[dt_gap height=”10″]
Serbians are often thought to be a sports nation because of their many accomplishments and medals for numerous sports activities, which have been brought to our country. Together we will embark on a journey through the sports past and the present of Serbia, which is, even though populated with only 8 million people, very well known for sports.
We suggest you to begin your tour with hostel Fair, which is located on vojvode Mišića Boulevard, number 37-39. Hostel Fair is a modernly furnished place with affordable pricing, and therefore it’s usually visited by younger population. If you are in need for accommodation, this hostel is ideal for everybody’s budget.
Directly opposite the hostel is located the Belgrade Fair and the Hall number 1 in which the Serbian national basketball team made its first steps to the European and the world’s leading basketball circles. Lead by the unsurpassed Radivoje Korać, who was proclaimed the best shooter of the championship, the team celebrated its first grand basketball medal in the amazing atmosphere which was due to an audience which counted more than a ten thousand viewers.
Serbia will always remember Aleksandar Nikolić’s team, a coach who is considered to be “the father of Yugoslavian basketball”, and whose name is in the International Basketball Federation Hall of Fame in Alcobendas, the suburb of Madrid, right next to the other 4 Yugoslavian basketball coaches who forever indebted the world’s basketball. Even though the basketball ball moved to the other parts of the city, for the biggest fans of this magical game between two hoops, this is the place where it all began.
If you continue your journey up the Senjak’s hill, you will be charmed by the old, beautiful houses dating from the 30ies of the past century, which pay a tribute to the interwar Belgrade. There are many embassies situated in those houses. The road will take you to the top of Senjak’s hill, to the green oasis, one of the most beautiful Belgrade parks – the Hyde Park, which is one of the favorite parks for training of the athletes of nearby sports clubs, and even of the national team.
Near the park’s exit big stadium spotlights of the sports club Partizan will certainly grasp your attention, the club who is a vital part of sports’ history. The famous rivalry between two neighboring clubs, Partizan and Red Star surpassed national borders long ago, so their matches represent one of the biggest European city derbies.
The Dragan Mance’s street, one of the most favorite players of Partizan who tragically reached his end in 1985, will lead you straight to the stadium. Within the stadium there is also Partisan’s museum in which are stored all the trophies and pictures from club’s history, which begins in 1945. Visits to the museum must be scheduled in advance via email: football@partizan.rs
If you need a break, you can always make a stop at the restaurant of national cuisine in the stadium itself. There, you can find many sports as well as older fans who even today talk about the loss from Real Madrid in the finale of European Champions Cup in 1966.
Only one street stands between the stadiums of these wrathful sports rivals. If you take Ljutice Bogdana street, you will arrive to the Serbian Marakana, the Red Star’s stadium. Sportsmanship simply breaths out of this street, along which many new kids on the block train hard on the Red Star’s courts, dreaming of the fame of their predecessors like Rajko Mitić, Dragoslav Šekularac, Dragan Džajić, Vladimir Petrović and Dragan Stojković.
In its museum which can be found within the stadium, the club holds many trophies, one of which is the most valuable – the European Championship Cup trophy, the most prestigious football trophy of the old continent. This trophy can be seen only in 22 museums in Europe, and out of all east European clubs except the Red Star, only Romanian Steaua can boast about having it. Museum is spread on over 400 square meters and it is safekeeping one of the most beautiful and splendorous sports collections which holds over 1400 museum pieces depicting 63 years of success and victories. Stadium can be visited during the “Marakana tour”, but it is necessary to schedule visits in advance via following numbers: 011/414-0909 or 066/8011358
Besides football and basketball, on this “sports journey” you cannot miss tennis for which is Serbia known throughout the world. Only one third of a mile from Marakana there is a Tennis Club Gemax, in which famous Serbian tennis players Nenad Zimonjic and Jelena Janković started out, and who are members today as well. In this beautiful ambient you can enjoy tennis, gym, pool, Jacuzzis, saunas all year round, every day from 8AM till 11PM.
Sports fans will certainly appreciate the tour of this, although small but vital part of Belgrade, where national sports history was written, where the greatest athletes of Serbia began their rise to fame, and as well as where many a grand sports competitions took place.
Foto1: Wikimedia Commons, Vlada Marinković under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Foto2: Wikimedia Commons, Vlada Marinković under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
Related Articles
Top 10 Winter Destinations in Serbia
November 22, 2024
What Countries Need a Visa to Enter Serbia?
November 21, 2024
Aranđelovdan, Customs and Rituals of Serbia’s Beloved Slava
November 21, 2024
