No one, save for a few scattered policemen, was about as we approached the entrance to the Red Star Sports Society, one of those stereotypical communist-style concrete buildings, strangely identical to an apartment building. "It doesn't matter which sport is your favorite or which stadium you're standing in or what colors you're wearing: there's a common belief amongst fans that your presence can make or break a team.

One fan was in critical condition after being hit in the head with a bottle.Sports are meant to be fun, but this experience had been anything but. It's in your throat as the shot is teed up. They're our only signal as to where to go, however, as we're led through a park, along a dirt path, up some steps near an apartment building, and waved down another flight of steps to approach the stadium.Where we're faced with a giant banner proclaiming "Grobari, to smo mi" (We are the undertakers).And so it's around the stadium, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible on the nearly deserted streets, devoid of all those policemen that had been standing so reliably along so many of the other routes.

It was time to go inside. Totally, Red Star Belgrade and Radnicki Nis fought for 16 times before. Either way, I was soon shoved into a mob of people, finding my nose buried in armpit after armpit. The screams of "shoot" and "foul" are, of course, easy enough to comprehend. Red Star Stadium or El stadio de Marakana is a multi-functional football stadium located in Serbia’s capital city of Belgrade. Everyone jostled for a seat, some flopping on the concrete, some poised on the lip of the cold plastic chairs, others balanced on friends' knees. The police, on the other hand, are ever-increasing in their presence. The player predicts whether the result at the end of the normal game-time will be one out of three options: a win for … It hardly seemed a place that housed Serbia's most successful soccer club, much less the umbrella organization for more than 25 different clubs in various sports.Neither did the Marakana give the impression that it played host to a team that won the Serbian SuperLiga title just last season.

But considering I'd still be in possession of a bright red sweatshirt, there was no guarantee of safety once we'd left the protection of the numerous cops lining the streets.Then again, there's also no reason to believe that the inside of the stadium would be safe, either. One fan was in critical condition after being hit in the head with a bottle.Sports are meant to be fun, but this experience had been anything but. This was the place the Red Star fans would meet before walking to the match. I've still got a gash on my leg brought about while celebrating a goal three years ago, I've found myself on my ass two rows in front of the place I'd been standing, and I've certainly learned my lesson about wearing open-toed shoes inside a supporters' section -- no matter if the temperature is over 100 degrees. For now, I leave it in the bag.And that's the strangest thing about walking through Belgrade before the Derby: there are no colors, anywhere. The silence lasted maybe 30 seconds, but it was enough to show that Red Star knew they were beaten.

Asian handicap home win rate is 30%. Perhaps they should've been more concerned with the flame wars going on inside.As kickoff approached, it became clear that any attempts -- if they'd even been made -- to keep out flares and smoke bombs had failed spectacularly.First came a few isolated flares from the Red Star fans.

Your voice rises in unison with the other fans. Soon, however, the stand was a blur of red and gold flame, with smoke again rising out to cover the pitch. Launch my phone over the railing and into the Red Star fans below? No one was hurt and the police separated the sides after about a minute, but the scorched seats in the east stand were enough proof that things could get ugly, quickly. There aren’t hotels within close proximity to the stadium!© 2014 - 2020 Copyright Football Tripper. Your heart races as the player zips toward goal. It's why playing behind closed doors is considered a punishment.