Sport plays an important role in everyday life in Serbia, especially football. For many young people, supporting a club is not just a hobby, but a clear part of their identity. Fan groups offer structure, rules, and a strong sense of belonging that many young people do not find elsewhere.
Family influence often plays a key role in early involvement in fan culture. A young supporter explains that he goes to Crvena Zvezda matches because he was raised that way. His father took him to the stadium when he was a child, and supporting the club became a natural part of his life.
The importance of Crvena Zvezda is also strong among young athletes. When I interviewed Nikola Stanković, a young footballer from Red Star, he spoke about when his love for the club began and whether he had fulfilled his childhood dream.
Every child in Serbia, while growing up, begins to support a club. Many factors influence this, such as friends, parents, and the surrounding environment. However, Nikola Stanković points out that his love for Crvena Zvezda developed from the moment he understood what football was. Even then, his only dream was to put on the jersey and step onto a full Marakana.
He also pointed out whether he feels nervous in front of full stands of supporters.
“Growing up and going through the youth academy at Red Star teaches you that when you step onto the pitch, you must not feel pressure. I would rather say that it is motivation, a positive kind of nervousness when you see a full stadium.”
In Serbian sport, the biggest rivalry is between the clubs Crvena Zvezda and Partizan. These are the two most successful clubs in Serbia, and the state invests the most money in them. A large part of the people who follow sports in this country generally support one of these two clubs.
The football club Crvena Zvezda became the European Champion in the European Cup (today’s Champions League) in 1991. At that time, they defeated Olympique de Marseille in a penalty shootout. This derby is also one of the most famous in the world, largely because of the intense rivalry between fans, the atmosphere in the stands, and on the streets. Crvena Zvezda has won the football championship eight times in a row and is now heading toward its ninth consecutive title. This represents a major blow and enormous pressure for the management of the football club Partizan in recent years.
Naturally, in such situations, various stories emerge from Partizan fans, such as claims that the championship is rigged and that Partizan will not win anything as long as the current government is in power in Serbia. If the situation were reversed, the same stories would circulate, as the mentality of people in the Balkans is generally like that. People expect great successes: after a few good matches, they elevate their club to the skies, but when the first defeat comes, the players and coaches are immediately criticized.
Much less money is invested in other clubs, which are increasingly out of the public eye. Clubs such as Vojvodina, Čukarički, and TSC have almost no chance of achieving greater success, and in European competition qualifiers, they are eliminated in the first rounds.
An example is my local club from Borča, called BSK Borča. The club, which has some of the best facilities — four auxiliary fields and one main pitch, with all youth categories and a first team was in the top tier of Serbian football 12 years ago, but now it is falling apart in the fifth league. The owner started investing in a restaurant attached to the club, plans were made to build a swimming pool next to the field, and the club suffered as a result.
In general, the love for football in Serbia reflects a combination of tradition, personal ambition, and great passion.