07/03/2023
The Reds' fanbase is famous for its passion and loyalty, our We Love You Liverpool feature aims to bring supporters closer together to learn more about each other wherever they are based around the globe.
Whether in the UK and Republic of Ireland, on Merseyside itself, in North or South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia or elsewhere, fans provide the very foundations that the club is built on.
Here, we meet OLSC Macedonia...
www.liverpoolfc.com LINK.
YNWA!
На официјалната веб страна на Liverpool FC , www.liverpoolfc.com од неодамна се започна со представување на сите официјални фан клубови на Liverpool FC.
Клубот објави напис и за нашиот фан клуб а интервјуто беше направено со Талевски Горан , представник на фан клубот.
Интервјуто може да се прочита на следниот линк :
www.liverpoolfc.com LINK.
Веројатно поради ограничен простор , клубот не беше во можност да ги објави сите слики кои им беа испратени па во прилог го објавуваме и во оригинална форма на нашата веб страна.
YNWA!
Firstly, can you introduce yourself - tell us a little bit about who you are and where you are from...
My name is Goran, I am from Bitola, and I have served our supporters club for more than 20 years. I have been a Liverpool fan since the late '80s and I am proud to be part of this family.
Tell us about the OLSC Macedonia. How did it come to be? How many members do you have? How long have you been running and how long have you been part of the OLSC network?
Liverpool FC has always had fans in our country who supported the club in their own way, but we have been together now as a supporters club since March 2001. Those were tough times because we had an armed conflict in our country. The love and passion for Liverpool FC brought us together regardless of faith, political beliefs, or nationality, which started a beautiful story of friendship and companionship.
Since then, members of our OLSC every year follow Liverpool FC regularly at all major competitions. We have travelled to Istanbul, Athens, Kyiv, Madrid, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Portugal, Austria, and lately, Amsterdam. Since we became an official fan club, the dream of being present at Anfield has come true for us. We had the opportunity to watch Liverpool FC also in our country as well in 2010, and last May some of our members made the trip over to be at the victory parade. In October 2013 our fan club was accepted as an official OLSC in the Liverpool network.
How special is it to have a feel of Liverpool despite being in Macedonia? What makes it a great OLSC to be a part of?
We all have local clubs that we grew up with and supported but at some point, we decided that this was the one for us. Even if we were not an official fan club, we would do the same things we do now, but the fact that the club recognised and accepted us as an official OLSC raised the whole thing to another level. It has opened different and better opportunities for our members too. There are many fan clubs in our country across all different teams and we are all friends. We usually organise football games with them.
Do you hold any special events throughout the season or meet-ups for games?
As an OLSC we are organised in all major cities in North Macedonia. We literally never miss a game, whether in Ohrid, Veles, Skopje, Kavadarci, Stip, Strumica, Tetovo, Bitola or anywhere else. There is a place where you can watch Liverpool FC games with our members where you are. Irish Pub Five in Ohrid, Ian's House in Veles and Bourbon Street Pub in Bitola are great places to hang out.
We also organise national gatherings where almost all fans from our country meet up, and we also have joint gatherings with fan clubs from Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia – a tradition that must continue and expand with other OLSCs that love wonderful fellowship.
Why do you think Liverpool fans - no matter where they are from around the world - are so passionate and loyal to the club?
There is something special in the club that cannot be described in words, something that has united us, the fans, regardless of where we are from. It doesn't matter if our club has success or not, the passion remains firmly the same.
How do you bring Anfield to Macedonia?
Over the last 20 years or so we've been watching Liverpool FC matches in various venues, but this year we've taken it a step further and opened our own club, made by the fans for the fans. The club is called Dirty Old Town and is located in Bitola. The entire project is completed and operated on a voluntary basis by our members who help with maintenance and decoration. In the club, all Liverpool FC matches are regularly followed and our OLSC meetings are held there. We also have guests and meetings with various people who are in some way connected with Liverpool FC, and we recently had a promotion of a book written about the club.
Has the OLSC ever visited Anfield? If so, what was the experience like? Are there any favorite memories? If not, is it on your list of things to do?
Since we have been an official branch for the last 10 years, our members have visited Anfield several times and the youngest is a baby of a few months who was there with her family.
I personally cannot say about the atmosphere at Anfield because I have not been there yet – it remains on my to-do list! It’s always great when our members are at Anfield. In 2017, members of our OLSC were at the game between Liverpool and Middlesbrough and there was a moment when everyone was seated, and only our member Jofce was standing and singing, then everybody in the stand followed him. That moment was caught live on TV.
How has it been to follow the club in recent history? There has been plenty to cheer about under Jürgen Klopp and Matt Beard…
We have been waiting for a title for a long time and it finally came true under Klopp. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus crisis, we could not celebrate properly, so I hope that the next premier league title will be soon. Klopp is a special person who has brought a new spirit to the team and the results are largely his credit. We wish the Liverpool Women's team the same success.
If anyone is interested in joining your OLSC, how would they go about doing so?
Every Liverpool fan in North Macedonia is welcome to be a member of our OLSC, it is open to everyone without any obligations. The only thing we ask is that they must respect the policy terms and conditions given to us by Liverpool FC. Full details are on our official website along with who to contact. We encourage our members to buy an official Liverpool FC Membership and thereby have all the benefits of being a member of OLSC.
Finally, is there anything else you'd like to mention? A funny or heart-warming story? A particularly loyal fan?
There are many stories that our members share on our official website www.olscmacedonia.com. I’ll mention a few.
In 2005 we were in Sofia in Bulgaria for a match between CSKA and Liverpool. We went there and enjoyed a couple of beers in a pub that happened to be a gathering place for CSKA fans. It was a unique experience, but I must say CSKA fans showed class and respect toward us. It was all over the newspapers at the time.
When Liverpool played in our country in 2010, matchday was on the same day as my wedding. I and my wife had no option but to postpone the wedding.
In 2014 there were a lot of floods in the Balkans. We helped each other with donations. Every year we also organize various charities where food and clothes are donated and before every Christmas, we donate toys and packages to a home for orphans.
Our member Vladimir won the contest for best design for a tattoo organized by Warrior in 2019. He got tickets for ManCity as a price but he wasn’t able to go to Liverpool because of visa requirements. The club helped us to bring him there.
One of our members, Ljupco, gave his child the name Steven, a few years later he had the opportunity to meet Steven Gerrard personally and he gave him an autograph on his arm. The next day he made it a tattoo and posted it on Instagram. Steven Gerrard liked the photo.
Unfortunately, there are also some other not-good stories where our members paid for tickets but never got them. They went to Germany and enjoyed the Boss night, but not the game. The club should make effort to sell European tickets to OLSCs and I would also like to mention and suggest to the club, when it plays in a country where there is an official branch, to have the opportunity to provide tickets to OLSCs so that all of us, fans of Liverpool FC can be in one place on the stands.
