A lowdown on one of UEFA's 'worst' leagues (Montenegro Part One)

During coverage of the World Cup in 2006, I recall Gary Lineker asking a question of Ian Wright; are you a fan of S&M? Given that they were covering a game involving Serbia & Montenegro, my 11 year old brain couldn't work out what was so funny - they gave a respectable account of themselves in a tough group featuring Argentina, the Netherlands, and Ivory Coast if I remember correctly. It's only now looking back at the quote that I recognise the double meaning.

That said, I still have no idea what the other meaning stands for specifically, but in any case, the M gained independence from S fairly soon after this tournament in 2006, with 2006-07 naturally marking the start of the Montenegrin football league. In the almost two decades since the formation of the league, Montenegro still languishes near the bottom of the UEFA coefficient, with only five nations ranking lower - North Macedonia, Georgia Wales, Gibraltar, and San Marino.

To date, no club from Montenegro has managed to make it to the group or league stage of a UEFA competition. In fact, barely anyone has even made beyond the Third Qualifying Round, with Budućnost (also from the capital) having done so on a few occasions. Zeta managed to get to the Europa League play-off in 2013, but they lost 14-0 (yes, fourteen) on aggregate to PSV. And all of this is before we even mention Arsenal Tivat's European ban currently in place due to match fixing allegations.

As I pay a visit to one of the world's newest countries, I'm hoping to explore if Montenegrin football is really that bad, and if so, why is that the case? The game I'll be watching is Mladost v Mornar in the city's capital, with Mladost being one of the many clubs I'd gained an affinity for on the basis of ending up there on a Football Manager save. To start with, let's get the S (skinny) on what makes M (Montenegrin football) so bad/good (delete as applicable).

Montenegrin Football: the Lowdown

Prior to independence in 2006, Montenegrin clubs competed in a second tier, with one club making the step up to the Serbia and Montenegro SuperLeague each season. The likes of Budućnost, Zeta and Sutejska were regulars in this top flight, but it was rare for any of them to pull up any trees during their time there. A 3rd placed finish for Zeta in 2005 remains the highest finish of any Montenegrin club in the short-lived Serbia and Montenegro Super League, which ran from 2000 to 2006.

The first Montenegrin league following the dissolution of the Serbia and Montenegro Superleague, as mentioned, kicked off in 2006, with Zeta becoming the inaugural champions. The fact they now play in the third league perhaps tells you something already, add to that the fact that their 14-0 aggregate defeat is technically Montenegro's best showing on the European stage. 

Of all the champions in the last twenty years, three of them either now play in the third tier, or no longer exist. The aforementioned Zeta occupy the third tier with Titograd (confusingly they were formerly known as Mladost, and there's a current team called Mladost, with the two having no apparent affiliation). Mogren won it in 2009 and 2011, but they dissolved in 2017. Other winners include Budućnost (seven times), Sutejska (five times), Rudar (twice), and Dečić (once last season).

In lieu of the usual blog format, I thought it would be a great idea to go through all ten of the current top flight teams - who are they, what's unique about them, and will they be the ones to break the mould and put Montenegrin football on the map? Probably not, but let's have a look anyway.

Sutejska Nikšić

Currently top of the pile are Sutejska, who play in the country's second city, Nikšić, which boasts a population of around 66,000. The club were formed in 1920, but have gone by their current name since 1945, starting as FK Hajduk. The name is a tribute to the Yugoslav communists who died in the Battle of Sutejska, with the club also building up the country's biggest rivalry with Budućnost back in 1932. 

The blue-whites (plavo-bijeli) have amassed five league wins and two cup wins since Montenegrin independence, and have been UEFA qualifying round regulars - a penalty shootout win over Slovan Bratislava in 2019/20 is probably their finest hour. 

Fun fact: Sutejska have one of the largest fanbases in the country, known as Vojvode (the Dukes).

Dečić

Currently occupying second place (with a negative goal difference somehow), Dečić come from a small town on the Albanian border called Tuzi, which has a population of around 11,000. Their record attendance was 3,000 in a match against Budućnost in the inaugral season of Montenegrin football. 

Aside from three relegations, the club have been pretty much ever-present in the top flight, even winning the league in 2024. They've also been in a European qualifying stage for four of the last five seasons, this season losing to Rapid Wien.

Fun fact - Known simply as Kuqezinjtë (Albanian for the red-blacks), Dečić are the sole represenrative of an Albanian majority settlement in the top-flight.

Budućnost

Sutejska's fierce rivals from Podgorica also happen to be the most successful club in the country as far as league titles go (seven), with five cups also secured since independence. However, much like Sutejska, Budućnost also play in blue and white, and therefore call themselves plavo-bijeli, though the fans are known as Varvari (the Barbarians). 

It's also been said that they're one of the only clubs in Montenegro that can stand up to some of their Former Yugoslav counterparts in terms of sheer numbers. While European football has been a regular fixture, even the Play-Off round has continued to elude them

Fun fact - The word Budućnost actually means future in Serbian, despite the club celebrating its 100th year this year!

Mornar

The phrase 'on the beach' is thrown around a lot these days, but that's literally the case for Mornar, who are based in the coastal town of Bar. Founded in 1923, Mornar are the first in this list to not have a nickname on Wikipedia, so I'll call them the Beach Boys. Wouldn't it be nice if they did? In fairness, their name does literally translate to FC Sailor. 

The sailor Beach Boys have often been a second tier side, until 2009 when they gained promotion to the First League, often yo-yoing between divisions, eventually earning a record low points total of 12 points in 2019. They've been back in the top flight since 2021, and have been a lot more stable since.

Fun fact - The name Bar is actually derived from the Latin Antibari, which literally translates as 'opposite of Bari', because...well... Bari is on the other side of the Adriatic.

Petrovac

Currently down in 5th, Petrovac come from the coastal town of the same name, which is expressed in their badge. Amazingly the town only has just over 1,000 people, with the club's ground holding a capacity of 1,630. Formed in 1969, the Sky Blues (nebesko plavi) have played every season in the Montenegrin First League without suffering relegation. A cup win in 2009 meant that they even qualified for the Europa League, beating Cypriot side Anorthosis Famagusta 4-3 (AET) in the Second Qualifying Round before a 7-1 defeat to Sturm Graz. Last season's 2nd placed finish marks their highest ever finish to date.

Fun fact: Petrovac was supposedly the home of Casino Royale in the Bond film of the same name.

Mladost Donja Gorica

As the newest club in Montenegro, there's not a great deal to be said about Mladost yet, apart from they're the club I'm visiting in the Donja Gorica region of the capital. This is only their second time in the top flight, following an immediate relegation in 2023, but they're back! They currently sit in sixth, but in such a tight division, nobody is truly safe from the dreaded drop.

Fun fact - The club used to have an affiliation with FK Podgorica, essentially functioning as their development team. With Podgorica in the league below now, however, perhaps the partnership should be switched around if it's still in place at all.

Jezero 

Established in 1934 from the excellently named town of Plav, Jezero literally translates as 'lake', and given their location on Lake Plav, it makes sense. After a history of generally playing in the lower leagues, Jezero gained promotion from the Second League in 2008 as champions. However, they dropped again the following season, losing the play-offs to the aforementioned Mornar. They didn't rise again until 2020, but they've been a stable presence in the top-flight ever since the turn of the decade.

Fun fact - Lake Plav is a glacial lake that sits of the foot of hilariously named mountain range, the Accursed Mountains. It's alleged that the devil escaped from hell to create the jagged glacial karsts in a 'single day of mischief'. We've all been there...

Arsenal Tivat

Arsenal are the second oldest club in Montenegro, and the oldest currently in the top flight having been established in 1914. The name Arsenal was derived from the nearby naval repair facility, so there's no direct connection to the Arsenal of the same name in England. After independence, Arsenal started life in the second tier, occasionally dropping into the third tier over the next decade. They gained promotion for the first time in 2022 after defeating Podgorica in the play-off, and they've been ever-present since. 

Fun fact - Despite only being a top flight side for a short time, their antics against Armenian side Alashkert in the Europa Conference League qualifiers aroused suspicions after a 1-1 draw away was followed by a 6-1 loss at home, and suspicious activity in the betting markets. They were handed a ten year ban following their only ever European tie. Ouch. Same old Arsenal...

Jedinstvo

Based in the town of Bijelo Polje,  Jedinstvo roughly translates as United, meaning this FC United predate their Mancunian counterparts by almost a century. They're a highly decorated club as far as the lower tiers or Yugoslavian, Serbian and Montenegrin, and Montenegrin lower league football goes, though they're yet to translate this into Montenegrin First League success since independence. All four of their initial top flight seasons resulted in relegation. They finally stabilised in 2022-23, finishing a record high 5th. That said, they currently sit in the relegation zone, so will be looking to get their acts together.

Fun fact - During the Second World War, Bijelo Polje was a prominent location in the Yugoslav resistance against Fascism.

Bokeji

The league's current basement dwellers have just the one win to their name this season at the time of writing, and they've only had three seasons in the Montenegrin top flight that haven't resulted in relegation. Their golden spell was 2014-16, and arguably last season's 6th placed finish. Established in 1922, Bokeji are based on the coastal town of Kotor. They've even danced the dance in Europe, albeit only briefly in 2016-17 when they lost 6-1 to Serbian side Vojvodina in the Europa League First Qualifying Round. 

Fun fact - The fortified city of Kotor is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Stay tuned for part two of my Montenegrin adventure next week!