Darijo Srna and longtime girlfriend, Mirela Forić, who is pregnant, married on the terrace of the $10,000 per night Villa Agava in Dubrovnik on Sunday, May 16, 2010. 50 guests attended the wedding on the terrace with a reception at the next door, five star, Excelsior Hotel. The couple stressed about rain and had to move the wedding reception indoors instead of the Excelsior terrace. Slaven Bilić gave Srna four days off from national team duty to get married. Boško Balaban and wife Iva, who introduced the newleyweds five years ago, attended the wedding.
BALABAN AND WIFE IVA TAKE A BREAK FROM THE PARTY
SRNA MAKES IT OFFICIALDarijo Srna appears to be in a metamorphosis. He got married, has a kid on the way and just captained Shakhtar Donetsk to a Ukrainian League championship. Will Srna finally leave Ukraine for greener pastures in Germany or England? Even though he couldn’t make the move last summer on his own, he’s only half the equation this time around. What will Mrs. Srna have to say about all this?
Will she want to raise her first child in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe? Srna no longer gets to make this decision by himself and it could push him in the right direction to finally test his skills in a better league.
Darijo Srna is only 28 years old and still has a bright footballing future in front of him with plenty left in the tank. Will he make one more life decision this summer?- where he plays soccer. A change of scenery and married life should definitely spice things up, especially as Srna has already conquered Ukrainian football.
SRNA HAVING A SMOKE BEFORE THE CEREMONYTwo hours before the wedding, Darijo was still in street clothes smoking a cigarette. What could he be thinking about?
Thanks to Cropix photographer Branimir ‘Braco’ Kvartuč for the pictures.
@brane….This is not meant to be a shot at you, but from reading your post you musy have grown up in an american sports culture. Trust me, back in europe this is not an issue when a players has a casual smoke.
By the way, Srna is a casual smoker. He does not smoke a pack a day in case any of you were thinking that. I have been around Srna and other current and former national team players and many, not all, but many smoke. Most are casual smokers that will have a smoke or two and that is it. The majortiy of the 98 team were smokers, mostly casual with the exception of Zuti and at times Stimac. But, Boban, Bilic, Boksic, Stanic all smoked a cig here and there. the current members of the repka do not smoke as much, but there are some who do as seen by the Srna photo.
Having a few cigs or a few beers will not diminish the performance these guys put on the field.
I think some fans expect these guys to live a clean life off the field because they are pro athletes. That is not the case as we have seen with american sports stars. We have more than enough guys who have played or are playing for the repka who I would not invite over to the house. Its just part of life. Smoking is the least minor of the infractions some of these clowns have committed.
I'm not making an argument for wether I or any fan should dictate to Srna or any other player how to take care of their health. I think what I am trying to say is if you are a world-class athlete and your body is the thing that allows you to afford all of the luxuries in your life – wouldn't you want to protect and insure the golden goose? go ahead and have a cigarette dude….but really, is it worth it?? additionally, if i'm paying this guy to play for me, I would not be happy seeing him smoke. at that point, its not his free time, I would feel i payed for the skill and health of that player, and i would be pissed if anyone, including the player himself did anything to jeopardize my investment.
Boris: "does srna own his own body or not? "
Well said. You took the words right out of my mouth.
Srna can do whatever the hell he wants in his own time. If smoking or drinking effects him that negatively while he's on the pitch, he would surely lose his spot, therefore forcing him to quit smoking and getting back to shape in order to be on the team. Simple as that.
@ Branimir,
Plus, we saw one picture of Srna smoking a cigarette. None of us hang out with the guy and we don't know if he's a chain smoker or not. We don't have enough information. If people want to judge a guy on one picture (any aspect of life) without knowing the man; then they are simply shallow human beings.
As long as he performs on the pitch (like Denis said) that's all I can judge him on. He's a grown man and he knows by now that smoking isn't the healiest hobby he could pick up. But it's a staple in European culture. Jebi Ga.
The only time I've ever had an opinion on athletes outside of their normal work hours is when they get caught sleeping with other women. Ex. Tiger Woods, Kobe Bryant.
With all the money and resources they have, how do you get caught? Pay the chickenhead off and be done with it.
I'm not condoning cheating but it's a reality in our sports culture today. Money and Power= Sex.
Hey, if South Park did an episode on it…you know it's true.
@ branimir
driving in a car on the magistral is statistically more dangerous than smoking, so should we ban players from driving along the coast for a vacation? if you think the HNS should micro-manage everything players do, then shouldn't they dictate their diets too? no more prsut and paski sir!
all people, even NT players, have sovereignty over what they put in their bodies. the question here is, does srna own his own body or not? sure, smoking is not a healthy habit. but neither is sun-tanning. srna is an adult and probably already has a mother (like all croatian mothers) telling him what to do all the time. and now he has a wife who will tell him what to do all the time. he doesn't need soccer fans telling him what he should or shouldn't do on top of that.
so here's my message for dario….smoke 'em if you got 'em!
Brane….I diagree as well. The 98 team was full of smokers. More smoked than those who did not smoke.
Too expect these guys not to drink or smoke is unrealistic.
An cigarette here or there is no biggie.
@branimir,
i disagree with you about Dario smoking. From this picture, we dont have a clue if he's a social smoker,chain smoker, or just lights one up here and there(when he is nervous, etc). Paul Gascoine was an alcoholic and still managed to be a great player for England for 10 years. If you can produce on the pitch, I dont need to babysit you off the pitch.
i disagree with all of you about the smoking. i think when a player smokes he decreases level of commitment to himself and to his team. this is a player who f**ing runs for a living and you guys are saying that its ok that he smokes. what would you say if a player drank all night and went to sleep late before a game. what about a player that doesn't go to practice. what about a player who's hobby is riding his motorcycle down the magestrala. to me, his level of commitment to his performance decreases by at least 16% by smoking (i pulled that figure out of my ass) but you know what i mean. imagine Michael Phelps smoking (oh wait…) nevermind…but he was smoking the gange and that's different…..
no credible media will call srna out for smoking. the only media that gives a shit about stupid non-issues like whether or not athletes smoke are the nannies in the US media. many if not most european footballers smoke. prosinecki was a chain-smoker. so what?
if cro has trouble qualifying for euro 2012, and some journalist calls srna out for smoking during a press conference, that journalist would be laughed out of the room.
no credible media will rip him for smoking. only the nannies in the US media give a shit about athletes smoking. many european footballers smoke. prosinecki was a chain-smoker.
if he plays poorly in the next round of qualifying and a journalist questions his smoking, he/she would be laughed out of the press conference.
i could care less if he smokes or drinks also.. One of his free kicks goes in and theyll most likely leave him alone, but if he plays this round of qualifying like he did the last, hes giving the media more ammo to blast him…
I know it sucks but thats what goes when carrying the armband..
I'm not a big fan about getting into the personal lives of soccer players. What they do outside of soccer is their business. Smoking, women(in some cases men), mafia, gambling, etc etc is just something for the media to write about. "Modric's wife gained 5 pounds", who cares?
I dont care if Srna smokes 2 packs a day, as long as he can perform at a high level he will represent Croatia.
Its sad how the Croatian media has turned into the national Enquirer
I wouldn't make a big deal about the smoking either… I was simply making a quip about it, expressing my personal views. I certainly wouldn't impose them on a player… hell, if he wants to party like Milan Rapaic, good for him. Even the great Montreal Canadien hall-of-famer Guy Lafleur used to smoke between periods:)
come on……smoking a cig is no big deal.
and so what if the media makes an issue out of it (even though they wont), it has no impact how he players.
Prosinecki, Boban, Asanovic, Bilic, Stimac, etc…all those guys from 08 team smoked in public. Not an issue.
As captain of a team that just missed out on the world cup, he has to be a little bit smarter with the cigarette…yea the players smoke and drink, and i have no problem with a cigarette or beer but dont give the media anything to rip you up about. wasnt there a big uproar recently about him drinking a beer in rovinj before a qualifier. all it takes is one pic or story like this and he'll be answering the same stupid question the rest of his career.
It will be hard for him to leave Shaktar. He makes great cash and the club treats him like a king and no other club will be able to match his status with Shaktar. But, having said all that, I do think he will leave and find a new club.
If Srna is comfortable and at peace with Shaktar then he should stay. Sometimes the best moves are those you don't make.
Well, if it's his long time girlfriend and the expectant mother of his first child, I would think he's probably quite happy in terms of "getting laid."
Now, if he truly would think about getting the hell out of the Ukraine, that would give every Croatian soccer fan something to celebrate.
I think Srna got married because he knocked up his girl.
To the smoking….most of these guys smoke, not a big deal
You virgins. The only thought going through his mind is "I just wanted to get laid"
Maybe Srna's thinking, "What do I have to do to quit this habit that's going to shorten my career and cause an early death?"
Modric got married a couple of weeks ago too.