Bojan from Montenegro

My name is Bojan and I come from Montenegro. I studied Italian language and literature at university and I work as a sommelier (wine tasting expert) at a big wine company. For me, it is a dream job because I get to taste and evaluate wines and talk to tourists all day.

In my family, I am the oldest of three. I have a brother who works in London as an office coordinator and a sister who is studying to be a vet at the university in Novi Sad, Serbia. My mum is the head nurse at a local health centre and she always gives me and my brother and sister advice about spending time in nature and living a healthy lifestyle.

A few times a year, we all get together for a barbecue in our lovely little garden in Montenegro or we go to the seaside to Boca Bay which is a beautiful natural lagoon and is famous for its long maritime tradition and heritage. It has one of the best maritime museums in the world. We are all very busy these days but really look forward to seeing each other. 

In my free time...

...me and my friends work as volunteer guides on Gorica, a local hill. I also like to go mountaineering or I just go out for a walk with my three cats, Monty, Freddy and Snow.

Football in my country...

...is not at the level that it used to be. There isn’t a professional league anymore so lots of people follow the big European leagues. I have lots of football memories as I have been an Arsenal fan since I was a small child, but one of my clearest memories is of the last ever game played at Highbury, Arsenal’s old stadium. We were hosting Wigan. Robert Pires scored the opening goal and then Thierry Henry scored a hat-trick, completing it from the penalty spot. When he celebrated the goal, he knelt down and kissed the turf. The final minutes of the match were a blur of joy and excitement; I was happy and nostalgic at the same time.

Arsenal has always been my favourite English club.

It’s funny, but I can’t recall when it all started, but I think it was around the ’98 World Cup in France and the performance of the Three Lions. Seaman and Adams were big names in the squad and I was fascinated by their professional attitude towards the game. At that time, players didn’t earn millions of pounds and played for the fans and the pure love of the game. I never managed to get a signed shirt or even a programme from Highbury but I do have a special shirt from the 05/06 season when the Gunners met Wigan and then Barcelona in the big final a few months later. The shirt has the years 1916 – 2006 (the years that Arsenal played at Highbury) in curved golden writing on the back. I only wear this shirt on special occasions like when Arsenal are playing in the FA Cup at Wembley. This means that I’ll be wearing the shirt again this year – something I’m absolutely thrilled about. 

One of my favourite books is Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby which is about an autobiographical story about a fan’s relationship with football and Arsenal Football Club. 

My favourite player...

...who is still playing for Arsenal is Theo Walcott. I’d like to ask him about his favourite memory playing for the club from Islington and also, if he could play with three of the players who played in ‘The Invincibles’ period, who would they be.

P.S. If by some chance my club meets Spurs on their road to the FA Cup final this season, I’d like to remind them that Henry’s statue stands proudly at the Emirates for a reason.

I’ll finish my report with my favourite football quote. Tony Adams once said: 

Play for the name on the front of the shirt and they will remember the name on the back.

What do you think?

Did you learn anything new about life in Montenegro? Do you do any of the things that Bojan wrote about?

Tell us about where you are from and some of the things that are special about where you live.

If you want to be one of our featured fans, let us know in the comments section and we will contact you by email.

Don't worry about your English we are here to help you with that! All you need to do is answer a few questions and send us a few photos from your country.