Two biggest sport clubs in Serbia are Red Star and Partizan.
Red Star:
Partizan:
The Eternal derby (Serbian: Вечити дерби, Večiti derbi, French: Derby éternel, German: Das ewige Derby, Spanish: El Derby Eterno, Megaclássico, Italian: Derby Eterno), also called the Derby of Southeast Europe, is the local derby in Belgrade, Serbia, between the most fierce city rivals Red Star Belgrade and Partizan Belgrade, two of the biggest and most popular sports societies in Serbia. The rivalry is present in a number of different sports but the most intensive matches are between football, basketball and handball sections of both societies. It started immediately after the creation of the two clubs in 1945 and the two clubs have been dominant in domestic football since then.
According to a 2007 survey, Red Star and Partizan are the most popular clubs in Serbia. The clubs are also the most popular ones in Montenegro and Republika Srpska, the Serb entity within Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also have many supporters in all other former Yugoslavian republics and in the Yugoslavian diaspora.
The Eternal Belgrade derby matches were always greatly anticipated in the entire region and very popular in the world. It is considered one of the most fiercely derbies in world football. There are many derbies in world football but very few compare to this, it is more than just game and has a deeper meaning. In September 2009, British Daily Mail ranked the Eternal Belgrade derby 4th among the 10 greatest football rivalries of all time. In Аpril 2012, the Italian goalkeeper legend Walter Zenga told the Italian media, there are no more exciting derby than the Belgrade derby. The biggest attendance for a Red Star - Partizan match was about 108,000 spectators at the Red Star Stadium.
Delije
Supporters of the various Red Star sports teams are known as Delije (Serbian Cyrillic: Делије, English: roughly translated to English as Heroes). The word Delije is plural of the singular form delija, a word of Turkish origin (deli) that entered the Serbian language during the Turkish Ottoman occupation of Serbia which nowadays means brave, strong or handsome young man. The name Delije first began to be used by hardcore Red Star supporters during late 1980s, with official inauguration taking place on 7 January 1989. Up to that point, the die-hard Red Star fans were scattered amongst 7–8 fan groups that shared the north stand at the Red Star Stadium (known colloquially as Marakana), most prominent of which were Red Devils, Zulu Warriors, and Ultras. As a sign of appreciation the club direction allowed the word Delije in block letters to be written across their stadium's north stand - the gathering point of the club's most loyal and passionate fans. They are also called Cigani (English: Gypsies) by their arch rivals Grobari, fans of Partizan. Although, Delije generally considered the name Cigani to be insulting, they occasionally use this name in their own songs and chants. By 2010, Delije-Sever consist of five larger groups: Ultras RSB, Ultra Boys, Belgrade Boys, Heroes, Brigate among other fanatical supporters from all around Serbia and beyond.
Grobari
Partizan's supporters, known as Grobari (Serbian Cyrillic: Гробари, English: Gravediggers or Undertakers), were formed in 1970. The origin of the nickname itself is uncertain, but an accepted theory is that it was given by their biggest rivals the Red Star fans, referring to club's mostly black colours which were similar to official uniforms of cemetery undertakers. The other theory says that the name arrives from the Partizan's stadium street name - Humska (umka roughly translates as grave), when actually the street was named after Serbian medieval land of Hum, nowadays part of Herzegovina and South Dalmatia. The first groups of organized Partizan fan supporters began to visit the JNA stadium in the late 1950s. Partizan's participation in the 1966 European Cup Final attracted much more fans to the stadium and it is considered to be the crucial moment of the organized fans moving to the south stand of the stadium where they are gathering up to this day. During the 1970s the Grobari started bringing fan equipments to the stadiums such as supporting scarfs, transparents, flags and flame torches, which gave a whole new aspect to their sport club supporting. By the 1980s the Grobari were one of the four main fan groups in SFR Yugoslavia and began outmarching to all Partizan's matches across the country and Europe. Because of their expressed hooliganism toward other clubs' supporters in those times, fans who represented the core of the Grobari firm were often called among themselves "Riot Squad". They were best known for their English style of supporting, which was mainly based on loud and continuous singing. By 2010, the Grobari consisted of three large groups: Grobari 1970, Grobari Beograd and Južni Front.
