Ljuba Tadic

There is no great love without great joy, but also not without suffering. That is Red Star for you. You will be jumping of joy but not without biting your nails.  All of us Red Star fans are the same, but some do not want to admit it. Me personally, I do not believe in those who can only experience the joy. I am sure that the real supporters of today are very similar to us, the supporters from the early days of Red Star

We would sometimes lose a game and then in the affect, like we don’t know where we live any more, we would make our way by foot through Terazije, actually going towards “Madera”. That was the place where Red Star fans would be gathering in those days. No one would say a word until we passed “Mostar”. Then we would start talking about our chances even though the opponent won 7-1. Rajko had a chance, then Tomas missed two no brainers and we would go on like that counting up one chance after the other so by the time we would get to “Madera” – Red Star drew even. We would not read any newspapers for days and that would be it…

But when we win, we can be a little cocky. We could have scored another goal but in fact we would be happy beyond words. This happened when we won the National Cup for the first time and then three times in a row. We had a mate that was very hot headed, the biggest Red Star fan and a friend that is hard to find. It was Bane, Bane Vukosavljevic. He came to our table after that first Cup of ours and before even sitting down he started: he scored two goals and doesn’t want to play for Red Star any more, no one passed the ball to him and that referee Lemesic was picking on him. In that moment Boba Mihajlovic came as well, he and doctor Aca were in the war together and he always liked to sit with us. So Boba came over and congratulated everyone, he congratulated Bane as well and in that moment the hot Red Star blood in Bane would start boiling: You were lucky to get only three goals, you know when you will see the Cup – never!

What’s Red Star for you? After the theatre season was over as well as the football season I was spending my summer around Tara. Some kids were playing football and I heard a man yelling at them with all he’s got. I got a bit closer – Miljan. He stopped yelling. This is Kule and this Karasi; those two are Cole and Trifke. We are waiting for a guy form Ub. They are waiting for Dzaja. And they were all skinny, short, nothing to see… And they are going to be champions? Miljan, in God’s name, don’t pull my leg, I said. But you never know, I was thinking to myself. It is Red Star.

Nowadays I am a bit angry when someone says: we were the champions of Europe. We weren’t European champions; we are European champions – forever! Us, Real, Bayern, Milan… That is our company and the fact that we are playing here is only to get prepared. Sometimes the preparation lasts longer sometimes shorter, my God… Why does one love Red Star? From the day the club was founded by the anti fascistic and student youth, and when a large part of the people called “the reaction” joined us. You love your wife. Nice, what else? You love your girlfriend. Good, but what else is there? Football is a marvellous thing, the way out into the world and Red Star is playing it. So you just have to love Red Star, too. And when it starts moving from generation to generation… a nice motto was thought off by today’s supporters, they got my emotions up: Red Star is life, everything else is small beer.

This site will be, so I was said, a description of great achievements of Red Star and the part it plays in our lives, description of the great happenings and people, the great winners. Even if there is a loss or two in it won’t bother the people of Red Star.

Your Ljuba Tadic