The veterans and former star players of Bregalnica and Crvena zvezda will play a friendly game in Shtip in honor of legendary player Dragoslav Šekularac.
79-year-old Šeki was born in Shtip back in 1937 to a Montenegrin father a Macedonian mother. He didn’t spent much time in Macedonia because as an infant his family moved to Belgrade where his father got a decent job, but he often visited during the summer to spend time with his grandfather and grandmother. “My uncle Nikola Markovski passed on his passion for football. I am happy that when I became a big name in football world, the residents of Stip proudly pointed I was born there and that my mother was Macedonian.” – he told Dnevnik. So he never played for Bregalnica but became a legend of the city of Shtip not only because of his football career, but also because he was a showman and was one of the most popular persons in former Yugoslavia in the 1960s.
On Saturday, June the 3rd, a monument will be unraveled in Shtip in his honor. It is a modern art made by local author Metodi Andonov. Later at 17.30 at the Gradski stadium the veterans of both Bregalnica, the club of his place of birth, and Crvena zvezda, the club where he spent 15 years, will play a friendly match. Of course, Dragoslav will be present.
It’s not the first time an event like this to be played in his honor in Shtip. When he retired from his active playing career he organized his farewell match at the same venue in Shtip on September 20 1978. The home crowd enjoyed as he brought the star players of that time, the likes of Eusebio, Edu, Rildo, Molina, Dragan Džajić, Anđelko Tešan, Slobodan Santrač, Nikica Klincharski, Rade Zalad and others.
From left: Eusebio, Džajić and Šekularac during the game
Now a younger generation will play in his honor. Crvena zvezda will come with Milenko Ačimovič, Stanislav Karasi, Miloš Šestić, Zdravko Borovnica, Dušan Savić, Vladimir Petrović “Pižon”, Nedeljko Milosavljević, as well as the Macedonians that left a mark in this giant such as brothers Milko and Boshko Gjurovski, Dragi Kanatlarovski “Capar”, Mitko Stojkovski, Dragan Hristovski, Gjore Jovanovski, Ilija Najdoski, and of course Darko Panchev.
Hosts Bregalnica will play with Stojan Arsov, Nikola Shteriev, Stojan Shumanski, Gordan Zdravkov, Goce Aleksovski, Mihail Charshavski, Risto Bozhinov, Stojan Ikonomov, Vlatko Kostov, Dragi Eftimov, Vasil Kocev, Mijalche Madjunarov, Pane Blazhevski, Boris Cekov, Atanas Kostov, Riste Milosavov, Ljupcho Lazarov, Mite Georgiev, Marjan Nikolov, Vlado Ristov, Ilcho Borov, Trajan Ivanov, Nikola Kuzmanov, Trajche Senev, Gjorgji Trkaljinov, Tode Mitev, Sashe Tasevski, Stanislav Cekić, Kocho Atanasovski, Kire Gerasimov, Stevo Iliev, Aleksandar Marikj, Zoran Petrov, Metodi Paparov, Stojan Stanoevski, Trajan Ivanov, Pande Bogoev and Mite Andonov, while Mirko Nadjakov and Stojan Kocev will be coaches.
Special guest of the manifestation will be former Crvena zvezda player and later coach of Bregalnica, 73-year-old Kiril Dojchinovski.
Šekularac is the second person to be awarded the Star of Crvena zvezda as a person who made a major impact on the club’s history. He also featured for the national team of Yugoslavia and played at 2 World Cups (1958 and 1962), one Summer Olympic tournament (1956) and one EURO (1960).