Richard Odada makes Red Star debut after three years

The 20-year-old was introduced in the 78th minute in place of Veljko Nikolić as Red Star thumped FK Proleter Novi Sad in the Serbian Super League.

Odada has been residing in Belgrade since 2017 after trying out for a number of clubs including Italian giants Juventus and Inter Milan.

Red Star opened the scoring in the 22nd minute when Leandro Pinto turned the ball into his own net before Nikolić doubled their lead 10 minutes later as they went into the half time break leading 2-0.

Comoros forward Ben Nabouhane extended his scoring run after netting a goal in the 1-1 draw against AC Milan that marked Red Star’s exit from the Europa League with his sixth league goal of the season.

With the comfortable lead, coach Dejan Stanković handed Odada his debut following reports that the midfielder has expressed his intentions to acquire Serbian citizenship.

Red Star have 12 foreign players in their squad making it tough for Odada to make an appearance in the first team prompting the midfielder to apply for Serbian citizenship.

Alexsandar Katai drilled the final nail in Proleter’s coffin in the 90th minute as Red Star extended their lead at the summit of the table to 65 points, six more than second-placed Partizan Belgrade with a game in hand.

The former AFC Leopards midfielder spent last season on loan to Graficar where he helped the side to a second-place finish. 

Odada will be hoping for more minutes when Red Star take on Bačka Topola on Wednesday 3 March.