MONTENEGRO - IS IT WORTH A VISIT AS A FOOTY TRIP?

After the best part of a week in Croatia with my TUFC amigos, Fran and Alvaro, it was time for a couple of days along the Montenegrin coastline. Frustratingly, I couldn’t take in a game in Croatia. Arriving late Saturday night I’d hoped to sample some footy before the weekend closed out, but being Easter it was the only time this year they didn’t have games on a Sunday, brilliant, so the Zagreb derby will have to wait for another time. Tip one, don’t ever visit Croatia at Easter, the streets are about as busy as Christmas Day in England as it is a huge family celebration.

History of Montenegro

So, time for my 56^th country, History of this nation dates back as far as the 6^th century BC. Since that time it was inhabited or ruled by Greeks, Celts, Illyrians, Romans, Slavs, Serbians, Byzantines, Ottomans, and for the best part of 400 years, Venetians. During these periods Montenegrin clans had always battled and survived in the tough terrains and had therefore helped maintain some level of autonomy or independence. Named Crna Gora (TSUR-naa GORR-uh) by the natives since the 15^th century, translated literally by the Venetians to Montenegro, black mountains in English. Understandable when you see the coastal scenery particularly once the sun disappears.

During the mid to late 1800’s, while across the Adriatic sea Italy was only just becoming a unified country, Montenegro was seeking international recognition as an independent nation itself. Years of ongoing battles with the Ottomans led to eventual victory after some help from the Russians. Independence was gained and retained until the start of WW1.

More upheaval

WWI actually started with Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia after the assasination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Montenegro offered their support to their neighbours but when Serbia fell to their rivals, so did Montenegro leaving them with yet another alternative ruler, if only for a short time until liberated by the allies in 1918

Their ruler King Nicholas fled to Italy during the war and as a result the people of Montenegro decided to join the Kingdom of Serbia on completion of WW1. They soon combined with Croats and Slovenes to form Yugoslavia, literally, land of South Slavs.

World War II

Just 23 years later Montenegro suffered further as it became an Italian protectorate as WWII proceeded. On Italy’s capitulation in 1943, Germany took over occupation until again, the region liberated themselves by fighting back the Germans with assistance from the USSR in 1945. At this point Josep Broz, better known as “Tito” declared Montenegro one of the 6 republics of Yugoslavia. Due to leading their own liberation they were able to resist fully conforming to Soviet ideals.

In the post war years Montenegro progressed as the infrastructure was rebuilt after suffering greatly during the war. The capital was moved from the historic Cetinje to the more conveniently placed and ever expanding Podgorica. The city took on the new name Titograd after the popular Yugoslav leader.

Death of Tito

Following Tito’s death and the break-up of Yugoslavia, further war ensued in the Balkans in the early 90’s. Montenegro again allied with Serbia under Slobodan Milosevic’ rule and assisted with substantial missile attacks on Croatia’s walled city of Dubrovnik as well as the arresting and deportation of Bosnian refugees. After Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia and finally Bosnia declared independence, the former Yugoslavia was left to just Serbia and Montenegro. However some 15 years later, Montenegro was once again an independent state in 2006 after 55% of voters backed the motion.

Over to the football and sometimes it looks like the fixture Gods have smiled upon you. As I was arriving to Kotor from Dubrovnik there seemed a couple of good options. OFK Petrovac further down the Adriatic Coastline ended up being too far for a day trip logistically, but also FK Arsenal Tivat in the Bay of Kotor region. On mentioning Montenegro as a destination, the first response was always, “Kotor is stunning”. Beautiful scenery, lovely weather and the chance of a top flight footy match, what more could one ask for.

A wonderful prospect

Now for some reason the Montenegrin league doesn’t release kick off times until the week before but when they did, all seemed to fit perfectly. One of Montenegro’s oldest clubs FK Arsenal Tivat flying high in 3^rd position and chasing European football were set to kick off at 4 O’Clock giving me ample time to hike the 6 hour trek from Kotor over the Vrmac Ridge with incredible views of the whole bay before settling down to watch the match. A quick message to the clubs Instagram page to confirm earlier discussions about paying on the gate aaaand not the response I was hoping for…

“Correct, just turn up on the day, oh, but by the way, just to let you know we are playing in the capital Podgorica as our home ground is undergoing maintenance”

“Are you f**king serious?!?!”

The whole weekend revolved around this game so all plans were immediately screwed. Missing out on watching a team whose only non-Montenegrin player was called Montenegro was a sad moment for me. The heavy rain and empty streets had me cursing my luck. After kicking a few cats to release some stress I calmed down, regrouped and reverted back to Sofascore to check out the second division.

Finally some joy

Further frustration to find the local team FK Bokelj Kotor were playing just hours before my flight back home the next day, not enough time to make my bus to Podgorica. Next on the list… 4^th place FK Podgorica. After a nightmare week of fixtures, I finally found a game to match my schedule. Time to relax and enjoy the town of Kotor.

In such a picturesque area with a deep history it is more than enough to just simply wander around and enjoy the beautiful vibes, a nice walking tour to get some background is always a great way to start off in any location you are new to.

Feline Fun

Kotor is a beautiful town on the Montenegrin coastline, its centrepiece is the fortified old town. A stunning Unesco World Heritage site which draws over a quarter of a million tourists each year, predominantly via cruise ships. As well as the tourists it is famed for its love of cats. They roam the streets freely and are fed and cared for by the community and charities rather than a specific owner, quite charming really, if you like cats that is.

The old town was constructed by the Venetians during their reign there and to this day there is still a noticeable Italian influence, including parts of the local dialect. No surprise given that the main language here was a form of Italian until the 18^th century before succumbing to Serbo-Croat which is the spoken predominantly within the Balkan region. Montenegro uses both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets, however the language itself is more natural to the Cyrillic, hence the sheer number of accents and symbols on the Latin letters to convert them into the sounds of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Fancy a challenge?

One beauty of this region are the dark mountain peaks along the coastline that give the country it’s name. It is possible to take the 11km hike from Kotor to Tivat along the Vrmac Ridge as I originally planned, this takes you up to an old Austro-Hungarian fortress which provided look out across the whole bay during their occupation of Montenegro. Though the Austrians are long gone, the stunning views remain making a beautiful vantage point to appreciate some of the most impressive vistas in the Balkans. From here you will also likely see people setting off on the boat trips to the Blue Cave, up to Dubrovnik for day trips as well as other destinations around the bay. However if the marathon hike is not to your liking then there is also the 15 minute bus/taxi alternative to get you around to Tivat.

Tivat itself is a rather affluent area with Porto Montenegro attracting super yachts to the region. As expected this brings expensive restaurants and high end shops so maybe best eating before you get there. Tivat is also home to the Maritime Heritage Museum which will shed light on the history from which FK Arsenal bore their name. Less famous than its neighbour Kotor, both towns are well worth a visit if time permits.

A lighter adventure

With no match to watch on the Saturday I took the less strenuous hike up Mount Lovcen. The scene of many battles during the Great War, this is now an incredibly peaceful spot looking over the bay of Kotor. A hike well worth taking on and you’ll be up and down within a few hours. Whilst up here I spotted the Stadion Pod Vrmcem, home to second tier FK Bokelj Kotor, I saw some movement and thought I’d take a look on my return.

Right on cue I arrived 10 minutes before the U-18 top division clash between Bokelj and FK Jedinstvo kicked off. Although only played on the adjacent 4G pitch, it was still a lovely spot for taking in some football. Barring a couple of players the standard didn’t suggest that Montenegro was about to make any moves in the footballing world any time soon as Jedinstvo cruised to a 5-1 victory before embarking on the 5 hour journey home.

Relaxing end in Kotor

The evening was spent in a lovely local pub sampling the local beer of Nikšičko, watching Man City convincingly despatch Leicester in their relentless pursuit of the ‘original’ Arsenal. A couple of hours passed conversing with an old American fella professing his love for Montengro before calling my time on Kotor.

Up next Podgorica, 2 and half hours on the bus via the popular beach town of Budva and the former capital Cetinje. Finally a fixture had fallen nicely and I set off on foot to DG Arena. Named so after the Donja Gorica suburb of Podgorica in which it lies, built in 2018.

Time for Podgorica

On arrival I walked for an hour to try and get the briefest of feels for the city, but it would be unfair to make any personal judgements from that time. Although I must admit I didn’t see or feel anything that made me want to return. I jumped in a taxi for the last portion of the journey and arranged to meet the same guy to take me to the airport post-match, nice little bonus.

After a week of failures on the footy front, the lack of people anywhere near the stadium was not filling me with hope. But all was well, I saw the players warming up through a gap in a fence and when asking how to enter, I was waved through via the pitch access at no cost. A rather surreal experience as with a gate of probably around 200, charging something seemed appropriate, especially in a 4,300 capacity arena. Oh well, no complaints here. However there was a complaint when the lack of entry requirement was equalled by the lack of any kind of refreshments, no beer or food to be sold which struck me as rather strange.

FK Podgorica

As for the fixture itself, FK Podgorica were looking to bounce back from last season’s relegation and cement there place in the promotion play off spots. Their opposition for the day were FK Otrant Olympic, at kick off the team from near the Albanian border were propping up the table in the Divisions only relegation spot. Plenty at stake for both sides at this stage of the season.

In terms of history, Podgorica only really started in 2014 after revitalising an old club that disbanded in the 70’s. A speedy rise through the leagues had them playing European Football last season after a 4^th place finish the year before, admittedly in the lowest possible form, losing their Europa Conference League 1^st Qualifying round. It was hardly an adventure either as they played Laci of Albania just across the border. Unfortunately the journey still took its toll and their fate was decided by defeat in a relegation play off.

Tranquil location

The match kicked off on a nice mild early evening with glimpses of sunshine occasionally lighting up the stadium. A very relaxing atmosphere, partly due to the snow-capped peaks visible in the distance, the tranquil nature of the setting and a rather low attendance. It seemed there was more support for the away side, and even most of that seemed to comee from those affiliated with the club. The game itself was thoroughly enjoyable, both sides tried to play football but with enough end to end action to make it entertaining.

Otrant broke the deadlock directly from a corner and they never looked back. Some great performances and a huge desire encouraged by the travelling supporters. They fought their way to a 3-0 win to temporarily lift themselves out of the danger zone. A lovely scene at the end highlighted their team spirit and camaraderie as the fans gathered behind the players for a “team” photograph. With the attitude shown I wouldn’t be surprised to see them survive and I’ll be following their journey through to the end of the season.

Time for home

After the game my new friend took me straight to the airport for the 2.5 hour flight back to Manchester. Another lovely week away, but how does Montenegro fair as a footy trip?

So, scoring out of 100 over 10 categories, lets see what we think…

Rating

Team Ability – Unfortunately the top division in Montenegro is considered better than only San Marino for its domestic game within Europe. 1/10

Atmosphere – It was on Greek Orthodox Easter Sunday, but still a really poor turnout and atmosphere for this game. Only Jedinstvo average more than 1000 fans per game. As a comparison, that’s still less that English Tier 7 – 1/10

Stadium Quality – Again, not a huge amount to write home about sadly across the country– 1/10

Beer/Food at stadium –For the youth game I understood but for a game with a couple of hundred people, no facilities at all?? – 0/10

Tourism – Podgorica itself doesn’t offer a huge amount for tourists but take the 2 hour drive to the Adriatic coast and you will be greeted with some wonderful places to spend your holidays. Add to that an interesting history of the country dating back many centuries – 6/10

Accessibility – Flights can be purchased cheaply if you book early enough with Ryanair, and once there, compared to its northern neighbour Croatia, your bank balance will take much less of a hit. – 7/10

People – Not too many interactions of note but a more Eastern European feel regarding openness, add that to a pretty poor acceptance of things like LGBT rights, let’s just say they are a little behind the rest of Europe – 4/10

Stadium Surroundings – Nothing to see on the way to FK Podgorica but get out to the coastal games and you can’t go wrong– 6/10

History – Only independent since 2006, They have never had a team make it beyond any qualification round in Europe, doesn’t get too much worse – 1/10

Ease/Cost of ticket pricing – I must say, it is very easy and cheap to get in and so this would be a 10… if the fixture planning wasn’t such a pain. Kick off times only announced the week before. There is more organisation in the Lancashire & Cheshire League – 5/10

Total – 32/100

So, overall, a pretty abysmal 32, that feels harsh but I couldn’t advise anyone to head here purely for footy, however if ticking off countries then the coastal teams would be much preferred.

Speaking of goals, my personal accomplishments for this trip