Radivoje "Rade" Vukosavljević ( sr-cyr, Радивоје "Раде" Вукосављевић; born 22 November 1959) is a Serbian former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player.

Early life

Radivoje Vukosavljević is born in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

to Vojin,

nicknamed A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

Brka, who worked all his

working life Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other ...

for the Crvena zvezda Basketball club as a

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

. Rade growing up spent time at the Zvezda's

court A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between Party (law), parties and Administration of justice, administer justice in Civil law (common law), civil, Criminal law, criminal, an ...

at the Little Kalemegdan where players of the Zvezda, such as

Zoran Slavnić Zoran "Moka" Slavnić (Serbian Cyrillic: Зоран Мока Славнић; born 26 October 1949) is a Serbian retired professional basketball player and coach. He played with Crvena zvezda and with Partizan. One of the best European point guar ...

, took their training.

Crvena zvezda

Vukosavljević began with his basketball career with Crvena zvezda Youth System in 1970, joining their under-12 team with coach

Vojislav Vezović Vojislav Vezović ( sr-cyr, Војислав Везовић; born 19 November 1948) is a Serbian former professional basketball coach and player. Early life and playing career Vezović was born in Belgrade, PR Serbia, Yugoslavia. In Belgrade, h ...

. In 1975, he joined the under-16 team with coach Mile Protić. Together with his teammate

Slobodan Nikolić Slobodan Nikolić ( sr-cyr, Слободан Николић; born June 14, 1959) is a Serbian basketball coach and former player. Playing career Nikolić played for the Crvena zvezda of the Yugoslav First League from 1975 to 1987 and from 1989 ...

, Vukosavljević won a Yugoslav Cadet League that year. Later that year, he joined the club's senior team. In 1975, head coach

Nemanja Đurić Nemanja Đurić ( sr-cyr, Немања Ђурић; June 18, 1936), is a Serbian former professional basketball player and former coach. He represented the Yugoslavia national basketball team internationally. Early life Đurić was raised in a ...

added him to the first team of

Crvena zvezda Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club), commonly referred to as Crvena zvezda () and colloquially referred to as Red Star Belgrade in anglophone media, is a ...

for the 1975–76 Yugoslav League season. On 17 September 1975, Vukosavljević made his professional debut in a 109–67 win over Takovo, recording 4 points. His teammate Slavnić praised his playing style and potential at the time. In 1978, Vukosavljević was diagnosed with a very rare disease of

ossification Ossification (also called osteogenesis or bone mineralization) in bone remodeling is the process of laying down new bone material by cells named osteoblasts. It is synonymous with bone tissue formation. There are two processes resulting in t ...

of the

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

. He also spent a month in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

for examinations and treatment. On 14 January 1979, it was announced that Vukosavljević would miss the rest of the 1978–79 season due to the injury. In the 1979–80 season, he was added to the Zvezda roster with head coach

Ranko Žeravica Ranko Žeravica ( sr-cyr, Ранко Жеравица; 17 November 1929 – 29 October 2015) was a Serbian professional basketball coach. With a career that spanned over 50 years, he is most noted for his work with the senior Yugoslav national ...

. Prior the start of 1980–81 season, he lost 25 kilograms forcing him to sit out the entire season. He also spent three months in hospital treatment. Vukosavljević returned to the team for the 1981–82 season. On 3 March 1982, Vukosavljević played his final game for Crvena zvezda in a 107–86 win over Iskra Olimpija, in what would be his retirement game. Vukosavljević retired at age 22 due to the disease. He made 114 official appearances for the club, scoring 450 points.

National team career

Vukosavljević was a member of the Yugoslavia cadet team that won the bronze medal at the 1975 European Championship for Cadets in

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and

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, Greece. Over six tournament games, he averaged 9.7 points per game. In the third-place game, Vukosavljević scored game-high 21 points in a 74–72 win over

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Vukosavljević was a member of the Yugoslavia junior team that won the gold medal at the 1976 European Championship for Juniors in

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

, Spain. Over eight tournament games, he averaged 9.4 points per game. In the Championship Final, Vukosavljević scored 15 points in a 92–83 win over the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vukosavljevic, Rade 1959 births Living people Basketball players from Belgrade KK Crvena zvezda players Point guards Serbian men's basketball players Yugoslav men's basketball players

Early life

Crvena zvezda

National team career

See also

References