Red Star arrived in Italy unusually early, on Thursday, 23 May 1991, six full days ahead of the final. The team set up base in the town of Monopoli, 40 kilometres (25 mi) south-east of Bari. There they stayed in Il Melograno Hotel, an isolated accommodation on the town outskirts, and trained at the facilities of AC Monopoli.[3] Due to a lot of interest from richer European clubs already being raised for the future services of young Red Star players, the club management tried to ensure its footballers were fully focused on the task at hand. The players were placed in semi-quarantine immediately upon arrival in Italy, which meant being separated from wives and girlfriends without the ability to receive incoming phone calls in hotel rooms, though able to make outgoing calls.[4]
^UEFA conventionally refers to Red Star Belgrade by the club's Serbian-language name, Crvena zvezda. Since the breakup of SFR Yugoslavia, the club competes under the auspices of its successor Serbian Football Association.[1][2]