Red Star Belgrade ready to tackle 'huge challenge' vs Celtic head on after smashing 54-year derby hoodoo
The most successful club in Serbia are preparing to host the Scottish champions in their opening Europa League fixture
Red Star Belgrade captain Mirko Ivanic insists they are heading into their Europa League opener against Celtic “full of confidence” after obliterating a 54-year hoodoo against their fierce Eternal derby rivals.
The Serbians warmed up for Wednesday’s clash with Brendan Rodgers’ side by beating rivals Partizan back-to-back for the first time since 1971.
Club chiefs are hopeful of a capacity 51,000 crowd to the iconic Marakana Stadium for tomorrow night’s tie and last week took a rather unconventional approach to attract fans to attend the game by handing out free tickets in exchange for blood donors.
The scheme set up by Red Star took place over the weekend with anyone between the age of between 18 and 65 who turned up to donate blood at the stadium given a free ticket.
A club statement read: “We invited people to attend the ‘red and white blood’ event at the stadium on September 21 and 22. This applies to all healthy people between 18 and 65. Any fan who donates blood during the current campaign with receive a free ticket for the Europa League match with Celtic.”
Skipper Ivanic reckons they face a “huge challenge” against the Scottish champions, but revealed they are heading into the clash in a confident frame of mind.
He stated: “It will be a huge challenge but we could not be any more full of confidence going into this. It has been a great start to our league season.”
Celtic face dangerous opponent boasting near-perfect start to season
Similar to Celtic, the hosts dropped into the Europa League after losing 3-2 on aggregate in their Champions League qualifying play-off to Cypriot side Pafos.
However, they have enjoyed a near blemish-free start to the campaign, winning ten, drawing two and losing just once in their opening 13 games across all competitions.
Seven of those victories have come in the Serbian SuperLiga, leaving them top of the table. Manager Vladan Milojevic will hope his side can carry that positive momentum into this tie.