Muslin delighted at second chance

FK Crvena Zvezda have named Slavoljub Muslin as their coach for a second time, 20 months after "making the mistake of letting him go".

Previous success
The 51-year-old Muslin, who has signed a two-year contract, was formerly in charge of the Serbo-Montenegrin club between 18 September 1999 and 30 September 2001. During that spell Crvena Zvezda won two national championships and the Yugoslavian Cup, as it was then known, in 2000.  

Domestic double
It was Crvena Zvezda's European form which proved Muslin's undoing, as they were eliminated in the final round of UEFA Champions League qualifying in both 2000 and 2001 by FC Dynamo Kyiv and Bayer 04 Leverkusen respectively. In March 2002 he joined Bulgarian side PFC Levski Sofia, leading the club to the double before leaving by mutual consent in March.

'Two tasks'
After a short spell out of the limelight, Muslin said he was "more than happy" to be back in Belgrade. "Zvezda is my club - I grew up here," he said. "We had two successful years before and now I have two tasks: to stop Partizan dominating domestic competition and to produce some great results in Europe. I know all the players but we must reinforce our squad."

President happy
Crvena Zvezda president Dragan Dzajic said: "Who is better than Muslin? One time we made the mistake of letting him go, now we are happy that we will again work together." A former Crvena Zvezda player, Muslin made 302 appearances for the club, winning three national titles and reaching the final of the 1978/79 UEFA Cup final, losing to VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach.

UEFA Cup goal
Muslin is expected to ask the players to return for pre-season training on 22 June ahead of their bid to reach the UEFA Cup via the qualifying round.