Mostar derby

The Mostar derby (Croatian: Mostarski gradski derbi) is a football rivalry in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina between HŠK Zrinjski and FK Velež. The derby took place for the first time in 2000 and was played until 2003 when Velež was relegated from the Premijer liga.

Both Mostar clubs are two of the oldest in the nation. HŠK Zrinjski (Croatian: Hrvatski športski klub Zrinjski, English: Croatian Sports Club Zrinjski) was formed in 1905 while FK Velež was formed in 1922. However, the clubs had vastly different histories. Zrinjski was a reasonably successful club in the first half of the century, but was banned by communist Yugoslav authorities for competing in the Prva HNL under Ustasha regime during the World War II. At this point its records, along with those of other Croatian clubs, were destroyed. On the other hand, FK Velež thrived during the Yugoslav communist period, twice winning the Yugoslav Cup.

After the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Zrinjski was reestablished. At the same time, war broke out in the county. Over the course of the war and in its aftermath Mostar became a divided city with the Croats holding the west side and the Bosniaks the east, with those remaining Serbs living in the east as well. Zrinjski took over Velež's Bijeli Brijeg Stadium, as it was located deep inside the informal Croatian territory of Federation BiH, thus forcing Velež to move to Vrapčići stadium.

The two clubs did not meet until 2000 for their first game. This happened because the nation's three ethnic groups each ran their own parallel leagues up until that point, with Velež in Premijer liga and Zrinjski in the Herzeg-Bosnia First League.

Results

Derby from 1922–1938

xx.09.1922. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 2:1
08.09.1922. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 1:0
13.04.1923. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 2:0
29.04.1923. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 2:0
01.05.1923. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 2:2
15.07.1923. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 3:0
25.xx.1923. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 4:0
12.11.1923. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 3:0
31.08.1924. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 1:0
25.07.1928. Sarajevo: Zrinjski – Velež 4:0
26.07.1931. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 5:1
xx.12.1934. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 2:1
14.04.1935. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 3:1
06.03.1938. Mostar: Velež – Zrinjski 4:2
xx.xx.1938. Mostar: Zrinjski – Velež 1:0

Modern derby

Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The head-to-head matches shows the results of FK Velež and HŠK Zrinjski, when they played in the Premier League.

• Total: Zrinjski 11 wins (52,38%), 3 draws (14,28%), Velež 7 wins (33,34%).

Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup

The head-to-head matches shows the results of FK Velež and HŠK Zrinjski, when they played in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup.

• Series won: Velež 1 (100%), Zrinjski 0 (0%).

¹ The match was abandoned after a hooligans of Zrinjski stormed the pitch and started to chase players of Velež with various items. The field storm took place in the last minutes of the game just after Velež scored for 0–1 against their city rivals. The disciplinary and contest commission decided to award a 0–3 win to Velež, suspended "Bijeli Brijeg", Zrinjski home stadium, for 5 matches and punished Zrinjski with a fine.^[1]<ref name=""Bijeli Brijeg" suspended for 5 matches">""Bijeli Brijeg" suspended for 5 matches" (in Bosnian). SportSport.ba. Retrieved 1 October 2011. </ref>

Head-to-head ranking in Premier League of BiH

• Total: Zrinjski 12 times higher, Velež 1 times higher.

Fans

The two fan groups which support each team are:

• HŠK Zrinjski supporters: Ultras Zrinjski
• FK Velež supporters: Red Army Mostar

The Ultras are almost exclusively Croats, while the Red Army are mostly Bosniaks.

References