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Published: December 2nd 2012
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They say there is no rest for the wicked. It is the same for football fans. The tour leader always has an actioned packed diary of events to attend, so Sunday morning saw an early start for Hajduk Beograd v FK Zemun. The second experience with the famous Zemun Dragons..... well they think they are famous anyway. Hajduk ............ Lion ........ play in the Belgrade district of the same name, but curiously have a dove on their club badge. They carry the nickname, Pigeons. When was the last time a pigeon worried a dragon? It didn't happen today either!
The usual random stadium photos ensued. A disused ticket hut shot. A policeman exchanged glances with the Man in the Middle. Mad was the joint conclusion. Shaking of the heads was a mutual reaction. It was 300 RSDinar to get in the main stand side. I had nearly suffered a problematic experience with the resident guard dog last time I was in Belgrade. He lives under that stand. Fortunately, he had a strong chain round his neck. He is probably still a little sore. The memories were still too vivid. We headed for the 200 RSDinar terrace. A mistake followed. The
wrong turnstile ........... and there are only 3 ........... and we were in the FK Zemun section. We walked through the open gate between the 2 sections of terrace and normal service was restored.
In the centre of Belgrade, the damage from the NATO bombing is still very evident. The guide on the Underground tour shrugged his shoulders....... we'll get around to it when we have some money was the general idea. Hajduk Beograd as a pre-War club are older than Red Star and Partizan and they probably have the same mindset .... they will finish the ground sometime. For now, trapped in between three sides of apartment blocks it will suffice. The visit of the Dragons is as big as an occasion gets. They were heard before they were seen, noisely approaching the from the main road. They settled in to their section. The policeman shut the gate we had walked through. The banners went on to the fence. The "leader" climbed the fence in true gymnastic style with his megaphone. The residents in the flats probably thought some negative thoughts, after a busy night in the club scene. A few hardy souls came out on their balconies
to be entertained.
Zemun dominated. The classy Number 4 ran the show, as he strutted around with his accurate left peg in the centre of midfield. The Man in the Middle could have alerted Mr O'Driscoll, but there was no wi-fi to hack into the tweet the news of this talent discovery. Hajduk mugged Zemun with a goal against the run of play. Mr Stone Island assumed top cheerleader job from Mr Blue Hat in a bid to change the fortunes. It worked, at 2-1 the comeback was complete. Two goals from the Number 4. The Dragons unleashed their 2 fireworks and 1 flare. The finances are not quite the same as the Grobari. The nearest police looked pissed off - it interupting his fag. He did nothing!
We made a sharp exit for my return trip to BASK. After a lucky connection on the trams, we had only missed the first 20 minutes when we got to the Stadion Careva Cuprija - the Stadium of the Emperor's Bridge. It is a couple of years old now, but still has the unfinished feel as though the builders knocked off last Friday. There had been no obvious extra completion
Hajduk Beograd
The disused ticket office since I was there in March, aside from a sign suggesting a bar exists under the stand behind the goal. The toilets under the Main Stand remain in the planning stage. The Man in the Middle was directed between the gap in the stand as an alternative by the stweard. He expressed his delight we had come to Serbia and went home with a Trees badge for his kind words .........
"I will remember you for the rest of my life". He had a brother in Mannheim. A passing Kaiserlautern fan added hepfully ............ "
they are my enemy", referring to the arch rivals at Waldorf. Do you know Steve from Tottenham? Phil from Wolverhampton? The German hopper queried why we did not know the most famous hoppers in England. In Germany, it seems hoppers can be famous? We settled on a common denominator of Ebby and the subject of his documentary aired on German TV. The Man in the Middle spread the word that Ebby's vocabulary usually extended to "You Reds, You Reds" and "Sheepshaggers". We settled down for the rest of the game with our new German friend. The highlight was the female referee. BASK won 2-0. Mr Kaiserlautern
added his final thoughts on proceedings and mused out loud as to whether next weekend he would get a ticket for the Mostar derby. What was the name of the Sheepshaggers club he checked, before heading off to relocate some Austrians with whom he was sharing a taxi.
The Austrians had clearly given him the slip, as they were later spotted on the tram back to town discussing ticket arrangements for the Belgrade transport system with the BusPlus inspectors. The remaining aim of the day was few cheap beers and we spotted a down and out bar en route to the Pionir Hala for KK Crvena Zvezda's basketball game in the equivalent of the Europa League. The cheap bar transpired to be a really good fish restaurant - appearances can be deceptive. The beer was cheap though and the food very reasonable. There would be no atmosphere at the basketball - the Kaiserlautern fan had heard. Yes, right. 6500 Serbs make a real row, even without any any fans to torment. The football players turned up to take another Derby bow. 200 RSDinars well spent. It was time for an early night - the flight back was at 6am.
Zemun Dragons 2
Mr Stone Island Appendix 1 Srpska Liga Beograd
Round 14 Sunday 18 November 1300 hours
Hajduk Beograd 1 FK Zemun 2
Stadion Hajduka na Lionu, Belgrade
Attendance: Est 250 - 300
Appendix 2 Srpska Liga Beograd
Round 14 Sunday 18 November 1300 hours
BASk 2 FK Sopot 0
Stadion Careva Cuprija, Belgrade
Attendance: 150
Appendix 3 Adriatic Basketball League
KK Crvena Zvezda DIVA Beograd 79 v Krka Nove Mesto(Slovenia) 61
Sunday, 18.11.2012. 19:00
Commissioner: Lozanov Branko
Referees: Herceg Sinisa, Rutesic Zdravko, Radojkovic Josip
Hala Pionir, Belgrade
Visitors: 6500
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