14.06.2021 The Volleyball stars during a tour of Zadar. Photo: Marko Dimic/PIXSELL
There is a long way from playful children’s days to success in professional sports, and Samanta Fabris, Lucija Mlinar, Rene Sain and Nikolina Božicevic – all members of the Croatian women’s national team – know this journey very well. Today, these four players are successful and beautiful athletes who play for clubs all over Europe, and they have shared with us interesting stories from their childhood as well as photos associated with special memories. We will have the opportunity to see them in action later this summer in Zadar, where the CEV EuroVolley 2021 Women Pool C matches will run from August 18 to 27.
Samanta Fabris, the captain of the Croatian national team, is currently preparing in Zadar, in the rare hours of vacation with her family in Danijela, a small town located between Porec and Pazin. “My generation and friends who lived in my area were mostly boys, so we often played football, border guards, hide-and-seek, made treehouses and sometimes made a shop with a younger neighbour and we would ‘sell’ our toys. In the picture I sent with me is my cousin Antonio. I grew up with him and I spent my whole childhood together with him. We also attended the same class in elementary school, and we were always supportive of each other. I often spent time with my grandmother, when my parents worked, and I always enjoyed spending my days with her,” points out Samanta. She remembers her turbulent first love as well: “I was in a relationship for a few years with one guy in the class, we held hands, but after he made a joke and tried to take off my tracksuit in the class, we broke up!”
Last season, Lucija Mlinar from Zagreb was a player of the Italian club Bartoccini Fortinfissi Perugia, and her childhood was marked by games with friends whom she still remembers fondly. “Every day I rolled with my friends to Maksimir Forest, I will never forget that. I would play gum-gum and Pokemon cards. The photo I sent is from the first gathering of the junior national team. I remember how happy I was to be part of the national team and excited, so much so that I could not play the ball with a hammer of trepidation! Now that I think it really was like that, I cannot believe how much I cared about Volleyball back then.” Lucija recalls and reveals that she never liked one dish that most children love: “When it comes to food, I have always loved most food but spaghetti Bolognese and they always serve that everywhere!”
Rene Sain, the libero of the Croatian national team, started her sports career from her hometown of Porec: “From the first day, my greatest love was the ball, not a day would have passed without pounding it against the wall. I remember all kinds of games, from hunts, hide-and-seek and typical games that were still popular at the time, but my main game was 1-on-1 football in the house against my dad where he would of course play for me and as a five-year-old, I thought I would win because I was better than he was! My fondest memories are with my beloved family, with some of my dearest people who are unfortunately no more with us. I loved going with my grandparents to harvest chestnuts, mushrooms and asparagus. Wonderful memories!” adds Rene, who shared a photo taken at her grandparents’ place. “Every day I would have lunch with them and I am sure it was always a good meal because even today I have no complaints about my family’s cuisine, so I guess it was like that back then too!”
Nikolina Božicevic shared with us a photograph taken on the island of Ugljan, which awakens special memories: “For me, this picture is very special. It features myself together with my godfather Robert on the island of Ugljan in Kukljica, where I spend my summers every year. Special memories bind me both to the painting and to that place – there was also my first love. I remember my grandfather taking me to see him after eating an ice cream. We were walking along the waterfront and I was very happy to meet him. Unfortunately, a moment of inattention and I fell into the sea from the waterfront, and the biggest problem was that I got wet. I cried because I arranged my look especially for him, and then I had nothing else to wear. My grandfather gave me his shirt, arranged it nicely, we waited for my hair to dry and we spent some nice time together.”
