NK Kustošija is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb, which currently competes in the Prva NL, the second level of Croatian football league system. Kustošijas home ground is the Kustošija Stadium in Zagreb, which has a capacity of 2,550 spectators. It was founded in 1929.
Kustošija also have a football school attached to the club, where a number of children of famous Croatians have trained due to its location in the center of Zagreb.
History The club was founded on 15 July 1929 in Zagreb, at Ilica 55, under the name Sportski klub Metalac. It had 18 members and consisted of football, swimming and chess sections. The initiative to establish the club came from members of the Metal Workers’ Union, Ivan Slugić and Ivan Korošec, who became the club’s first president. The club was a workers’ club for metal industry employees. It was not permitted to operate publicly until its statutes were officially approved in June 1930.Labud Kirić, Osnivanje sportskog kluba Metalac u Zagrebu 1929. godine, Povijest sporta, March 1979, no. 38, pp. 3250–3251. The club statutes from 1930 list it under the name Športski klub Metalac.Pravila hrvatskih društava 1845–1945, FFZG, accessed 28 December 2025. The football section of Metalac played its first official match on 14 September 1930 at the Tipografija ground against Esperant (1–2). Metalac initially did not have its own ground and played its home matches at the Grafičar ground, a workers’ club which allowed Metalac to use the pitch free of charge. The club premises were located at Haulikova Street 10/IV, which from 1933 also served as the headquarters of the “Association of Third-Class Clubs”.
In 1932, the club colours were red and black.Izveštaj o radu Jugoslovenskog nogometnog saveza u 1932 godini, Yugoslav Football Association, Belgrade, 1932, p. XVI. During the interwar period, Metalac was associated with the activities of the illegal Communist Party.Franjo Frntić, Josip Broz Tito član i počasni predsjednik Radničkog sportskog društva Metalac u Zagrebu, Povijest sporta, December 1977, no. 33, pp. 2851–2852.
The club was dissolved on 15 May 1941 during the period of the Independent State of Croatia, along with other workers’ clubs.Labud Kirić, Osnivanje sportskog kluba Metalac u Zagrebu 1929. godine, Povijest sporta, March 1979, no. 38, p. 3254.
During World War II, almost all members of Metalac’s various sections participated in the Yugoslav Partisan movement. A total of 41 members were killed, seven of whom were proclaimed People’s Heroes of Yugoslavia: Petar Biškup Veno, Marijan Čavić, Dragica Končar, Rade Končar, Ivica Lovinčić, Marko Orešković and Joža Vlahović. Milutin Baltić and Ivan Šibl were also proclaimed People’s Heroes.RSD Metalac, Kartografija otpora, accessed 15 July 2025.
Metalac was re-established on 9 June 1945, with its first general assembly held ten days later. From that point it operated under the name Fizkulturno društvo Metalac. Josip Broz Tito became a member and honorary president of the club on 2 October 1945. In 1947, Metalac was granted use of the Šparta ground.NK Šparta od 1945. godine…, NK Šparta Zagreb, accessed 15 July 2025. After its post-war re-establishment, the club finished 6th in the 1946 Croatian League, earning promotion to the second tier. In the 1952–53 season, Bogdan Cuvaj became head coach, and in 1954–55 the club achieved its best league result, finishing third in the Yugoslav Second League. Metalac reached the quarter-finals of the Yugoslav Cup in 1948 and 1951. From 7 August 1953, the club operated under the name Sportsko društvo Metalac. The club competed in the second and third tiers until the 1972–73 season, after which it played exclusively in lower-division competitions.
In 1964, the club merged with NK Kustošija (formerly Sloboda) and acquired the football ground in Sokolska Street. Until then, it had played at the Munjarski put ground.Kustošija, NK Maksimir Zagreb, accessed 15 July 2025. On 18 March 1969, the club changed its name to Radničko sportsko društvo Metalac.
Since 1993, the club has been known as NK Kustošija.Kustošija, NK, Nogometni leksikon, accessed 15 July 2025.
In the 2015–16 season, Kustošija won the MŽNL Središte and was promoted to the 3. HNL – West. In 2016–17, after finishing second, the club earned promotion to the 2. HNL.
Kustošija was relegated from the First NL in the 2022–23 season (the second tier since the 2022–23 season). In February 2023, 18-year-old Senegalese player Mikayil Faye joined the club. After making 14 appearances, he was sold in the summer to Barcelona for €5 million plus bonuses, a record fee for a player from the Croatian second tier.
In September 2025, the team presented a rebranding, adopting a new badge. In December they presented gold and black as main colors.
Honours Croatian football league system Druga NL (tier 3) Second place (2): 2016–17; 2023–24 MŽNL - Center (tier 4) Winners (1): 2015–16 1. ŽNL Zagreb (tier 5) Winners (1): 2006–07
Yugoslav football league system Croatian Republic Football League Winners (1): 1946–47 Podsavezna liga Zagreb Winners (1): 1952 Nogometno prvenstvo Jugoslavije – Hrvatsko-slovenska Winners (1): 1953–54 Zagrebačka zona Winners (3): 1959–60; 1965–66; 1967–68
Current squad
Out on loan
Recent seasons SeasonLeagueCupEuropean competitionsTop league scorerDivisionPWDLFAPtsPosPlayerGoals2012–132. ŽNL Zagreb24202212622621st ↑2013–141. ŽNL Zagreb3022537821712nd2014–15MŽNL - Center3016596838533rd2015–16MŽNL - Center3023347724721st ↑2016–173. HNL3016685935542nd ↑Preliminary2017–182. HNL33117153439408thDNQKristijan Lovrić112018–192. HNL26771220282811thDNQMatija Čakarun62019–202. HNL1965819272313thDNQ2020–212. HNL34121574338515thDNQFran Brodić142021–222. HNL30119103935425thDNQJan Jurčec82022–231. NL339141035503411th ↓DNQAndrej Šaronja82023–242. NL3018756125612ndDNQFran Petković112024–252. NL3013985140488thR2Marko Guja162025–262. NL3017855523591st ↑DNQNoel Djurkovic102026–271. NLTBA
Historical list of coaches
Ivica Gajer Antun Pogačnik Ivan Belošević Bogdan Cuvaj August Bivec Gustav Lechner Renato Jurčec (Sep 26, 2015 – Aug 9, 2017) Denis Bezer (Aug 9, 2017 – Dec 6, 2017) Nino Bule (Jan 4, 2018 – Apr 17, 2018) Denis Bezer (April 19, 2018 – Dec 31, 2018) Ante Ivanda (Jan 30, 2019 – Sep 20, 2019) Ivica Landeka (Sep 20, 2019 – Mar 30, 2021) Dinko Jeličić (Mar 30, 2021 – Jun 30, 2021) Igor Tolić (Jul 1, 2021 – Oct 17, 2021) Roy Ferenčina (Oct 18, 2021 – May 30, 2022) Dinko Jeličić (C) (Jul 1, 2022 – Jul 25, 2022) Ilija Lončarević (Aug 4, 2022 – Oct 6, 2022) Petra Mandić (Oct 21, 2022 – Mar 10, 2023) Samir Toplak (Mar 11, 2023 – Jun 30, 2023) Damir Milinović (Jun 1, 2023 – Oct 9, 2023) Rajko Vidović (Oct 9, 2023 – Mar 16, 2024) Luka Bilobrk (Mar 26, 2024 –Jun 30, 2024) Kresimir Gojun (Jul 1, 2024 – Dec 24, 2024) Roy Ferenčina (Dec 12, 2024 – Jun 30, 2025) Ivan Božić (Jul 14, 2025 –)
References