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 A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

with

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 ...

. He represented the

Yugoslavia national basketball team The Yugoslavia men's national basketball team ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Košarkaška reprezentacija Jugoslavije, Кошаркашка репрезентација Југославије; ; ) represented the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...

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 indoor events, the 60 metres is run on lanes set out in the mi ...

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

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 * A fictional king (and the area he ...

, 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 ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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 of ...

National team career

Kalember was a member of the

that participated at the 1947 European Championship in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

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

1950 FIBA World Championship The 1950 FIBA World Championship, also called the 1st World Basketball Championship – 1950, was the inaugural edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, World Cup basketball tournament for men's national teams. It was held by the Internatio ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, 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 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 ...

, 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 ...

. 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 Košarkaški klub Split (), commonly referred to as KK Split or simply Split, is a men's professional basketball club based in Split, Croatia. The club competes in the ABA League and the Croatian League. Under its former name of KK Jugoplastika ...

, the team with which he won the first

Yugoslav Cup The Yugoslav Cup (; ; , ), officially known between 1923 and 1940 as the King Alexander Cup (; , and between 1947 and 1991 as the Marshal Tito Cup (; ; ; ), was one of two major association football, football competitions in Socialist Federal Re ...

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 Europe, FIBA's European professional club basketball system, 2nd-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, contested between national domestic cup ...

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 Vare ...

competition in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. 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 Cler ...

Personal life

Kalember was born in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

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 Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...

, 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 (Kingdom of Yugoslavia), army general who served as Chief of the General Staff (Yugoslavia)#Royal Yugoslav Armed Forces (1920–1941), Chief of the General Sta ...

, the 18th

Prime Minister of Yugoslavia The prime minister of Yugoslavia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Премијер Југославије, Premijer Jugoslavije) was the head of government of the Yugoslav state, from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 until the ...

.Otac mi je bio Žan, majka Žilijet, a ja Seržan
/ref> Kalember dated

Ljubica Otašević Ljubica "Buba" Otašević ( sr-cyr, Љубица Оташевић; born August 2, 1933 – April 12, 1998) was a Yugoslav and Serbian actress, body double, and basketball player. Early life Born in the village of Ljutovnica near Gornji Milanova ...

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 (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, 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 (, , ; or simply ; ) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population of 147,284 (2020). Its metropolitan area () had 504,157 inhabitants at the 2018 ...

Career achievements

Player

* Yugoslav League champion: 9 (with

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

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

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 Uni ...

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

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

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

Coach

winner: 1 (with

: 1971–72). *

FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup The FIBA Saporta Cup, founded as ''FIBA European Cup Winners Cup'', was the name of the European professional club basketball system, second-tier level European-wide professional club basketball competition, where the domestic National Cup winn ...

runner-up: 1 (with Jugoplastika:

1972–73 Year 197 ( CXCVII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Magius and Rufinus (or, less frequently, year 950 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 197 for this y ...

In popular culture

* In 2015 Serbian sports drama ''

We Will Be the World Champions ''We Will Be the World Champions'' () is a 2015 Serbian Sports film, sports drama film directed by Darko Bajić. It was one of six films shortlisted by Serbia to be their submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88t ...

'' 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 ...

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