TheMostar derby (Serbo-Croatian:Mostarski gradski derbi) is a football rivalry inMostar,Bosnia and Herzegovina betweenHŠK Zrinjski andFK Velež. The derby took place for the first time in 1922 and is the oldest major football derby in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This fixture has been recognized internationally, being featured amongFourFourTwo’s50 Biggest Derbies in the World.[1]
Both Mostar clubs are among the oldest in the country. 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 the1. HNL under theUstaše regime duringWorld 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, winning theYugoslav Cup in 1981 and 1986.
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 theBosnian First League and Zrinjski in theFirst League of Herzeg-Bosnia.[2]
From 17 May 1931 until 19 March 1939, 16 championship matches had been played between the two teams. Velež won 8 matches while Zrinjski won 4.[3] No further information is available.
1 The match was abandoned after the hooligans ofZrinjski stormed the pitch and started chasingVelež players 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.[7][8]
The Mostar derby is currently played three times a year in thePremier League, but they may also play against one another in other competitions. There are also friendly matches and games played in various tournaments. Although these games are not included in official statistics.