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GAMES IN BOSNIA DURING 80's


Away games in Bosnia were specific because there you mostly couldn't go direct by train. Those travels varied from year to year, all depending on the level of performance of Bosnian clubs. From these travels I have to spereate the tougher ones Mostar (All the times), Sarajevo (sometimes), Zenica (rarely). Any others, except for Banja Luka a couple of last times, were like an excursions. 70's and with the start of 80's we usually went by buses or car pulling to Ploce, then you would sit on a train. Later on, when Sagun started to appear, he mostly took over the responsibility of organizing those travels, so we went there on a lot of occasions with some shitty buses.

Sarajevo
To me, Sarajevo remained in memory because it was my first ever away game. Hajduk that year in 1979 played for the league champions in Sarajevo and that year won the race to the top against Dinamo (around that a big affair was raised, "accident Edmond Tomic", Dinamo to this day that championship title writes as its own). From Split everyone alive started preparing for the trip. Back then, the companies that had buses gave every, to the last one, to us and up there we were in a great number. Especially when you're 13 years old and have a friend with you that has only one more away game than you do (Zagreb). Provocation lasted the whole time, troubles and fights around the city, some people from both side covered in blood. Back then, Kosevo stadium wasn't renewed, so the stands were literally falling apart. All you had to do is step on the floor a bit harder, and you'd hear the concrete cracking below you. And when to pieces of concrete started to be thrown from each sides, the police couldn't do nothing, they were powerless (unlike today, back then during the game, there were maybe 20 of them total). As a kid you couldn't do nothing else but to hide your head behind the older guys and pray to god that nothing hits you. Later on, each Sarajevo game varied. Mostly troubles in '79 didn't repeated for the first half of 80's, so the away games for us there were mostly like excursions. A group always went there, not many, because of the bad roads and travel arrangements, but they still went. It was really exhausting, in Sarajevo you go into a train, go to Ploce and then in some late hours or early morning you wait for a bus thats supposed to come from Dubrovnik or from Montenegro. Most of the drivers, when they see a lot of people at the station, would not stop, but would continue driving. Those travels back home lasted sometimes for last 2 days. Here I have to mention the buses from Montenegro, from "Tara" company from Cetinje, the buses were bad but the drivers were crazy. They would drive as if they were blind and would be speeding all the time, but they were the only ones that would actually stop to pick us up. That was one mess. When the bus stops and opens it's doors, everybody would jump to the entrance, start pushing, and the driver, with his mustache, and 140 kilos would get up and block the doors, and would have some kind of weapon in his hands. But we'd just start trowing bottles or rocks on him, so they'd sometimes just sit down and drive off, or would normally reach a compromise, and we'd all get in, without paying of course. Those drivers would normally let us in for free, because some of them had an unpleased time in Split. A group would remember the drivers face and would wait for him at the bus station in Split, because he has to pass that point sometimes. Other half of 80's, the whole ultras scene in ex-Yugoslavia exploded and in Sarajevo it started to be interesting. Then Torcida had a great generation which left a big scar on all of those places. Some fans of Sarajevo were pro-serb orientated and with them there was mostly war, while the fans of Zeljo (Zeljeznicar) didn't know what they were or who they were for . When we would go in a bigger number, they would come to us and be all nice to us so that we give them a couple of flares (I remember when one of their 'leaders' had the flare in his hands for the first time, he felt like he had a block of gold), but they would like bitches go to the individal supporters and would attack them. There was one time when Trta got a few punches from them ( not many, but still considerable number ). In Sarajevo we arrived an hour before the game and we walked around freely around Grbavica stadium. In one cafe bar there was a group of Zeljo supporters, and when they saw us, they acted as if they've seen god. They started buying us drinks, everything was fine and normal. So as the time of the game approached, and we started going to stadium, but Trta said that he'll stay there with them, because he enjoyed their company. So we said fine, stay, we don't care. So we walked away, and after some time there come Trta bashed. As soon as we went around the block, they started to punch him up. We started running back towards the caffee but they were not there anymore, but somone learned a valuable lesson.
There was another incident when we played with Zeljo at Kosevo stadium (Grbavica was under reconstruction). That year we were contenders with Sarajevo for the championship trophy, and the game ended up 4:3, but Sarajevo lost I can't remember where, so the title was ours. We could have walked around the city freely, but the presence of extra security forces and police was evident. Some of them were on horses, like they were expecting something (btw besides Sarajevo, the police in Belgrade was the only one that had horses). At the time of the game there was that feeling in the air. I provoked the first little fight with the police, I had an idea to take down one of the flags that were on the poles around the stadium. So I took one off and put on Hajduk's flag, and I told my group to start singing Hajduk above all while I was brining it up. The police didn't like that, so they started to react, but the flag remained on the pole. I remember how some of our members from Torcida Sarajevo and others got scared when we sang our anthem, they were like "oh man, this is Bosnia, they'll take us all away". After the game we were walking outside, but for the full picture I need to explain how the scenery looks like. First there is some field where some old lady was, believe it or not, with sheeps, then further down there is a parking with cars and then street. When we were going out of the stadium, they were down on the street. So something came over us, and we started running towards them. The sheeps were running away from us. They came over to the parking and started trowing stuff. Then the police with horses got in. It was just chaos. We were in advantage becase we attacked those who ever closes to us. Cars, sheeps, horses, cops, them, us, it was crazy. At the end we chased down all of them to the buses that were about 100 meters further down. The police didn't interfere too much, they just wanted us to get out of the city as soon as possible. But then in Mostar on the street there was a blockade on the street and the police took us all to police station, because on the way back we totally demolished on restaurant and the guy that owns it got bashed (he didn't want to give us food).
There were more troubles in Sarajevo with Horde Zla (Sarajevo supporters), but then later on the police started to block the roads and control everything, so there was no chance of repeating something like the fight above.

Mostar
People from Mostar were the most hateful of Hajduk and Torcida. There was a specific situation because their supporters were not the only one that hated your guts, but the whole city. The danger was approaching from the floor and from above, because you needed to watch the buildings, because people would throw plates on you. Most of the troubles would happen around "ronda", one round-a-bout towards the stadium, where a few cafe bars were located (and where they usually meet). There were some occasion that we were the ones to attack, and on other occasion they attacked us. The ones that would suffer the most are the ones that walked slower, or the ones left behind, because they wouldn't know what was going on. Those were mostly unexperienced ones. In Mostar we really went in great numbers, so we were organized quite good there. One of the bigger incidents was the last game with them before the war, when the buses stopped and we all started to get out of our buses and went head to head with them (that were trowing rocks at the buses). They got beaten up there pretty bad. But to not make it all look one sided, I have to mention 1986 when about 6000 of their fans came to Split for the game. It all took Torcida by surprise, and they used their numbers and I've got to say that some of the more respected member got beaten up that time. I can't say too much about that, because I was serving the army at the time, so I wasn't there at all.



Zenica
Zenica, typical industrial city with red sky from all the fumes and smokes from the factories that were located everywhere around the city. But the stadium was one of the best in my opinion in ex-Yugoslavia, English style. The fans of Yu Chelsea (how they use to called them), were then a fairly young and small group, and were not a threat, but around the city there were a lot of people with knifes that you needed to look out for. Here's one dialog, after which a knife was taken out. We're walking through the city near the stadium, in a small group of 4. So 4 typical Bosnians come to us, with leather jackets. And nothing, they just passed by us and after 10 meters one yells out to Maslo (because he was in Hajduk's jersey):
-"Hajduk fucked your mum"
And Maslo replied with:
-"Hajduk fucked both of your parents"
Then the guy got frustrated:
-"What did you say?"
We takes out his knife and takes his position
-"That what you just heard" - Maslo said to him.
It was possible that they thought that we're gonna run away, because they were physically stronger than us. But we didn't. There was some camp house near by where the alcohol was sold, and behind it there were crates and empty bottles, so we just took those bottles, and broke them in half and just stood there opposite of them. They only made a couple of faces at us, and said something and left. Nothing happened.
I have to mention one funny thing that happened in Zenica. One fast-food restaurant not far away from the stadium, and on it there was a sign that said "hamburger, cheeseburger" and stuff like that, and we went inside and I ask for a cheeseburger. And the guy gives it to me, and as I look inside there is no cheeze at all.
-"Where's the cheeze?" - I asked.
-"There is none" - He replied with strong Bosnian accent
-"What do you mean there is none, I asked for cheeseburger, where's the cheese?" - I countine.
-"Ah, thats just the name "Cheeseburger", thats as if my name was Flowery and you'd expect from me to have flowers all the time???"
....no comment needed...

Banja Luka
Banja Luka was known to be tough, but purgeri (bad blue boys) had more troubles with them. I remember this city because once before the game there, a supposed leader of their supporters came to us in leather and offered us some sandwiches. But after the game that same person led the group that wanted to attacked us. But we were angry about something, so we ended it all fairly quickly and chased them away.

Banja Luka's team Borac, wasn't often in the first league, so there were no many chances to go there.

Tuzla
The only thing that remained in my memory was how dumb the police was there, once they asked us to "Be quiet and chant". Iskra from Bugojno wasn't in the first league that often, so about those games and travels, besides a trashed bars there is nothing much to say.

P.S.
Bosnian travels are too big of a topic to be put in a single essay. I have to mention that these incidents and those happenings are how I experienced it, and in no way represent the full picture. It is possible that someone else saw some things that were from some other angle ( or point of view), or that person was in places where I wasn't. So If someone has the story to tell of their own, they should send it.

By: MejeSplit
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