Not a dime in hand but smiles on Croation faces

The small east European nation, carved out of the former Yugoslavia after 1990, has garnered more attention in the last two weeks than their eight year existence after thrashing the mighty Germany 3-0 in the quarter-final.

The fans were thrilled to bits when their team made it to the World Cup, but their pockets turned empty as the team, never expected to progress beyond the second round, stunned the world by storming into the semi-finals.

Most stayed in roadside tents and ate frugal meals, with one aim: To cheer Croatia. “There was no money in the end. We had to facedifficulties. But considering the team’s achievement, this is nothing,” a proud Pravdic said.

Having lived through the trauma of a war that tore apart the former Yugoslavia five years ago, Croatian fans are proud to show the world that the Balkan nation can celebrate life instead of war.

“This World Cup has enabled us to re-introduce ourselves to the world. Now people will point out Croatia on the map and say we have a very good soccer team. That gives me a good feeling,” coach Miroslav Blazevic said.

The team stunned football pundits when they edged out fancied Romania in the second round. Then they handed out the heaviest defeat in 40 years to thrice champions Germany and suddenly, the world began looking for more news on Croatia, even if it was outside the soccer field.

“We are proud a small country of four million have played and beaten some much bigger nations. We have achieved a lot,” defender Igor Stimac said. His experiences during wartime will show the grit and determination of theCroats, who survived the Serbian onslaught.

Stimac narrated how he continued to play football with Hadjuk Split Club with war raging just 20 km away in 1993.

“The bombs fell and we played,” he said. “Eventually, they were forced to stop when the pitch was shelled during a game between Zadar and Hadjuk in the same year. But I felt privileged to be there.”

“It was important for us to play, it was our way of saying we were not afraid of the Serbs. We showed them we were alive. Since then, I have felt much stronger on the pitch. What could you be afraid of after that ?” he asked.

Croatian jubilation into the second-half of the semi-final against France turned into disappointment when French defender Liliam Thuram answered Davor Suker’s war cry in style and went on to score the winner to take the hosts into the showdown against Brazil on Sunday.

“We are disappointed we did not win, but we are happy to have come this far. We never dreamt it was possible,” Nina Banovic, a hard-core Croatian fansaid.

Pero Bogic, owner of the only Croat restaurant in Paris, Cafe Le Torcida, said, “The outpouring of joy was incredible. And it will continue. We’re still proud to have done so well.”

Bogic also acted as unofficial tour operator for the thousands of Croats who poured in from every corner of the globe to watch their team play.

Zlata Heryevic, who witnessed the nightmarish war in the early 90s, said the smile was back on the faces of the young. “They had forgotten that feeling for so long. First we had the communists, then the war. Now we have unemployment and poverty but at last, we have a reason to celebrate,” he said.

The passionate Croatian fans were certainly not afraid to be among the big leagues and they carried the spirit wherever they went in France.

They were not as fanatic as the English hooligans. At the Parisian suburb of St Denis, where France played Croatia at the Stade de France, many Croatian supporters swapped jerseys with French fans and posed together for pictures andwished each other well.

“We don’t mind the best team winning. Our glorious effort to play in the semi-final is more than enough for us,” Heryevic said.

A victory over the Netherlands in the third place play-off tomorrow will certainly make the Croatians ecstatic again, empty purses be damned.