[4] Led by the youngest club president in the history of FR Yugoslavia football, they continued to progress rapidly, finishing in a higher league position every season.

Simultaneously, the club reached the semi-finals of the national cup in two consecutive seasons in 2002 and 2003, but was eliminated by Sartid Smederevo on both occasions.

[5][6] In the 2003–04 season, the club achieved its best league performance by finishing in third place, thus securing a spot in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup.

Despite only finishing ninth in the league that season, the club made the biggest success in its history by winning the Serbia and Montenegro Cup.

[10][11] Refounded as FK Železnik Lavovi, the club started competing in the Belgrade Third League, the seventh tier of Serbian football.