Abstract: The article argues that the Crvena zvezda Football Club (FC Red Star Belgrade) maintained both Serbian and pan-Serbian identity during the socialist era (1945–1991), based on primary sources such as memoirs, and biographies. With no Serbian dynasty or state, and the Serbian Orthodox Church marginalized, FK Crvena zvezda became a unifying factor for the Serbian people in socialist Yugoslavia.
Keywords: FK Crvena zvezda (FC Red Star), Belgrade, Serbia, Serbdom, Yugoslavia, football, identity
Summary
Biographies and memoirs of contemporaries published in Yugoslavia, Serbia, and Croatia affirm FK Crvena zvezda's Serbian identity during the socialist era, as recognized by statesmen, military generals, communist officials, club founders, footballers, clergy, writers, journalists, and scholars. The evidence presented in this paper demonstrates that during socialist Yugoslavia, the Serbian essence of Crvena zvezda was concealed behind its communist name and symbol, the Red Star. The historical background of pre-war Belgrade clubs, footballers, and the identity of their supporters allows for the delineation of two distinct origins for FK Crvena zvezda. The first traces back to the founding of the football club Srpski mač in 1906, continuing with its 1911 offshoot, BSK. The second originates in 1913 with the establishment of SK Velika Srbija, which was renamed SK Yugoslavia in 1919 and later rebranded as SK 1913 in 1941. In 1945, an equal number of players from SK Yugoslavia and BSK joined Crvena zvezda, reflecting the club's connection to Serbian ethnic, popular and civic traditions. Even among influential Serbian communists, FK Crvena zvezda was perceived by some as a symbol of Serbia and Serbian identity. Franjo Tuđman acknowledged that he intervened in shaping the identity of SD Partizan during the 1950s and 1960s, actively preventing elements within the Serbian establishment from taking control of FK Partizan. Tuđman aimed to prevent FK Partizan from adopting the Serbian identity that FK Crvena zvezda built in the 1950s. As a result, it is unsurprising that Serbs in socialist Yugoslavia identified strongly with FK Crvena zvezda. When there was no Serbian dynasty or state, and the Serbian Orthodox Church was marginalized, FK Crvena zvezda evolved as a unifying symbol for the Serbian people. During the Maspok period in SR Croatia (1970–1971), when the Serbian people felt particularly threatened, the red and white colors and the Red Star insignia symbolized Serbian identity in socialist Croatia, replacing the Serbian flag and reinforcing the connection to Belgrade. Similarly, Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina identified with FK Crvena zvezda. The club's European victory in Bari in 1991, marked by fans displaying a large Serbian tricolor, showed how FK Crvena zvezda elevated the Serbs' national consciousness more than any other institution, with the Crvena zvezda stadium “Rajko Mitić” becoming a monument to Serbdom during that era.