FK Sarajevo 0-1 Željeničar
Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium
24/04/16
Att: 14,000
As promised in the Lech Poznan report, I headed over to Sarajevo in order to take in the derby between FK Sarajevo and Željeničar, something I'd been looking forward to since preliminary planning in September. This is mainly as I read a lot into the history of the Balkans and Sarajevo interests me greatly, but also because despite slipping under many peoples radar it never fails to impress. We arrived into the Bosnian capital at 5am having taking the night bus from Belgrade meaning we soaked in the city waking up on the day to its full extent.
The morning was eerily quiet as fog rolled in off the surrounding hills and rain fell, but despite this on our walk to Zeljo's Grbavica home for a breakfast of Burek and back into the city we saw numerous people milling about suggesting this wasn't a normal match. We picked up our match tickets from outside the Olympic hall, and milled about the Old Town in order to join the Horde Zla corteo. Good fun, even if we were constantly ducking fire crackers the whole route, and Joe got told off for not walking fast enough by a police man. In total it's about a 2km walk to the ground from the old town.
The stadium itself is famous for hosting the 1984 winter olympic ceremony in 1984, a high point in the cities history. In 1992 the 4 year Siege of Sarajevo had begun, and a reminder of it is located outside the ground in the form of the cemetery with white headstones. Following the siege the ground was renovated in 1998 to its current 37,500 capacity. I must admit, I really liked the ground. A sweeping bowl, nestled between the surrounding hills of the city with four big floodlights. It isn't a ground of comfort, but one you can't help but like just the same. Particularly as it amplifies the noise a surprising amount.
The game wasn't the greatest, being awfully defensive, but the noise and spectacle off the pitch rivalled what we'd seen in the Belgrade and Copenhagen derbies. Zeljo fans in particular, were really impressive. Rather than try to explain it in writing, I'll let the photos do the talking with these highlights:
Pic 1-21: Horde Zla Corteo to the ground
Pic 23: A stark reminder of the history of the city with the ground in the background
Pic 77-83: Zeljo goal celebrations
Pic 105: Horde Zla pyro
Pic 120: Full time celebrations
The morning was eerily quiet as fog rolled in off the surrounding hills and rain fell, but despite this on our walk to Zeljo's Grbavica home for a breakfast of Burek and back into the city we saw numerous people milling about suggesting this wasn't a normal match. We picked up our match tickets from outside the Olympic hall, and milled about the Old Town in order to join the Horde Zla corteo. Good fun, even if we were constantly ducking fire crackers the whole route, and Joe got told off for not walking fast enough by a police man. In total it's about a 2km walk to the ground from the old town.
The stadium itself is famous for hosting the 1984 winter olympic ceremony in 1984, a high point in the cities history. In 1992 the 4 year Siege of Sarajevo had begun, and a reminder of it is located outside the ground in the form of the cemetery with white headstones. Following the siege the ground was renovated in 1998 to its current 37,500 capacity. I must admit, I really liked the ground. A sweeping bowl, nestled between the surrounding hills of the city with four big floodlights. It isn't a ground of comfort, but one you can't help but like just the same. Particularly as it amplifies the noise a surprising amount.
The game wasn't the greatest, being awfully defensive, but the noise and spectacle off the pitch rivalled what we'd seen in the Belgrade and Copenhagen derbies. Zeljo fans in particular, were really impressive. Rather than try to explain it in writing, I'll let the photos do the talking with these highlights:
Pic 1-21: Horde Zla Corteo to the ground
Pic 23: A stark reminder of the history of the city with the ground in the background
Pic 77-83: Zeljo goal celebrations
Pic 105: Horde Zla pyro
Pic 120: Full time celebrations