The 2007–08 Serbian Cup season was the second season of

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

knockout competition.

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

, the holders of the Lav Kup Srbije, began the tournament as favorites to lift the cup again. It seemed as though Red Star where on their way to winning the cup again having passed all stages with class. Then came the semifinal clash with arch-rival Partizan in what many considered the game of the tournament. The match came with much controversy due to a goal Red Star scored late that was flagged for offside. The replays clearly showed that Red Star's midfielder Nenad Milijaš was on, but what made matters worse was that the referee apologized to him and admitted that he had made a mistake. Several days after the incident the side judge retired from refereeing and openly apologized to Red Star and the supporters of the team. In the final, Partizan went on to face heavy underdog FK Zemun, who had a miracle run in the cup which included three wins from penalty shootouts on their road to the final. Zemun's luck ran out however, as Partizan cruised to a 3–0 victory to claim their tenth domestic cup.

Individual awards

Round of 32

The draw for the Round of 32 was held on September 15, 2007. All of the matches for this round were played on September 26, 2007. The teams in bold won.

Round of 16

The draw for the Round of 16 was held on October 9, 2007 with all of the participating clubs in attendance except for

who had to attend the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

draw in

Nyon Nyon (; historically German language, German: or and Italian language, Italian: , ) is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in Nyon District in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometer ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Radnički Niš vs Banat kicked off this round on October 23, 2007 with Banat being the first side to book their spot into the quarterfinals. All of the remaining matches for this round were played on October 24, 2007. Red Star vs Napredak was postponed because Red Star requested the delay due to them having a crucial UEFA Cup group stage match against German giants Bayern Munich the next day. The game was later rescheduled for February 23, 2008 and the result was a predictable victory for Red Star.

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarterfinals was held on February 28, 2008 and it paired several great matches, including two that went to penalty shootouts. The matches took place on March 19, 2008 and the teams in bold advanced to the semi-finals.

Semi-finals

The draw for the Semifinals was held on March 28, 2008 at the

Šumarice Hotel Šumarice ( sr-Cyrl, Шумарице) is a village situated in Serbia's Kraljevo municipality. It has about 500 residents and is located about from the city of Kraljevo. This Šumarice should not be confused with the suburb of Kragujevac (also ...

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

and arch-rivals Partizan were drawn against each other in the semifinals for the second consecutive year. The other match pitted

OFK Beograd OFK Beograd ( sr-Cyrl, ОФК Београд – Омладински фудбалски клуб Београд, English language, English: ''Belgrade Youth Football Club''), also known in English as OFK Belgrade and currently referred to as OFK ...

against the surprise team of the tournament

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; ) is a Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality in the city of Belgrade, Serbia. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown ...

. Both matches were played on April 16, 2008. ----

Final

The Lav Kup final match was played at

Partizan Stadium The Partizan Stadium ( Serbian: Стадион Партизан / ''Stadion Partizan'') is a football and track-and-field stadium in Autokomanda, Belgrade, Serbia. The home ground of FK Partizan, it was formerly known as JNA Stadium (Stadion J ...

, on May 7, 2008. Partizan played against second division side FK Zemun. Partizan already considered favorites then received an even bigger edge with the Serbian FA's decision to switch the final to Partizan's home ground. It was initially supposed to be at

's stadium but was later moved. The huge underdogs began the match poorly and where controlled by Partizan. After only 12 minutes

Lamine Diarra Lamine Diarra (born 20 December 1983) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped once for Senegal at full level besides representing the country at the under-23 level. Nicknamed ''Black Mamba'' and '' ...

put Partizan in front. Zemun seemed to be content with only being down one and both sides played passively until Diarra struck again 4 minutes before half time. The second half saw huge changes in Zemun's play. Zemun pushed more players forward and began creating opportunities but Partizan's defense was too good and Partizan seemed happy with playing off the counterattack which ended up being a great decision as Partizan would grab a third. After several last gasp efforts by Zemun, Darko Maletić crossed a dangerous ball in extra time which Diarra headed in for his third of the match. Shortly after the final whistle blew, and Partizan players and fans began celebrating their first Cup win since 2000–01.

External links

*
Zemun ready to live cup final dream
UEFA.com, May 6, 2008
Partizan lako do 10. kupa
B92, May 7, 2008
Jokanović: Nema vremena za slavlje, Kustudić: Ovo je bila naša lepa bajka
B92, May 7, 2008
Lav Kup: Jovšić i Dijara najbolji
B92, May 19, 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:2007-08 Serbian Cup Serbian Cup seasons

Serbian Cup The Serbian Cup ( Serbian: Куп Србије / Kup Srbije), also known as Mozzart Serbian Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the national football cup of Serbia. The winner of the competition gets a spot in the UEFA Europa League qualifying round. ...

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...