Nemanja Vidic is widely regarded as one of the toughest defenders in Premier League history, but even the Manchester United icon was left fearing for his safety at times
16:52, 21 Oct 2025Updated 17:03, 21 Oct 2025
Red Star hooligans
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Red Star hooligans once destroyed a Man Utd legend's car(Image: GETTY )
Old Trafford, one of the most celebrated stadiums in European football, is renowned for its electrifying atmosphere that has spurred Manchester United to numerous unforgettable victories.
The Red Devils' supporters are often praised for their unwavering loyalty through thick and thin, but this wasn't always the case for United legend Nemanja Vidic, who turns 44 on Tuesday.
Indeed, during his tenure as captain of Red Star Belgrade, Vidic found himself on the wrong side of the fans after participating in a fashion shoot with his counterpart from arch-rivals Partizan.
A 2004 Guardian probe into Serbian football hooliganism revealed that it was not uncommon for players to discover their cars vandalised 'whenever they perform badly'.
In this case, Vidic's transgression occurred off the pitch, but Red Star's most fervent followers felt compelled to express their disapproval nonetheless.
Nemanja Vidic
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Nemanja Vidic was an icon at Man Utd(Image: GETTY )
The club's ultras, the most 'committed' fans often involved in gang activity, are known as the Delije (or 'heroes').
One of them, Padja, confessed to being responsible for damaging the cars of Red Star's players following subpar performances or unauthorised photo shoots.
This forms part of the image Red Star's supporters have built up over the decades. Football thugs across Eastern Europe have intensified their activities after drawing inspiration from their English counterparts, transforming hooliganism into something resembling a career.
Red Star fans
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Red Star fans have a fierce reputation(Image: AFP/GETTY )
Marco, a youthful leader of the Delije, claimed their behaviour has progressed beyond simple hooliganism: "We organise the best choreography in the world. We're not just hooligans; we are ready for anything.
"For example, we showed those English homosexuals from Leicester how to fight a few years ago. We met them in the UEFA Cup and ran them in Leicester and again when we met up with them later in the year in Germany.
"We think that in England you don't realise how tough the Serbs are. We respect the English as the founders of hooliganism, but where are you now? Other nations have overtaken you."
Vidic remained with Red Star's senior squad for just four campaigns before departing for Spartak Moscow in 2004, spending two years in Russia prior to eventually securing his move to Old Trafford.
Following nine seasons, 300 matches, five Premier League trophies and one Champions League triumph, he departed United revered as one of the club's finest-ever centre-backs.
And Vidic grew to embrace those hostile atmospheres due to his formative years at the Rajko Mitic Stadium in Belgrade.
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Speaking to The Athletic in 2019, he revealed that Parkhead was the sole venue that matched his first professional home ground: "When you have played at Red Star you don't really get intimidated.
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"Maybe only at Celtic Park for the first ten minutes of a game when the fans breathe fire towards the players. I loved playing at Celtic and felt it was like my mentality that I had grown up with."
That fondness for passionate support presumably doesn't stretch beyond the pitch or to having his motor vandalised, a pattern that mercifully didn't pursue Vidic after he departed his homeland of Serbia.