FK Radnicki 1923

Early years

The club was formed in 1923 during an assembly in a restaurant in Kragujevac under the name Mladi Radnik (Young Labourers). Aleksandar Ratković was its first president. The first match that Mladi Radnik played was a 2–0 away loss to local side SK Triglav. On 16 August 1925, they played host to SK Radnički Beograd in a match where the visitors eventually won 5–0. One week later, Mladi Radnik won their first match against Radnički Niš 7–1.

In 1929, Mladi Radnik changed its name to Radnički, an adjective invoking labour and workers in Serbian, as its roots come from the relation the club had with labour movements during the first half of the 20th century.

The club's stature and significance began increasing from 1933. It got its own stadium in 1935, and the first match at the new stadium was played on 18 August 1935, against local rivals Slavija, which was won by 1–0 and the first goal scored Jeremija Nikolić. At that time the club had also a number of international matches. Radnički was in the prewar years of the World War II host of teams like Olympique Marseille, Ferencváros and Honvéd Budapest, Rapid Wien and some others. The club competed in the highest league of the Kragujevac Football Subassociation which gave access to the qualifiers for the Yugoslav Championship. Radnički won the Subassociation league in 1934, 1935, 1938 and 1939, however it only managed to qualify once to the national league, in the 1935–36 season. They had a fierce rivalry with FK Šumadija 1903 in this period.

Tragic days (1941–1944)

During World War II, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded and partitioned by the Axis powers, and Kragujevac were occupied by Nazi Germany and underwent a number of tragic days during the war. The local population was suppressed and many Serbian civilians, as well as Roma and Jews, were murdered or have perished in concentration camps. Radnički lost during the war numerous players, club officials and a whole generation of club supporters. Therefore, comes mainly the especially deep-rooted antifascist attitude of the city, the club and its supporters. To commemorate the victims of the massacre, the whole village of Šumarice, where the killings took place, was turned into a memorial park, called Šumarice Memorial Park. The Museum of Genocide in Kragujevac is located not so far from Radnički's stadium. After the liberation of Kragujevac in 1944, the club continued to develop.

1946–1970

In 1946, Radnički played against Red Star Belgrade for membership of the newly created Yugoslav First League. There were so many fans that the City Stadium was too small to accommodate all visitors. Then, the city and the club decided to build a new stadium. After eight years of construction, the new stadium was ready to be opened. The official opening took place on 6 June, in 1957, against Partizan Belgrade and ended with 2–2. In 1969, Radnički was promoted for the first time to the Yugoslav First League after beating Sutjeska Nikšić and FK Crvenka in the play-offs. During the season, Radnički had a great 4–1 victory over Partizan Belgrade at JNA Stadium. On this 7 September, in 1969, the Radnički fans support their team particularly fanatical. The atmosphere was so fantastic that it was compared with the atmosphere at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester (statements from local and foreign journalists and opponents). On this day the Radnički fans and the club were given the nickname Crveni Đavoli (English: Red Devils), after the nickname for Manchester United. After that game, the Brazilian football giant FC Santos with the legendary Pelé was so impressed by the atmosphere, instead of the friendly game against Partizan, they drove to Kragujevac and played against Radnički. They were not disappointed. 40,000 spectators were in the Čika Dača Stadium and around the stadium were a further seven to eight thousand enthusiastic fans. Radnički achieved in a legendary atmosphere a 4–4 draw. At the end of the domestic championship, Radnički was 15th in their first top league season and the survival was ensured on the last round with a victory over Vojvodina by 1–0.

1971–1976

The 1971, Radnički finished the season as 17th and narrowly avoided the relegation. The following 1971/72 season, the club returned to the Yugoslav Second League. However, the return to the first league is not a long time coming. Radnički managed to get back among the best teams of the former Yugoslavia and to play two more seasons in the top division, before they went at the end of the 1975/76 season the way to the second division. Then comes the drought period of the club for two decades.

1998–present

Since the relegation in 1976, the club was no longer member of the top division. The civil war during the 90s (1992–1995), the inflation and the UN sanctions have hit the state and his population hard. The club relegated even several times in the third league, but the final return in the first league occurred in 1998. It followed the longest period in the first division, in total for four seasons, before they went at the end of the 2001/02 season again the way to the second division. In 2010, FK Šumadija Radnički 1923 was a short lived name of the club during the 2009/10 season after the fusion with FK Šumadija 1903. The old name Radnički was returned and changed to Radnički Kragujevac. However, 2010 marked a turning point for the club, which achieved the promotion, and returning to the top flight, the Serbian SuperLiga, in 2011, where it remained until nowadays.