After the conclusion of WWII, a sudden interest in sport, especially football, in Yugoslavia was very big. After the fall of older domestic clubs, new teams have formed (Dinamo, Red Star Belgrade, Patrizan and others), which quickly fitted in with the rest of the clubs that did not change their old names (Hajduk, Sarajevo).Rivalry was huge, and the whole competition was exciting – the champion was always decided at the very last game. That’s how it was on the 28 of October in 1950, when in Split, the game between “Hajduk” and “Red Star” was a decider of Yugoslav champion. That year, soccer gained a new wave of popularity – with a bit of help from exciting World Cup that was held in Brazil which was a prefect display of talent, and even more so, a perfect display of their fans, the Torcidas.
With attractive southern atmosphere on Maracana and other Brazilian stadiums personally impressed a group of Hajduk fans, students in Zagreb. As the final game was approaching, with the rivals “Red Star” in 1950 championship, the ambition of supporting their club in an organized fashion grew even bigger ; in between the group a new idea sparked the flame which held the idea of organizing a supporters group with an influence from Brazilian fans, with the name of Torcida.
The core of the group held 113 students and other young people, mainly from Dalmatia, but there were also some Hajduk fans from other parts of the country.That group organized a trip for a couple of thousands of students and other Hajduk fans from that city for the derby in Split. The trains filled with fans came to Split in early morning on 29th of October 1950. on a Split’s train station and were greeted with music .The whole city was on its feet, anxiously awaiting the start of the game. A large group of supporters went on that night in front of the hotel where the players of “Red Star” were located, making huge noise with sirens, horns, bells and other helpful material, keeping Red Star’s player from sleeping. That event will later turn out to be a custom for big games, and an important piece of Split’s football folklore.
And the big moment finally came. The brimful “Stari Plac” ( Old Field , the first stadium of Hajduk Split ) hosted twenty thousand people. It was so crowded that even a needle couldn’t get in. Hundreds of supporters stayed in front of the stadium, and others were chewing their nails by their radios receivers. Teams run on the pitch and the game starts. But it wasn’t a game, it was a war . The game was marked by many incidents, one of Hajduk’s player even punched a player of Red Star , but the referee was afraid to send him off because he was afraid the fans would riot . The game ended 2-1 for Hajduk and Red Star who needed just a draw lost the champion title that day !
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Tagged: 1950, Choreo, Corteo, Hajduk, PYRO, Torcida Split, Ultras
Episode 2. UNIVERSITATEA CLUJ vs CFR CLUJ
To understand why this match is considered to be the “Derby of Transilvania” you have to know a little bit of history.
Transilvania was concurred around the year 1000 by Hungarian medieval warlord Stephen I who defeated early Romanian small medieval states. The Hungarians maintained political control over the province for more than 9 centuries, but the vast majority of the population was always composed of Romanian ethnics , who were regarded in most cases subhumans and had little or no rights what so ever. In 1918 , after World War I , Transilvania united with Romania and became a Romanian province.
The city of Cluj-Napoca is a very beautiful town right in the middle of Transilvania , with a population of around 305.000 inhabitants , 20% of which are Hungarian ethnics. For the most part things are quiet between the two communities , but there are , as always , people who can let go of old grudges. Things can be pretty tensed sometimes.
So, in that climate , in 1907 the club Kolozsvari Vasutas Sport Club ( or KVSC , what will later become CFR Cluj ) was formed . At that time Transilvania was still part of Austro-Hungarian empire and played in the Hungarian championship. Needless to say KVSC is a Hungarian name and the club is regarded by many people as the club of the Hungarian community in Cluj. There’s also a supporter group (not ultras ) called KVSC, and it’s comprised of many Hungarian ethnics.
In 1919 , after Transilvania became a Romanian province , Universitatea Cluj was formed and it is regarded as the team of the Romanian community . The supporters sometimes call their team “ The symbol of the Romanian hearts”.
U Cluj fans always associate the white and black colours of their team with the national colours of the Romanian flag red-yellow and blue.
Tagged: Artcles, Black Devils, Choreo, Derby, PYRO, SAN, Sector 24, U CLuj- CFR Cluj, Ultras, Ultras 19
When it comes to derbies , Romania is known for the Bucharest’s big matches , when Romania’s giants, Steaua , Rapid and Dinamo face off. But Romania has quite a few local rivalries , and the most heated ones are Politehnica Timisoara vs. UTA Arad and Universitatea Cluj vs CFR Cluj. In fact I consider this matches even better, from an ultras point of view , than Bucharest’s derbies…and I’m a Dinamo fan myself. The reason is a very simple one…THE HUGE PASSION surrounding these matches. You see, these are not simple football rivalries, they involve much more than that, things like ethnic tensions, a rivalry between two cities that goes back for centuries and a lot of bad history.
And of course the fans don’t help either…they turned rivalries into pure hate ! .
Initially I wanted to name this article “ Romania’s little derbies” , but as you already see , there’s nothing little about them.
Episode 1 . POLITEHNICA TIMISOARA vs. U.T.A Arad
Politehnica Timisoara and UTA Arad are just contemporary symbols of a rivalry that goes way back in time , between two of the largest cities of Western Romania, Timisoara and Arad. Being very close to the western borders , not only made them economical , cultural and trading centers , but also ensured that the game of football entered Romania trough this area, in the early 1900’s, via central and Western Europe. Some of the early teams to win the Romanian football championship, Chinezu and Ripensia, came from Timisoara , in the 1920’s. Also the team from Arad, UTA , is a six times champion of Romania , winning its last trophy in 1970.
So you can imagine that football culture has a very long tradition in these two cities and the teams attract huge numbers of fans . Also add to the mix the fact that the cities are only 51 kilometers apart and you get a very volatile situation.
Tagged: Articles, Choreo, Derby, Drojdierii, MCMXXI, Poli-UTA, PYRO, RASA, SUR, UGTM, Ultras
We’re begging today a series of articles about the history of different European Ultras Scenes and Ultras groups. For this first episode we’ll talk about Delije , the legendary fanatic group of Red Star Belgrade.
In February 1945, during World War II, a group of young men, members of the Serbian United Antifascist Youth League, decided to form a Youth Physical Culture Society, that was to become Red Star on 4 March. The name Cervena Zvezda ( Red Star ) was assigned to the club after a long discussion. The colours they chose where with and red , displayed vertically on their jerseys.
Beginning with 1948 a section of “members – friends” was established . This section saw more than 120 entries and was mostly made up of young men from the affluent parts of the city – Senjak, Topčidersko Brdo, Dedinje, Knez Mihailova Street. But Red Star ‘s succes in the early 1950’s , started attracting all sorts of people to the stadium, from intellectuals to middle class people and even the sons of working people.
From the mists of these young working class people the fanatical support of 1970’s will arise . Unlike the fifties and sixties, when the stands of Maracana ( Zvezda’s legendary stadium ) were decorated by an ocasional flag, the 1970 brought new trends among the fans – red and white scarves and hats were worn in mass, the first banners appeared, and lots of flags were brought to the stadium . The fans of Red Star started traveling to away matches by the early 1960’s , but in the 1970’s this became a regular thing for the red and white fanatics.
Oldschool photos of Red Star fans in 1961 away in Zagreb , and at home in 1976.
Tagged: Article, Belgrade Boys, Choreo, Delije, Fights, PYRO, Red Star Belgrade, Ultras, Ultras Boys, Zvezda
The derby of Sarajevo : FK Sarajevo – FK Zeljeznicar
Thanks to our user ZFC1921 for the help.
This is the biggest match in Bosnia and Herzegovina and it’s played between Bosnia’s giants and city rivals FK Sarajevo and FK Zeljeznicar.This match has a history of more than 50 years, first ever match played between this two squads was in 1954. FK Sarajevo won the match by 6 goals to 1.
Some facts about the two squads:
- The older team of the two is FK Zeljeznicar,which was established in 1921 by some railway workers.
- Their rivals of FK Sarajevo were established 25 years later, in 1946, by the ruling communist party , under the name of FK Torpedo Sarajevo.It was created as Bosnia’s elite club, and it was supposed to represent the Communist Party and the bosnian people in the Yugoslav First League. To accomplish that several players were transferred from Zeljeznicar to Torpedo , on communist’s authority orders. This was the start of their historical rivalry.
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Tagged: Choreo, Derby, FK Sarajevo, FK Zeljeznicar, Horde Zla, PYRO, The Maniacs
Derby della Lanterna history.
The Derby della Lanterna is the derby of the italian city of Genova.The name comes from one of the city’s famous landmarks, the lighthouse in the old harbour of Genoa.
When most people hear the words “italian derby ” , they think about the derbies of Milan, Rome or Turin, or the match between Inter and Juve, but for me ,”Derby della Lanterna” is the qiuntesential ultras derby. The reason is simple:THE PASSION. I don’t think there is any other place in the world where a derby simply splits the city in half but here. This is one game the fanatics of Genoa and Sampdoria don’t want to lose and the players are not allowed to. Evidence of that love and passion can be found everywhere in the city of Genova:
Tagged: Bluecerchiati, Choreo, Derby, Derby della Lanterna, Grifoni, Ottavio Barbieri, PYRO, Ragazzi Certosa, Riviera Blucerchiata, Ultras, Ultras Tito
