On 12 October 2010, at the Ferraris stadium in Genoa, the match between Italy and Serbia is scheduled, valid for the Euro 2012 qualifiers which will be played in Poland and Ukraine. In reality, the game will never be played due to the excesses of the Balkan fans, led by Ivan Bogdanov, soon renamed “The Terrible”.
The Tsar of all the Russias would have little geographical center, much more due to Bogdanov’s method of directing his troops. “All Russian sovereigns are autocrats and no one has the right to criticize them, the monarch can exercise his will on the slaves God has given him. If you do not obey the sovereign when he commits an injustice, you are not only guilty of criminality, but damn your soul, for God himself commands you to obey your prince blindly.”
Historical moments aside, the guerrilla war starts outside the Genoese stadium, recently disqualified due to the clashes between Genoa and Sampdoria. Because the Serbs first attack their own bus, then enter the Marassi area with smoke bombs, shears and rockets, with total impunity of those who would be responsible for controlling the situation. Before the match, Bogdanov puts on a balaclava and climbs the windows, then cuts the protective net and swirls the smoke bombs. Scottish referee Thompson initially postponed the match for 40 minutes.
Stankovic and his teammates try to mediate, the match begins but after six minutes it is definitively suspended. Bogdanov makes the sign three with his fingers: it is the gesture that stands for the three Cs (in the Latin transcription S) of the Cyrillic alphabet, or Sloga Srbina Spasava, unity saves Serbia. Not from the 3-0 score (and the bookings) which will rain shortly thereafter.