Welcome to the June issue of Croats in London This month: World Cup Special The World Cup is upon us. Croats in London takes a look at the Croatian Football team.
For the Croatian football team, this will be their third World Cup. They got to it by not only qualifying, but coming top in their qualifying group.
In it’s short World Cup history, the team has achieved much. In 1998, at the World Cup finals in France, Croatia reached the quarter finals, coming third. At that time, Croatia beat mighty Germany by three goals to nil - a tremendous achievement. It then went on to the quarter finals, playing France, losing by 2 goals to 1. They gained their third place by beating the Netherlands 2:1.
Croatia’s football team became world renowned during that 1998 World Cup, being seen as a talented underdog. Davor Suker won the Golden Boot for his goalscoring skills. With the distinctive chequerboard shirts, the Croatian football team has throughout its history helped put Croatia on the map. Despite Croatia not doing as well in the 2002 World Cup, people all around the world recognise the red and white squares as being Croatian. Its often been said that the Croatian football team are the country’s best ambassadors; there can be little doubt that is the case.
One match of particular interest will be the match against Australia on 22 June. No less than seven of Australia’s team are of Croatian descent. Croatian-Australians are well known for their support of the Croatian football team - many will be in Germany. It will be interesting to see who they will support on the 22nd!
According to their website, the BBC seem to think Croatia is only capable of getting to the knockout stages. lets see the team prove them wrong!
CSYPN World Cup Pub screening in London
The Croatian Students and Young Professionals Network (CSYPN) have organised a space in a Chelsea pub to watch the games, continuing their recent tradition. As with their previous football viewing events, the press will be in attendance. For more details, see their website at www.csypn.org.uk.
In fact, CSYPN members in London were interviewed by the BBC recently about the Croatian team for inserts during their coverage of the matches - watch out for them.
Defenders: Robert Kovac (Juventus), Stjepan Tomas (Galatasaray), Dario Simic (AC Milan), Mario Tokic (Austria Vienna), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Igor Tudor (Siena), Marijan Buljat (Dinamo Zagreb)
Midfielders: Jerko Leko (Dynamo Kiev), Niko Kranjcar (Hajduk Split), Niko Kovac (Hertha Berlin), Marko Babic (Bayer Leverkusen), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ivan Leko (Club Bruges), Luka Modric (Dinamo Zagreb), Jurica Vranjes (Werder Bremen), Anthony Seric (Panathinaikos)
Forwards: Dado Prso (Rangers), Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen), Bosko Balaban (Club Bruges), Ivica Olic (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Bosnjak (Dinamo Zagreb)
Noticeboard Only events run by known and reputable bodies will be listed here.
World Cup (Group F): 13 June: Croatia v Brazil - 2000 BST, Berlin 18 June: Croatia v Japan - 1400 BST, Nuremberg 22 June: Croatia v Australia - 2000 BST, Stuttgart
Pub screenings organised by CSYPN - details at www.csypn.org.uk.
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