Former Red Star Coach Criticizes Team’s Heavy Foreign Player Use After Champions League Exit

Alexander Jankovic, former coach of Red Star Belgrade, sharply criticized the club following their elimination from the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round by Israeli champions Hapoel Be'er Sheva. Red Star lost both matches with a 3-0 aggregate score and failed to score against Be'er Sheva. Jankovic, speaking in an interview in Serbia, contrasted the current squad with the 2018 team that defeated Liverpool, highlighting that the earlier team fielded nine local players without any foreign substitutes, yet managed a historic win.

He condemned the current reliance on foreign players, pointing out that Red Star now has 16 foreign players and has purchased over 100 foreign players recently, many of whom do not play. Meanwhile, the club has sold around 30 youth players previously promoted as prodigies, none of whom are currently playing abroad. Jankovic argued that this strategy is failing both on the pitch and in convincing the average Serbian fan that the club is on the right path.

Red Star is set to watch Hapoel Be'er Sheva play Sabah in the first leg of the Champions League playoff round on Wednesday, while still recovering from their recent elimination. Jankovic’s comments reflect growing frustration with the club’s transfer policies and sporting direction.