FK JRV Naša krila (Serbian Cyrillic:Наша крила; lit. "Our Wings"; commonly referred to asNaša krila Zemun or justNaša Krila) was a short-lived Yugoslavfootball club established in 1947 as a section of the eponymoussports society affiliated with theYugoslav Air Force (JRV). Based inZemun,SR Serbia, the club acted as the Air Force's official team, and relied on players serving theirmandatory military service with the branch, also headquartered at Zemun.
Despite being active for only a few years, before being disbanded in 1950, the club was very successful in domestic football during its existence. In their first competitive season in 1947–48 they won promotion to Yugoslavia's top league, and went on to finish fifth in the1948–49 and sixth in1950. They also reached twoMarshal Tito Cup finals (1947, 1949) and one semi-final (1948).
The club was formed by theYugoslav Air Force soon after the end ofWorld War II. The club's name, which translates fromSerbo-Croatian as "Our Wings", was inspired by the pre-war magazine of the same title published by the Yugoslav Royal Aero Club. In April 1948, during the existence of the sports club, the civilian aeronautical association was re-established as the Aeronautical Union of Yugoslavia (VSJ), which also re-launched the magazine.
The club's logo featured an eagle with wings spread positioned atop thefive-torch emblem of Yugoslavia, with alaurel wreath in the background and a redfive-pointed star on top. During its existence, the club featured players who were serving their mandatory military service in the Air Force—some of these had already been established professional footballers before 1945, while others were young prospects who have never played professional football before. The club used the Air Force's own ground inZemun to host matches, although they occasionally hosted some of their bigger games at larger stadiums in Belgrade.
Since its establishment in mid-1947, Naša Krila competed in the Yugoslav league system. Just like a similar club formed around the same time by theYugoslav Navy (JRM),NK Mornar Split, the club first entered the Yugoslav second-tier league in the 1947–48 season. Initially the team was led by player-managerZvonko Monsider, an accomplished goalkeeper formerly ofHŠK Concordia, now "borrowed" fromDinamo Zagreb in the first half-season, the club finished third, level on points withBudućnost fromTitograd andSloga fromNovi Sad. All three earned promotion to theFirst Federal League.
Still as a second-level side, the club also entered the inaugural edition of theMarshal Tito Cup, Yugoslavia's national cup competition, which was played as a short tournament during November 1947. In the quarter-final they beatSpartak Subotica to qualify for the final-four stage played over two days atStadion Avala in Belgrade. Naša Krila finished as runners-up, losing the final 0–2 toPartizan, the multi-sports club affiliated with theYugoslav People's Army (JNA), i.e. the country's armed forces.
In the next1948–49 season, the first one in the national top league, the club finished 5h, behind only the "Big Four" clubs of Yugoslav football (Partizan, Red Star, Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb). During the 1948 Marshal Tito Cup season in November Naša Krila beatBudućnost to reach the final-four stage in Belgrade again. This time they lost the semi-final toRed Star 3–4, and then also lost the third-place match toDinamo Zagreb 1–5.
In the second half of 1949 there were no championship games, as the national league was rescheduled to switch to a calendar-year cycle. However, the third edition of the Marshal Tito Cup was played in November 1949. Naša Krila beat Budućnost again in the semi-final, to reach their second domestic cup final, and the first final staged at the newly builtStadion JNA in Belgrade. They finished as runners-up again, after a 2–3 defeat to Red Star.
In the1950 season, played over 18 rounds from March to November (including a three-month break during the1950 FIFA World Cup in Brazil) Naša Krila finished the season in 6th place, with their last match being a 2–1 home win againstLokomotiva on 12 November 1950.
The club was dissolved shortly thereafter. By the first round of the next edition of the Marshal Tito Cup, played two weeks later, on 26 November, the club had already been de-registered. The scheduled cup games, which were supposed to involve Naša Krila and their reserve side Naša Krila II, were registered as 3–0 forfeits.
The club's best scorer in all three of its league seasons was Vladimir Pečenčić (19 goals in 1946–47, 11 goals in 1947–48 and 6 goals in 1950). During the 1950 summer break, the only Naša Krila player called up by Yugoslavia managerMilorad Arsenijević for the World Cup in Brazil was defenderSiniša Zlatković. He spent the tournament as an unused substitute in all of Yugoslavia's three matches. Although he later played for five more seasons atRed Star he was never actually capped for the national team. No other Naša Krila player was called up for Yugoslavia.
The team that played the cup final in 1947:[1]
The team that played the cup final in 1949:[1]