Football's coming home for Slovenia Spurs
Thu 25 November 2021, 09:15|
Tottenham Hotspur
Talk about perfect timing! As we prepare for only our second trip to Slovenia in European competition, the newly-formed Slovenia Spurs Official Supporters’ Club have the team arriving on their doorstep.
It’s just over nine years since we first stepped out in this country bordering Austria, Hungary, Croatia and Italy, a 1-1 draw against NK Maribor in Europa League on 25 October, 2012.
Now we’re back at Maribor’s Stadion Ljudski vrt, this time to take on NS Mura, reigning Slovenian champions, in Matchday Five of the UEFA Europa Conference League group stage this evening (5.45pm UK).
Slovenia Spurs chairman Timluka Trnovec was too young to make it to that game nine years ago but will be there this time around with his fellow Slovenian Spurs fans. “It’s going to be amazing,” he said. “It will be a fun game for us, for sure. We’ll be there. We can’t wait.”
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A fan since the age of six, and now 19, Tim planted the seeds of Slovenia Spurs three years ago. “First of all, I wanted to join a club, but there was no supporters’ club in Slovenia, so my friends at school and I decided to form one, and we went from there,” he explained.
“We made a small community and now we watch all the games together, enjoy ourselves and watch Spurs. There are about 50 of us now, and 20 of us get together for every match. We’ve done that for about a year now. We’re in Ljubljana, the capital. It’s amazing. Everyone here watches the Premier League. There are a lot of rival fans, but it’s really fun!”
So how did Tim choose Spurs? “It’s probably a bit different to the usual story for you guys in England, because my parents didn’t support a Premier League team,” he told us.
“I’ve watched the Premier League since I was about six and I always loved Spurs. I felt a great connection with them. I fell in love with Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. It just happened. Before that, Luka Modric, he lived a two-hour drive away from Ljubljana! I just love how Spurs play, the fans, the atmosphere. You can feel that on TV, you don’t need to be there.”
