Rajko Mitic Stadium

The Rajko Mitic Stadium (Serbian: Стадион Рајко Митић / Stadion Rajko Mitic, pronounced [ˈstadioːn ˈraːjko ˈmiːtit͡ɕ]), previously known as Red Star Stadium (Serbian: Стадион Црвена звезда / Stadion Crvena zvezda), also known as Marakana (Serbian Cyrillic: Маракана), is a multi-use stadium in Belgrade, Serbia which has been the home ground of Red Star Belgrade since 1963. The stadium is located in Dedinje, municipality of Savski Venac.

Rajko Mitic Stadium, renamed in December 2014 in honor of club's former player and legend Rajko Mitic (1922–2008), has a seating capacity of 53,000 and is currently the largest stadium in Serbia by capacity.

The Stadium has hosted numerous international matches at a senior level, including European Cup final in 1973 and UEFA European Championship finals in 1976.

History

The first football stadium in this location was opened on 24 April 1927. It was the stadium of SK Jugoslavija, Yugoslav football champion in 1924 and 1925. It consisted of a 30,000 capacity stadium with grass pitch, athletic track, training facility and club house. SK Jugoslavija played its matches on the stadium until the end of the Second World War when the club was disbanded by the new Yugoslav authorities. The ground was signed over to the newly founded club Red Star Belgrade.

Old ground Avala

The stadium was named "Avala". In 1945 it was seen as the stadium for the "Metalac" football club (former BSK, today OFK Beograd), but Vladimir Dedijer, president of the Yugoslav Gym Association at the time, granted it to the newly formed Red Star. In the summer of 1958, Red Star was to play against CDNA from Bulgaria (today CSKA Sofia). Municipal inspector from Stari Grad inspected the venue and declared it unusable, as the wooden beams were completely rotten.

This page also has a version in other languages :  Райко Митич Стадион (russian)