finally Partizan got a free kick, but we couldn’t turn it into an attempt.
Then in the 45+2nd minute Kátai ran up on the left side. Bandalovski wrestled with him, but Kátai could eventually shoot, it was too high.
In the half-time pause hell broke loose. Fans probably thought there was not enough fight and tension on the field, they have to make it for themselves.
First Zvezda-fans clashed with the police. (Graphic video!)

Then a Partizan-fan was also caught.

They made the stadium half-demolished.
In the second half none of the teams could get the gear in the beginning. Fumbling at its best (Luković shot himself in the face with the ball), finally in the 51st minute we got a free kick about 28 metres from the goal line on the left. Mihajlović crossed, the goalkeeper caught it. They started a counter-attack right then, Kátai shot, Šaranov caught it. In the 54th minute Srnić and Bogosavac wrestled on the left side, this time Partizan’s defender was the winner one.
In this period we possessed the ball a bit more, but still with no useful attempt. The pace of the game didn’t get quicker either. Mihajlović ran up again on the left side, he even shot, the goalkeeper saved.

In the 59th minute a Partizan free-kick made a goalmouth scramble for Zvezda. Two of our players shot, first Saša Ilić, then Brašanac, but the goalkeeper saved both. Then in the 62nd minute Saša Ilić sent a cross after a corner-kick, but defenders cleared it downfield.
Then the pace totally slowed down.
But the southern tribune was on fire.

In the 66th minute Rendulić headed the ball towards the box after a corner-kick. Šaranov again caught a butterfly (but not the ball), the ball dropped to Le Tallec, but for our great luck he missed it out.
Another smoke pause came, while Šaranov needed medical attendance. The game continued in the 70th minute. Stevanović ran up to the box, he shot, but it was very weak, the goalkeeper caught it easily.
In the 72nd minute Plavšić ran up on the left, but he screwed up the cross, finally Gogoua cleared the area. A minute later we attacked, Bandalovski crossed the ball to the middle, but Mihajlović missed it out.
In the 77th minute Zvezda got a free kick, approx. 25-28 metres from our box. Ibanez kicked the ball right into the wall. Then in the 81st minute Kátai ran up. All doors and windows were open, who knows where our defenders have been, then Kátai kicked the ball right into Šaranov. We immediately started a counter-attack, Mihajlović ran up with the ball, he shot, too, it was too high. A minute later Ristić got the ball on the right side. He dribbled, then shot, Šaranov saved. In the 84th minute again Ristić ran up, getting a pass from Plavšić. He shot from 16 metres, Šaranov saved.

Jovanović needed medical attendance some time in the second half after getting a hit on his stomach

Then in the 85th minute Zvezda attacked again. The cross came from the right side, the ball hit a Partizan-defender and fell down. Le Tallec wanted to grab it, but Sikimić was faster. He shot the ball right into the middle of the net. 1:0
After this the game fell into pieces. Hell broke loose on the field, too. In the 92nd minute Everton brutally knocked down Plavšić, then he continued to pull him while Plavšić was laying on the ground. Brašanac had to pull him away.

Everton pushes his elbow into Plavšić’s face...

...then he starts a verbal fight with Kátai...

...finally the referee tries to calm them down

I'll be honest: Everton would have deserved the red card at this point. No idea why the referee didn't send him off and gave him only a yellow.

In the 93rd minute Rendulić got his second yellow card after he kicked Bogosavac on the ground. He had to leave the field.
Our equalizing goal came in the very last minute, as a total surprise. Zvezda-defenders headed a left-side cross downfield and the ball dropped to Everton, who was standing in the background. The Brazilian probably thought ’whatever’ and kicked it from 35 metres. The ball flew through the defenders, the shocked goalkeeper punched into it, but the ball fell into the box. 1:1

All those that came afterwards still needs an explanation for me.
Everton ran to the northern tribune after his goal, right to the Zvezda-ultras and started a kind of happy dance there.

Then all that could be seen was that an older man carries Everton off the pitch by his arm, towards the tunnel. Everton keeps on pushing the old man’s hand, like a child having a tantrum, then as he reaches the tunnel, he can enter only under the shields of the "žandarmerije", as raging Zvezda-fans threw everything on him they could grab into their hands.
Of course, as I found out not much later, Everton got the second yellow cards after his little performance, but probably didn’t want to leave the field, that’s why he had to be carried off.

Probably a lot of people will hate me now, but I was not happy at all for Everton’s goal. The Brazilian freaked me out earlier by his elbowing attack, but this absolutely unsportsmanlike post-goal performance and the tantrum after the red card blew out the fuse for me. I’ve been watching football for more than 25 years, I have seen many very stupid, primitive and malicious players, and I have to say, Everton is in the Top 5.
A message to him: from now on it’s better if he gets careful while walking in the streets of Belgrade. His face can be recognized from the distance, and Zvezda-fans surely won’t forget this little action he had in this game. Everton, I have to say, you’re one goddamned jerk, and if your face get torn off, I’d probably say you deserved it.
(And let me add, just here, in brackets: I totally agree with Grujić’s angry post-game words.)

Then the referee ended the game.
Zvezda’s goalkeeper collapsed after the goal. Here is a video, as his teammates try to comfort him after the game.
Even Partizan-players didn’t seem to be overall happy. There is rather exhaustedness on the faces instead of joy.

SOS Kanal’s 38-minute-long highlights.

Facts:

Venue: Rajko Mitić stadium, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 35 000
Referee: Aleksandar Vasić (assistants: Vladimir Jovanović, Milan Mihajlović - 4th assistant: Goran Stanojević - goal line assistants: Marko Popović, Igor Stojilković)

Crvena Zvezda: Kahriman - Cvetković, Rendulić, Luković, Ibanez - Le Tallec - Srnić (Ristić, 78.), Grujić (Plavšić, 57.), Kátai, Donald - Vieira (Sikimić, 53.)
Head coach: Miodrag Božović

FK Partizan: Šaranov - Bandalovski, Gogoua, Jovanović, Bogosavac - Brašanac, Everton, Kosović - Stevanović (Vlahović, 83.), S. Ilić (Bojinov, 73.), Mihajlović
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Goal scorers: Sikimić (85.), Everton (90+5.)
Yellow cards: Gogoua (13.), S. Ilić (30.), Le Tallec (39.), Rendulić (43.), Everton (90+2.), Kátai (90+3.), Ibanez (90+5.)
Red card: Rendulić (90+2.), Everton (90+5.), both for second yellow card

Current standing of the play-off:*
1. CZ 42 points
2. Čukarički 30 points
3. Partizan 28 points
4. Vojvodina 26 points
5. Borac 23 points
6. Radnički Niš 23 points
7. Surdulica 22 points
8. FK Voždovac 20 points

* upon current relegations all teams’ points were halved before the start of the play-off. All the points they earned during the play-off will be added to this halved aggregation.

(photos: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

FK Partizan - Spartak Subotica 0:0 (Serbian Cup, semifinal)

Catastrophal, scandalous anti-football, impotent game. It says all that we couldn’t score one single goal to Spartak, that Spartak that can be found at the lower regions of the league table and which played with 10 players (!!!) for more than a half.
Shame, disgrace, scandal.

10 minutes before the kick-off the stands were this empty

(photos: Twitter)

At the beginning of the match Spartak put us under a very uncomfortable pressure. We could get to their penalty area only in the 6th minute for first, but even then it was far from being dangerous.
Other than this nothing happened. Spartak possessed the ball more, but they didn’t bild up an attempt until the 17th minute. It was Mrkela then, who ran up on the right side, but Bogosavac blocked him with fantastic timing.

That was the most spectacular moment of the game.

The next "event" came in the 19th minute, it brought a smaller fight among players (pushing each other, yelling, Saša Ilić complained), then it all calmed down.
Then again nothing happened. Nothing ever. It’s very rare that you can see such boredom on a football field.

It was so boring that a fan rather read comics

(photo: Twitter)

Even Jevtović’s terrible shot was an "event" (the ball flew out metres away from the goal), when it hit a defender and ended up as a corner kick.
In the 29th minute Stevanović came up with the ball on the right side among defenders. Finally he tried to shoot from a totally impossible angle. The goalkeeper saved, probably in autopilot mode (he probably didn’t even wake up).
In the 33rd minute Saša Ilić had a distant shot. This was our first actual attempt that meant danger for the goal. (It says all that this only attempt was by the team’s veteran player.)
Both teams made awful mistakes, both sides lost the ball too many times. I was howling sometimes from actual physical pain it all caused me. In the 37th minute Spartak’s defense line made a huge mistake. Brašanac got the ball, he sent a flat shot to the goal, but it was too wide.
In the 40th minute we ran up for a counter-attack after a Spartak-corner. Mihajlović possessed the ball, he ran up with the ball through the entire field, making a fantastic solo, then he shot, missing the goal with just a few centimetres.
The 44th minute brought another fight. As it could be seen from the slow motion replay, Tumbasević and Bogosavac clashed  (Partizan’s defender tackled Tumbasević, then they started to yell at each other, finally Spartak’s player pushed Bogosavac to the ground). The referee immediately showed Tumbasević the red card, sending him off the field.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The second half brought the most horrible bunker football by Spartak and terrible, outrageous, absoulte anti-football by us.
In the 49th minute Bandalovski passed to Stevanović from the right side. Stevanović shot, the goalkeeper caught it. In the 51st minute Bojinov got a great pass, but when he shot, the ball flew out metres away from the goal.

Bojinov was a total disaster. He didn’t play this terribly for long. As if he didn’t even see the goal line, just kept on kicking the ball at haphazard.

In the 53rd minute Bogosavac crossed to Mihajlović at the other side, but Mihajlović hit the ball like a U6-player. I just facepalmed.
Spartak sometimes broke out of the bunker, but I had the impression for the whole time they didn’t really want to attack. Obviously they were told in the half-time to block every single of our attempts, not allowing us to score and preferably not risking an attack, when the defense line might open up too much. They came up only once to our penalty area, in the 61st minute. Ivanović shot from the distance, almost hitting the crossbar. We started a counter-attack right then, Bojinov got the ball in the middle, but this time he made an even more ridiculous shot than the previous one.
In the 64th minute Kosović shot, it was too high.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Here came a period when we attacked continuously. We shot almost in every minute to the goal, but every single attempt was imprecious, too wide or too high. Mihajlović tried, Stevanović (he had numerous attempts), Saša Ilić, but all were in vain. The goalkeeper had to throw himself into the way only at Saša Ilić’s shot.
Spartak left nothing to chance. They didn't leave the bunker, they blocked most of our attempts and we just couldn't break through them.

Spartak was playing only with 10 players. Just sayin'.

They came up to our penalty area in the 84th minute, but they just showed themselves, without any actual attempt.
We kept on attacking, lacking every idea. In the 85th minute Bojinov had another try, but this time the goalkeeper had a giant save by leg. A minute later Vlahović got a pass, but he couldn’t make any attempt out of it.  The tense grew bigger and bigger on the field, players were yelling with each other, disappointed fans were shouting louder and louder. Spartak-players did everything to keep us away from the goal, and we, well, we were just fumbling.
We got a free kick in the very last minute, 30 minutes from the goal line, but defenders headed Bojinov’s shot downfield.
It was high time for the final whistle.
Return match will be held on 20th April.

Highlights:

Update: here is SOS Kanal's 27-minute-long footage about the match. (Only for masochists.)

Facts:
Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 1500
Referee: Milan Ilić (assistants: Vladimir Jovanović, Ivica Stojanović - 4th assistant: Bojan Jovanović - goal line assistant: Bojan Nikolić, Petar Piper)

FK Partizan: Kljajić, Bandalovski, Gogoua, Jovanović (Golubović, 85.), Bogosavac, Jevtović (Bojinov, 46.), Brašanac (Vlahović, 79.), Kosović, Mihajlović, A. Stevanović, Saša Ilić
Head coach: Ivan Tomić

Spartak Subotica: Mirković, Jočić, Kovačević, Torbica, Mrkela (Ivanović, 55.), Milošević, Novaković (Jondić, 46.), Milić (Branković, 68.), Antonić, Šljivić, Tumbasević
Head coach: Andrei Chernishov

Yellow card: Antonić (32.), Šljivić (33), Stevanović (70.), Branković (90+3.)
Red card: Tumbasević (44.) - fighting

FK Partizan - Borac 2:1 (Jelen SuperLiga, Round 22 - last round of the autumn season)

First, a big thank you to this Youtube-channel for uploading the entire game. Yesterday the devil of technology killed me. For unknown reason the speed of my net connection was below zero, for this reason all streams were unwatchable. Even Partizan’s official live score text page was unavailable sometimes.

I would have terminated the contract with the current provider long ago, if I hadn’t hated so much to fight with customer service idiots, whose IQ-level is equal to square root two, not mentioning the disgusting tricks of local service providers, that are quite common over here. But if all goes well, this current state won’t last too long anymore.

A big high five (into the face, possibly with a pool table) to all those who decided to put the last round of the autumn season to weekday, well, generally for organizing the time-table of this season to end it on Wednesday instead of week-end.
Partizan played this game behind closed doors. We got this punishment after the game against Vojvodina, when the referee was overly sensitive towards fan chants and almost surely cried a river about it at FSS.

The team warmed up in front of empty stands

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Borac attacked right in the first minute from the left, Fabricio blocked it. In the 3rd minute we got a free kick, 25 metres from the goal line. Fabricio shot it, it wasn't too high, the ball dropped right into the goalkeeper's hands.

Darko Brašanac was Partizan’s team captain

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

The 6th minute brought another Borac-attack. The attacker crossed from the left to the other side of the field. The ball rolled out of the sideline. Throw-in, the ball dropped to Mićić, he shot, it was rather imprecise. Kljajić caught it.
A minute later Jovanović passed the ball forward on the left. Someone from Borac’s attackers shot, it was a weak one. It caused no headache for Kljajić.
It was visible even at this point that Partizan again has barely any ideas about how and what to play. There was again nothing but fumbling and clueless passing of the ball here and there. Borac used the tactics of full-field press, which rather confused Partizan’s players. Finally, in the 10th minute Aboubakar got the ball. He forwarded it to Lukić, Lukić, well, nobody knows whom he wanted to cross or shoot to, nevertheless the ball rolled fast to the left side. Leković sped up, he could still catch it and crossed it to the middle. Bojinov headed it, it was too wide.

It was so wide it caused actual physical pain.

In the 11th minute Lukić got the ball. He ran up, shot, it was too wide. Way too wide.
After the first 15 minutes it was also visible that it will be a very crappy match that stinks from sweat. Both teams pressed hard, but with no shoot, not even any attempt.

As an extra, for some odd reason Aboubakar has the tendency to slip over the ball at least once at every game, mostly in the middle of an attack. i don’t know how it’s possible... I’ll be honest, I’m not too fond of the Cameroonian, I find him a one-dimensional player (he does what he is asked for, but nothing more, also nothing less, bit like a robot), and after such moments his reputation gets even lower in my eyes.

In the 17th minute Jovančić sent an excellent pass to Knežević. Knežević ran up, Kljajić bursted out of the goalmouth. He clashed with Knežević, Knežević tripped and fell, but the referee didn’t whistle. On the other side Milan Jevtović arrived and shot the ball right into the net. 0:1
Bojinov broke the remainings of my nerve cells. I have never seen such a slow, sluggish striker ever in my whole life. All defenders tackle him any time, he is too slow for passes and crosses, he misses out countless chances and attempts and he is not a team player either. As for talent... well, it was probably not available at that area where he is from. Off the field he is a terribly stupid monkey who has darkness in his head and spends his time showing off at social network sites. Had he invested just half of that energy into goal-shooting as he invests into his haircut and posting brainless photos on Instagram, we would be much more ahead.

To all those who got shocked on my words now, also to all Bojinov-fangirls and fanboys: on one hand, I couldn’t care less for you being butthurt. On the other, knowing that this poser came to Partizan, because nobody else wanted to sign him, and even Partizan signed him only because they didn’t have to pay for him a cent, well, knowing this you can shut the fuck up. (You can look at his career, he spent most of his time in the reverse team at every club, while he was literally kicked out of Sporting like a leper.)
All those who dare to whine now something like "oh, but he scores goals, why are you so rude to him": that’s his job, idiots. He is a striker. That’s why he gets his money, that’s why he was brought here. The problem is that he’s doing everything but scoring goals the way he should.

Partizan was struggling ahead. The team had XXL-sized piles for now, but we still lacked ideas about how and what to do. As for attempts, there was none, not even just to demonstrate we’re still trying.
In the 21st minute Leković got the ball. He crossed it to Aboubakar in the middle, he shot, it was brutally high.
In the 29th minute Bandalovski could make it to the penalty area at long last. Well, in fact it wasn’t even an attempt, it was just some trying, but at least something happened. The goalkeeper nevertheless caught the ball, though he absolutely didn’t have to exert himself.
A minute later Andrija Živković dribbled himself into the penalty area, he shoot, the defenders blocked, corner kick.

This was the first corner kick of the game. It says everything about the level that there were only 3 corner kicks during the entire game (2 for Partizan, 1 for Borac).

In the 38th minute Lukić got the ball on the left and forwarded it to Petrović. Petrović crossed to Brašanac, Brašanac sent it forward to Andrija Živković at the other side. Žile most probably got fed up with the general fumbling, he shot and the ball dropped into the net. 1:1

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

In the 40th minute Aboubakar got the ball on the left. He ran up, crossed to the middle. Guess, who was there? Bojinov. Guess, what he did? He successfully kicked the ball right into the goalkeeper from 2 centimetres.
Finally, in the 43rd minute Knežević had a sudden, distant shot from the left. Kljajić had a great save, the ball rolled out, corner kick. The kick was headed too high by Vujaklija.
In the second half the level of the game was just the same as in the first one. The only change was that Brašanac was substituted, Andrija Živković was wearing the captain’s armband in the second half.

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

Do you know that feeling when a match is such a crap that it causes physical pain and you countdown the minutes on how much you have left?
Well, this match was just this kind.
The first event to mention happened in the 58th minute. We lost the ball, Mićić grabbed it, he forwarded it with a long pass, no flag up, Knežević ran up, he shot, it was too high.
In the 63rd minute Aboubakar ran up with the ball in the middle. He crossed it out to the Young Captain, who dribbled into the penalty area. Defenders immediately surrounded him, so he passed the ball back to Aboubakar. Aboubakar shot, the goalkeeper had a great save.
A minute later Leković ran up on the left. At the penalty area he crossed to the middle, Bojinov arrived, all doors and windows were open, the Bulgarian shot, too wide.
In the 66th minute Lukić crossed to Andrija Živković. Živković shot from 17 metres, too high.

It was more and more like a torture.

In the 77th minute Grbić passed to Andrija Živković. Živković dribbled himself up, then shot from a sharp angle. The defenders cleared, but they all surely had a cardial arrest.
In the 81st minute Kosović forwarded the ball to Lukić with a soft, excellent pass. Lukić ran up, shot, the goalkeeper had a great save. The ball dropped to Andrija Živković, he shot, too wide.
In the 83rd minute Kosović got the ball. He ran up on the right, crossed to the middle, where Bojinov shot the ball into a defender.
A minute later Stevanović forwarded the ball to Bojinov. Bojinov had great luck this time, because defenders were all behind, he couldn’t kick the ball into anyone. This way he could ran up to the penalty area and shot the ball into the net by the falling goalkeeper. 2:1

If I saw it well, Baldhead ran out to the sideline right after his goal and hugged Vazura.
Please, tell me, that I didn’t see it well, I don’t want to throw up.

For the rest of the game, Stevanović broke the record of "shortest time of getting two yellow cards and clear off the field". Stevanović made it within 3 minutes. (First yellow card: 89th minute, second yellow card: 90+2nd minute.)
I swear, it’s high time for the end of the season.

Highlights:

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: -
Referee: Vlado Glođović (assistants: Dejan Petrović, Matija Olajos-Nagy - 4th assistant: Srđan Kaurin - goal line assistants: Novak Simović, Róbert Kis-Csepegi)

FK Partizan: Kljajić - Bandalovski, Ćirković (Grbić, 46.), Fabricio, Leković - Petrović, Lukić - A. Živković, Brašanac (Kosović, 46.), Aboubakar (Stevanović, 69.) - Bojinov
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

Borac: Bajić - Đorđević, Drašković, Tanasin, S. Živković - Mićić (Obradović, 67.), Jovančić - Milan Jevtović, Vukmirović (Milojević, 86.), Knežević - Vujaklija (Đerić, 71.)
Head coach: Milorad Kosanović

Goal scorers: Milan Jevtović (17.), A. Živković (38.), Bojinov (84.)
Yellow card: Milan Jevtović (34.), Vukmirović (40.), Grbić (50.), Mićić (59.), Lukić (73.), Petrović (86.), Stevanović (89.)
Red card: Stevanović (90+2., second yellow card)

End result of the autumn season:
1. CZ 62 points
2. Čukarički 37 points
3. Borac 37 points
4. Partizan 36 points
5. Vojvodina 35 points
6. Radnički Niš 32 points
7. Mladost 31 points
8. Javor 30 points
9. FK Voždovac 29 points
10. Surdulica 27 points
11. Metalac 24 points
12. Novi Pazar 24 points
13. OFK Beograd 19 points
14. Jagodina 19 points
15. Rad 16 points
16. Spartak Zlatibor Voda 15 points

FK Partizan - Augsburg 1:3 (UEFA Europa League)

It’s just fucking hard now.
I can’t find the words. It just doesn’t work. Even if I deliberately slept it over.
What the hell could one say about it?...
The qualifying to the 1/16 final was in an arm’s length away. We were just an arm’s length away from Europe... and we couldn’t.
It was told before the match, the Germans need a 3:1 victory to qualify. For us even a 0:0 draw would have been enough.
And what was the result of this game?... 3:1 to Augsburg.
If I was about to make conspiracy theories, I’d say, the goddamned UEFA by default didn’t want Partizan to qualify, that’s why they sent here this lousy, cat-eater Italian, who refereed the game as it must have never been refereed. It was clear, even from distance that he hated to be there, he hated Partizan and wished to be as far from here as possible.

German fans set the tribune on fire before the game...

(photo: Twitter)

...Grave Diggers’ answer was this...

(photo: hotsport.rs)

(photo: hotsport.rs)

...and this

(photo: Twitter)

Partizan’s water polo team were on the tribune, they came to support the football players

(photo: waterpolopartizan.rs)

The start of the game

(photo: hotsport.rs)

Partizan’s starting 11

(photo: Facebook/Fudbalski klub Partizan)

You can see, Saša Ilić was not in the starting eleven.
Saša Ilić stayed on the bench for the entire game, he didn’t play even for a minute.
This wasn’t the only hair-raising anomaly in this match though.
We attacked right in the first minute. Andrija Živković crossed from the right, the goalkeeper caught it. Augsburg had a counter-attack, a player had a distant shot to our goal, it was way too high.
We were still in the 2nd minute, Andrija Živković got the ball on the right side. He made a row of fantastic dribbles, but the defenders kicked him on the ground. Free kick, from the line of the penalty area. Defenders headed it out, corner-kick.
In the 7th minute Bobadilla had a sudden, distant shot to our goal, but it was too high.
Then in the 11th minute Aboubakar got a fantastic pass. He ran up all alone, then shot and scored a giant goal. A-BOOM-bakar!!! 1:0!!! WE ARE LEADING!!!!

(photos: hotsport.rs)

This goal made Augsburg collapse. Even though they had two attempts after this, one in the 17th, the other in the 21st minute, but both avoided our goal. (First Stafylidis had a too high shot, then Trochowski attempted, but a leg appeared out of the blue and touched the ball, making the shot too wide.)
Then came the referee.
In the 22nd minute he whistled off a non-existing foul. Ninković tackled the German player arriving on the right. Džigi made it absolutely perfectly, even the slow motion replay confirmed it, but the referee ruthlessly gave a free kick to Augsburg. Our defenders headed it downfield, Andrija Živković could run up with an amazing dribble, just he gave himself a way too long pass.
Two minutes later Aboubakar sent a great cross from the right. Brašanac headed it to the goal, the goalkeeper saved. A minute later again Aboubakar passed the ball, now to Andrija Živković. Žile ran up, dribbled, then shot, the goalkeeper saved this one, too. Another minute later Brašanac headed upfield in the middle, crossed to Andrija Živković. Živković shot, it ended with a corner-kick.
In the 32nd minute Stafylidis had again a weak attempt, then almost immediately Janker brutally kicked Subić to the ground inside our penalty area. Subić was laying on the ground for long, finally he could stand up and continue playing - the referee didn’t whistle, there was no yellow card or any other retortion.
In the 34th minute again Stafylidis crossed from the right. It was very dangerous, Callsen-Bracker jumped up for the ball, Živko Živković had a great save.
In the 37th minute Callsen-Bracker fell on the ground after Ninković invalidated him. The German played "the dying swan", it took long minutes while the medicals picked his pieces together and carried him off the field. The game was on halt

by the way, the referee’s duty would be here to send everyone off the field, injured as well as medicals to continue giving assistance near the sideline, out of the field, so that teams can continue the game, wouldn’t it?

Then Partizan played defensive for quite a while. We were at the very end of the first half, playing the minutes of extra time, when the referee again stepped out of the dark. He gave a yellow card to Andrija Živković for a non-existing foul

he and Bandalovski were wrestling with an Augsburg-player at the sideline, then the guest player fell on the ground, the referee whistled it off, but I swear, my impression was that this rotten cat-eater guido was deliberately seeking for the chance to kill Živković

as well as a free kick for the Germans. The kick was headed to our net by Hong - it looked as if the ball dropped even on Živko Živković’s hand, but there was a too big goalmouth scramble, I’m not sure if I could see it clearly. 1:1

Živko Živković’s desperate face as he watches the ball dropping into the net

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The second half started with a German attempt. Trochowski shot, luckily a foot touched the ball, so it could avoid our net (it would have been most probably another goal otherwise). Thankfully the referee didn’t notice the foot, which almost surely belonged to a Partizan-player and whistled for goal-kick.
In the 50th minute Andrija Živković ran upfield and passed to Aboubakar. The Cameroonian dribbled, then he was kicked to the ground. (No, the referee didn’t whistle.)
A minute later it was 1:2.
I swear on anything that it was from offside, but there was no flag up. A very long pass came from deep, Dutch player Verhaegh jumped out and scored. (You can watch it here, if you have the heart for it.)
In the 52nd minute we got a free kick at the corner of Augsburg’s penalty area. Andrija Živković shot, the goalkeeper saved.
In the 56th minute Bobadilla crossed to the other side of our penalty area, to Ji. The Korean headed it to our goal line, Živko Živković saved. A minute later Aboubakar sent a big pass to Brašanac. Brašanac ran up, made a huge solo, fought himself through the defenders, then shot, the goalkeeper saved it. In the 60th minute again Aboubakar got the ball and passed to Ninković. Ninković ran up, dribbled, shot, it was too wide.

My nerves were wrecked way before the game. At this point I was in a catatonia, laying on the floor. I didn’t even have the strength to cry for a defibrillator. And the end was still way too far.

In the 61st minute Trochowski had a sudden, distant shot, Živko Živković had a great save.

Why does Živković have to stay on the bench?... Don’t take me wrong, I have nothing against Kljajić, he is skilled and talented, but Živković have these cat-alike reflexes. Just because someone had this idea that he made too many mistakes earlier?... Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is always the easiest to blame the goalkeeper for lost games. Kljajić is a great player, but he may need a bit more time to mature...

In the 69th minute a cross came from the left, Živko Živković caught it.
In the 71st minute we got a free kick, from about 25 metres. Andrija Živković shot, Ćirković headed it to the goal, it was a great movement, but the referee whistled it off, for him it was offside.
In the 73rd minute Ninković sent a distant, amazing cannon shot to the goal. The ball hit the crossbar and dropped to Andrija Živković. Živković shot, it was too wide.
In the 77th minute Živko Živković had a GIANT save with his leg (!!!). Earlier a Partizan-player was kicked to the ground again, the referee didn’t whistle again, even though our player stayed laying on the field. Brazilian player Caiuby ran up and shot, Živko Živković saved not just the goal line, but also fans from another heart attack.

We had quite a few of them during the game...

In the 79th minute we played "pinball football" on Augsburg’s half, passing the ball very quickly among each other, finally the ball dropped to Ninković. Ninković ran up on the left side, dribbled and shot, just barely missing the goal.
And here the referee sent off Andrija Živković.
The reason was simple, Žile touched the ball with his hand, and he already had a yellow card. He had to leave the field.

You rotten mafioso idiot referee, I hope you’re satisfied that you could turn off Partizan’s best player...

After this Andrija Živković was watching the game standing at the tunnel

(photo: mondo.rs)

In the 88th minute Brašanac got a fantastic pass. He run up all alone in the middle, shot, it was too high.

(photo: hotsport.rs)

The 89th minute brought the coup de grace.
Augsburg attacked, with the usual goalmouth scramble. Suddenly Caiuby headed the ball to Bobadilla. The Paraguayan had nothing else to do than walk into the net with it. He did so. 1:3
That was the end.
End of the game, end of all hopes.

(photos: hotsport.rs)

Here is a video about the moments right after the final whistle. It says more than any words.

I won’t put any video highlights here. Sorry. On one hand UEFA blocked all videos, as usual, on the other I just have no heart for that. If you want to see it, you can search for it, you’ll surely find it uploaded, if not else, then the goals.

Here I’d like to take the opportunity to congratulate Lazar Marković and Petar Škuletić that their teams (Fenerbahce and Lokomotiv Moscow) qualified to the 1/16 final of the Europa League. An extra high five to Markec for his fantastic goal.

After the game hell broke loose. Head coach Ljubinko Drulović plain and simply didn’t go to the post-match press conference. A few journalists could catch him as he tried to sneak out - he said something to them that he had a very important discussion with Iliev, that’s why he didn’t take part at the conference, then he disappeared.

WTF?... How?... And why?... It’s just impossible that the head coach deliberately misses out the press conference. No matter how many goals we get, no matter how deep is the shit we are in, the head coach must stand out and talk to the press. Responsibility, my ass...

After this even crazier rumours started to circulate. B92 talked about the entire Partizan-presidency resigning after the match. Though they added, these news are not confirmed. Unfortunately they are still not.

Rumours speak about raging Partizan-fans surrounding the club’s headquarters, demanding the resigning of the leadership. Press says the presidency collapsed for this heavy pressure and resigned. It smells a bit like Njuz.net, but if it really happens so, I’ll celebrate with champagne.

Facts:

Venue: Partizan Stadion, Belgrade
Number of spectators: 20 000
Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (assistants: Alessandro Giallatini, Matteo Passeri - 4th assistant: Filippo Melli - goal line assistants: Marco Guida, Andrea Gervasoni) - ITA

FK Partizan: Ž. Živković - Bandalovski, Ćirković, Fabricio, Subić (Petrović, 64.) - Brašanac - A. Živković, Babović, Jevtović, Ninković (Grbić, 83.) - Aboubakar
Head coach: Ljubinko Drulović

FC Augsburg: Hitz - Verhaegh, Janker, Callsen-Bracker (Hong, 40.), Stafylidis (Max, 80.) - Koo (Caiuby, 60.), Baier, Trochowski, Ji - Bobadilla, Matavz
Head coach: Markus Weinzierl

Goal scorers: Aboubakar (11.), Hong (45+1.), Verhaegh (51.), Bobadilla (89.)
Yellow card: Ninković (36.), A. Živković (45+1), Bobadilla (90.)
Red card: A. Živković (80. - second yellow card)