Stadium: Grbavica, Sarajevo
Date: November 10, 2024 / Sunday – 1:00 PM
FK Željezničar Sarajevo – Velež Mostar
Mostar and its renowned
team Velež hold a significant place in my affections.
Let us revert to 17 years
ago. The date is February 14, 2007. I selected February 14 as my arrival date
to Sarajevo for my year-long ethnographic research in Bosnia, rather than
February 13 or 15, because it was a Wednesday, and good, old Air Bosna operated a weekly
flight to Sarajevo via Mostar on that day. I opted to prolong my journey
slightly to observe Mostar and the Prenj Mountains, the bastion of the Partisan
resistance, from the air.
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| Mostar from air, February 14, 2007 |
The Mostar Bridge is an
artifact that many Turks associate with Bosnia. Many Turks erroneously believe
that the Mostar Bridge is located in Sarajevo, which frustrates the author of
this blog a bit.
When I landed in Sarajevo
on February 14, I learned that the Velež fans in Sarajevo were going to have a
party the next day. Excluding my preliminary 10 day long field research in Sarajevo a year ago, I
must say that I started my one-year ethnographic study in 2007 at the Velež
fans' party in Sarajevo. Additionally, I encountered my closest friends, Adnan
and Denis, in Sarajevo at that gathering.
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| From left to right: Arnes, Denis, me, Adnan, February 15, 2007, Sarajevo |
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| The first fan group that I have met in Sarajevo |
That was when I
discovered Velež's unique significance in Bosnian football culture.
Velež’s special place in
Bosnian, and even Yugoslavian football, is more in line with Mostar’s
character.
The Pearl Necklace of Neretva: Mostar
Bridge
Mostar, with a population
of only 105 thousand, is one of the most unique and even most beautiful cities
not only in Bosnia, but also in Yugoslavia and even the Balkans. “Most” means
bridge in Bosnian, and “Mostar” means “bridge guardian”, and from here you can
predict the story of Mostar’s foundation.
A wooden bridge was built
during the Ottoman period at this important crossing point over the emerald
green Neretva, and the history of Mostar began with the placement of guards
assigned to the bridgehead. In 1566, a stone bridge was built by Mimar Hayreddin,
one of Mimar Sinan’s students and also the architect of the Bayezid Mosque in
Istanbul.
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| Mostar Bridge, March 11, 2007 |
The Mostar Bridge is
considered one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. Or rather, it was…
On November 9, 1993, this
exquisite bridge was obliterated by artillery fire from the HVO (Hrvatsko
vijeće obrane: Croatian Defence Council) in full view of the global audience. A
barbaric act that would not have even crossed the minds of the Ustaše, who
exterminated hundreds of thousands during World War II!
You can watch the video footage of that barbaric destruction:
The Mostar Bridge was not
just an architectural masterpiece. It was a bridge that symbolically united
people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds in Mostar, which welcomed
Muslims, Catholics, Orthodox, Jews and even atheists, and this was the reason
for the hatred of the Ustasha and the fascist HVO towards this bridge!
Mostar resident Edisa
Palikuča describes that day as follows:
“In November 1993, the
Croats turned their cannons on our bridge, it was the last bridge, the others
had long been destroyed. They opened fire. The bridge collapsed. The city was
inevitably divided into two. And the spirit of Mostar drowned in the waters of
the river.” (Palikuča, Edisa (1994) Mostar’ı Unutma (Don’t Forget Mostar),
Varlık Publications, Istanbul)
While the siege of
Sarajevo, lasting 1,425 days and resulting in 10,600 fatalities, and the
Srebrenica Genocide, which claimed 8,372 lives, have garnered significant
attention, the profound suffering endured in Mostar during the war must not be
overlooked.
“Mostar is still divided like Berlin"
The song "Open
Wide" by the Bosnian hip-hop group Dubioza Kolektiv conveys the reality
that while Berlin is unified, Mostar remains divided. (You can listen the song via below Youtube video)
An invisible barrier
persists in the center of the city, which was partitioned into East and West
Mostar during the conflict. The Neretva River and the Mostar Bridge are located
in East Mostar. The city's historical and cultural essence persisted in the East,
whereas its economic advancement and affluence resided in the West.
The Mostar Bridge was
inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2004 and reconstructed the
following year. Nevertheless, the division within the city is improbable to
dissipate.
The division is most
prominently observed in football.
The team, officially named HŠK Zrinjski Mostar (Hrvatski športski klub Zrinjski
Mostar), is among the oldest clubs in Bosnia. It was established in 1905. It
remained closed from 1945 to 1992 during the socialist Yugoslav era because of
its association with the fascist Ustaša regime.
Throughout the Yugoslav
era, Velež Mostar assumed the position of the city and the entire Herzegovina
region.
Velež Mostar: The team of the workers and
the Goddess Volos
The history of Velež
Mostar commenced on June 26, 1922, when workers in Mostar established RŠD
Mostar (Radničko športsko društvo: Workers' Sports Union). The club's leftist
identity originates from that date. In the former Yugoslavia, it was customary
for football teams to feature a "red star" on their emblems.
Nonetheless, the "red star" on Velež's emblem predated the
establishment of Yugoslavia by nearly twenty-five years.
The name of the fan group
founded in 1981 is "Red Army".
The team's name is
derived from the mountain situated east of Mostar, which is dedicated to the
Slavic goddess Volos.
During the Nazi
occupation, 77 members of Velež lost their lives in the Partizan resistance and
after the war, the Velež legend experienced an even stronger rebirth. Having
won the Yugoslav Cup twice in 1980-81 and 1985-86, Velež came in second in the
league behind Red Star in 1972/73, Hajduk Split in 1973/74 and Partizan in
1986/87 and participated in the UEFA Cup. During the 1974/75 UEFA Cup season,
they initially eliminated Spartak Moscow, followed by Rapid Vienna and Derby
County, before being ousted in the quarter-finals by Twente in the 89th minute goal.
The once-prominent Yugoslav team deteriorated due to the war and was unable to regain its former glory in post-war Bosnia. They were relegated twice in the feeble Bosnian Premier League.
For Velež supporters, who
commemorated their centenary two years prior, Velež transcends the realm of a
mere football club.
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| Celebrating the 100th anniversary with Denis in Mostar, June 26, 2022. |
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| Bosnian Cup of 2021/22 |
Bijeli
Brijeg: A stolen stadium
During the war, HVO took
over Western Mostar and Zrinjski, a club banned during the Yugoslav era, took
advantage of the opportunity and re-established itself. HVO bestowed the Bijeli
Brijeg stadium, the site of Velež Mostar's legendary achievements, upon this
reconstituted team.
Zrinjski added another
page to its dirty history and stole Bijeli Brijeg, the legendary stadium of
Mostar's legendary team Velež Mostar.
In my field research conducted in 2007/2008, I attended two matches in Mostar; however, it did not coincide with a Velež match. I came to the matches of Zrinjski, the other team in Mostar, and had the opportunity to watch two matches at Bijeli Brijeg. It is a unique stadium. You may recline against the eponymous mountain and observe Mostar and Mount Velež in the background.
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| View of Mostar city and Velez Mount from Bijeli Birjeg. |
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| A handful of Zrinjski fans who cannot fill the terraces of the "stolen" stadium. The photo is from 2007. In recent years number of Zrinjski fans have considerably increased, yet too far away from catching the number of Velež fans . |
Velež plays its matches
at the 7000-seat Rođeni Stadium, built in 1999 in Vrapčići, 5-6 kilometers from
the center of Mostar.
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| Vrapčići’deki Rođeni Stadyumu (FK Velez Mostar websitesi) |
West-East / Zrinjski - Velež
The rivalry between the
two teams is undoubtedly intense beneath the narrative.
A notable characteristic of Zrinjski, which stole the stadium of its rival
Velež Mostar, is that mostly Catholics are permitted to play on the team. AS well known, religious bigotry and theft typically coexist as a combined phenomenon.
While Velež primarily
attracts a Bosniak fan base, it possesses a supporter group that refrains from
identifying with a singular nationality. The allegiance of Velež supporters is
to Mostar and its legendary team.
The city's division
extends beyond the Velež-Zrinjski rivalry.
Even an unrelated football
match can devolve into chaos in Mostar.
Following the
Brazil-Croatia match in the 2006 World Cup and the Turkey-Croatia match in the
2008 European Football Championship, the streets of Mostar transformed into a
conflict zone.
(Check for the article I wrote about this event in this blog)
Small Town - Capital City Rivalry
The sole football rivalry
in Mostar does not exist between Velež and Zrinjski. Velež also has a rivalry
with the Sarajevo teams. Such rivalries are prevalent in all cuntries. There is
also a historical rivalry between Mostar and Sarajevo. Mostar, in proximity to
Dubrovnik—an essential trade hub of the Adriatic and a conduit for trade routes
between the Western Balkans and the Dubrovnik port—exhibits a rivalry with
Sarajevo, historically the administrative and political epicenter of the
region, that persists to this day.
This rivalry possesses a
certain mildness. Fanaticism resulting in hostility is infrequently observed.
Zeljeznicar – Velež
This rivalry appears to
be less intense in the Velež – Željezničar matches, as far as I observed.
The match held in
Grbavica last weekend occurred in a comparable atmosphere. The game was
significant for both teams; regardless of the outcome, neither team's
position in the league standings would be affected. If Zeljeznicar won, which
they did, they would remain in fourth place, but they would not have widened
the points gap with the top three, thus preserving their opportunity for the
UEFA Conference League. Had Velež secured victory, they would have distanced
themselves further from the relegation zone.
It wasn’t hard to get
into the match. Thanks to a few fans I had previously contacted, I was able to
watch the match from the Velež stands. Approximately 200 Velež supporters
occupied nearly the entire designated section and remained vocal throughout the
match. It was particularly praiseworthy that they amplified their cheers
subsequent to conceding goals.
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| Velež fans in Grbavica, November 10, 2024. |
At one point, on the occasion of the 31st anniversary of the collapse of the Mostar Bridge, the Velež fans sang Kemal Monteno’s song “Stari”, which became synonymous with the collapse of the Mostar Bridge:
“Nisam pogođen, ni umro, ni pao, samo sam morao skočiti dolje…”
“I was shot and I neither died nor fell, I just had to jump off”
You can listen the song from Youtube:
In the first minutes of
the match, Zeljo was pressuring, but after the 10th minute, Velež first
established their balance and started to play more aggressively and more
attackingly.
Nonetheless, scoring against Zeljo proves challenging. The second team in the league that conceded the fewest goals. I thought that as Velež increased the pressure and could not score goals, they would exhaust their energy, their condition would not be able to make it through the second half and that Velež could leave this match with a big defeat. Indeed, they are a team that is defeated by the FK Sarajevo with 4-0 score several weeks ago.
While I was thinking
about these, Zeljo’s first goal came in the 33rd minute after a very
unnecessary foul and a free kick, but it was disallowed by VAR due to offside.
When the goal was
disallowed, the Velež players became a little more enthusiastic, but they
wasted a few very clear positions. In the 63rd minute of the second half, Zeljo
won a goal from the foot of Montenegrin Aleksandar Boljevic, who once played
for Standard Liege and Hapoel Tel Aviv. As we predicted, Velež fell off the
pitch and in the 84th minute, Zeljeznicar’s penalty was converted by goalkeeper
Süleyman Krpić. While we were expecting the match to end like this, Velež
turned the defeat into an “honorable defeat” by scoring a goal in the 90+2nd
minute with Brazilian player Elzio Lohan Alves Lucio’s foot.
For the story of the match:
An old acquaintance: Irfan Buz
Velež has a special
importance for me this season. Irfan Buz, who also coached Gençlerbirliği for a
while in the 2014/15 season, is currently the manager of Velež
Mostar. Due to his Bosnian heritage, he provides his statements to the Bosnian
media in the Bosnian language. After the match, he was kind enough to take a
photo with me wearing a Gençlerbirliği scarf.
What is GÖZTEPE's role in this
narrative?
Mostar, which is 125 km
from Sarajevo and about 2 hours away, is like a summer resort with its history,
culture and Mediterranean climate. Although it is not located by the sea, it serves
as a waypoint for Sarajevans en route to the Adriatic coast. It is the most
temperate location in Bosnia.
Although it does not have
a coastline, Mostar resembles Izmir a bit in this respect with its proximity to
holiday resorts and, more importantly, the pleasure-loving hedonism of the
people of Mostar. Residents of Mostar prioritize their comfort similarly to
those in Izmir and do not hasten their activities.
Like Izmir, Mostar
possesses a robust and distinctive local culture. Herzegovinian identity and
belonging to Mostar are very important to the people of Mostar, and just like
Izmir residents, despite the strong local identity, they do not have much of a
“diaspora” identity. when they move away to other locations, yet keeping their identity and loyalty to their beloved city.
Founded in 1922, Velež
Mostar has a glorious history, just like Göztepe, which was founded in 1925.
Although they do not have great success today, both teams have a unique and
admirable place in Bosnian and Turkish football culture with their glorious
history and their fans who never leave them alone.
The fervor of Göztepe
supporters is well-known. The Mostar fans are no less fanatic than Göztepe
fans. So much so that three years ago, they jumped onto the field to beat up
the referee during a match, and when they couldn't control themselves, they set
the referee's car on fire.
(Check here for the news - only in Turkish)
When you think about these, you can't help but ask the following question: Why would not be those two red and yellow clubs "brother teams"? Mostar and İzmir are already two sister cities. Why shouldn't this brotherhood be transferred to football?
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Do these two coats of arms, featuring identical colors, complement one another?
I wish to capture the
attention of Göztepe fans.
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