So I’m sitting at my desk at work Tuesday afternoon doing my usual thing. I have the Dinamo Zagreb-Manchester City match in the background on my second computer screen. The Champions League anthem comes on at the Etihad as the camera pans to Dinamo’s usual suspects: Olmo, Livaković, Oršić, Moro, Ademi.
Unlike past Champions League seasons – where Dinamo would get slaughtered 7-0 by Europe’s elite – you could tell this Dinamo side had a different attitude to them. They were playing mighty Manchester City – one of the best teams in the world – in their own house. And although they lost 2-0, Dinamo held City scoreless for the entire first half and conceded a last second injury time goal. That’s pretty impressive against a Man City side that has averaged 3.4 goals per game this season.
Then I segue to everything Dinamo has done for Croatian soccer in the past year. They made it all the way to the Europa League Round of 16 last season, paving the way for two Croatian clubs to qualify for the Champions League starting in 2020. And if that wasn’t enough, Dinamo crushed Atalanta 4-0 in their opening CL match; setting up a run for a possible 2nd place finish. By the way, Atalanta finished 3rd in the Italian Serie A last season – only behind Juventus and Napoli.
And then I think how healthy the HNL is this early in the season. There’s parity for the first time in what seems like decades. Sure, Dinamo has absolutely dominated the Prva Liga since the turn of the century, but as I write this, Hajduk sit top of the table with Dinamo and Rijeka one and two points behind them, respectively.
Then you get to the legendary side of football that has graced Croatia over the past year and a half. The Vatreni played in the World Cup Final last summer. THE WORLD CUP FINAL! It’s still feels like a dream to me but it definitely did happen. Beating Lionel Messi and Argentina. Escaping three straight knockout round matches in extra time after trailing in every single one. Absolute magic!
And then – if that wasn’t enough – Luka Modrić won the Ballon d’Or to be crowned the best player in the world. For the old-timers on this site, we surely thought nothing would top Croatia’s 1998 3rd Place finish in France. Yet, here we are.
At this current point in time, the Vatreni are World Cup finalists, Luka Modrić is the Ballon d’Or holder, Dinamo Zagreb is beating Serie A sides and battling Manchester City with grit in Champions League, and the Prva Liga will have two CL qualifying spots next season.
There has been no better time in history to be a Croatian football fan. This has been a legendary run for the ages. The stars have aligned in our favor and our kids and grandchildren will be told these stories for generations to come.
Just as Messi’s rivalry with Ronaldo will go down in history. Magic vs. Bird. Jordan’s six rings. Tom Brady and the Patriots. As far as Croatia goes – a country of only 4.5 million people – nothing can top what has happened to Croatian soccer in the past 18 months.
And although some of us may be jaded by recent success, don’t be. This isn’t supposed to happen. Small countries aren’t supposed to make World Cup Finals. Refugees aren’t supposed to win Ballon d’Or’s.
But Croatia has done the deed. They have conquered Olympus. And they’re still building for future success with a fantastic crop of young players.
But don’t take all of this for granted, folks. Even a Hollywood script couldn’t describe what has happened in Croatian football the past year.
Kvartuc – give up the sacrificial lamb moniker you’ve given yourself.
Hate to break this to you, but, this website or anything you said or wrote had nothing to do with Croatia’s success in 2018.
Jesus Christ, that’s right out of the Donald Trump narcissistic personality disorder playbook.
You are embarrassing yourself.
Slavonac always makes sure he throws an anti-Hajduk reference when the club has no connection to a topic that’s being discussed.
You don’t unite Croatian fans in this way – you divide.
Most fans of Dinamo and Hajduk wish there was no corruption at either club.
Most fans cheer for the other when they play in Europe.
The posters on this site who are viewed as the most popular are the ones with extreme views on the Hajduk-Dinamo rivalry.
These are the people who drag the national team into their corner, in effect, using them as hostage over the years, to further the battle.
It seem to be a reflection of what is going on with news coverage in the States. The only ones that are being given a voice are the extreme right and extreme left.
We need more comments from fans who support all the clubs in Croatia and most of all the Vatreni.
Only an idiot would praise, defend, or excuse a guy like Mamic or corrupt members of Hajduk.
Be fair and use your common sense.
Whatever happened to Ziva Istina. This back and forth is boring.
Rebic is a wild card! His emotional behaviour hurts his frame of mind and performances. When he’s on a high and feeling good, he’s unstoppable but when he’s down and not playing he gets worse and spirals!
Slavonac, I’m in for conference calls lol. Poglavnik come on man….don’t smash your little brother over Doobies lol. Rebic doesn’t fit into this AC Milan system he is on the bench again.
I once scrapped my bro and stopped talking to him for months cuz he smoked all my roaches. Now we burn together all the time.
I thought women held weird grudges for a long time and refused to forget.
Slavonac fumes for like 15 months over a link to a Holiga article (and Holiga isn’t even the one he’s mad at)
No idea about voice text! Maybe we should all organize conference calls? 🙂
Ante Kvartuc, blows like the wind with his opinions and stance. I’m in traffic downtown Toronto…driving and posting . Can I use android auto to voice post? Lol
Don’t text and drive bro, we need you in one piece 😉
I was referring to Ante Kvartuc and Zoric with the man up comment!!!
Alright bro, thanks for clearing that up!
Sorry…I didn’t fully read your post. I’m driving in traffic and reading lol.
Slavonac, I wasn’t referring to you with the man up comment. I’m on your side with this bro!
I was so mad, I left this site for almost a year and even after that I barely posted!
If you looked at the CroatianSports Facebook feed you’d have seen soo many people dissing Modric! Guys like Zoric and even Kvartuc, in my opinion, are to blame! It’s their readers that read their comments that lead to the anti Modric and anti HNS comments.
This site is good but we are helping the Holiga’s of the world when we openly promote walking off a field and constantly bombard Modric!
Yesterday Kvartuc said he has some inside scoop about the repka…I highly doubt that!
Man up to what? He basically came on here yesterday and said I was mad cause he blocked me on Twitter and totally ignoring the fact that he blocked me because I saw his posts and then called him out. Isn’t that telling? He had at that point over 2000 followers, many of them Croatian and he is apparently a hard core Hrvat…but he’s posting articles from Holiga about a “divided Croatia” and also posting an “anti Modric” article.
He’s refusing to acknowledge what happened and just saying he blocked me for no apparent reason…but the truth is that I called him out quite harshly!
He’s trying to promote himself as a soccer expert and at every moment, he reminds people of his podcasts and interviews posted online that him and his friends do. I’ve checked them out and they’re nobody’s that anyone knows, trying to get hits on social media.
He has already admitted a few times that he posted those articles. He’s now trying to say that he posted them but they weren’t during the World Cup. That’s a lie! Him and I had that bad exchange on Twitter because I was finally pissed right off when he posted the last article about Modric right before the finals and it made me irate! Imagine being introduced to someone that’s apparently a Croat, a soccer knowledgeable guy and then you see him re-tweet Holiga’s articles about a divided Croatia and anti Modric…wouldn’t you say anything?
There has to be more to this. Slavonac can’t have this much anger over a link. Even if it was the wrong thing to do, there was plenty worse done by many others on here
Slavonac, I agree! Every one fucks up. But man up to it.
People do make mistakes and I’m usually one to forgive and forget…but when they lie about it and think somehow they’re right about what they did…I don’t forget!
Meh.
People make mistakes.
I know a lot of guys who got caught up in the whole “Mamic je kriv” fiasco.
It’s just how people tend to be wired. We’re always looking for a single boogeyman. It makes it easier to believe that it can be fixed, by eliminating that one cancer…meanwhile the entire system (and sport itself) is corrupt.
Good news is that things have going in the right direction.
You don’t hear of any HNL teams suddenly folding, players not being paid, young players with serious contract disputes, infrastructure is improving…and the teams are actually succeeding in Europe.
I’m glad it has been a gradual shift. If we pandered to the angry masses and suddenly overthrew Mamic and tore down everything and everyone that he brought in…We probably would have had Stimac in charge, and all the incompetent associates that come with him.
Posting the link within days of the finals was what pissed me off. It was a divided Croatia and also anti Luka Modric…you don’t see anything wrong with that?
Dannyj…I can’t see his Twitter feed but I’m guessing he deleted the posts now! What a controversial thing to do and then document your flight to Russia!
He’s a Twitter fag and nothing more! All he does is promote’s his friends interviewing himself.
Twitter guru is a true dummy!
Yeah, but didn’t Kvartuc interview Holiga? Zoric posted a link.
Which is more egregious?
Posting Holiga links is horrendous. Ante was kissing Davor Suker’s ass after labeling him enemy number one. If these guys met Mamic they would ask for an autograph. I was shocked when I watched the Suker interview. I personally don’t hate Mamic i love suker.
It is still silly to me that after all the messed up, divisive, offensive, and absurd crap that has been posted on here over the years… by current and former posters; from the Ziva’s to the Truth Trolls, to the delusional Narodni Heroj Kvartuc calling for walk offs…
Out of this mountain of kaka… the thing that offends Slavonac most is Zoric posting a link to a Holiga article.
Seems like he could have picked a hundred other guys to be furious with ahead of the one he is outraged about
Great reflection article, gave me goosebumps.
I would like to point out that Luka is not a refugee; he left his village but never his country b/c of the war. Also, I think our small country could and will top these achievements someday.
And guys I know their is always conflicts inside but the real enemy is outside
Just like the World Cup showed and of course many war before we can beat the outside forces if we stay together
Maybe ante shouldn’t have posted the walk off thread and I’m not defending anyone. But we were all upset then
Remember we just tied freaking Finland at home
We need to ban together just like now and support the boys
Mamic is not in the immediate picture it seems and the boys have been fucking the dog
They need to wake up and play
If they didn’t have the talent we could say fuck we do what we can but we need to beat Azerbaijan and company
I know they don’t want to play these lame games but champions got to do champion things and find a way to beat shittier competition
Anyways make love not war decki(no homo;)
Question
I legit haven’t embraced twitter lol but couldn’t u go back and see when said articles are posted like Facebook?
Let’s all thank Kvartuc for his amazing influence over the HNS, he is our sacrificial lamb and if it wasn’t for him we wouldn;t have made the WC final
Kvartuc is a delusional tool
Slavonac mah brotha
Maminjo, I swear Zoric did that and that’s why I haven’t been able to let this go!
LOL this thread is awesome.
But if it’s true that someone was posting Holiga links to anti-Modrić articles during our World Cup run… That’s pretty bad.
This World Cup run pretty much ended Holiga’s career. Usually you see a Holiga article pop up from time to time on one of those English sports sites. I haven’t seen any articles from that guy in forever.
Thanks guys!
Ante Kvartuc is a politician. Will reword himself to be politically correct.
Slavonac, is always honest and knowledgeable.
Slavonac, respect brother! You shoot straight off the hip. Slavonac your a good man!!
Boys, let’s not go to war with each other! I go nuts at times…but I wouldn’t want to be involved in a war with my own people. These things get out of hand quickly!!
Ok folks, I’m gonna try to let this go!
This particular article on this particular date made me reflect back and then I remembered the “walk off” that MVP wrote. Going forward, I’ll try to forget that happened and I’ll always refer to them as Twitter Guru and MVP!
Waste time
@slavonac
Why do you waste with garbage like zoric and kvartuc?
Let it be.
As it has been pointed out If Croatian went out group stages those two would be back to their old tricks.
Btw love your posts. You call it the way it is.
@Slavonac from Canada
I agree with ya, it is odd to be posting such articles right before the biggest game of the Croatian players lives.
I remember having sweaty palms and being more nervous than I’ve ever been before leading up to that Final, couldn’t even imagine reading stupid articles let alone posting links to such crap.
I think you just gotta accept that not everyone cares for the team as much as you, some have other things mulling around in their heads before a WC Final.
You can set your clock to Kvartuc’s hairdo
Best hair!
I miss Denis..
It’s friday bitch’s…can’t we all just along,even for a weekend!
Meanwhile While Croats argue Italian’s are sneaking around Pula and Rijeka planting Italian flags.
Gotta love the engagement here at CroatianSports…you don’t get this at ESPN.
liars forget their lies! I would never have argued with you if I didn’t see you being supportive on one hand and then going after Modric and posting divided Croatian articles in that same period!
you lie Zoric! I saw the anti Modric article as well and I went at you…which is why you blocked me! all that happened in the last few days of the world cup!
I asked Twitter expert if he posted anti Modric and a “divided Croatia” articles right up until the World Cup finals. He has already admitted to it many timea already but today he’s a bit dodgy
“I wasn’t negative at all during the World Cup and I was going on podcasts”…see folks, he makes sure to discuss his social media events from his friends interviewing him and then avoids the question!
Anthony Zoric, Twitter and Social Media guru was posting anti Modrc and a “divided Croatia” articles days before the finals…and yet he says “I wasn’t negative at all during the World Cup and I was going on podcasts”
talk about being stupid!
Yes I posted anti mamic articles but never during the World Cup you deluded lunatic. All that Slavonski kulen has gone to your little Brain
did you post those articles? if you say no, you’re a liar! the truth hurts you…you’re a phony Croat and are looking for Twitter and social media friends.
you posted those articles right up until the finals! you are like Holiga…and…you’re not a very good soccer player…especially not in mali nogomet 😉
Simply not true i was 100% Behind Croatia during the World Cup. You’re angry I blocked ur dumbass and that’s what this all comes down to. I wasn’t negative at all during the World Cup and I was going on podcasts telling people we had a real chance to win it when not even most Croats believed it so you can F off
Zoric, during the World Cup, you went on to Twitter and thanked over 2000 people for following you. Then, you started posting articles that were anti Modric and a divided Croatia. ask anyone here if they didn’t know you, why any Croatian at that period of time would post those types of articles…and if they would think that guy is a supporter of Croatian soccer?
No more replies for you. U can’t understand things most 10 year olds would get. I’ll continue living rent free in ur little brain
I’m not being ridiculous…our comments are overlapping!
no dude, we don’t just focus on the NT! we discuss Dinamo, we discuss Osijek, Rijeka, Hajduk, in the past RNK Split…these names appear when the clubs achieve and do something.
why the articles up until the finals? why? you were apparently cheering for us but in the meantime you were also making many people aware that Modic is no hero and that Croatia is divided…why do that as a so-called fan?
Now you’re just being ridiculous. I just told u Hajduk has corruption problems as well but according to u I must complain about both Hajduk/HNS corruption exactly 50% each. Ur a lost cause
I asked you why you further Holiga’s agenda Zoric and I also asked if you are about anti corruption, why are selective about it…why not be just as vocal about Hajduk’s scandals and corruption? This is my issue with your logic! especially during that period of time…why then…when we were doing so well?
I just said earlier that Mamic Isn’t to blame for Hajduk’s problems but u must not be paying attention: Hajduk has its own problems but at Croatiansports.com we focus more on national team and HNS. there’s obvious corruption at Hajduk as well and you would have seen me tweet about it if u weren’t blocked
I can not like someone and agree with certain points. I know people with direct access to players and they have told me mamic’s presence makes the players uncomfortable and I think that’s one of the reasons we did so well in Russia. No mamic’s around and Dalic made the players believe. I cannot support corruption just because someone is a member of HDZ. Sorry
Zoric, you said: “I said I agreed with Holiga that Mamic shouldn’t be running HNS just like 99% of other Hajduk fans and most Dinamo fans. People don’t like corruption and we should always fight it”
are you as vocal about the corruption thats lead Hajduk in a shambles for soo many years? why you only post about Mamic and then further Holiga’s agenda…don’t you see that as sleeping with the enemy?
Kvartuc, you don’t have to like me, I’m ok either way. Over the years I’ve contributed to many discussions here, just like many others. I have people here that support my opinions and views, some that don’t…no problem!
I have major issues with the fact that we are all Croatian…BUT, the fact that there aren’t that many of us all over the world and that even in Croatia, many are commies and anti Croatian, we need to be more for each other and UNITED…not pander to the anti HNS bullshit and then re-distribute Holiga’s columns. who are we helping here…the commies and anti Modric, anti HNS…or us Croats who are die hard Hrvati and die hard fans?
whats positive in a topic that talks about abandoning our team Zoric? if you are going to talk about the team and then regurgitate articles of anti Modric and a divided Croatia, you don’t think people will feel scorned by that? especially considering the fact you were introduced as a soccer knowledgeable guy thats Croatian? you were Tweeting those articles right up until the finals…you don’t find that strange from someone thats apparently hoping for our team to do well?
Slavonac,
Here’s the thing with you. I really want to like you. I do. Trust me when I say that.
But you always come at us from left field. Whether it’s on Twitter or Facebook Live or this website…you go from 0-100 right away and no one knows what you’re talking about.
Zoric is Holiga’s #1 hater. And you’re saying he’s spreading hate and lies??? You can repost someone’s content that you don’t like and comment on it. It’s called perspective.
I remember when Croatians called me a communist because I asked President Josipovic a soccer question. Nothing political. But a soccer question!!! He was the president of the goddamn country.
@ The City of Split, You’re welcome for that as well. I ask Josipovic when will Croatia play in Split again. He says there’s mafia down there. They play in Split 3 months later.
If you think this website doesn’t have pull in Croatia, you are wrong. Suker wouldn’t talk to me in Dallas because of the article. It shook him and the HNS. That’s why I asked him the Cilic thing. That was my public FU to him for ignoring me all day long.
#sacrificallamb
I said I agreed with Holiga that Mamic shouldn’t be running HNS just like 99% of other Hajduk fans and most Dinamo fans. People don’t like corruption and we should always fight it. Holiga is a confirmed anti Croat and I’ve said it to him many times. You offer nothing positive here all you do is bitch
OMG…only you could make that type of prediction…wow…you’re amazing!
social media is your thing…stick to it!
nope, you spread hate and lies when you propagated Holiga’s shit!
I’ll give you any any opportunity to explain yourself…you were on one hand cheering and on the other hand supporting all the anti HNS by circulating Holiga’s and other articles!
Thats why I went at you and thats why you blocked me…no other reason! don’t make shit up!
I’ll get you my phone number…you come here to lie and make shit up. I was honest about you and you’ve confirmed you did what I said you did!
Slavonac I forgot to mention thanks for listening to the podcasts I was on. I even did an interview for BBC world radio on before the England match where I told them Perisic was due for a big match but what do I know
GoldenChild….Zoric was posting Holiga’s articles…
what idiot comes here to defend himself while also admitting he was circulating Holiga’s articles…days before the World Cup finals?!?!
Slavonac ur a joke. I had a scholarship to a division 1 college in the US. I know it’s not MLS but I never claimed to play at the top levels. I’m always down to have a conversation about Croatian football but all you do is spread hate and lies
…every single report, comment and interview I’ve seen from Zoric is actually all the same we’ve all already seen. Its just rinse and repeat…he reads articles and then repeats what he reads. ask him to report on a game or what he sees and he goes back to the same ol stuff we read about players every day. he can’t identify cause he doesn’t know…but go to his Twitter page and you’ll see him asking you to follow…its quite hilarious.
is it something in the water down there? do you actually think you’re gonna get famous by having a friend interview you…and then post it online?
fucking hilarious!
Zoric and Kvartuc are fine. I hear that Lebo guy is an absolute idiot.
Btw, regarding the walk out write up, I think Kvartuc actually helped get Cacic sacked in the end. That thing got so much press back home, and people hated Kvartuc for it, but it sure did light a fire.
@slavonac nobody likes or liked Holiga….ever.
🙂 🙂
“You have no idea what your talking about when it comes Croatian football”
actually Zoric, you have no idea about anything soccer related…period! you may know who’s who in the sport but over the several podcasts and videos you were in…you are absolutely not qualified to clean my boots!
your catch phrases don’t help you here…you tried to sell people so they join your Twitter account but anyone that knows anything…they know you’re dumb and have nothing but a seljacka liga experience.
I know a few people that were in S Cal at your tournament and they said you’re quite shitty at the game…I think you should just be honest and admit you are looking to be a Social Media guru…leave the soccer to us!
Slavonac-
Ever since I blocked you on twitter you have acted like a little baby. It’s fun living rent free in your head. You have no idea what your talking about when it comes Croatian football. You’re at the beginner level
Facts are about me are
1) I believe Mamic should have never gotten involved in HNS. It should always remain a neutral entity. By taking over the HNS he took control of referees and put pressure on coaches to call his players
2) Hajduk has its own problems and Mamic is not to blame for these
3) I didn’t agree with Ante Kvartuc that the players should boycott before the World Cup you can ask him
4) I only agree with Holiga that Mamic should not be running HNS but I called him out of any anti Croat tweets he made
5) I didn’t pay to train at Hajduk my father knew several coaches in you academy and 1 legend of the club who played in the 70s
6) I was most enthusiastic about Dalic when appointed because I knew he had Success in Asia. I knew he was tactically solid and he was a good man manager. It is just asia but he took his team to Asian Ch Lg final and that shows he knows how to organize a team and get results. It’s a fact that Dalic was Sukers choice and he wasn’t the first or even second option. Dalic has done well overall but he’s made a few mistakes with timing on substitutions but it’s become normal for our players to play certain qual with 50% effort
7) Cacic was the worst coach Croatia has had. We were lucky the players were super motivated at Euro 16. If we had a real coach we had a chance to go all the way. Appointing Cacic was absolutely Mamic’s fault
8) Boban and Modric are my top 2 croatian players of all time. Yes I’m still angry Modric lied on the stand and because of that he will never reach the legendary status of Boban off the field. On the field Modric is #1 by a distance and what he’s accomplished is incredible
9) I backed croatia the entire World Cup so stop with these bullshit lies that I was against croatia and jumped on a plane. Make you look clueless
10) hope you all enjoyed this Slavonac stick to making Slavonski kobasice leave the football to us
Živa Istna. The biggest cocksucker anti Cro of them all
I miss Svircic, Ante-B and Ziva Istina
I miss Ziva Istina.
Can someone give me background on what happened in Dallas with ante and suker?
All this shit is because Croatia under acheived in the cycles before the World Cup. Mamic, Super Sammy, Black Miss Croatia, Foreign coaches, Communists, Parents failing you, Diaspora Hrvati, Dalmatians, Einsatzgruppen, no natural goal scorers blah blah. This is a fan run site so people can say whatever the fuck they want. Everything should be taken with a gram of salt.
-ZDS-
when Dalic initially came to the team he was also deemed another Mamic guy. It didn’t seem to matter to anyone once he got results, but the truth is, if he would have been unsuccessful, we would have been seeing the same shit.
Dalic isn’t a soccer genius, at least not in my opinion. Dalic has also had blunders and made some bad mistakes…but he’s done something that most of our coaches haven’t been able to do in a long time. He was able to bring the team unity back, gain respect from players, offer new opportunities to younger guys and spend more time looking for solutions and less time with controversy!
His decisions, whether right or wrong have always been credible. He’s admitted when he screwed up and he’s also made some good choices that have paid off. At the end of the day, he basis his decision making on past experience…even though some of the players he’s brought into the mix have been questionable.
If today’s Dalic made these decisions 3 years ago, we’d be seeing comments that Mamic is pulling the strings.
Ante, you said “Index.hr (left-wing Serb paper in Croatia) runs the article as “The entire dijaspora wants Croatia to walk off the pitch against Ukraine.” Not true, but it made national news and the team was aware of the article”
I’m asking you to read my response and then reply back to me.
This is the exact reason why I was so pissed off at you AND at Zoric! We have been coming to this site for several years. During that time we’ve all had some healthy debate and some unhealthy debate…but at the end of the day we are all Croatian.
We’ve seen so-called intruders/anti Croatian posters coming here, posting garbage and anti-Croatian rhetoric. We have had Holiga come to this site, Serbs visit weekly, people from all over the World have commented here.
What you did when you posted that article about “walking off the field” was put gasoline on those anti Croatians. They now had more fuel for their propaganda marchine…they then posted your article, from a site that all of us have supported for several years…and made it look like they are credible in their pro communist views…because even this Croatian website from Southern California thinks the way they do!
Not only that…you allowed your hatred of Mamic and Dinamo to cloud your judgement, offering us many conspiracy theories…even mentioning that Mamic shot himself. You went to the extreme…and you never once stepped back and thought about the fact that you might be wrong about something you were stating…and you stuck to your guns when in fact you should have accepted you didn’t know it all and the team wasn’t functioning well under several different managers during several different periods! To you, the only focus was everything Hajduk’s position was and anything that portrayed Mamic and Dinamo in a negative light. I remember you standing in the hallway, waiting for Suker to come out of the dressing room and you behaved immaturely, instead of just representing yourself and Croatian sports.com as a honest and credible site thats interested in knowing news/facts…not your narrative or Hajduk’s narrative.
Today, Hajduk is still fragile and even though they’re at the top of the league, they are also 1 loss away from chaos…as usual! It has been their politics over the past 15 years to blame someone else for their short-coming…and people like you and your buddies you involve in your interviews, talk to many people that have ZERO knowledge or understanding of Croatian soccer…and they take what you guys say and believe it. Well, you are no better than Index.hr in this case, cause you have a stance thats openly pro-Hajduk and has always been anti Dinamo and anyone affiliated to Dinamo…I find this irresponsible.
The one really good thing that Denis Svircic used to bring to this forum was balance. We all know he’s a Hjaduk fan but he was also open about their shortcomings and he wasn’t as much of a conspiracy theorist not did he push false or unproven theories.
How about:
Delusional Ante?
Should be ashamed of himself, but is somehow proud instead Ante?
Sacrificial Lamb Ante?
My two biggest gripes were…
1. Mamić is at fault for the corruption in Cro football
2. We need a “foreign” coach to fix our team
Mamić is corrupt, sure, he will take cash for his troubles and hook up family and friends…but everyone else does this as well.
The issue with Mamić is that he has the biggest mouth (which drew the most attention to himself) and he was the most competent of them all (surrounding himself and Dinamo with talented scouts and development staff) so his success pissed off people even more.
He deserves what he got (criminal charges for tax evasion)… But guys like Štimac, Pletikosa and Srna should be charged as well. Those three were complicit in stealing money from Hajduk when they were sold for cash to Shakhtar. But people’s biases (and the fact that the three of them are quiet and don’t draw attention to themselves) will protect those three.
This corruption happens at Hajduk, and it also happens in many other places in football (including Sepp Blatter and Platini).
I’m not saying that you should not fight it (contract laws were passed to protect teenagers in Cro football, and now they’ve charged Mamić too) so these positive changes are happening. Countries like Italy, Germany and (recently) Belgium had much bigger corruption issues, but their fans did not try to kick them out of tournaments.
The whole “Bojkot” fiasco was just an attempt by other criminals to sieze power in Cro football, and they were using the Croatian public and diaspora as useful idiots in their cause.
Croatian football (like most European football) is not ideal, but it is improving significantly every year. Players are being paid, contract laws have improved, and now they’re cleaning up the financials.
Also…
The whole “foreign” coach thing is looking like it will be laid to rest now that Dalić has proven that you don’t need a Western foreigner to “fix” our poor and backward football team.
This is just a residual symptom of the older generation who still look up to Germans and other Western nations as more advanced people.
Serbia, for example, hired two foreign coaches in Advocaat and Clemente, and those two botched their results badly.
It’s not easy having a foreign coach (who doesn’t speak the language) try to manage a team that they barely see during the year (unlike a club coach).
It can work, but so long as we hire successful and experienced coaches… It’s what matters most. We took a chance on Dalić, and he worked out. But we are in a position that we no longer need to take wild chances. There are many coaching options for us like Bjelica, Kek, Petković, who may leave their current roles over the next few years and would probably work out much better than these fabled “foreign” coaches can (not against hiring foreign coaches, we just need to squash the mindset that their western nationality is somehow an advantage).
I, for one, was right all along! 😉
LOL well i do like the new nickname of MVP Ante, at least we know which Ante we’re talking about now and no confusing Zoric and Kvartuc!
@MVP Ante K
They figured it out with Dalic, and you did say that “the coaching carousel has to stop.”
I honestly believe your article had nothing to do with it, but then again, I don’t know what went on in Miami, your article could’ve helped in ways we will never know.
Maybe you are the MVP?
Dalic helped the team, not your lame article. Im sure the players went into the game chanting “lets prove the diaspora wrong lets prove that douchbag from LA wrong!”
Lol shut up Ante you didnt do shit. You are no “mvp”. you gave up on the team. yea i remember your adventure in dallas, you asked suker if he knew who marin cilic was and he brushed you off like you were a retard. nice
Hungary has a friendly with Uruguay in November while Croatia has a friendly with Georgia…dafuk man…
Yea your article helped Croatia make the world cup final. such a sacrifice
True MVP Ante Kvartuc reporting for duty!
World Cup 2018 qualifying
June 11: Iceland beats Croatia 1-0
September 2: Croatia barly beats Kosovo 1-0
October 6: Turkey beats Croatia 1-0
October 6: Croatia draw Finland 1-1
That’s four points in four matches against some pretty mediocre competition. That frustrates MVP Ante. MVP Ante thinks the players no longer care about results due to Mamic and the corruption going on in the HNS. Modric and Lovren have already appeared in court at this point.
MVP Ante writes an article saying “IF” the players really do not care about qualifying and if they are playing at 50% in protest of corruption in Croatia, then go big and walk off the pitch to let the world really know what’s going on in Croatia.
Index (left-wing Serb paper in Croatia) runs the article as “The entire dijaspora wants Croatia to walk off the pitch against Ukraine.” Not true, but it made national news and the team was aware of the article.
October 9: Croatia beats Ukraine 2-0 in Kiev to force playoff
November 9: Croatia beats Greece 4-1 in playoff to make World Cup
World Cup: Croatia wins 6 games in a row and plays in the Final
You’re welcome. #sacrificallamb
PS If I ever meet any of you in person over a beer, I will share the Croatia/Peru Miami friendly drama with you. Remember in March 2018, half the team didn’t travel to Dallas for the Mexico friendly. Oh boy. Trust me, there was so much drama before the World Cup. But in the end, they figured it out. Minus Nikola Kalinic.
wow lol
At the end of the day, the article went national and did more good than bad. And that’s all that matters to me. It went all the way to the top of the HNS…and I am happy to be the sacrificial lamb if it helped us get to the WC Final
So very noble of you Ante, sacrificing your reputation in a true act of martyrdom, and not only that but single-handedly helping the Vatreni to reach the WC final!
Someone get onto Luka Modric and demand he forward all his awards and medals here onto the TRUE MVP, Kvartuc over here! Bravo !
😉
To the dude that said it ain’t only Zagreb that’s got some corruption, Split has its own etc, i mean, spot on.
Not just that, we are talking about FIFA and UEFA here, some of the most corrupt organisations on the face of the earth! So yeah that alone isnt really a reason (imo) to root for your team to lose, cos there’s some corruption in the FA. Imagine Italians saying their national team should walk off the pitch cos Berlusconi is fiddling in AC Milan or something? WOULDNT HAPPEN.
Look, i think the one thing we can all agree on is that with these two upcoming games, we should STORM OFF IN PROTEST !
😉
“Perhaps kvartuc bigger strike is being part of the elite in tudjmans 200 families. The guys that would drug the general population with patriotism only to rob them”
Lol, that sounds like today’s Croatia as well.
Could it be that the lying right in Croatia are full o’ shit when they say that this HDZ is not the HDZ that Tudjman started?
Maybe the lying right had to make that up so as not to face the fact that they were suckers for ever trusting Franjo Sranjo, lol!
Seems to be a lot of confusing and interchanging of Ante Kvartuc and Ante Zorić going on here.
One called for the team to walk out on the country, the other evidently posted some links to articles critical of the HNS/the Modric testimony debacle, etc.
I’m not trying to get into this argument because that’s not what I’m about and I respect what everyone is saying but Ante definitely loves the team. Like he said why else would he continue to create great articles and run this website. And he does it for us, so we can discuss what we love too.
Sorry @Ante K, but your article didn’t acheive anything.
You gotta remember why you wrote the article, and that was, that you thought Mamic’s “corruption” was clearly effecting the team to the point that the players were silently protesting.
Also, your article made no mention of Cacic’s coaching, and it was after the Ukraine game that you asked “was Cacic the problem all along?”
So your article couldn’t have helped the team get to the WC because it seems that all the team needed was a change of coach.
Your article showed everyone that you don’t care about Mamic’s “corruption” providing it doesn’t effect the team.
You said,
“Walking off the pitch would illustrate Croatian pride and courage.”
Do believe it was a disgrace and a sign of actual cowardice that the team didn’t walk off the pitch?
Listen, ya fucked up writing that infamous article, just admit it, apologise to @Slavonac from Canada for offending him and we can all move on. Simple.
Ante,
Your article did more good than bad?
How delusional are you?
Were you more delusional when you called for the walkout, or now, when you think it was a good thing?
Perhaps kvartuc bigger strike is being part of the elite in tudjmans 200 families. The guys that would drug the general population with patriotism only to rob them
You know many times I’ve called ante out for the silliness of that boycott post
I mean… It really couldn’t have evolved worse
Bail on the repka in their moment of weakness when they’re on the ropes, only for them to go on an incredible run and for him to come crawling back
But at the end of the day, i don’t think we should ever really doubt kvartucs dedication to Croatia
The guy just did/said something really emotional and stupid
If Croats held stupid and emotional statements against each other forever, very quickly we’d have no one else to talk to
@ Slavonac and company…
I know what I wrote. You know what I wrote. But do you know WHY I wrote it and who’s side I was on? I want to start right there.
I never understood why people thought I was against the team. That couldn’t be any further from the truth. I love this team. So much that I run a zero-profit website to share their glory with the world.
At the end of the day, the article went national and did more good than bad. And that’s all that matters to me. It went all the way to the top of the HNS…and I am happy to be the sacrificial lamb if it helped us get to the WC Final.
On Ante K, he thought all your hearts were kidnapped by Mamic when he wrote his infamous article, later he found out that it was only his heart that was kidnapped by Cacic. Do you remember Ante K asking “was Cacic the problem all along?” That was his way of letting everyone know that he does not have a problem with Mamic’s “corruption” providing it doesn’t effect the team.
“Who the fuck does that?! Honestly?! The only type of person that would do that and try to create a divide amongst us is someone that not happy for our success. Thats the only rational thing I can think of!”
To answer your question,
” on Zoric…I believe he’s a good guy”
So what you’re saying is that a good guy does that.
So what was “good guy” Zoric’s excuse for posting those bad articles before the WC Final, if you can remember? Do you believe he endorsed those articles?
Slavonac = the man!
Slavonac,
THAT’S the guy you get pissed off by the most?
He’s the one that offended you above all?
Not the guy that called for the team to walk out on the country, not Holiga, not the “Sve izgubili” contingent, not the boycotters… but Zorić. Who posted some links to some of the crap Holiga and friends put out?
He may have been guilty of helping the spread of division of posting links, but trust me.. he was more optimistic and excited about Cro leading up to the World Cup than anyone I know.
Mamic is still the boss at Dinamo FYI
I think we can all admit that Dalić helped save the squad. Once he stepped in it was clear that everyone wanted to be there and they showed that in the World Cup. It was a very mature and smart move on his part to cut Nikola Kalinić, probably the only player who wasn’t willing to do anything to bring home a World Cup. We saw guys like Strinić, Vrsaljko, and it’s even safe to say Modrić play better than they ever did in their careers at that tourney. It’s crazy how things seemed to be awful as ever turn into something magical the next summer. Let’s be happy with what happened in the summer of 2018, the best month of my (and probably your) life and hope for even greater success in the future. Let’s hope that the HNS can continue to hire coaches that love our the country and are mature and who make good decisions. Let’s also hope that we continue to produce very passionate players.
No matter what shit is going on in Croatia, at Dinamo, at Hajduk, no matter what commie is in power in Cro, you NEVER turn your back on the repka. NEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We were never divided, upset at them for
Playing shitty sometimes yes , but never divided.
A group of village idiots upet that mamic
Made money don’t count.
The Hooligia person is fucken garden gnome.
He is not one of us but a collaborator with our enemies.
Well obviously Zoric is an UBDA agent.
There’s more than 1 Anonymous so I never know who I’m talking to. regarding the last Anonymous comments on Zoric…I believe he’s a good guy but I saw his Twitter posts. He was sending our articles right up until the finals. 2 of the articles I do remember were 1) a divided Croatia and 2) anti Luka Modric.
I called him out on Twitter and then here on this page. He responded saying yes, he did post those articles and then making up some sort of excuse as to why! He blocked me on Twitter…which I really don’t give a fuck but he can’t silence me here.
My opinions about Mamic aren’t that much different from most people’s and I’ve always said that Mamic exists because the entire country is corrupt…and thats not a lie. He’s one of many!
What really pissed me off was that we qualified for the World Cup after a long hard route there and even when we were doing well…ZORIC was posting those types of articles! Ask Him!
Who the fuck does that?! Honestly?! The only type of person that would do that and try to create a divide amongst us is someone that not happy for our success. Thats the only rational thing I can think of!
Anonymous…ask Zoric is he posted 1 article a few days before the final and 1 within 36 hours of the final…one about anti Modric and one about a divided Croatia! I saw them, I commented about it and he defended his stance!
Pero,
that was Ante Kvartuc, not Zoric
Let’s not forget Ustasa and super Croat Ante wanted Croatia to walk off against Ukraine! I’m sure if they did that Croatia would be in a much better spot now
Slavonac, you are way off base going after Ante Zoric as your number one repka udbas out there. I don’t know what he said or did specifically to have you consider him along the like of Holiga, but I assure you he is no Holiga (or Kvartuc for that matter). I have known him since childhood. He has always been BOTH a Croatia and Hajduk supporter. I have had numerous discussions with him (on a personal, not social media level) regarding the above issues. I have felt he is too into the Mamic is the bogeyman to blame for everything camp, but that is it.
In the weeks/months leading up to the Wolrd Cup, I was fairly pessimistic, while Ante Zoric was the most optimistic person I either know or read on the internet about how he thought Cro had a very good chance of doing better than anyone expected (and he was right).
Ante was never a boycotter, unlike many former and current personalities on this website (Kvartuc, Ante-B, etc.).
You need to focus your angst at others, not Zoric
This articale mentions Split. Bean chugging losers. In America
my family has steak and lobster. Commie losers.
https://www.croatiaweek.com/free-grah-served-around-croatia-to-mark-may-day/
here they go
https://www.croatiaweek.com/croats-celebrate-may-day-with-free-bean-soup/
To be fair lots of commie scum up Zagreb’s way to. I see them line up every year for that free May Day free bean soup. I wouldn’t touch that shit. The children and now the grandchildren of all those Yugoslav intellectuals are up that way. Mamic was our Doanld Trump. Some love him and some will awlays hate him.
Croat85, you’re very straight-forward and honest…great comments.
I know about the commies in surrounding areas of Split, I just never try to accuse anyone of being a commie just to make my point so I stick to what I heard from the Facebook videos and the Twitter posts.
I remember feeling almost depressed as the World Cup was on. I’m a very superstitious guy that just can’t bring myself to watch our team play with friends or people at our Dom here in Vancouver. I lived each and every moment of that World Cup feeling optimistic, happy, cautious of what I say to people, excited, scared, nervous…. and then I get smashed with Twitter posts I saw from Zoric. He was no different than Aleks Holiga…I mean, Holiga and Zoric were saying the exact same things! Do you know who Holiga is?
Yes, Mamic is shady but as Ziva Istina stated a looong time ago, many many Croatian teams have had very shady people involved in the sport! Mamic was most likely no better, no worse…but in a soccer sense, he did a fantastic job for Dinamo, regardless of if you like him or not. Fanboy orgs like BBB aren’t there to be involved business decisions, which is why I never agreed with people that used BBB as any type of influence of why or why not Mamic belonged! Look at how Hajduk fans have hijacked that team and how has that turned out for them?
To the author – paragraph 3, sentence 1:
Segway is a motorized transport vehicle used by mall cops.
Segue is to transition from one topic to another seamlessly.
I hope you remember this in the future.
@ Slavonac – agree with your remarks although I think it stems from the whole Hajduk Split/areas of Dalmacija hating Dinamo Zagreb and having Mamic Instead of cleaning their own house.
My father is from Dalmacija and loses his shit dealing some Dalmatinci back home when he’s there having to listen to their anti-Dinamo diatribes. If Hajduk had their own Mamic they wouldn’t care but they have too many hands in the pot instead of one so the club is run poorly and rather than acknowledge that they just say it was Mamic’s fault for everything.
Also, Split and surrounding areas of Dalmacija was and is to a degree a hotbed of Yugo commies and the government loves fanning those flames as well to create more division by using the one thing Croats arguably love most, soccer.
It’s a mix of Dalmatian complainers who find fault in everyone but themselves, Yugo Commie region who hate anything Croatian and Government helping to further propagate and divide the country and let’s not avoid the fact that Mamic is and always was shady, let’s call a spade a spade.
My only issue is the hypocrisy and naivety regarding Mamic. The world isn’t perfect. If Dinamo sucked people would have cared less, at least Mamic has helped the national team.
I’d rather take Mamic and good overall Croatian soccer than no Mamic and shitty Croatian soccer because another guy is going to come in and odds are be corrupt the same way if not worse but won’t have the results Mamic had. You can’t have it both ways.
For the record I liked Mamic.
Anonymous, I actually liked the fact that Zoric was presented as a knowledgeable guy who was brought in prior to the World Cup. I then followed him on twitter and watched some of the videos Kvartuc was posting, hosting interviews…and thats where I saw his comments. I don’t know how one can be anti Modric and not anti Croatia?
Slavonac, I’m with you to a degree; but I don’t recall the level of anti repka sentiment from Zorić that you claim. Kvartuc yes… but Zorić? Knowing him personally: he’s been guilty of Mamic paranoia/conspiracy opinions, but never anti Croatia.
Kvartuc infamously (as you gave the link to) turned his back (as others here did) on the repka… but I don’t recall seeing anything where Zorić did.
Branimir…I don’t wanna read you defending this shit like you’ve done soo many times. piss off dude!
Almost 2 years ago to this very day we came to this site and read a very different write up. Today I come here as I usually do (after being absent for almost a year…cause of the very ignorant bias purported by Zoric and Kvartuc) because I enjoy some of these very topics we discuss. I see people commenting and for the most part, we offer opinions, get facts, learn info, debate…
two years ago we were encouraged to support a protest of our National Team, walking off the field. between Kvartuc and Zoric, they were very successful on Facebook and twitter to inform the CroatianSports.com readers of their overall hatred of Dinamo/Mamic/Suker and many accusations that lead to soo many readers becoming anti-HNS, anti-Modric, anti-Croatia. I remember reading a comment on Croatiasports FB page from a girl I know…she was regurgitating everything Ante and Zoric were telling people. The problem with propaganda and negative comments about other Croatians is that your allegation personally offend and attack other Croatians. If what you write spreads around, even if its not true…it becomes true to them…and they repeat the untruths, as truths!
Anthony Zoric…a guy who’s dad paid for him to practice with Hajduk youth (just like 99% of Hajduk fans I know), used that experience to promote himself on twitter through Croatian communities, while he was an average soccer player at best, accomplished nothing in the sport and was represented to us on this site as an “expert”! This clown, who has over 2000 twitter followers, was anti Modric and anti Croatia right up until the finals of the World Cup…and surprisingly, he documented himself boarding a flight to Russia, pretending he was a complete fan of the NT…and Kvartuc supported that entire narrative!
You guys divided our readers, our community and asked people to turn their backs on the team…because according to you, YOU said the players already emotionally detached from the Croatian National Team…imagine what some of your uneducated readers (uneducated meaning not very informed on the National Team) were thinking when you were calling Modric a sell-out and criminal and yet now you praise him!?!?
Zoric posts an anti Modric article…actually many of them…and then hops on a plane cause he’s Croatian and today you guys are all back on the bus?
There’s something about being fake and dishonest that really pisses me off! You try to pin every damn thing on Mamic…often times making shit up…today you’re celebrating as if you never were a protester…this proves you are insincere!
http://croatiansports.com/?p=30524
interesting
https://dailynewshungary.com/hungary-azerbaijan-to-be-held-behind-closed-doors-euro2020/
NYC area Croats
https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatian-heritage-night-to-be-held-at-madison-square-garden-for-new-york-knicks-v-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-game/
There is ‘parody for the first time’ in decades – or ‘parity’?? Big difference… Also i’d argue that the HNL has been a parody of itself for a long time now… C’mon Ante – you’re better than that buddy! Lol
I love this Ante. Hopefully our young guys will step up too in the future and bring us more success.
Love of nation propels you. Once this is lost or
Diluted we will suck.
The consistent success has been quite um Croatian. It seems the only way for Croatia to balance things out will be to miss the euros