NK Čelik Zenica

Čelik Zenica

Full name	Nogometni klub Čelik Zenica
Nickname(s)	Crno-crveni (The Black-Reds) Starac (The Old Man)
Founded	16 June 1945; 79 years ago (1945-06-16)
Ground	Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica
Capacity	15,293
Chairman	Denis Mušović
Manager	Dženan Zaimović
League	First League of FBiH
2023–24	First League of FBiH, 4th of 16
Website	http://www.nkcelik.ba/
Home colours Away colours

Nogometni klub Čelik Zenica (English: Football Club Čelik Zenica) is a professional football club based in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name Čelik means Steel in Bosnian and it symbolizes the strength and power of the club in an industrial city well known for steel production. Throughout its history, the club has been known for the excellent support of its fans at its Bilino Polje Stadium which hosts the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team.

NK Čelik is one of the most prominent and successful football teams in Bosnia and Herzegovina being one of only two Bosnian clubs to win the national championship three consecutive seasons (1994 to 1997). The club also won consecutive national cups in 1995 and 1996. During the time of the former Yugoslavia, Čelik had played 17 seasons in the Yugoslav First League. Čelik won the Mitropa Cup two times, and was once a joint winner of the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

In addition, Čelik is the only fan-owned football club in Bosnia and Herzegovina where club members democratically elect its leadership.^[1]

Today, Čelik is active in the First League of FBiH, having previously played in the Bosnian Premier League before getting relegated in the 2019–20 season.^[2] In order to stabilise the club due to financial difficulties, its General Assembly voted to continue competing in the fourth tier-League of Zenica-Doboj Canton on 13 July 2020.^[3]

The club had been founded on 16 June 1945 by a group of World War II veterans. The name of the club had been proposed by one of the founders, Zdenko Mazanek, to symbolize the strength of the club and its link to the workers of the city's metallurgic industry.^[4]

Over the years, the club developed a strong identification with its hometown, Zenica, becoming one of its symbols. The club has produced many important international players including Elvir Bolić, Mirsad Hibić and Mladen Krstajić.

Čelik plays their home games at the Bilino Polje stadium which is also the biggest stadium in the city. Over the years the club had changed four different stadiums settling at their current ground in 1972.

During the first few years of the club's existence, following World War II, Čelik's stadium was located roughly on the place of the current Bilino Polje stadium, close to the Bosna river. The ground was covered in clay, as was the practice of lower-level football grounds at the time. The stadium itself had one wooden stand which was built over time and the club often played in front of full capacity.

However, due to the increased popularity of the club and the need for a better surface, during the early 1950s the club moved to the nearby Stadion Blatuša which was located in the Blatuša neighborhood of Zenica. It was there that Čelik started its first run of successes when they had reached promotion to the Yugoslav First League in 1966 and won the Mitropa Cup in 1971 (the final was played on neutral ground in Gorizia, Italy^[5]).

Shortly after the first Mitropa Cup victory, plans were made for a new, modern stadium, built in place of Čelik's first stadium. The construction took 8 months to complete and it was officially opened on 4 October 1972 for the second leg of the 1972 Mitropa Cup final when Fiorentina would unsuccessfully contest the 1971 title holder Čelik, 1–0. The attendance record of 35,000 still stands today due to the introduction of seats on the stadium over the years. The stadium went through a number of renovations and reconstructions, the most recent being in 2012.

From July to August 2012, the stadium went through another renovation where the pitch had been changed with under-soil heating installed. During the renovation, Čelik played two Bosnian Premier League matches as well as one Bosnian Cup match on the Stadion Kamberovića Polje, winning all of them. In the second part of the same season, the club played one more game there which ended in a draw.

The youth squads of Čelik usually play their games at the smaller stadium Kamberovića Polje.

The ultras supporter group of Čelik, established in 1988 in Zenica, is called Robijaši (The Convicts in English) because Zenica is famous for its prison. Widely known for their fanatic support, they have been fighting to preserve the club and support it through difficult financial times.^[6]

• First League of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Winners (3): 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97
• Second League of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
  • Winners (1): 2022–23 (center)
• Yugoslav Second League:
  • Winners (4): 1965–66 (west), 1978–79 (west), 1982–83 (west), 1984–85 (west)

• Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1994–95, 1995–96
  • Runners-up (2): 2010–11, 2013–14

• Intertoto Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1975 (group 10)
• Mitropa Cup:
  • Winners (2): 1970–71, 1971–72
  • Runners-up (2): 1972–73, 1979–80

As of match played 11 June 2023.

P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goals difference. Defunct competitions indicated in italics.

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Agg.
2001	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Denizlispor	1–0	5–3	6–3
		2R	Gent	1–0	0–2	1–2
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	1R	Grbalj	3–2	1–2	4–4 (a)

As of 6 September 2024^[7]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  BIH Faris Karić 2 DF  BIH Faris Bajramović 3 DF  BIH Amer Hodžić 4 DF  BIH Kenan Horić 5 MF  BIH Harun Vardo 6 DF  BIH Amar Jusić 7 MF  BIH Emrah Palačkić 8 FW  BIH Ali Međuseljac 9 DF  BIH Aladin Isaković 11 FW  BIH Hamza Martinović 14 FW  BIH Anes Mašić 15 FW  BIH Marin Popović

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 DF  CRO Lovro Musa 17 FW  BIH Arman Džanković 18 FW  BIH Benjamin Ahmetspahić 19 DF  BIH Nedim Smajlović 20 MF  BIH Talha Tabaković 21 MF  BIH Mirza Prguda (on loan from Novi Pazar) 22 DF  SRB Nenad Rašević 23 GK  BIH Adi Durmo (Captain) 24 MF  BIH Bakir Bašić 25 MF  BIH Danis Tolja 29 DF  BIH Afan Ibraković — FW  BIH Hanan Baručija

Position	Staff
Head coach	Dženan Zaimović
Assistent coach	Ervin Zukanović
Goalkeeping coach	Vacant
Physiotherapist	Albin Mašić

Chairman of the board	Denis Mušović
Head coach	Dženan Zaimović

Source: NK Čelik Zenica at sportsport.ba

Dates	Name	Honours
1970–1971	Dušan Varagić	1970–71 Mitropa Cup
1971–1972	Midhat Mujkić	1971–72 Mitropa Cup
1974–1975	Marcel Žigante	1975 Intertoto Cup (Joint Winner)
1992–1996	Nermin Hadžiahmetović	1994–95 Bosnian Championship 1994–95 Bosnian Cup 1995–96 Bosnian Championship 1995–96 Bosnian Cup
1996–1997	Kemal Hafizović	1996–97 Bosnian Championship

Wikimedia Commons has media related to NK Čelik.

• NK Čelik Zenica on Facebook
• Čelik at UEFA.com