NAK Novi Sad

NAK, Novosadski atletski klub (Serbian Cyrillic HAK, Hoвocaдcки aтлeтcки клуб, Hungarian: UAC, Újvidéki Atlétikai Club) was a football club from Novi Sad that existed from 1910 until 1945.

History

Formed in 1910 while Novi Sad was still part of Austria-Hungary, the club mostly gathered players of Hungarian ethnicity. The town also had other football clubs that were similarly ethnically-based, namely FK Vojvodina, which was mostly Serb, and Juda Makabi, representing the local Jewish community. NAK competed in the Hungarian Second League between 1911 and 1914.

After the First World War the region became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929, and the club begin competing in the League of the Subassociation of Novi Sad, a second level which gave access to the Yugoslav First League. In 1922 NAK played in the qualifiers for the first edition of the First League however it was eliminated by its city rivals FK Vojvodina.

NAK mostly played in the Novi Sad Football Subassociation until they finally managed to qualify for the top league in 1935. The 1935–36 Yugoslav Football Championship was played in a cup format and NAK managed to post a series of good results. They eliminated ŽAK Velika Kikinda in the round of sixteen by 4-0 at home and a 3-3 away draw, thus qualifying to the quarter-finals where they beat Slavija Osijek with a double victory of 4-0 and 2-0. They were eventually stopped in the semi-finals where after achieving a draw in Sarajevo against FK Slavija unexpectedly lost at home by 1-3.

However, that was the only participation of NAK in the Yugoslav top league until 1941, when the club, after the invasion of Yugoslavia begin competing in the Hungarian league system. Because of this, after the liberation, the club was disbanded by the new Yugoslav authorities in 1945.

During the period of Second World War, as Újvidéki AC, it played 3 seasons in the Hungarian Championship, between 1941 and 1944. In the first two seasons they made mid-table results, by finishing 12th in 1941–42, and 11th in 1942–43, however in 1943–44 they impressed by finishing in 6th place. The 1944–45 season was abandoned after only four match days, with UAC having played only 2 games. Between 1941 and 1944 they were most of the time coached by István Mészarós, a former Hungarian national team player and former US Pistoiese, Újpest FC and BSK Belgrade coach.

Honours

Novi Sad Football Subassociation:

• Champions (2): 1933, 1936

Notable players

Among the notable players of NAK Novi Sad it is worth mentioning that Bela Šefer and Jožef Velker became Yugoslav national team players, and that Hungarian goalkeeper Lajos Senfeld Tusko, who will later move to BSK Belgrade, became considered as one of the best goalkeepers in the country by the press. Also among the notable players is worth mention goalkeeper Károly Nemes who played with MTK Budapest and SK Rapid Wien before coming to Novi Sad after World War I. He later played with SK Jugoslavija and won two Yugoslav titles in 1924 and 1925. During the 1930´s he coached FK Vojvodina, NAK´s main city rivals.