.....after having a ticket opportunity fall through yesterday, I just took a taxi to the stadium this morning and was surprised to find tickets were available.
The match tonight is known simply as "The Derby" and is considered one of the ten most intense rivalries in world soccer. Both clubs--the Red Star and the Partisans--were products of the World War II resistance to the German Occupation of Yugoslavia. There were two Yugoslav partisan groups--completely opposed in political ideology but united in their opposition to the Germans. In post-war Yugoslavia the old political divisions resurfaced in every way--including these two football clubs.
Both clubs date back to 1945 but they have never, ever gotten along, The 1989 Derby was particularly violent with a riot injuring over 200 and 54 stab wounds. A life-sized painting of a Red Star supporter brandishing a club is positioned just outside the front office today.
One graffiti outside the stadium has a picture of a knife with the "prohibited" circle and bar across it. The security guard noticed me photographing it and came over and told me in perfect English that the words below the sign said "Knives are for pussies."
I stood in line with a group that looked like a Serbian skin-head version of the Hell's Angels When I got to the front of the line, I couldn't communicate with the lady selling tickets behind the window and one of them told me she was asking for my passport. To get a ticket for the Derby, you must show identification and each ticket and seat are recorded with the purchaser's name and identification. I had my ticket but I was now in the "database."
I walked around the outside of the stadium after getting my ticket and it seemed every inch of wall had some kind of graffiti painted on it--much of it related to 1989.
I went into the team store and bought a club scarf--which I'll leave at the hotel tonight. They sell just about anything you can think of related to Red Star. 1989 shirts with the hooded supporter were everywhere and they even have their own wine brand.
One thing I noticed in the morning is that once the supporters get their tickets, all bets are off. I didn't see a single turnstile in the stadium that hadn't been destroyed.
Reading earlier, I knew that alcohol sales are stopped four hours before the match in a 3 km radius around the stadium. They literally took a map and compass to draw a circle and force the bars to close until after the game.
I visited the team museum and the guy in charge spoke excellent English and was really surprised to find an American who was into soccer. The team must have close to a thousand trophies over the years and he pointed one out where they beat the Chicago Mustangs in 1968. I didn't tell him I'd never heard of the Chicago Mustangs but the museum was constructed like a shrine--which I guess, in a sense, it is.
Looking closer at my ticket, I discovered the match was being played at Partisan--no problem, the stadium is only about 200 yards away. I get to see two stadiums (stadia?) this way.
I take a taxi to the stadium in the evening and the place is literally crawling in police.
If somebody would tell me there were 1,000 police officers there, I wouldn't be surprised. Inside the stadium, security was even tighter. Both clubs supporter sections were packed--probably AT LEAST 3,000 in each section--both competing to drown each other out to the point I couldn't hear anybody around me talking for nearly two hours. My seat ended up being right on fence with the Red Star supporters.
The match finally started and the Red Star supporters opened by igniting flares and smoke bombs.
It's kind of a cheap shot the way they do it--they ignite smoke until there is no visibility then they throw flares and fireworks at the police. I wasn't able to see any soccer on the field until the third minute. During this period, several Red Star supporters jumped the barrier and tried to do a pitch invasion.
As soon as that had cleared, the Partisan supporters opened up their smoke and flares.
The wind was behind them and the referee had to halt the match for almost five minutes--the players couldn't even see the goal, much less shoot against it. It would be the first of two halts in play this evening.
Partisan scored the winning goal in the 75th minute and the stadium (their home pitch) erupted.
I got everything I'd hoped for with this match. Chants, smoke, flares and a pitch invasion. Fights started breaking out in the stands and I left during stoppage time to get away from it all.
Before I came here, I had thought about bringing my Dynamo jersey and wearing it but decided against it. In retrospect, it was a prudent decision.
Tomorrow I go to Navi Sad, an old Sixth Century city and a nearby monastery.
The match tonight is known simply as "The Derby" and is considered one of the ten most intense rivalries in world soccer. Both clubs--the Red Star and the Partisans--were products of the World War II resistance to the German Occupation of Yugoslavia. There were two Yugoslav partisan groups--completely opposed in political ideology but united in their opposition to the Germans. In post-war Yugoslavia the old political divisions resurfaced in every way--including these two football clubs.
Both clubs date back to 1945 but they have never, ever gotten along, The 1989 Derby was particularly violent with a riot injuring over 200 and 54 stab wounds. A life-sized painting of a Red Star supporter brandishing a club is positioned just outside the front office today.
One graffiti outside the stadium has a picture of a knife with the "prohibited" circle and bar across it. The security guard noticed me photographing it and came over and told me in perfect English that the words below the sign said "Knives are for pussies."
I stood in line with a group that looked like a Serbian skin-head version of the Hell's Angels When I got to the front of the line, I couldn't communicate with the lady selling tickets behind the window and one of them told me she was asking for my passport. To get a ticket for the Derby, you must show identification and each ticket and seat are recorded with the purchaser's name and identification. I had my ticket but I was now in the "database."
I walked around the outside of the stadium after getting my ticket and it seemed every inch of wall had some kind of graffiti painted on it--much of it related to 1989.
I went into the team store and bought a club scarf--which I'll leave at the hotel tonight. They sell just about anything you can think of related to Red Star. 1989 shirts with the hooded supporter were everywhere and they even have their own wine brand.
One thing I noticed in the morning is that once the supporters get their tickets, all bets are off. I didn't see a single turnstile in the stadium that hadn't been destroyed.
TURNSTILES??? WE DON'T NEED NO STINKIN' TURNSTILES
Reading earlier, I knew that alcohol sales are stopped four hours before the match in a 3 km radius around the stadium. They literally took a map and compass to draw a circle and force the bars to close until after the game.
I visited the team museum and the guy in charge spoke excellent English and was really surprised to find an American who was into soccer. The team must have close to a thousand trophies over the years and he pointed one out where they beat the Chicago Mustangs in 1968. I didn't tell him I'd never heard of the Chicago Mustangs but the museum was constructed like a shrine--which I guess, in a sense, it is.
Looking closer at my ticket, I discovered the match was being played at Partisan--no problem, the stadium is only about 200 yards away. I get to see two stadiums (stadia?) this way.
I take a taxi to the stadium in the evening and the place is literally crawling in police.
If somebody would tell me there were 1,000 police officers there, I wouldn't be surprised. Inside the stadium, security was even tighter. Both clubs supporter sections were packed--probably AT LEAST 3,000 in each section--both competing to drown each other out to the point I couldn't hear anybody around me talking for nearly two hours. My seat ended up being right on fence with the Red Star supporters.
The match finally started and the Red Star supporters opened by igniting flares and smoke bombs.
It's kind of a cheap shot the way they do it--they ignite smoke until there is no visibility then they throw flares and fireworks at the police. I wasn't able to see any soccer on the field until the third minute. During this period, several Red Star supporters jumped the barrier and tried to do a pitch invasion.
As soon as that had cleared, the Partisan supporters opened up their smoke and flares.
The wind was behind them and the referee had to halt the match for almost five minutes--the players couldn't even see the goal, much less shoot against it. It would be the first of two halts in play this evening.
Partisan scored the winning goal in the 75th minute and the stadium (their home pitch) erupted.
I got everything I'd hoped for with this match. Chants, smoke, flares and a pitch invasion. Fights started breaking out in the stands and I left during stoppage time to get away from it all.
Before I came here, I had thought about bringing my Dynamo jersey and wearing it but decided against it. In retrospect, it was a prudent decision.
Tomorrow I go to Navi Sad, an old Sixth Century city and a nearby monastery.
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