The National Theater, the temple of Serbian culture, hosted the closing ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Football Federation of Serbia and the awarding of the annual FSS „Golden Ball of Serbia“ awards to the best footballer, soccer player and best coach in 2019.
Alexander Cheferrin, UEFA first man, welcomed President Slavisa Kokez and congratulated the FSS on its anniversary…
- Dear Slavisa, dear John, dear friends, I am extremely excited to celebrate 100 years of FSS with you. Serbia has always been a land of football, sports and great players, a land of great emotions, an inexhaustible nursery of talents. There is no football country in the world that does not know about your players and coaches. You’ve always been known for football virtuosos. How was all this possible? Because of his work in clubs and in the Football Association. At the beginning of the 20th century, clubs such as Backa, Sumadija… laid the foundation for football in this area. Of course, no story can pass without the Partizan and Red Star clubs, finalists and Champions Cup winners. The passion of this derby has long gone beyond the borders of the country. Only real football countries have a derby like yours. I cannot emphasize all the deserving right now, but I will take the opportunity to mention Slavisa Kokez and Tomislav Karadzic for everything they have done and of course, Zoran Lakovic, my UEFI associate. Believe you have a strong ambassador in Switzerland. And I would like to mention the players who conveyed the glory of football, but it would take me another 100 years… I will just mention a few names, no one will mind me… Mosha and Tirke, Rajko and Stjepan Bobek, Bora Kostic, Sukularac, Vasovic, Milutinovic, Curkovic, Dzajic, Pizon, Piksi Stojkovic, Mihajlovic, Jugovic, Stankovic, Vidic, Ivanovic, Kolarov, Matic, Tadic… Then the big coaching names… Boskov, Miljan Miljanic, Radomir Antic… And the results are a story in themselves. You miss one contest, though. And that is the European Championship. And as president of UEFA I say to you – we are waiting for you. You have the knowledge, you need the luck too, but luck follows the brave. There is a barrage ahead of you and I want you to succeed. Happy jubilee and long live Serbian football – said UEFA President Alexander Cheferin, who presented the special recognition of UEFA to FSS President Slavisa Kokeza.
