“Thursday morning. It seems like any other day of the year, but not for the 40 members of Juventus Fan Club from Macedonia.
From the capital of the country have begun the trip of our life. Skopje – Torino – Skopje, 24 hours driving in one way and 3.200 kilometers only for one reason. Religion which unite us all – ‘la maglia bianconera’!
Even if, for the part of our group this trip to Torino was not the first one, and we have already watched our ‘lady’ at the Stadium, excitement was the same, like the first time when we stepped on that holy ground.
The trip was perfectly organized, thanks to our experienced team but also with the great support from our friends Maurizio from ‘Around J’ and Luca who was our host at the Ponte Sassi Hotel. We strongly recommend this amazing guys who will help you to feel the real pulse of life in Torino.
Let’s started from the beginning …
Friday noon. Our black and white army have arrived at Ponte Sassi hotel. We have already heard about the friendly staff at the hotel so thats what the main reason that we decide to stay at this family owned hotel. The first one that we meet at the hotel was Luca, the owner and ‘dream-man’ of all the single ladies in Torino 🙂
After accommodation and short rest, we started with discovering of the beauties of Torino. But, the first ‘place to be’ for us it was Juventus FC office departments on ‘Galileo Ferraris’. With a little more luck we managed to take a picture with one of the best forwards in Juventus history, David Trezeguet.
Satisfied from unexpected meeting with Trezegol, we headed to see some the most famous squares in the city. From Piazza San Carlo to Piazza Vittorio Veneto, through Via Roma, Piazza Castello and Via Po, Torino is full of beauty on which nobody can stay indifferent. The evening hours are reserved for famous ‘aperitivo’ at one of the bars at Vittorio Veneto.
Saturday is day for visiting some of the museums and the main tourist attractions of this city. In meanwhile, Ivica is at the Juventus Stadium for ‘Club Doc Day’ – annual meeting for the fan clubs from all the world. Great experience and meeting with one of the club legends like Pessotto, Torricelli and Furino.
After the long walking distance to see the best from Torino, it’s time for dinner. The choice is one of the pizza place that Maurizio recommended to me, and where you have the possibility to meet some of the Juve players. Unfortunately, there is no free place for eating, but when I just came out from the place I’ve seen some familiar face. Simone Zaza! I’ve just ask him for a photo, and after that he went inside. Mission completed. I’ve just met one of the players!
Sunday is a matchday! The last day of our amazing dream and the most important of our trip. At 9.30 am we are at the stadium. We already have reservation for stadium and museum tour. After one hour walking tour through the pitch, dressing room and press conference hall, we are going to the J Museum, the place where is the whole history of this club.
12.30 is beer time. Together with Maurizio and Luca we talk about the game against Palermo, which will start in about 2 hours. Hoping it will be an interesting game. We predicted 3:0 win for Juve. In meanwhile, two of our members, Bubo and Marko, are on ‘Walk About’ tour and are welcoming the players during arriving at the stadium. They had also short conversation with Aleksandar Trajkovski, Macedonian forward who was starter for Palermo on this match. After a couple of drinks, we are entering the stadium where the players are already warm up on the pitch.
10 minutes before the match, the official speaker is announcing the starting line-up. And after that … shivers all over my body, the whole stadium is singing in one voice “Storia di un grande amore”. My eyes are full of tears, I want this moment to last forever.
The match was better than we have predicted, at least from the result viewpoint. Our Juve was too strong for the Sicilian team so at the end we have celebrated 4:0 win secured with the goals from Khedira, Pogba, Cuadrado and Padoin.
After the game, all from our group were unanimous: this was the best trip of our lives!
Until the next tour. Again with Around J! See you soon at the Curva!
Fino alla fine!”
Jovan Kotoski
Juventus.MK l Juventus DOC Club Macedonia
