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Tunnel vision
Few stadiums in Europe can match the Marakana for nerve-shredding atmosphere, and as Crvena zvezda’s iconic home ground celebrates its 60th anniversary, we spoke to club legend Dejan Stanković about its unique power
WORDS Chris Burke | INTERVIEW Paolo Menicucci | PHOTOGRAPHY Marco Mantovani
History
For the last 60 years, visiting players have felt a lump in their throats even before glimpsing the pitch at the Stadion Rajko Mitić. The home ground of Belgrade giants Crvena zvezda, and affectionately known as the Marakana by the club faithful, the stadium enjoys a reputation far and wide as one of the most intimidating venues in Europe. That’s largely due to the agonisingly long walk that teams must endure before kick-off, a disorienting journey through two seemingly endless tunnels underneath the vibrant stadium itself. With the walls shaking and the chants of the home fans absolutely deafening, it’s no wonder that countless sides have lost their nerve… and then the game.
First opened in 1963, the Marakana now holds around 53,000 spectators after undergoing substantial renovations down the years. Long gone are the days when Crvena zvezda regularly attracted crowds of more than 110,000, while over 90,000 witnessed Ajax’s 1-0 defeat of Juventus in the 1973 European Cup final, but the stadium has lost little of its raucous power. Club legend Dejan Stanković can attest to that, having experienced it as a fan, a ball boy, a first-team player from 1995 to 1998 and then as coach between 2019 and 2022. The talented midfielder also turned out for Lazio and won the Champions League with Inter in 2009/10, but ask him where he would prefer to play the game of his life and all roads lead back to those tunnels in Belgrade.
“The Marakana is different when you’re a Red Star kid, raised in the culture of a club that always wants to win. When you have the opportunity to play or, as in my case, also coach the team, it really makes a difference. It’s like having a 12th man on your side. At the Marakana, the opposition truly feel the fans. The tunnel is very long. When you touch that wall, you can feel it trembling during important matches. Then there’s a second, smaller tunnel that takes you on to the pitch itself. Even narrower than the first, it’s truly impressive.
“For me, though, the opposition aren’t afraid of the Marakana. It’s just that the Marakana makes the Red Star players twice as strong. If you look at the games between Liverpool and Red Star in 2018, Red Star lost 4-0 in England but won 2-0 at home with the same players. That’s down to the skill of the coaches and the players but also the incredible support from the fans. Liverpool faced a team twice as strong as the one that had played at Anfield. And that’s just one example.
“Opponents aren’t afraid. it’s just that the Marakana makes Red Star players twice as strong”
"But if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different."
“There were great celebrations at the stadium after the European Cup win in 1991. I regret that, the following year, that same generation couldn’t play their home games in Serbia due to sanctions. They lost 3-1 to Sampdoria in the decisive match, but if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different. They would have gone all the way once again.
“When I was coach, I gave many young players their debut because I know the impact that shirt and that stadium can have on a young player. It remains with you for the rest of your life. At Red Star, you grow up with the goal of winning. You understand the pressure, you understand the importance of the club. The dream always grows, getting bigger and bigger. First, it’s your debut, then you dream of your first goal, then you dream of the first derby, of scoring in the derby, of wearing the captain’s armband. I managed to do all those things at Red Star in less than three years.
“I signed with Lazio in February 1998 and spent four months at Red Star with the transfer already agreed. Every game and every goal scored from then on was too emotional for me. I remember one goal in a derby from a free-kick. I knew it was my last derby and I ran to the north stand and took off my shirt. I was the captain. I was happy and sad at the same time because playing for Red Star is a great privilege. If I had to play the match of my life, the one I absolutely had to win, I would bring my opponents to the Marakana and have them pass through that tunnel. That’s for sure.”
First opened in 1963, the Marakana now holds around 53,000 spectators after undergoing substantial renovations down the years. Long gone are the days when Crvena zvezda regularly attracted crowds of more than 110,000, while over 90,000 witnessed Ajax’s 1-0 defeat of Juventus in the 1973 European Cup final, but the stadium has lost little of its raucous power. Club legend Dejan Stanković can attest to that, having experienced it as a fan, a ball boy, a first-team player from 1995 to 1998 and then as coach between 2019 and 2022. The talented midfielder also turned out for Lazio and won the Champions League with Inter in 2009/10, but ask him where he would prefer to play the game of his life and all roads lead back to those tunnels in Belgrade.
“The Marakana is different when you’re a Red Star kid, raised in the culture of a club that always wants to win. When you have the opportunity to play or, as in my case, also coach the team, it really makes a difference. It’s like having a 12th man on your side. At the Marakana, the opposition truly feel the fans. The tunnel is very long. When you touch that wall, you can feel it trembling during important matches. Then there’s a second, smaller tunnel that takes you on to the pitch itself. Even narrower than the first, it’s truly impressive.
“For me, though, the opposition aren’t afraid of the Marakana. It’s just that the Marakana makes the Red Star players twice as strong. If you look at the games between Liverpool and Red Star in 2018, Red Star lost 4-0 in England but won 2-0 at home with the same players. That’s down to the skill of the coaches and the players but also the incredible support from the fans. Liverpool faced a team twice as strong as the one that had played at Anfield. And that’s just one example.
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“Opponents aren’t afraid. it’s just that the Marakana makes Red Star players twice as strong”
"But if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different."
“There were great celebrations at the stadium after the European Cup win in 1991. I regret that, the following year, that same generation couldn’t play their home games in Serbia due to sanctions. They lost 3-1 to Sampdoria in the decisive match, but if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different. They would have gone all the way once again.
“When I was coach, I gave many young players their debut because I know the impact that shirt and that stadium can have on a young player. It remains with you for the rest of your life. At Red Star, you grow up with the goal of winning. You understand the pressure, you understand the importance of the club. The dream always grows, getting bigger and bigger. First, it’s your debut, then you dream of your first goal, then you dream of the first derby, of scoring in the derby, of wearing the captain’s armband. I managed to do all those things at Red Star in less than three years.
“I signed with Lazio in February 1998 and spent four months at Red Star with the transfer already agreed. Every game and every goal scored from then on was too emotional for me. I remember one goal in a derby from a free-kick. I knew it was my last derby and I ran to the north stand and took off my shirt. I was the captain. I was happy and sad at the same time because playing for Red Star is a great privilege. If I had to play the match of my life, the one I absolutely had to win, I would bring my opponents to the Marakana and have them pass through that tunnel. That’s for sure.”
First opened in 1963, the Marakana now holds around 53,000 spectators after undergoing substantial renovations down the years. Long gone are the days when Crvena zvezda regularly attracted crowds of more than 110,000, while over 90,000 witnessed Ajax’s 1-0 defeat of Juventus in the 1973 European Cup final, but the stadium has lost little of its raucous power. Club legend Dejan Stanković can attest to that, having experienced it as a fan, a ball boy, a first-team player from 1995 to 1998 and then as coach between 2019 and 2022. The talented midfielder also turned out for Lazio and won the Champions League with Inter in 2009/10, but ask him where he would prefer to play the game of his life and all roads lead back to those tunnels in Belgrade.
“The Marakana is different when you’re a Red Star kid, raised in the culture of a club that always wants to win. When you have the opportunity to play or, as in my case, also coach the team, it really makes a difference. It’s like having a 12th man on your side. At the Marakana, the opposition truly feel the fans. The tunnel is very long. When you touch that wall, you can feel it trembling during important matches. Then there’s a second, smaller tunnel that takes you on to the pitch itself. Even narrower than the first, it’s truly impressive.
“For me, though, the opposition aren’t afraid of the Marakana. It’s just that the Marakana makes the Red Star players twice as strong. If you look at the games between Liverpool and Red Star in 2018, Red Star lost 4-0 in England but won 2-0 at home with the same players. That’s down to the skill of the coaches and the players but also the incredible support from the fans. Liverpool faced a team twice as strong as the one that had played at Anfield. And that’s just one example.
“Opponents aren’t afraid. it’s just that the Marakana makes Red Star players twice as strong”
"But if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different."
“There were great celebrations at the stadium after the European Cup win in 1991. I regret that, the following year, that same generation couldn’t play their home games in Serbia due to sanctions. They lost 3-1 to Sampdoria in the decisive match, but if the game had been played at the Marakana with 1,000 per cent home support, it would have been different. They would have gone all the way once again.
“When I was coach, I gave many young players their debut because I know the impact that shirt and that stadium can have on a young player. It remains with you for the rest of your life. At Red Star, you grow up with the goal of winning. You understand the pressure, you understand the importance of the club. The dream always grows, getting bigger and bigger. First, it’s your debut, then you dream of your first goal, then you dream of the first derby, of scoring in the derby, of wearing the captain’s armband. I managed to do all those things at Red Star in less than three years.
“I signed with Lazio in February 1998 and spent four months at Red Star with the transfer already agreed. Every game and every goal scored from then on was too emotional for me. I remember one goal in a derby from a free-kick. I knew it was my last derby and I ran to the north stand and took off my shirt. I was the captain. I was happy and sad at the same time because playing for Red Star is a great privilege. If I had to play the match of my life, the one I absolutely had to win, I would bring my opponents to the Marakana and have them pass through that tunnel. That’s for sure.”
