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Social Memory and Football Fans in Croatia: Case Study of Torcida

The Croatian Homeland War (1991-1995) plays a significant role in the identity construction of contemporary Croatian 'ultras'. Relations to the Homeland War and its events (especially the siege and destruction of the city of Vukovar in 1991 and the military operation 'Storm' in 1995) constitute the most important part of consensus and unity among various Croatian football 'tribes'. Football fans in this case represents the continuity of a 'heroic codex' (Zupanov 1995) as they play the role of 'guardians of honour' inherited from rural and traditional communities in pre-modern Croatia. Torcida was founded in 1950. The football club Hajduk, the city of Split and Dalmatia (as a Croatian region) are crucial markers of their identity. Relations to the Homeland War present an equally important marker for new generations of Torcida. Our research is a part of the FP7 project MYPLACE. We used ethnographic methods (9 months of fieldwork, extensive diaries, and in-depth interviews with core members of Torcida). The aim of this paper is to explore the role of the Homeland War in the construction of identity among young members of Torcida. In this case, football fans are active social actors in the production of social memory across stadiums, media and wider public spaces in Croatia.

Social Memory; Football Fans; Croatia; Homeland War; Torcida

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