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Crvena Zvezda will be very active in this summer’s transfer market. The Belgrade-based club, which will play in the Euro Cup qualifications next season, plans to sign several new players, most of whom will be returning to the club.
The most intriguing transfer so far is the arrival of Marko Petkovic, a 36-year-old former captain of the Montenegro national team, who has not played for Crvena Zvezda previously.
Born in Belgrade, Petkovic began his career at WC Beograd. After leaving Beograd, his water polo journey led him to clubs such as Galatasaray, Budva, Barceloneta, Radnicki Kragujevac, Miskolc, and Jadran Herceg Novi. For the last three seasons, he played for Strasbourg.
His most significant achievement at the club level was winning the Champions League with Barceloneta in 2014. On the international stage, Petkovic represented Serbia and won a gold medal at the 2011 World League. He later gained Montenegrin citizenship while playing for Jadran Herceg Novi and made his debut for the Montenegro national team in 2019. The following year, he helped Montenegro secure a bronze medal at the European Championships in Budapest and served as the team's captain for several seasons.
In addition to Petkovic's arrival, it has been confirmed that former captain Dusan Markovic, 34, will return to Crvena Zvezda after a one-year stint at Stari Grad. Markovic was a member of the Serbian team that won the 2014 World Cup. Later, he represented Kazakhstan, winning medals at the Asian Championships and competing in the 2021 Olympic Games. He is a "student" of Partizan's water polo school. After leaving Partizan, and before joining Crvena Zvezda he was a member of several clubs - Partizan, Marseille, Radnicki, etc
Ivan Basara, who was the captain in the 2024/25 season, retired.
More returnees to come
A few more players are likely to return to Crvena Zvezda, including Vuk Milojevic (Jadran Herceg Novi), Marko Radovic (Apollon Smyrnis), and Veljko Tankosić (Dinamo Tbilisi). The club is also targeting Dusan Vasic from Radnicki.
