Srđan Kalember ( sr-cyr, Срђан Калембер; June 5, 1928 – February 2, 2016), also known in France by his nickname Serge ( sr-cyr, Серж), was a Serbian professional basketball player and coach. He won 9 National Championships with

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional Association football, foot ...

. He represented the

Yugoslavia national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; sl, Jugoslovanska košarkarska reprezentanca; mk, ...

internationally.

Early life

Kalember begins to play sports as a boy in 1938 when he won second place in the

60 meters 60 metres, or 60-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior ath ...

race. On that occasion he received a kiss from Princess Elizabeth. During World War II he played football in Belgrade for the

BASK Bask may refer to: * to bask, or to sunbathe * Bask, Gilan, Iran; a village * Kalle Bask, a Finnish sailor * Bask (horse) (1956–1979), an Arabian stallion * Bask Om, a fictional character from Zeta Gundam * Bäsk, a Swedish liquor * FK BASK ( ...

, but was also interested in other sports.Pamtim poljubac princeze Jelisavete
/ref>

Playing career

Crvena zvezda

After the war Kalember wanted to continue to play football but Slobodan Ćosić persuaded him to play basketball where was less competition. He was present at the famous meeting in Deligradska Street when formed Crvena zvezda Sports Association. In beginnings, he was in reserves, but quickly become the standard first team player status of

.Na današnji dan: Rođen Srđan Kalember
/ref> In July 1950, he was a member of the Zvezda squad that won an international cup tournament in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Italy. In total Kalember played 108 games and scored 734 points for Crvena zvezda from 1946 to 1954. Kalember is remembered as an extraordinary skirt that is safe from the point of guessing.

Nantes

Kalember went to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 1958 where he played for

ABC Nantes ABC Nantes (''Amicale Basket Club de Nantes'' / in English: ''Nantes Friendly Basketball Club'') or Nantes was a French professional basketball team located in the city of Nantes. Now, the club has dissolved. The position regarding the interest ...

National team career

Kalember was a member of the

that participated at the 1947 European Championship in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. He played one game in the tournament without any records. He was a member of the team at the 1950 FIBA World Championship in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, Argentina. Over four tournament games, he averaged 4.5 points per game. Kalember was a member of the national team at the 1953 European Championship in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Over four tournament games, he averaged one point per game. Kalember played 47 games for the national team during his career.

Coaching career

In France, Kalember become a head coach of ABC Nantes. In late 1960s, he coached Clermontois. Kalember was two years coach of Jugoplastika, the team with which he won the first

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup ( hr, Pokal Jugoslavije; sr, Куп Југославије; sl, Pokal Jugoslavije, mk, Куп на Југославија), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Kup kralja Aleksandra, ...

in 1972. After that, they reached the final of the

1972–73 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The 1972–73 FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup was the seventh edition of FIBA's 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup champions, running from 18 October 1972, to 21 March 197 ...

and to

1973 FIBA Intercontinental Cup The 1973 FIBA Intercontinental Cup William Jones was the 7th edition of the FIBA Intercontinental Cup for men's basketball clubs. It took place at Ginásio do Ibirapuera, São Paulo. From the FIBA European Champions Cup participated Ignis Vares ...

competition in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

. In late 1974 career again took him to France. Kalember took over the team

SLUC Nancy Stade Lorrain Université Club Nancy Basket, commonly referred to as SLUC Nancy Basket, is a French professional basketball club based in Nancy. The club currently competes in the LNB Pro A, the top league in France, and holds two league titles. S ...

then Vendée Challans and

FC Mulhouse Basket FC Mulhouse Basket or simply Mulhouse is a French basketball club playing in National 2 (basketball) (fourth division championship of France) during the 2011–2012 season. The club is based in the commune of Mulhouse, in eastern France, close to ...

and in 1990 finished his coaching career in

JA Vichy Jeanne d'Arc de Vichy-Clermont Métropole was a professional basketball club based in Vichy, France. The club played their home games at both Maison des Sports de Clermont-Ferrand and Palais des Sports de Vichy. In 2015, JA Vichy and Stade Clermo ...

Personal life

Kalember was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see names in other languages'') is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area including Sarajevo ...

to 2nd lieut. Jovan, an army

pilot An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...

, and Julija (1899–1999). His mother's uncle was

Dušan Simović Dušan Simović (; 28 October 1882 – 26 August 1962) was a Yugoslav Serb army general who served as Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Yugoslav Army and as the Prime Minister of Yugoslavia in 1940–1941. Biography Simović, born o ...

, the 18th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia.Otac mi je bio Žan, majka Žilijet, a ja Seržan
/ref> Kalember dated Ljubica Otašević for three and a half years while he played for Crvena zvezda and Ljubica played basketball for the Crvena zvezda women's team. Kalember and his wife were married in 1971 in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

, France. The couple had a daughter, Olja (b. 1973). His wife, Nataša Bebić, was a professional basketball player and played for Yugoslavia national team during the 1960s. Nataša played for

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, with a population of 146,734 (2018). Its metropolitan area (''aire d'attract ...

Career achievements

Player

Yugoslav League The Yugoslav First Federal Football League (Serbian: Прва савезна лига у фудбалу / ''Prva savezna liga u fudbalu'', hr, Prva savezna liga u nogometu, sl, Prva zvezna nogometna liga, mk, Прва сојузна лига, ...

champion: 9 (with

: 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949,

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

, 1954).

Coach

winner: 1 (with Jugoplastika: 1971–72). *

FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winners, from all over Europe, played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA ...

runner-up: 1 (with Jugoplastika: 1972–73).

In popular culture

* In 2015 Serbian sports drama '' We Will Be the World Champions'' Kalember is portrayed by

Radovan Vujović Radovan Vujović (born 8 September 1984) is a Serbian actor, comedian and director. After graduating Faculty of Dramatic Arts in Belgrade in 2005, he became a member of the Boško Buha Theatre. Since 2010, he works as a member of the Yugoslav D ...

and his girlfriend Ljubica is portrayed by Nina Janković.Full Cast & Crew of We Will Be the World Champions
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalember, Srdan 1928 births 2016 deaths 1950 FIBA World Championship players Bosnia and Herzegovina expatriate basketball people in Serbia Serbian expatriate basketball people in France Yugoslav men's basketball players Yugoslav basketball coaches Serbian men's basketball players Serbian men's basketball coaches KK Crvena zvezda players KK Sloga coaches KK Split coaches FK BASK players FC Mulhouse Basket coaches University of Belgrade Faculty of Economics alumni Basketball players from Sarajevo Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina Men's association football players not categorized by position Yugoslav men's footballers Small forwards