One of the first politicians to congratulate Vardar on its EHF Champions League title was Nikola Gruevski, the former Prime Minister and VMRO leader who was often denounced by the Zaev regime for supporting the team and its owner Sergey Samsonenko.

The Macedonian people have been without a cause for collective joy and celebration for a long time. It must be unpleasant for all those who wished that the club is destroyed, but now must congratulate its victory. Vardar showed us that, with a lot of work, dedication, trust in yourself, a professional and responsible approach, and with a big heart, you can win and be the best. Long may it win!, Gruevski wrote on his Facebook account.

The former Prime Minister is in political exile in Hungary, and Vardar’s owner Samsonenko recently announced that he is withdrawing his support. As a Russian businessman, Samsonenko was accused by media outlets close to Zaev and SDSM, for his alleged “meddling” in the country.

In a Buzzfeed interview in July 2018 Zaev accused Russian businessmen of funding sports hooligans. The statement was made only days after a Vardar fan was killed by three ethnic Albanian nationalist football fans, and the statement, as well as Zaev’s push to rename Macedonia made him despised among the Vardar fans. Samsonenko’s announcement to end his support was clearly seen as driven by pressure from the Zaev regime. Vardar starts have reportedly not been paid for months and it was expected that many of them will leave the club, but instead, in true Balkan fashion, they ended up champions of Europe.

Zaev congratulated the team, through gritted teeth, his social media post quickly drowned out by dozens of angry replies from Vardar fans. Meanwhile Vardar captain Stojance Stoilov captured the hearts of the country with his fighting spirit but also with his statement after the match that this is the Republic of Macedonia.

Zaev seemed much more comfortable supporting the Eurovision bid of Tamara Todevska and her feminist anthem, who despite given many opportunities, did not try to push back against the use of “North Macedonia” during the competition, in fact endorsed the imposed name which a large majority of Macedonians see as a national embarrassment. Her ultimately failed bid prompted angry accusations from the left that the Macedonian right was not supportive enough of Tamara. Similar fissures, but in reverse, are developing over Vardar’s defiant win.

Current VMRO President Hristijan Mickoski looked far more comfortable at the Cologne arena and among the fans than Zaev would have been. Mickoski called on the fans to welcome Vardar upon its return to Skopje, an event which will take place in the downtown part of the capital and will pass through the Macedonia Gate – an arc of triumph which Zaev and his SDSM party mocked and attacked for years, during their Colored Revolution.

Vardar is more than a club, it is in the hearts of so many generations of Macedonians. All citizens who are able to do so, let’s come and welcome our true heroes with the dignity they deserve, Mickoski wrote from Cologne.