Belgrade Derby Day

The history

Belgrade Derby Day. Red Star vs. Partizan. It’s the biggest match of the year in Serbia and it very well might be one of the fiercest rivalries in the entire world.

Their two stadiums are separate by just a few blocks and the entire city of Belgrade is separated into “Red” and “Black” neighborhoods. And let me tell you, you don’t want to get caught in the wrong part of town with the wrong color shirt on.

I don’t even want to try to compare this to any American rivalry. The supporters aren’t just fans, they’re part of a gang for their side. They don’t just chant cute little things like “Yankees Suck!” Nope. They kill each other instead. Very casual.

 

How to not die at the Belgrade Derby

We showed up to the Sunday night tilt with some pretty strict instructions from our host and big-time Red Star supporter Nikola:

• Wear neutral colors. Absolutely no red, black or white. “That’s how you get yourself killed.”
  • It’s like when I used to show up to work with brown shoes and a black belt and my female coworkers would crucify me.

• Remove anything from your pockets or purses that could be hurled towards the field. Lighters, lipsticks, pocket knives, keychains. “You won’t be getting that back. And you don’t want them getting in because you’ll probably end up catching one in the side of the head.”
  • Not entirely sure how they confiscated all the lighters and everyone in the stadium was still smoking and lighting fireworks. I left smelling like an ashtray.

• Don’t speak to the police. There were over 1,500 fully armed swat team guards on duty for the game and they were “just as likely to take a crack at you as the fans.”
  • FYI… the swat team guys still pee in full gear.

• Buy a newspaper on your way in. You were going to want something to sit on. “Otherwise you’ll be sitting in beer, dirt and dried blood. They don’t wash the seats.”
  • Thank god it’s after Labor Day and white pants season is over

• Sit right here in the general admission section. “If there’s a fire, go out this way. If there’s an attack from the Partizan fans, go this way. And if there’s an altercation between the Red Star supporters and the police… run.”
  • You think I’m joking, but this was our battle plan.

• If Red Star wins, we leave the stadium immediately. “Because Partizan is going to break all their chairs and light them on fire.”
  • Every time the two teams play they have to replace the visitor’s section seats because they’ve kicked through the plastic and lit them on fire. You’d think at some point they’d move to metal chairs. Just a thought…

More than a game

It was like we were going to war. And in many ways, these fans do go to war. In the 18^th minute the Partisan fans unfurled a massive banner and lit some flares to honor the memory of an 18-year-old supporter who had been killed in a street fight over the summer.

Every time the Partisan goalkeeper touched the ball there were VICIOUS shouts, whistles, curses and flares hurled his way. Turns out, he was the old Red Star captain. Grew up a Red Star fan watching the Belgrade Derby from the stands and worked his way up through their academy system only to switch sides and start playing for Partizan. Since then, he has had two people try to kill him and now has 24/7 security. Call me crazy, but I think I would’ve just stuck around with my hometown club. Could’ve saved him some trouble.

Fire. Fire. Fire.

The product on the field was nothing to write home about, but you didn’t come to the Belgrade Derby to watch the game. You came to watch the supporters chant, heckle, fight and start fires for two hours. I’ve never seen so much fire in my life. Every 30 seconds it seemed like there was another deafening bang and 10 more fire sticks being held in the air.

I’ve always considered myself a pyro, but this was a whole different level. I mean, these guys were lighting their shirts on fire, holding torches up on the air, burning the stadium seats and they just kept on chanting and waving their flags like nothing was going on. The poor sideline firefighters. They had no hope. Just running around with little extinguishers trying to make sure the field didn’t go up in flames. You couldn’t pay me enough to do that.

The game ended in a 0-0 draw, which we were told would keep the streets a bit quieter that night. A winning result for either side usually meant war after hours. Nikola told us it was one of the tamest derbies he’s been to in 20 years. I must admit, I wanted more chaos, but the Belgrade Derby was far from “tame.”