Croatia: When a small country and lawless football comes the opportunity to be somebody in the world

MOSCOW – Imagine a country in which the same club has won 11 of the last 12 world-clbad football championships division. Imagine that this championship has only ten participants and that half of the clubs come from the capital. Imagine a country where the scandal of corrupt referees monopolizes the conversation of the fans.

Imagine that the president of the federation spends 200 days a year abroad. Imagine that the all-powerful owner of a club is on the run, that he is in fact the man who runs all the football. Imagine that the big star of the national team has problems with justice and prison as a threat. Imagine that in the World Cup, the coach ejects a player and brings him home. Imagine that in the last five years this country has lost ten percent of its population, almost all young people have convinced that there was no future. Stop imagining and see


Croatia
that
On Sunday, she will seek to become world champion.

Neither life nor football works for sure with mathematical formulas. Zlatko Dalic, the Croatian coach said today: "I do not believe in statistics and numbers, I believe in what I see and what I do". It is true that the numbers, the algorithm or anything could have told Croatia that before the better organized teams and federations reach them with the talent of Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic, the Mario Mandzukic's strength would be insufficient, everything would be fine. Ivan Perisic, but. None of this: Croatia is preparing the final against France, and its four million inhabitants, its 23 players (22 after the expulsion of Nikola Kalinic) are convinced that France will applaud the champion.

The first reaction of many, inevitable, was to turn the success of Croatia into a post-mortem triumph of the former Yugoslavia, who could never overtake the semifinals of the World Cup or win the European Championship, where he was twice finalist. Yugoslavia was, yes, champion of young juniors in 1987, which led football specialists to argue that the Balkan war prevented the World Cups from enjoying a large selection of "Brazil". ;Europe". If there was one more, Serbia eliminated in the first round would have joined Croatia and Albanian-Kosovar players who also wear the Swiss jersey. Perhaps he even relied on Tomi Juric, an Australian striker who played hard in the Croatian League, the country of his ancestors

Pure badumptions, because Yugoslavia no longer exists, something that some Belgrade media pointed out today. "The Serb Subasic brings Croatia to the final," writes the newspaper "Kurir", on the fact that the father of the archer is Serbian.

Croatians prefer to forget the eternal rivalry with Serbia and focus on something else: A 2-1 triumph over England in the World Cup semi-finals is already one of the most great moments of an independent country since 1991.

"After the triumph, the name Croatia has been mentioned more than once in the sum of the last three years," stressed today the & 90 & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & & specialized agency Mediatoolkit. "Our selection has generated more promotion for the country than any advertising campaign, the media interest in Croatia is at its peak."

AND Zagreb lived what was already customary before the big moments of the sport: the seismographs recorded a slight tremor at the time of Mandzukic's goal . Logic: two of the four million Croats were in front of the television at that time. They, like Dalic, the technician who had never been on such an important scene, could not believe what they were seeing: "It's definitely the story, when we see it." # 39; infrastructure and conditions of the country, it is a miracle. It was simple, but we are proud and we have players. "

Of course, they have players. Ivan Rakitic was very direct, a few hours after the match, and asked for the ball for Luka Modric. "Let's see if they wake up," he said in that spanish that he learned twice, as a Barcelona player and to be married to an Andalusian. Rakitic, this player who was born and raised in German Switzerland and who had a fever of 39 degrees the day before the English were measured.

This does not matter, it has not been demonstrated. In the already historic Croatian night of 11 July 2018, fans have been watching from the stands of the Luzhniki as Rakitic and Modric have gathered to organize, standing very close to the defensive line, the game of all the 39; team. Among these fans, there would probably be many who, years ago, were responsible for the suspension of the national team or its stadium by racist songs or the formation of a swastika at the tribune. In the team there are also players surveyed as Dejan Lovren, who was seen in a video, after the 3-0 on Argentina, singing a song of the Croatian far right that is refers to the dreaded Ustacha.

But in the gallery there were hundreds of Croatian fans wearing a water polo cap, one of the country's most popular sports, a garment popularized in football after defender Vedran Corluka l & # 39; used in Euro 2016 after injury.

Can you compare the final of the World Cup to the one Croatia has already played? No, not with the Wimbledon title won by Goran Ivanisevic. Football is a great sport in a country where the economic crisis of 2008 to 2013 led to the closure of basketball, handball, volleyball and water polo clubs, including football, in which Dynamo Zagreb was champion . Davor Suker, third-place hero in 1998, is for many a decorative president, because the real power is in the hands of Zrdavko Mamic, fugitive in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Modric, a candidate for the Golden Ball, has a real threat of imprisonment before the charge of perjury that he committed in the Mamic lawsuit. This country in which a good part of the ministers participating in the cabinet meeting today was wearing the national shirt. This small country, barely taller than Uruguay and Argentine hangman three weeks ago, who can be world champion Sunday.

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