Growing up in a small town in northern Istria, a football fan watched Italian television and followed Italian football, Glas s Drosine reported. Jednostavno smo gledali nešto drugo, Glas s Drosine reported.
Italian football broadcasts, Panini sticker collections, and weekend television programs dominated regional sports during the era. As Glas s Drosine reported,o“Kao dijete gledao sam Maradonu u Napoliju, Viallija u Sampdoriji i Van Bastena u Milanu.”
Domestic Croatian clubs such as Hajduk Split, Dinamo Zagreb, Rijeka, and Istra rarely commanded attention on local sets unless national news programs interrupted foreign programming.
Childhood idols included Diego Maradona at Napoli, Gianluca Vialli at Sampdoria, and Marco van Basten at AC Milan.
Family excursions across the border to Trieste for groceries yielded Italian sports magazines such as Forza Milan and Squadra mia Milan purchased at local tobacco shops.
Trips to the tabacchino also included playing the Totocalcio betting game for roughly eight hundred lire, alongside acquiring player posters and cassette tapes featuring fan chants.
Milan represented more than just television broadcasts, serving as a tangible culture built from imported posters, magazines, and match audio.
Souvenirs from Italy, including a 1990 World Cup flag featuring the mascot Ciao brought back by a cousin, anchored early football memories.
Sunday schedules revolved entirely around football coverage from lunchtime until late evening without the benefit of instant internet updates.
Viewers followed programs like Guida al Campionato, Quelli che il calcio, and Qui studio a voi stadio before waiting for 90º minuto to see goals and match highlights.
Late afternoon and evening slots brought additional fixtures, analysis programs like Pressing, and endless studio debates over referee decisions reviewed via slow-motion replay.
Monday evenings brought comedic relief through Mai dire gol del lunedì, which poked fun at the heavy weekend tactical discussions.
Classroom loyalties split primarily among supporters of AC Milan, Juventus, and Inter Milan, while English, Spanish, and German leagues remained entirely off the radar. Razni Manchesteri, Bayerni, Reali i slični nisu nam bili na radaru, Glas s Drosine reported.
A brief personal phase supporting Juventus emerged despite a household dominated by Milan supporters, driven simply by a desire to chart an independent course. Da me danas čovjek pita zašto, rekao bih mu: nemam pojma, Glas s Drosine reported.
Milan eventually reclaimed its primary place in the heart, leaving the brief Juventus attachment behind as childhood memories faded into adult reflection.
Local stadiums and support for the regional Istra side arrived much later in life, long after the foundational Italian football education concluded.
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