At the moment Čović came on board to lead the federation, FR Yugoslavia national team led by Duda Ivković were the reigning European champions, having returned to international competition following a four-year exile due to the UN embargo.
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In 1998, Čović brought former Yugoslav national team player Ratko Radovanović on board as the club's sporting director.
#Party of United Pensioners of Serbia-Social Democratic Party - the SDP of Nebojša Čović ran in the election together with PUPS led by Jovan Krkobabić.
In comparison, many other leaders of small parties within DOS that had considerably lesser profile than NS and Ilić, like Vladan Batić, Dušan Mihajlović, Goran Svilanović, Nebojša Čović, Rasim Ljajić, Žarko Korać, Dragan Veselinov, József Kasza, Mile Isakov, etc., all received high posts.