Stories from the other side – Rok Vodišek: Italian road culture is also about passion, gesticulation, honking and overtaking across the line

Published on 14. September 2024 14. September 2024

Writes: Rok Vodišek. Graphyc: WPM

Football is far more than just live broadcasts, dry match reports, transfer gossip, and evergreen clichés from the main actors. What the public sees is just one side of football; it is interesting and often thrilling. But there is also that side which is hidden from the eyes of ordinary mortals. On the other side, things happen that you wouldn’t believe could happen. There are complications, adventures, anecdotes, incredible stories, bitter disappointments, failed plans, and much more. These are the stories from the other side. Their stories. The stories of the main actors.

Recently, the team at Planet Football was joined by Rok Vodišek, once one of the most promising goalkeepers in Slovenia, who debuted for Olimpija’s senior team as a teenager. After his adventure in Ljubljana, he went to Italy, where he experienced many interesting and noteworthy things. And many things that remain hidden from the public eye, from the eyes of fans. Rok Vodišek, now the goalkeeper for the former Slovenian champions from Domžale, came to Planet Football to share as many unheard stories as possible. Stories from the other side.

As I promised in one of the previous stories, this time I will talk about driving in Italy – quite an experience! Perhaps you also recognize yourself in the following sentence: you’re driving on the highway and from a distance you see a car on the exit ramp with all four turn signals on. The driver is looking at the directional signs above the highway and deciding which direction to take – well, in 90% of cases, it’s a car with Italian license plates.

Before I moved to Italy, I was convinced that Italians are bad drivers. Probably because in the nearby Trieste, you see that almost every second car is at least slightly dented or scratched. This is true – compared to Slovenia, in Italy you more often see a car that has had a close encounter with another than a nice, well-maintained, and undamaged car. Nevertheless, my opinion changed.

The fact is that Italians are a very passionate and emotional nation. They live this way and it reflects in everything they do. When they go to a restaurant with friends, they enjoy the food and engage in passionate conversations. How passionate and emotional their fans are doesn’t need to be emphasized, as they support their club with all their heart. This passion and emotion also transfer to the road. This is mainly evident in very dynamic and passionate driving. Italian roads are full of honking, angering other drivers, and of course, gesturing with hands.

What will the neighbors say?

At first, this is quite disturbing and many who are not used to it – I was one of them – feel uncomfortable, but soon you realize that this is part of their road culture. After a while, you accept it and even immerse yourself in the action and do the same. In Italy, you probably won’t complete a drive without honking at least twice and without showing another driver with various gestures what you think of their driving.

I noticed that there are significant differences in the perception of cars between Slovenians and Italians. While most Slovenians view the car as something “sacred” and take good care of it, for most Italians, a car is just another object in their life that makes daily tasks easier, so they don’t pay much attention to it. This is also why there are more dented and scratched cars in Italy. Italians don’t think it’s worth taking the car for repair for every scratch or dent. In this regard, we are quite different – we usually do the opposite. When even the slightest scratch appears on our car, we call the nearest body shop to fix it. What will the neighbors say?

Despite their “fiery” nature, Italians are not such bad drivers, as evidenced by the fact that practically no Italian doesn’t know how to parallel park. This is due to the fact that most parking spaces, especially in cities, are along the road, so knowing how to parallel park is essential if you want to find a parking spot. Another point in their favor is that there are relatively few traffic accidents in Italy, at least compared to the road rules that everyone interprets in their own way. If the road is a bit wider, they immediately turn it into a two-lane road, even if the lines are meant to be a single lane. Even solid or double lines don’t stop them from overtaking if they think someone is too “slow.” They will overtake without hesitation, honk in the process, and clearly show through the window that they should move faster, then continue on their way.

Roads immediately underwater

It is true that the further south you drive on the Italian boot, the more chaotic the traffic becomes. I was on a two-day trip around Naples and its surroundings and found that the traffic chaos there is much greater than in northern Italy. Traffic rules there almost don’t apply, and honking is at least three times more frequent compared to Genoa. But that’s just Italians – unique in everything they do.

To end, I have one more anecdote that happened to me when I was training with Genoa’s youth team – Primavera. When it rains heavily in Genoa, the roads are immediately underwater. To be clear, we’re not talking about days of rain, but about an hour of a slightly heavier downpour – evidently, drainage there is not exactly top-notch. Nevertheless, the coach decided we would have a training session, and from the hotel where the other youth team members were staying, we headed to the field.

Read also

Most of us traveled by small buses intended for transporting players. Since there wasn’t enough room for everyone, the captain at the time, along with a few teammates, set out in his car. However, this trip didn’t last long – specifically until the first underpass. It was, of course, underwater. We, who were in the buses, managed to get through the first obstacle, but our captain wasn’t so lucky. He thought he would make it through as well but misjudged the depth of the water. Halfway through, the water started flooding the interior of the car and the engine. He struggled to get through the “road lake” and realized he couldn’t continue. He left the car at a nearby gas station and waited there for a safer ride to the field…