I bought an all-day trolley ticket and went out to the stadium this morning. I almost pulled another Pachuca and walked inside, shot some photos and looked around but didn't make it into the locker room. They do have a long hallway with photos of the famous teams over the years—kind of like at Pachuca. This team is not that old, but is very decorated. The current Dinamo really only date from about 1995 when Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia and the Bad Blue Boys also date themselves from that point so they are not really an old, established supporters group. In fact, it was the first match after independence when Dinamo and Serbia played here and the Serbian supporters started chanting “You’re still part of Yugoslavia.” When the fighting broke out, it spilled onto the pitch and sixty people were stabbed. Five people ended up dying but are considered victims of the police. Much of the police that day consisted of Serbian Muslims and they were brutal in clubbing down the Dinamo supporters. One of the Dynamo players—his name was Boban—kicked down one of the policeman and became a national hero because of it. The BBB even campaigned to have him nominated for President of the new republic. His photo is on the wall in one of the pictures I took this morning.
The stadium is old and not all that impressive. It has four separate seating areas—each separated by a considerable area of space—probably for security reasons. Except for the area I was in, each section was a good twenty feet off the pitch level. It is not a soccer-specific stadium—track and field events are also held here.
Tickets were free tonight—don’t know why, but they were. Before the game, they had a moment of silence for the Polish airplane disaster and state funeral tomorrow. My section of the stadium was packed. There were some families there—a few children—but mostly adult men. The group around me looked pretty rough—kind of like longshoremen or such—but everybody was cool.
I wore my Houston Dynamo jersey with a Dinamo scarf and didn’t have any problems. I did get a pretty good photo on some steps of the stadium with the Dinamo sign behind me.
There were no Dinamo Girls. Actually they have Lady Dinamo but they’re a female soccer team and compete. The Dinamo organization sponsors clubs down to the toddler age. I got a picture of one young player when I was at the stadium this morning. They did have some girls who held flags as they came out of the tunnel, but no dancing or routines at halftime.
The crowd itself wasn’t really all that loud or into the game. The Bad Blue Boys came in before game time and just sat down. I was thinking “these guys aren’t all that bad” but when the ref blew the whistle to start the game, they all stood in unison, did a “heil Hitler” salute, and started chanting. They really emphasize hand gestures—clapping and waving hands in unison. The most impressing thing was how LOUD they were—they literally dominated the stadium.
The first half was a draw but the Dinamo scored early in the second half only to give up the equalizer sometime around the 85th minute. The clock is just that—a clock with hands but no timer. Overall, the stadium is very old and tired. The concession stands sell sausages and beer.
It was some good soccer but not spectacular. I kept thinking the Dynamo during our first or second year could have taken these guys. Overall, it was a fun night. They don't tailgate over here.
