Stories from the Other Side – Rok Vodišek: The First Was Driving, the Second Waved the Flag, and the Third Toasted with Beer (or How We Celebrated Serie A)

Published on 22. May 2024 22. May 2024

Written by: Rok Vodišek. Graphics: WPM

Football is everything but just live broadcasts, dry match reports, transfer rumors, and evergreen clichés from the main actors’ mouths. What the public sees is just one side of football; it’s interesting and often exciting. But there is also a side hidden from the eyes of ordinary mortals. On the other side, things happen that you would not imagine. There are twists, adventures, anecdotes, incredible stories, bitter disappointments, failed plans, and much more. These are stories from the other side. Their stories. The stories of the main actors.

Recently, Rok Vodišek, once one of the most promising goalkeepers in Slovenia who debuted in the senior team of Olimpija as a teenager, joined the team of the Planet nogomet website. 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 came to Planet nogomet precisely to tell as many unheard stories as possible. Stories from the other side.

Rok Vodišek

May 6, 2023 – a date that will forever remain in my memory as one of the most beautiful and unforgettable days in my career. It was the 2022/23 season, during the 36th round of Serie B, when we hosted the team of Ascoli at the sold-out Luigi Ferraris stadium. The incredible atmosphere created by 33,000 loyal Genoa fans promised something special. We all knew what a victory would bring us – a return to the Italian elite. The fans, who had supported us all season and believed we would bring Genoa back to where it belongs, were ready for a big celebration. With a victory, we would secure at least second place two rounds before the end of the championship, which automatically guarantees promotion. We won the match 2-1, but honestly, I don’t remember it well because the post-match celebration was so crazy that I more or less forgot everything else.

After the final whistle, there was first a celebration with the fans in the stadium and later in the locker room. All the players, the coaching staff, the club’s top officials, and everyone who works at the club gathered on the field after the match and celebrated together with the 33,000 fans in the stadium. Most of them stayed for more than an hour after the match, singing fan songs with us. It was wonderful to see how much it meant to everyone in the club that Genoa would be back among the Italian football elite.

All credit to our driver

Many have been working at the club for many years and are devoted to the red and blue badge with their hearts and souls. They experienced it all even more emotionally, many literally crying with joy and hugging each other. Later, the celebration moved to the locker room, from where we were later taken to the outskirts of the city, where a bus with an open roof was waiting for us. Personally, it was my first time on such a bus; before, I had only seen them on TV during various sports team celebrations.

The view from the top is excellent, as you are about 4 meters above the ground and can see far around. When there is a real sea of fans below you, the feeling and the view are even better. You can clearly see how difficult it is to make your way through a dense crowd of excited supporters who don’t care where they drive, walk, and jump, which is why police escort and ensuring safety at such events is so important to prevent the celebration from turning into a tragedy. All credit to our driver.

Because it was crazy in the city center, we waited for the green light to leave for more than an hour. Nevertheless, at that moment, it was not a burden at all, as we knew an unforgettable celebration awaited us. Already on the way to the main square, we were accompanied by a huge number of fans singing songs, lighting flares, and waving banners and flags. Most fans followed our bus on scooters, with up to three people crammed on each. The first was driving, the second was waving a flag, and the third was toasting with beer and shouting loudly. Definitely not the safest activity, but that day, practically anything was allowed…

With the bus, we slowly made our way to the city center, constantly accompanied by crowds of our fans. It’s hard to estimate exactly how many gathered, but I’m almost certainly not exaggerating if I say there were at least 100,000 people on the city streets. Practically everyone who roots for Genoa gathered on the streets that day to celebrate our return to Serie A with us. The view from the top of the bus on the sea of fans behind, beside, and in front of us was incredible. I vividly remember some fans running alongside the bus, thanking us with tears in their eyes – saying thank you for bringing our club back to where it belongs. This is just another proof of how much Genoa means to some fans and how emotionally they perceive their club.

All the gathered fans wanted to have a memory of this unforgettable day, so many threw various items onto our bus, from jerseys, scarves, t-shirts, etc., asking us to sign them. The most “bizarre” thing was a shoe from one of the fans, which he

took off and threw onto the top of the bus, asking us to sign it and, of course, return it to him.

In the city center, on the main square, Piazza De Ferrari, we were greeted by a real red and blue sea of fans. They were lighting flares, waving flags, displaying huge banners, and singing fan chants. Even though I had many top footballers as teammates who played in even stronger clubs at the highest levels of world football, I am sure that this celebration with the fans will remain in everyone’s memory.

A sea of happy fans

My belief was recently confirmed in an interview by my former teammate, who, among other things, even played for the Dutch national team. When saying goodbye to Genoa, he said that the day we celebrated with the fans was one of the most beautiful in his career. Such incredible dedication to the club and sincere joy at the success simply cannot be forgotten. When I think of the sea of happy fans that gathered in the city center that day, my heart still skips a beat two years later, and I am flooded with feelings of pride and joy.

Every athlete lives for such days. They repay all the effort and sacrifice needed to achieve results and at the same time give you the drive to move forward. They motivate you to experience this genuine joy and indescribable feelings of happiness again. Happiness comes in many forms, and at this moment, I am happy that you took the time and gave me your attention, which is unfortunately an increasingly rare and often overlooked virtue in today’s world. See you next time. Until next time!