In the culturally rich and historic Belgrade, you will find a club which might be more notorious than the city itself: Red Star Belgrade. The home ground, the Rajko Mitić Stadium, has a reputation as one of the world’s most intimidating arenas. The firework, red pyros and loud noise will awaken all your senses.
Life in one of Europe’s poorest countries is not easy, but Serbians can release all their frustrations in a football stadium. In those ninety minutes, they can forget about life and scream at the top of their lungs. Football is in the Serbians’ blood and part of their DNA. Especially in Belgrade, a city whose identity is intertwined with the two biggest football clubs: Red Star Belgrade and FK Partizan. They dominate the streets with their graffiti. On every road, you will find the words ‘Grobari’ (Partizan’s supporter group) and ‘Delije’ (the name of Red Star’s notorious ultra groups) sprayed on the walls.
The name ‘Red Star’ or ‘Delije’ – which loosely translates to ‘Heroes’ – alone will put fear in the mind of some football fans. They are notorious for their reputation off the pitch, rather than for what they achieved on it. It is one of the most successful clubs in the Balkans and has one European Cup trophy from 1991 and 65 domestic cups, including 34 league titles, in its cabinet. But despite this, we know Red Star from its intimidating atmosphere and incidents of violence.
But this sometimes gives a bad image to the club, because Red Star also has some fantastic supporters who do not commit any violence. Every fan inside the stadium will cheer and sing for their club for the full ninety minutes, even when the team is losing. The stands are full of colour and tifos. Red pyros and fireworks are lit everywhere, especially during the bigger games like the derby against Partizan.
Red Star was born from the ashes of the Second World War when all Serbian football clubs were abolished. Despite the communist references in the name and logo (the red star) and the close ties to the secret police of the communist Yugoslavia, the club soon became the symbol of Serbian nationalism and created more distance between their connection to the Partisans (the Yugoslavian National Liberation Army) and the country’s communist party.
Red Star has been playing in the Rajko Mitić Stadium, also known as the Red Star Stadium, since 1963. In the early days, the arena had a capacity of 110,000 and gained the nickname ‘Marakana’, named after Brazil’s famous Maracanã Stadium. Since then, the capacity has been reduced to 53,000 and seats were placed on all four stands. The stadium has been built into the ground and appears a lot smaller from the outside than it is. You can see the city from the highest seats in the main stand. From the outside, it is not the most elegant arena. It is, instead, rather intimidating. You will see rust, white paint falling off the walls and red graffiti on the white-bricked walls everywhere.
Does the exterior already frighten you? Wait until you walk into the players’ tunnel during a stadium tour. There are multiple aspects which make the tunnel unique. Firstly, the changing rooms are located 240 metres outside the stadium, which means that it takes the players two minutes to get onto the pitch.
Secondly, the players’ tunnel is full of bright red paint that looks terrifyingly similar to blood and the ceiling, which is only 15 centimetres thick, is so low in certain places that the tallest players have to lean forward. The English striker Peter Crouch must be delighted he never played here. On top of that, the ultras make so much noise that the sound vibrates through the walls and the ceiling.
Red Star’s players then leave the tunnel through the main exit. The opponents turn left, go down two flights of stairs and walk past a red-bolstered door which the ultras are hitting aggressively. They then finally enter the pitch after two miserable minutes. It is often said that this walk gives a psychological advantage to the home team.
When Rajko Mitić passed away in 2008, Serbia was in mourning. Everybody loved him. He set an example for all Serbians, he loved the sport like no one else and was a leader on and off the pitch. Red Star’s son was the club’s first-ever captain. Not only did they name the stadium after Mitić, but they also unveiled a beautiful statue of him outside the arena.
Another ‘attraction’ that catches the eye is the tank with the club’s emblem outside the stadium. Red Star’s fans have referred to themselves as the Northern Army and often use a tank to symbolise their support. However, not everyone in Serbia and the surrounding countries are happy with the ‘monument’. Some see it as a reference to the Yugoslavian wars in the 1990s. The fact that Red Star is known to be a nationalistic club does not help either.
Are you wondering whether the city offers more than Partizan and Red Star alone? In Belgrade, groundhoppers are in for a treat. Nearby the city centre you will find the Omladinski Stadium of OFK Beograd. It is a massive stadium for a small football club. The home ground of OFK Beograd has seen better days, however. Trees and moss are growing on the terraces and you can find broken seats behind one of the stands. However, the arena is charming and beautifully nestled between the surrounding houses.
There are many more stadiums to see in Belgrade. Here you can find SANTOS’s online travel guide to the Serbian capital with many more football attractions you could explore.
Match tickets can easily be purchased on the club’s official website. The stadium is rarely sold-out. The only game that often tends to sell out is the derby against Partizan, so if you want to visit that one, make sure to order your ticket on time. For any other game, you could likely still buy tickets at the ticket office on match days.
Trams 9, 10 and 14 stop at the Oslobođenja station, which is within walking distance of Red Star’s home ground. This station is also near the stadium of Partizan, which is almost next to the Rajko Mitić Stadium.
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