In the large ceremonial hall of the Master center, a commemoration was held today on the occasion of the death of member of the Assembly and former president of FK Vojvodina Dragoljub Samardžić.

In the presence of family, friends, FK Vojvodina management led by President Dragoljub Zbiljić, Mayor of Novi Sad Milan Đurić, representatives of the Football Association of Vojvodina led by President Dragan Simović, players and members of Vojvodina’s coaching staff, as well as the media, memories were evoked to a man who will forever remain in the memory of all who are part of FK Vojvodina, the City of Novi Sad and the entire football Serbia.

The members of the Board of Directors of FK Vojvodina, Petar Đurđev, addressed the audience first.

– Dragoljub Samardžić tied his life to the success and tradition of our beloved club. As we well know, he spent part of his playing career in Vojvodina, and how much he actually loved our club is shown by the fact that he was on the Organizing Committee of the Stevan Nešticki memorial tournament on 35 occasions. As we know, that tournament is one of the most prestigious and very special for our club, and Dragoljub Samardžić was always ready to help as a volunteer and thus show his love for Vojvodina. Also, he was on the committee of the youth school for 10 years and he helped when all those excellent aces who passed through our academy in the eighties and nineties were created. He spent part of his career in the Netherlands, and during that period he also helped his Vojvodina. We all remember the famous game when the great Ajax, later European champions, barely beat our Voša with a score of 4-3, and in all of that, our Dragoljub was always with us. And in those difficult moments that every big club goes through at some point and when financial consolidation was necessary, he was also a member of the Board of Directors, and then came that miraculous night in Niš in 2020 when, against all odds, we managed to win Cup of Serbia. After that he became the president of the club. And I always remember him, when I came to FC Vujadin Boškov, how he was sitting in his office with a pile of papers around him and trying to solve every problem. Those were some invisible moments, which neither the players nor the fans can sometimes see, and all of that carries a huge burden, and he did everything to get such a big club back on its feet and continue to function normally. Mr. Samardžić carried all that on his shoulders, without burdening others. I had the honor of having an exceptional friendly relationship and I can say that he knew what Vojvodina was and how big it was. That it is more than an ordinary sports club, of 11 players who go out on the field in red and white jerseys, but that it has left a deep mark on our football, as well as on European football, as shown today by the starting line-up of our national team at the World Cup. Countless times, he and I together, unfortunately, saw off numerous greats of our club who left us during the previous years and I could not even imagine this day, when he will not be sitting here next to me, but the Lord’s will was such that his earthly life is over, but his deeds and what he left to Vojvodina will be remembered forever – said Petar Đurđev.

Dragoljub Samardžić was an exceptional sports worker, which he showed not only in FK Vojvodina, but also in the Aeroclub Novi Sad, and as the first man of the Sports Association of the Municipality of Inđija, as well as the vice-president of the Football Association of Vojvodina, on whose behalf Dragan Simović spoke.

– On the fingers of one hand, you can count exceptional people who had such great careers as Dragoljub. There are few who have dedicated their entire life to one club and held almost all possible positions in it. Dragoljub, both as a player and later as a football worker, helped Vojvodina in an exceptional and high-quality way. Winning the title with Vojvodina in the SFRY league in which Red Star, Partizan, Dinamo, Hajduk played is truly a kind of sensation. Later, his career took him to Rad, then the Dutch Villem II, and then he returned to his native Vojvodina and devoted himself to it for a number of years, as a sports director, and then in the Executive Board and as a member of the Assembly and president, which was the peak of his career as a football worker. You yourself are witnesses that there are not many of those in our football, even in the region. I had the pleasure of working with him in the Football Association of Vojvodina for the past few years, and he always wanted to actively deal with problems, and not just be a formal participant. He is one of the originators of the idea that we are trying to realize, which is the construction of the house of football in Vojvodina. He was always full of strength, enthusiasm, will and desire to succeed. Thank you, Mr. Samardžić, for everything you have done for your club, the Association and football in this area – said Dragan Simović.

Finally, his son Vladimir spoke on behalf of the Samardžić family.

– On behalf of my family, I want to thank everyone for the commemoration in honor of our Dragoljub. It is extremely difficult for me to say goodbye to my father and my best friend. His departure surprised us all, but it seems that people like him leave so quickly, chivalrously. He was a great man. He loved football, and we spent our last meeting watching it. I can thank him for everything he did for me, to help me and lead me on the right path. Eternal glory to him – said the son of Dragoljub Samardžić, Vladimir.

The funeral of Dragoljub Samardžić will take place today at 3 pm at the Novo Groblje in Novi Sad.