Just as the period from 1942 to 1943 deserves to be remembered for the „unforgettable trio“ – Beljuca, Baračkov and Pecarski – the period from 1945 to 1946 should likewise be remembered for the „two exceptional half-backs of Novi Bečej’s Slavija“: Boža Krstić and Bela Farkaš.
Boža was exceptionally gifted in sports. Every sport he took up seemed to come naturally to him, or, as people used to say, it simply „came easily to him“.
All the young people of Novi Bečej knew that Boža was the town’s best long jumper and triple jumper, as well as one of its fastest young men. However, since athletics was neither developed nor formally organized in Novi Bečej at the time, he had little opportunity to demonstrate his abilities publicly. He finally did so at the athletics and physical education meet held on July 22, 1945, for the Novi Bečej District, where he won first place in the 100-meter race, the high jump and the long jump.
In table tennis, after Šanjika Kiš, he was considered one of the best players in Novi Bečej. Yet he had no particular desire to stand out, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that he had little interest in winning for the sake of victory itself. In every sport, he primarily wanted to play and enjoy the game.
This was evident even during an important table tennis match between Zvezda and Turul, a contest for local prestige in Novi Bečej whose outcome depended on his result. In front of around 500 Zvezda supporters, Boža played in a completely relaxed manner. He would deliberately „feed“ the ball to his opponent, allowing him to smash it as hard as possible. In this way, Boža could return even balls that most other players would have considered lost.
His matches were long and exciting, but mainly for the spectators. Throughout the games, he remained calm, behaving as though his personal prestige was not at stake at all.
He began playing football at the age of eighteen, without having gone through the usual childhood training, something generally possible only for exceptionally talented players. Boža immediately became a first-team player for Zvezda and later joined the excellent Slavija team of Novi Bečej.
In football, unlike in table tennis, his play was completely subordinated to the team. His teammates may have influenced this approach, but there is little doubt that his own awareness and sense of sportsmanship played the most important role. Above all, Boža was a humane and sociable man.
He was excellent in the air, thanks to his ability as a high jumper, and most high balls were therefore „his“. At times, he may have given the impression that he did not put enough effort into his play, but what required considerable exertion from others, he achieved with elegance and apparent ease. He was fast, covered a great deal of ground and was always in the right place at the right moment.
His talent was also noticed by officials of the District Physical Education Committee in Zrenjanin. After Slavija of Novi Bečej won the Northern Banat championship, Boža was included among the candidates for the Northern Banat representative team for a match against the champion of Southern Banat in Pančevo. However, the Novi Bečej players ultimately did not take part in the Northern Banat team.
Like his fellow half-back Bela Farkaš, Boža was modest and good-natured both on the football field and away from it. For these qualities, he was well liked by his teammates and friends, as well as by the spectators.
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