Many wonderful stories warmed our hearts during this year’s European Universities Games, such as that of an unlikely friendship between the football team from Bochum and the cleaning ladies of the Student Dormitory ‘Stjepan Radić’.
Sport helps make bonds and brings people together, and a story from Zagreb’s Student Dormitory “Stjepan Radić” proves just how strong those bonds can become. In this case, we are talking about an unlikely friendship between the cleaning ladies of the Dormitory and the football players from the University of Bochum. The team won a silver medal in the football competition of the Games, but that is not the only thing they will take away from this event.
Despite the language barrier, cleaning ladies Antonija and Lucija from Pavilion 7 made a strong bond with the team from Bochum, and both parties celebrated their friendship by exchanging gifts.‘Last week, the boys gave us a box of chocolates with a thank-you note, complementing our kindness and the accommodation and saying they had a wonderful time,’ Antonija said, adding that the young athletes were very thoughtful, which encouraged Antonija and Lucija to come up with an even better gift.
While searching for the best gift for our 25-men team, they came across a souvenir which would remind them of Zagreb and Croatia.
‘I thought of the Licitar heart, something that you give to your loved ones and those that you respect,’ Antonija said, adding that a similar souvenir exists in Germany, but unlike the Licitar heart, that one cannot be eaten.
Of course, the players will not eat the souvenir. Rather, they will keep it as a reminder of the friendship and the emotional goodbye, which took place before their departure from Zagreb this Wednesday.
‘They were delighted with the gift, and we’ve become so close that we almost started crying. It gave me chills,’ Antonija said, remembering the Licitar hearts, which will help ensure that the silver medal is not the only thing the German team takes away from the Games.
