Matej Gashtarov sparks Red Star’s renewed focus on Macedonian talent

Red Star Belgrade has again turned its scouting gaze toward North Macedonia after the standout showing of young midfielder Matej Gashtarov in the club’s 180th Eternal Derby, a report dated 08.09.2026 observed.

From one bright performance to a wider pipeline

The article notes that Gashtarov’s display — and the club’s history of fielding Macedonian players — has prompted renewed attention to talent coming from Skopje, Strumica and Bitola. “Let's not talk about Macedonians,” the piece recalls a famous line by Dejan Savicevic, used to underline how perceptions have shifted since former times.

Red Star is said to already have roughly ten registered players from the former Yugoslav republic across its youth ranks, and the club keeps a close watch on promising prospects. Former stars and Macedonian names linked to Red Star in the text include Kiril Dojchinovski, Klenkovski, Bosko Gurovski (and controversies tied to his brother Milko), Darko Panchevo, Ilija Najdoski and Mitko Stojkovski — while Daniel Avramovski and Ivan Trichkovski were mentioned as talents who arrived at the club at difficult moments for their careers.

The piece highlights Red Star’s current youth cohort: winger Luka Trpevski (born 2010), described as a differentiating presence who plays regularly for Macedonia’s youth teams, and left-footed centre-back Marin Krstevski, who arrived this summer from Vardar in Skopje. Goalkeeper Luka Grchevski, already noted in 2024 during his spell at Rabotnicki, is also part of the academy group the club invested effort to recruit.

According to the report, Ilija Najdoski acts as an important adviser for Red Star in identifying Macedonian prospects, while many youngsters attend trials and some fail to progress — but the club stands ready to act when the right moment comes.

The article also points to structural limits: Red Star’s scouting options across the former Yugoslavia are constrained for a number of reasons. Slovenia’s pipeline tends toward Croatia, Montenegro historically prefers Partizan, and that leaves Republika Srpska and North Macedonia as reliable talent pools for the Belgrade club.

Gashtarov’s rise is framed as a reminder that small markets can still produce players capable of breaking through at a major Balkan club — and that Red Star will continue tapping the Macedonian reservoir for future prospects.

Photo: press material from the event