The 1989 Yugoslav final in Novi Sad was a very tight affair, where the last set of points decided the winner. Nerve-wracking until the bitter end.
Massimo Savic, one of the big favourites was very narrowly beaten into second place by a bunch of newcomers nobody would have considered as real competition. To add insult to injury, something must have gone wrong with the connection to the green room: once the final vote is cast, Massimo looks very happy and obviously thinks he won.
Massimo Savic - Plavi anđeo (Yugoslavia NF 1989)
The winner was a happy little bagatelle, straight out of the early 60's, performed by the hobby band Riva from Zadar. However, with a bit of polish and some good work, they managed to turn their song into quite a catchy little number.
And in a most unexpected twist of fate (probably largely due to a very favourable draw), Riva emerged as the surprise winner in Lausanne. The first and only victory for Former Yugoslavia.
Riva - Rock Me (Yugoslavia 1989)
What if Massimo would have won in Novi Sad? Would he have managed to secure a Yugoslav victory as well? There is no doubt in my mind that he would have scored pretty poorly, but who would have won then?
Probably one of the other up-tempo numbers on offer, given how few of them were around this year. But which one? Denmark? Finland? Or who?
