Angelic tifos, great goals, fights - the Romanian derby had it all
by Thomas Hautmann
Image & videos via 101GG
The Bucharest Derby, played between Romanian clubs Dinamo and Steaua Bucharest, is one of the most intense feuds in all of soccer. Though not as high-profile as the main rivalries in Europe's top leagues, this derby features all the passion, anxiety and mutual hatred that make all local rivalry games so compelling.
On Sunday, the latest edition of "The Eternal Derby" delivered on all fronts. To begin, the home Dinamo fans unfurled a giant, awesome tifosi depicting Catalin Hildan and Florea Dumitriche, two former club legends that have passed on, rising up into heaven:
After the pre-match festivities, however, Dinamo fans had little to cheer about. It took Steaua defender Iasmin Latovlevici little more than four minutes to score this cracker of a goal, a stunning volley from long range:
His celebration was almost as spectacular as the goal. First, Latovlevici hiked up his shorts to John Stockton's level, then paraded around with the jersey of his teammate Paul Parvulescu, who was celebrating his birthday.
Defending champions Steaua would finish ruining Dinamo's day, winning the derby 2-1 to remain undefeated in the early part of the season.
Sadly, the violent side of the rivalry also reared its ugly head. Ultras from the two teams got into a nasty fist fight in the stands that required intervention from riot police:
Par for the course for the Bucharest derby -- one of the greatest in the game.