# 1980–81 Yugoslav First League

The 1980–81 Yugoslav First League season was the 35th season of the First Federal League (Serbo-Croatian: Prva savezna liga), the top level association football competition of SFR Yugoslavia, since its establishment in 1946. A total of 18 teams competed in the league, with the previous season's champions Red Star successfully defending their title, finishing the season two points clear of runners-up Hajduk Split.

## Teams

A total of eighteen teams contested the league, including sixteen sides from the 1979–80 season and two sides promoted from the 1979–80 Yugoslav Second League (YSL) as winners of the two second level divisions East and West. The league was contested in a double round robin format, with each club playing every other club twice, for a total of 34 rounds. Two points were awarded for wins and one point for draws.
Osijek and Čelik were relegated from the 1979–80 Yugoslav First League after finishing the season in bottom two places of the league table. The two clubs promoted were NK Zagreb and OFK Belgrade, returning to the top level after being relegated in the 1978–79 season.
| Team | Location | Federal Republic | Position in 1979–80 |
| Borac Banja Luka | Banja Luka | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 01414th |
| Budućnost | Titograd | SR Montenegro | 01111th |
| Dinamo Zagreb | Zagreb | SR Croatia | 01212th |
| Hajduk Split | Split | SR Croatia | 0055th |
| Napredak Kruševac | Kruševac | SR Serbia | 0044th |
| OFK Belgrade | Belgrade | SR Serbia | — |
| Olimpija | Ljubljana | SR Slovenia | 01515th |
| Partizan | Belgrade | SR Serbia | 01313th |
| Radnički Niš | Niš | SR Serbia | 0033rd |
| Red Star | Belgrade | SR Serbia | 0011st |
| Rijeka | Rijeka | SR Croatia | 01010th |
| Sarajevo | Sarajevo | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0022nd |
| Sloboda | Tuzla | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0066th |
| Vardar | Skopje | SR Macedonia | 0077th |
| Velež | Mostar | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0088th |
| Vojvodina | Novi Sad | SR Serbia | 01616th |
| NK Zagreb | Zagreb | SR Croatia | — |
| Željezničar | Sarajevo | SR Bosnia and Herzegovina | 0099th |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Red Star Belgrade (C) | 34 | 15 | 14 | 5 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 44 | Qualification for European Cup first round |
| 2 | Hajduk Split | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 57 | 36 | +21 | 42 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Radnički Niš | 34 | 13 | 15 | 6 | 39 | 28 | +11 | 41 | Qualification for UEFA Cup first round |
| 4 | Sloboda Tuzla | 34 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 46 | 51 | −5 | 36 | Qualification for Balkans Cup |
| 5 | Dinamo Zagreb | 34 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 44 | 38 | +6 | 35 | |
| 6 | Budućnost | 34 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 38 | 34 | +4 | 34 | Qualification for Intertoto Cup |
| 7 | Rijeka | 34 | 12 | 10 | 12 | 50 | 47 | +3 | 34 | |
| 8 | Partizan | 34 | 9 | 16 | 9 | 43 | 41 | +2 | 34 | |
| 9 | Velež | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 44 | 47 | −3 | 34 | Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 10 | Vojvodina | 34 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 37 | 40 | −3 | 34 | |
| 11 | Vardar | 34 | 11 | 11 | 12 | 41 | 48 | −7 | 33 | |
| 12 | Olimpija | 34 | 8 | 16 | 10 | 29 | 33 | −4 | 32 | |
| 13 | Sarajevo | 34 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 47 | 53 | −6 | 32 | |
| 14 | Željezničar | 34 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 42 | 51 | −9 | 32 | |
| 15 | OFK Belgrade | 34 | 8 | 14 | 12 | 34 | 39 | −5 | 30 | |
| 16 | NK Zagreb | 34 | 11 | 8 | 15 | 43 | 55 | −12 | 30 | |
| 17 | Borac Banja Luka (R) | 34 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 35 | 44 | −9 | 29 | Relegation to Yugoslav Second League |
| 18 | Napredak Kruševac (R) | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 45 | 60 | −15 | 26 | Relegation to Yugoslav Second League |

## Results

| Home \ Away | BOR | BUD | DIN | HAJ | NAP | OFK | OLI | PAR | RNI | RSB | RIJ | SAR | SLO | VAR | VEL | VOJ | ZAG | ŽEL |
| Borac Banja Luka | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 5–2 |
| Budućnost | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Dinamo Zagreb | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Hajduk Split | 2–0 | 4–1 | 3–1 | | 3–2 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 |
| Napredak Kruševac | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 4–2 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
| OFK Belgrade | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Olimpija | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Partizan | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 |
| Radnički Niš | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 |
| Red Star | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 6–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 3–1 | 9–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Rijeka | 0–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 5–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Sarajevo | 3–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | | 2–1 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 |
| Sloboda Tuzla | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 3–2 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Vardar | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 |
| Velež | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 4–3 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–3 |
| Vojvodina | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| NK Zagreb | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–6 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | | 1–2 |
| Željezničar | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–4 | 1–0 | 1–0 | |

## Winning squad

Champions: Red Star Belgrade :
| Player | League | League |
| Player | Matches | Goals |
| Rajko Janjanin | 34 | 6 |
| Srebrenko Repčić | 33 | 10 |
| Zlatko Krmpotić | 32 | 1 |
| Miloš Šestić | 31 | 7 |
| Milan Janković | 30 | 5 |
| Zdravko Borovnica | 29 | 12 |
| Ivan Jurišić | 27 | 1 |
| Boško Đurovski | 26 | 0 |
| Vladimir "Pižon" Petrović | 23 | 6 |
| Dragan Miletović | 23 | 0 |
| Živan Ljukovčan (goalkeeper) | 17 | 0 |
| Milan Jovin | 16 | 2 |
| Cvijetin Blagojević | 16 | 2 |
| Dragan Simeunović (goalkeeper) | 16 | 0 |
| Milenko Rajković | 14 | 0 |
| Ljubiša Stojanović | 12 | 0 |
| Radomir Savić | 12 | 0 |
| Zoran Jelikić | 10 | 1 |
| Slavoljub Muslin | 10 | 0 |
| Milko Đurovski | 9 | 5 |
| Nedeljko Milosavljević | 6 | 2 |
| Slobodan Goračinov | 2 | 0 |
| Zdravko Čakalić | 2 | 0 |
| Srboljub Stamenković | 1 | 0 |
| Goran Živanović | 1 | 0 |
| Slavko Radovanović | 1 | 0 |
| Srboljub Marinković | 1 | 0 |
| Head coach: Branko Stanković |||

## Top scorers

| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Milan Radović | Rijeka | 26 |
| 2 | Mojaš Radonjić | Budučnost | 16 |
| 3 | Dragoljub Kostić | Napredak Kruševac | 15 |
| 4 | Zvonko Živković | Partizan | 14 |
| 5 | Abid Kovačević | Dinamo Zagreb | 13 |
| 5 | Slavko Kovačić | NK Zagreb | 13 |
| 5 | Davor Čop | Napredak Kruševac | 13 |
| 8 | Zdravko Borovnica | Red Star | 12 |
| 8 | Dragan Vujović | Budučnost | 12 |
| 10 | Zlatko Vujović | Hajduk Split | 11 |
| 10 | Vahid Halilhodžić | Velež | 11 |
| 10 | Vasil Ringov | Vardar | 11 |