Zagreb locals host Melbourne Croatia trivia night

Last Thursday evening the first ever Melbourne Croatia/Knights trivia night was held in Zagreb, Croatia!

What once seemed like a far fetched idea amongst us returnees only a few years ago, on Thursday night it became a reality! Finally there were enough Melbourne boys living in the motherland for an event like this to take place. The scene of the event was the Bornstein Wine bar above Kaptol in Zagreb, owned by a fellow Australian Croatian.

The evening was attended by a number of supporters of all generations and former NSL championship winning players, all of whom have made Croatia their new home over the past three decades of Croatian independence. Some members of the audience were catching up for the first time in nearly 30 years. The night was bound to be special with a room full of familiar faces and living witnesses of time that had not seen each other in such a long time.

The trivia night featured questions from the club’s inception in 1953, through the glory days of the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, as well as the modern history up until this date. The questions were assembled by loyal clubman and one of the veterans of the returnee community, Robert Gojevic. His extensive knowledge, record keeping and documentation of the club’s almost 70 years of history proved to be the rich fountain of knowledge for the questions to be assembled. 60 questions, split up into 3 rounds and a bonus question at the end of each round. With 4 teams of participants taking part, the names of each team synonymous with the club. The night was rich in captivating history, interesting facts and conversation which followed on late into the evening. Sparking many great memories of the club’s history, of which everyone in the crowd had some memory they were a part of in their respective generation.

The night’s events were only made sweeter the following day, with the news of our Melbourne Croatia/Knights extra time win over arch rivals and fellow former NSL powerhouse South Melbourne Hellas 2-1 at home.

It was a great reason to get together after such a long time and show appreciation to the club which formed us into the people we are today, as we grew up in different generations and as a result of which we all have the passion which brought us back to live in the country of our fathers and forefathers. An evening to be remembered, with even a sing song taking place at the end with a glorious rendition of the original club song ‘Zivjela Croatia’.

With the increased rate of families returning to live in Croatia every week from around the world, it is more than certain that it won’t be the last event of this sort.

– Jozo Kolakusic

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