After attending some of the greatest rivalries in Europe, Panos Kostopoulos took in his first, unforgettable Belgrade Derby last Thursday.
My first Belgrade derby: 'This one gave me goosebumps'
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7 Mins read
You just have to talk to a Serbian fan to understand what the Belgrade derby between Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade and Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade is about. After just a few sentences you will spot the spark coming from his or her eyes, an excitement springing from very deep. It’s not just about basketball. It’s about feelings and the profound connection they have with their teams. Belgrade breathes basketball, and sports in general, as Serbia has produced numerous stars who have plied their trade and shined both in Europe and the NBA.
In the middle of this love for the sport is a derby like no other. I’ll tell you something, being very honest here. I’ve experienced several Greek derbies and we all know what a game between Olympiacos Piraeus and Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens means. I’ve been to a few Clásicos too, where this rivalry goes beyond basketball or any sport, really. None of the derbies that have attended around Europe has been as passionate and fervent as the Belgrade derby.
To explain my experience thoroughly, I need to start from the day I landed in the Serbian capital. It was a couple of days before the game and videos had already emerged on social media about Crvena Zvezda fans forming long queues for a single ticket.
“I received a message today from one of my friends that people from Hungary are here and [asked me] how they can get tickets,” Adam Hanga told me after the game. “I told him good luck, that it’s impossible to get tickets now. When I signed for the team, a lot of Hungarians promised me that they are going to come here. I told them from the very beginning of the season, ‘You guys have to come and experience this in person, because it’s completely different [watching it] on videos and another thing when you are present and you feel the vibes and you feel the atmosphere.' I think it’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience and everybody should experience that.”
Disputed just a few days before Serbian Christmas, which falls on January 7, the derby was the first big event of 2024. Everyone would gladly discuss it and you could note that their voices would suddenly thicken with emotion, enthusiasm and expectation. From the first minute I stepped foot inside Stark Arena, it was obvious to me that I would experience a night that was different from any others I have previously sampled at a basketball game.
It was more than an hour and a half before the opening tip and half of the arena was already filling up. Everyone in the lower bowl was dressed in white, with all the fans in the upper stands donning red shirts. No one was sitting down. Actually, no one sat down throughout the game either, apart from those in the press section, which was buzzing more than the main stands at other arenas I’ve visited in the past. Fans had been singing chants from long before I arrived and there were still 90 minutes to the tip-off.
The ultras were slowly taking their seats, unfolding their banners and flags behind the basket. Interestingly, but understandably, Partizan fans traditionally occupy the opposite end from where the Crvena Zvezda ultras are seated, which means that each time the press area has to be moved to the other end depending on which of the two teams hosts a EuroLeague game. This means that the arena had less than 48 hours to move everything so that the Crvena Zvezda ultras could occupy the area where the press was for Partizan’s 90-77 win over LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne on Tuesday night. Fascinating.
Standing out at the ultras’ end was a big banner of Zeljko Obradovic’s face. The coaching legend won his first EuroLeague championship as Partizan's head coach back in 1992. Hence, there were plenty of reasons for Crvena Zvezda fans to not be fond of Obradovic, who was booed by Crvena Zvezda fans more than any other Partizan member when their names were announced before the opening tip.
Then came the moment that I was looking forward to: the loudest pregame show produced by fans in EuroLeague arenas, or maybe anywhere at all. Everyone had been talking about it, people have been posting videos on social media, both Crvena Zvezda and opposition players have been left stunned, and this was exactly what I felt when 20,000 people were jumping up and down, rhythmically singing their team’s name. This one gave me goosebumps and I struggle to remember the last time I felt like this at a game as a neutral.
You know everything about the game by now. Crvena Zvezda dominated throughout the first half. Partizan bounced back after the break and pushed for a comeback, but the hosts were solid on both ends and secured their first-ever EuroLeague victory at home against their fierce rivals.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere at the gym,” Nemanja Nedovic told me after the game. “I’m very happy that we got the win and we played the way we played for the people that came to support us. They’ve been here since the beginning and we really wanted to pay them back. For some time, they will have some joy because we beat our rivals.”
Before the game, I asked several people to explain the difference between the Belgrade derby and other European derbies. Some highlighted the passion of Serbian people, but having been at a Greek derby I can assure you that a Panathinaikos vs. Olympiacos clash does not lack passion. Others would point to the deep rivalry between the two Serbian teams, but living in Spain I can definitely say that the roots of the rivalry between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are deeper than many may expect.
After attending Thursday’s duel at Stark Arena and ticking it off my bucket list, where it had been sitting in the top spot since I was very young, I can finally say that I understand what’s different about the Eternal Derby. It’s the combination of everything above, multiplied by 1,000, and adding to the mix the passion Serbian people have for the sport of basketball.
The Belgrade derby is a jewel for the EuroLeague and a game that every basketball fan should experience. And yes, I’d surely do it again – next time with Partizan playing at home. Slightly paraphrasing what Crvena Zvezda guard Yago dos Santos posted on X: Brother, I attended the Serbian derby.