On Monday, Croatia will take on reigning Euro title holders and current World Cup Champions, Spain, with a Euro 2012 quarterfinal berth on the line. Croatia control their own fate as a win or 2-2 (or higher) draw against Spain will see the Vatreni into the knockout stages no matter what Italy does against Ireland. Both matches kickoff simultaneously at 2:45PM (ET). Croatia also automatically go through if Italy fail to defeat the Irish.
But if you are coach Slaven Bilić, how do you approach this monumental game? It’s not everyday that a nation of only 4.5 million people have a chance to oust a country of Spain’s caliber from a major tournament. On Monday night, in Gdansk, Croatia will have that opportunity.
Do you go for the win and throw everything you got at Spain or play conservative and wait for the opportune time to strike? In my opinion, Croatia have nothing to lose at this point in the tournament and are already playing with house money. They were never favored to make it through, hell, at one point in qualifying, most Croatian fans thought that reaching Euro was just a dream the way they were playing. Now, the resourceful Croatians find themselves 90 minutes away from finding out who they really are.
If I am Bilić, this is the speech I give to the team prior to taking on Spain:
“Boys, good job thus far. We have one game left in group stage and still control our own destiny. Yes, we have to beat Spain, but what else did you guys come here for? Let’s go play against the best team in the world, beat the best team in the world and shock the entire world all in the same day. Leave it all on the field! We didn’t come here to play three games and go home, we came here to win the whole damn thing!”
Imagine clinching a quarterfinal berth by defeating the world/euro champions. Imagine the confidence they would have the remainder of the tournament. Sure we can pray for an Irish result, but I would rather win and go through on our own accord than clinch by default because the Italians couldn’t defeat Ireland.
Our little nation always surprises the big boys, and I think it’s time for another. Why can’t 2012 be any different than ’98 v. Germany, ’06-07 v. England (twice) and ’08 v. Germany?
Let Croatia bring the whole house at Spain. It would shock them. Teams give way too much respect to Spain, just like we gave too much respect to Italy in the first half Thursday. We’re not playing chess out there boys…knock ‘em down and knock ‘em down hard. I’m not saying play dirty, just finish your tackles and show them who wants it more. Get inside their heads. Pressure high. Don’t stop running. Leave your hearts on the field.
How’s that for tactics?
Go for broke…treat this as a championship game.
Why?
There’s a contingency plan: If Ireland pulls out a point versus Italy, Croatia go through regardless. That’s the way to play this.
At the end of the day on Monday, we will know exactly what this crop of Croatians is worth. With a loss, all that will be remembered is a horrific qualifying campaign where Croatia lost to Georgia and was unable to score one goal against the Greeks. Redemption against Turkey in Istanbul and a win versus the worst team at the tournament: Ireland. How much momentum can you keep from that going into World Cup qualifying against arch rivals Serbia and an up-and-coming Belgian side?
But, and this is a BIG but, if Croatia do the unthinkable and defeat Spain, all bets are off and the sky is the limit for these boys the rest of the tournament.
So I ask you: What’s there to be scared of when the weight of the world is riding on Spain’s shoulders? Croatia are 90 minutes away from dethroning the champs (with an Italy victory) and ending their four-year run of football immortality.
Isn’t just that worth it in the end?
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Unfortunately, security probably won’t improve much until a player or referee gets hurt during one of these tournaments.
Didn’t a Serbian handball player get a dart in his eye recently?
So if that’s the case, do we now need to stop screaming Za Dom Spremni as well to appease all parties?
Well said Bilic. Now that’s showing some leadership on this issue.
Throwing another question out there… is Dujmovic gonna see the field this tournament? Frankly, I remain less than impressed by Vukojevic.
@Ziva Istina
“And lets stop with the argument “how about country XXX”. We are a smaller nation and it is easier to make a point with a smaller nation.”
It is easier, but that does not make it right or fair as that is same ideology as bully tactics.
@Herceg @mali HRVAT
“As for the flares, I think the stadium, host city and UEFA have as much, if not more, responsibility. What if some terrorist brought in a gun/bomb?? Who’s to blame for that? If they can’t stop flares from entering the games, I think we have bigger issues than how much we should charge a federation.”
Excellent point. They have security and what good is it? How is that the fault of our football organization?
Russia has been threatened with a six-point deduction for their 2016 European Championship qualify campaign after UEFA got tough over the behavior of their fans. My question is applied to our deduction potential.
Would our potential deduction be applied to the WC 2014 qualifiers or the 2016 European qualifiers the same as Russia?
Not sure the reason #1 for racism make any sense. (Only europeans should play in the european championship). For instance Eduardo was born in brazil and so he is a problem, but the italian born striker Balotelli shouldn’t. Not that there is any justification for racism anyway.
Another thing to think about. I was at the Ireland game, and if the seating and bench was set up exactly the same, which chances are pretty good they were. The idiot fan who threw the banana would have been in the opposite corner from the Italy bench. And if you had a few hundred idiots making monkey noises, there is no way, the Italy bench would have heard that. Obviously someone from UEFA/FIFA was near when this happened. Why didn’t they take action to:
1) Kick out the fan
2) Write down the seat number, and identify them on the media. This is tricky as tickets get sold, people move to different sections, but names are on the tickets.
I don’t accept point deduction for the flares.
I could see probabtionary point deduction for the racism. BUT, only if they would have done something as mentioned above. And if UEFA didn’t deny any Polish fans made monkey noises during the Dutch training session.
The double standard is out of hand.
@Herceg:
I agree about the security concerns.
In America, you can’t even get into Sesame Place without having your bags searched.
UEFA/FIFA will come down on us. It’s easy to make an example of a small country. And yeah, I will go ahead and say the double standard is a joke. If this isn’t considered racist I don’t know what is. And I’d be willing to bet they were at the game. Meaning Italy should be “responsible” for their actions.
http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m5ndrq1Xu01r0zulc.jpg
As for the flares, I think the stadium, host city and UEFA have as much, if not more, responsibilty. What if some terrorist brought in a gun/bomb?? Who’s to blame for that? If they can’t stop flares from entering the games, I think we have bigger issues than how much we should charge a federation.
throwing a banana is completely idiotic, plain and simple…whoever can do such a thing has mental issues…whoever can do such a thing at an event like this should be in an institution!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Croatian fans have never chucked flares onto the pitch at a major tournament. I believe the flare that hit the pitch against Italy was the first of its kind. They’ve lit flares in the stands and kept them there at every tournament, that much is true….
I’m upset the flare was thrown because it disrupted what seemed like a sequence during which Croatia had the momentum. Very bad judgement call on the part of that fan…
@Matan
I agree my friend!
@jarac
Your aspersions are not arguments. Glenn Beck is a tool and an agent of the highest order. And I don’t watch Fox news, either.
Croatia hasn’t disappeared in 1,000 years. In spite of “tolerance.” She’s down, but never out…
The way our fans act is a direct result of the lack of action by our savez over the years.
Forget about the banana, what about the monkey noises by our fans at Balotelli. The savez refuses to do anything in the domestic league when shit happens in the stadiums because they claim the police should. Well, work with them, work with the teams and identify the idiot fans. Other countries can do it. There are cameras in every stadium, it is easy to catch these guys and ban them, if they wanted to.
I think we will be hit with a fine and a suspended point deduction ( 3). Since our savez refuses to change the environment, might as well let UEFA bend us over backwards to prove a point. We got a savez preisdent who claims he is best friends with all the top people in UEFA and FIFA, and does nothing.
And lets stop with the argument “how about country XXX”. We are a smaller nation and it is easier to make a point with a smaller nation.
Fuck it, I just hope our fans don’t cause any trouble tomorrow if/when we go down 2-0 to Spain.
@Matan,
Croatia is not going to disappear my friend, seems like u have been watching to much Glenn Beck
@Ante B.,
What the f*** would u like me to do about the fans, should I go make a citizens arrest? Something can be done, ali svi znamo da hrvatska nema zakone. Jebiga.
Huge game Tomorrow, can’t wait. If we beat spain I will sprinkle some paprika on ante B.!
Point deductions for the upcoming WC qualifying will be very effective. Racism, violence, throwing flares or whatever on the pitch cant really happen in a significant tournament when a team cant qualify because of the consistent pt deductions. And we have Serbia in our group…will be an interesting home/away series. So what if Italians are crazy…certainly hasnt been as prevelant as the flares that seem to show up at both Croatian games….and now a banana…how pathetic (didnt seem to show up during the Italy v Spain fixture nor did the monkey chanting) which is probably one the few stats we lead in the Euros. Agree with Bilic 100%.
I really hope Bilic doesn’t play Vida at right back. However, I would like to see him as a CD instead of Shifo. He may not have much experience, but he can’t be worse than Shifo.
@Ante B:
I am no angel, but as you have probably surmised from previous posts, I take my Catholic faith seriously. With that being said, it is Un-Christian to do that to any man.
However, I feel that it is being blown out of proportion. I disagree with punishing an organization rather than an individual. If an action is criminal, it should be dealt with accordingly.
Unsportsmanlike conduct may be in bad taste, but is not criminal.
I am unsure if these fans are behaving like this for which or any of the following reasons.
1. Want the European Championships to be played by
‘Europeans”.
2. Don’t like the prospect of EU entrance and this is their less than effective protest.
3. Are just drunk and stupid.
4. Genuinely don’t like black people.
5. Are just trying to trash talk an opponent.
Personally I like reasons 3 & 5.
The Italians that are complaining the most must have never seen a Serie A match. The fans are brutal and love flares more than we do.
Taunting Italians is 90% mental.
Oh, and last I checked, Croatia has Eduardo Da Silva on its squad – a mulatto from Brazil. And a fan-favorite! Eduardo clearly has African roots. Or does he not?
Who’s to say an Italian didn’t throw the banana at HIM? Better yet, how many Italians are happy to have Mario Balotelli on their team? Of course, the Italians are renowned for their tolerance, anti-racism and love of blacks….
Hahahaha
I swear on everything holy that I am not Matan because that was a brilliant piece of writing. Svaka cast Matane!
Bilic bends over and issues a statement in total disproportion to the “situation” at hand. Fact of the matter is, no one’s got proof Croatian(s) threw the banana. You had to know Croatians would be, again, disproportionately and unfairly targeted at this tournament – regardless of the fact that the transgressions of other nations’ fans have been markedly worse.
To be clear, no one in their right mind can condone the banana incident. At the same time, the reactions and condemnations are out of this world and smack of the same old regurgitated and exaggerated PC bullshit.
Bilic wants to eradicate racism? Sounds like the war on drugs, the war on poverty or the war on terror.
Bilic is right about one thing, Croatia is IN FACT the most tolerant country in the world. That’s why everyone takes a big fat SHIT on her. And many “Croatians,” like on this thread, eat it like caviar. It never fails.
Croatian generals in the Hague? You betcha. Serbia STILL occupying certain Croatian territories? It is. Is the Croatian government contrite about crimes committed, not commited, exaggerated and/or completely fabricated? ALL the f*cking time. Do Serbs run the Croatian government and media? They certainly do. Hand in hand with “Croatian” turn-coats, sell-outs and self-loathers. Just like in the “good ole days” of communist Yugoslavia.
We’re lucky we still have a national team. The only vestige of Croatian national pride remaining under the sun.
So continue being tolerant where tolerance has no place, and is actually the practice of self-deprecation and self-hate.
Wanna know how a nation is destroyed in only 12 years? Study the social and political ongoings in Croatia.
Croatia is a classic example of subterfuge and subversion on steroids.
HAPPY FATHERS DAY !!!
@Ante B, don’t know, but it was whoever made the first batch I was there early.
I’m just calling a spade a spade and on this topic alone, you guys are the biggest passive agressive non contributing PC gentle snowflake picketine. Do something about it and change it. If you can’t, stop being fucking little bakice about it.
Mishko, something more important: who made the cevape today? Don Mate makes a great rostilj.
Tisi pizda Ante b , no common sense
@ Jarac
Well said.
@ Ante B
I don’t know man. I’m having trouble reading you. What I gather is you do not condone that behavior but if you were there “in the moment” you’d do the same? And I would too? Sorry brother, you are mistaken. Nothing could make me throw a banana and make animal noises towards a player. And If the guy next to me tried to throw one I’d snatch it from his little hand and smack him in the fucking face with it. You better believe it. Racist or not, it’s a stupid hillbilly thing to do and could jeopardize the team. Now the guy sitting three in front of me or two behind, no I wouldn’t do anything. You can’t stop it all.
You sound like the same American douchbag conservative fox news listening right wing followers that I come across on a daily basis.
I hold many views, both conservative and progressive. I am my own man and I don’t let groups influence my views and decisions. You should try it.
p.s. I hate NPR.
Ante B you support very bad people
Even if you steer clear, you’re still not changing shit. What I said was let our navijaci be navijaci and just shut up about it because nobody is changing shit. I don’t do the monkey chants either but again, if there’s a baklja, I’m there. So, my gentle snowflakes, how will YOU change it instead of evading it? ….exactly.
Ante B for… Budala?
@Ante B.,
Dude wtf u talking about? I can tell u that when I am at a game I wouldn’t throw a banana or howl like a monkey just cause others are doing it. Hey there is nothing wrong with cheering with pride, singing, etc. When I am at a Hajduk game I don’t wave the confederate flag. I dont sport swastika’s etc. I understand that I can’t change the way many of the fans think and cheer, that is up to the country, but I sure as hell steer clear of that behavior.
@Ante B, here here.
On another topic the Cevapi at the Sierra Madre picnic were great.
And on that note, there should be a food fight prior to international football games, as long as it’s good food. Because with some food in your belly, you calm down, your happy and then you can relax to watch the game.
I wonder if we should send this suggestion to the commies that run UEFA and FIFA?
Good article on Bilic today in the guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jun/17/euro-2012-slaven-bilic-croatia-racist
Hopefully i can get a little sleep tonight before the game. Allwant is the boys to bring the intensity they had near the end of the Italy match. Flying in making intelligent and some amazing tackles. Win or lose if they bring it ill be happy and proud. If the Euros were already over Id be proud. The level of desire and play is so much of a breat of fresh air compared to the last 2 qualifying campaigns. Happy Euros!
There was a nice piece on Diehl in the New York Post.
http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/more_sports/real_diehl_5EZ7LeGoYpOuKBuWv6OMdJ
No gospodja Mark, what I condone is this bullshit gentle snowflake ball-less drabble because most of you are full pf shit when it comes down to this topic. Truth be told if you guys were around what was going on, youd start too. You can’t change shit and if you could, you wouldn’t. How many of you would’ve said anything to the guys who were doing it? Not one single person here. Stop talking and do something about it. I’m not a fan of the racist comments but if there’s a baklja that goes off, I’m near it. I’m just tired of the NPR bullshit filled with PC diarrhea.
@ Colin
I had no idea that happened. They seem like pretty isolated occurrences though.
@ Ante B
Ti i tvoju machismo bullshit. No one’s lost their balls here. Are you condoning that racist behavior? If so you’re a fucking hillbilly. Klunk is the sound of me dropping you.
@tj
It was the choke artistry of the Russians that did themselves in.
The Greeks are a disgrace to the game of football. There is no question about it and the Russians are choke artists. This was the easiest group ever in Euro history and the Russians cannot get out of it? This is also a team that cannot beat Slovenia in a playoff to go to WC 2010? The performance yesterday was garbage as well. Please do not take this as something special the Greeks did as that is not the case as per usual.
The Greeks get one more game in the tournament to be pounded by the Germans.
People please don’t start the usual BS that they play with heart and intensity and we should play like them and we should give them credit. LOL!!!!!!!! Give them credit for the other team’s inequity and choke artistry? Ok, I give the Greeks credit for the Russians being choke artists. How’s that?
If they had heart they would cross the midfield line every now and then and try to score more than 1 goal a game. As soon as they play a team that has any quality they are done. That will be the next game.
They are a disgrace to the game of football and I tell my coworker this every day. Euro 2004 will never happen again. Thank God for that!
@ nepoznat. interesting article about mandzukic. he does seem like a head case. i found the talk of him not working hard interesting though b/c it often seems in the croatia games he is hustling around. but they did bring up a good point, which that site with the stat breakdowns pointed out as well: croatia got killed in the first half against italy b/c pirlo had all the time and space in the world. tracking him back was supposed to be mandzukic’s job, which he only did for the first 10 minutes. fortunately bilic made a nice change with the formation that didn’t require mandzukic then to be on pirlo. a round of applause to Bilic. Outwits the italians and he also out coached gus hiddnik in the turkey game. perhaps bilic is better than we give him credit for. but guess we gotta wait to see what they do against spain still
Those greeks are the luckiest football team in the world. Advocat summed it up perfectly ” greece are masters at bleeding a football match dry.”Horrible team!!!
Simple formula for the Vatreni: Score only 2 goals tomorrow. And not let in 3 goals.
Tomorrow we Croatians are not only Croatian but Irish.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZTmuECB4io
.
@ tj
Greece had a better head-to-head record than Russia. Russia wasn’t able to score against Greece, so the Greeks had an advantage.
Can someone tell me how those fuckin dirty greeks qualified ahead of russia despite russia having a better goal difference of 2?
The utimate solution — requiring no massive organization or planning whatsoever — is ask everyone to govern their own behaviour. All I can say with great certainty is I am tired of seeing Croatia painted with this same brush. Can we just get on with the game?
——————mandza——————-
–pranjic——–kranjcar———srna—-
——–vukojevic——–modric———–
–strinic—-schildenfield–corluka–vida-
main subs- rakitic, jelavic, perisic-dujmovic
Marin Cilic wins the Queen’s Club title by a little surprise.
http://sports.ndtv.com/tennis/news/item/192024-marin-cilic-takes-queens-title-as-david-nalbandian-disqualified
Apparently the kings of game fixing are worried about Croatia and Spain fixing tomorrow’s game.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/italians-worry-spain-and-croatia-could-conspire-to-keep-them-from-advancing-at-euro-2012.html
Tomorrow’s game… I feel like the equivalent of a child excited to buy an awesome new video game.
But better. 😀
@Ante B.,
Ne seri dude, no one has a problem with our navijaci being navijaci, but there is really know need to throw bananas or make monkey noises at black players. I mean lets be real hear, how many of you would do that at a sporting event? If there in fact is evidence that our fans did do this, then they should be punished as well as any other country who does it.
It’s got nothing to do with being a pizda, blah blah blah, it has got everything to do with being civilized. I’m guessing most of the fans that partake in this behavior don’t have and education higher than a high school degree. This type of navijanje is not something to be proud of, it’s something to be ashamed of! And if you disagree, they u my friend are likely to be uneducated as well.
@IvicA
Agreed one thousand per cent! Great job!
If the Serbs were not docked points for their performance in Genoa, other than 0 points for the loss, than why should we be docked points? The bottom line is if Spain, Russia, Greece, and Serbia are not docked points for what they have done than why should we? It should be an even playing field. Obviously that is not the case.
Wolfgang Stark is a bipolar ref. Be prepared for anything!
Early rumor on our starting lineup for tomorrow.
Mandzukic
Pranjic Vukojevic Modric Kranjcar Srna
Strinic Schifo Corluka Vida
Go Ceska!!
Wow! So the dutch are out, Portugal made it through their group, Czech Republic made it through theirs, Russia eliminated… Isn’t looking good for my bracket haha.
I think Bilic should have the boys go “ALL OUT” balls to the walls, and take Spain by suprise and not sit back and have Spain just hold possesion. If you want to win Euros you have to go through the defending champs. Three strikers up front and just give every ounce of blood sewat and tears in them. Easier said then done, that I know. But what do we have to lose? Should we play for a tie and rest our hope the Irish can do something against Italy? I think it will be more difficult playing for a tie than a win
And if we dont make it out of our group, our players, fans and country should not hold their heads low. Small country of 4.5 million hold their own against the worlds best. We should be very proud
One last thing, It sickens me to see such a shit team like Greece advance. Greece are like Italy, somehow those fuckers sneak in
lol. this site…
@Colin
Yes maybe that should be done to the thousands of black criminals who rob, rape, beat and murder white people every day in this country. Myabe then we can have an honest discussion on race. Until then you are a typical white dope.
Klunk. That was the sound of the majority of the testicles being lost on this site. Koji ste vi politically correct pizde sram vas bilo. Let our navijaci be navijaci. Pas mater ovo mi lici na Romper Room ili Reading Rainbow. None of you would say shit so just stop
@Mark –
“Could you imagine someone throwing a banana onto the ice at a black hockey player?”
You mean like when someone threw a banana at the Flyer’s Wayne Simmonds earlier this season? Or when someone threw one at Kevin Weeks back in 2002 or something? I know when it happened in ’02, the guy who did it was put in the hospital from people beating him nearly to death outside the arena. That will get racism out in a hurry! I’m all for that. 😉
With Jelavic sick i wonder if Bilic will start Eduardo or play Mandzo alone.We need a five man midfield against spain.
@ Mark
http://is.gd/U5dVta
@ Tom
That’s a good idea. I agree that it would be a good way to avoid steep penalties. It would also make it easier to pick out the bad apples and ban them for life. But the problem with that is it would take a great organizational effort, which is something that Croatia in general lacks in my opinion, let alone the HNS and it’s supporters. I would love to see that though.
Ultimately, UEFA will begin vigorously enforcing the “Zero Tolerance” rule, with Croatia unfairly being made the example of after Russia and Spain are let off the hook.
I also feel that outsiders too easily “pin” us as Nazis. As if we just came from a neo-nazi rally. I’m so sick of if.
Sadly, that sort of racism is prevalent all throughout Europe. Every country is guilty of it to a great degree, on and off the pitch. They’re 50-60 years behind the U.S. Could you imagine someone throwing a banana onto the ice at a black hockey player?
@Allen,
U every play a sport with a real fever, I’m talking 100 or over, ur Fu***** u cant play with that.
Perhaps the HNS needs — if not the HNS, then some Croatian supporters — to start a group that will police all Croatian supporters. A group of Spanish supporters call themselves something like “Spanish football supporters against racism” attended the Italy vs Spain game. They reported to UEFA incidents of racist behaviour that they saw from their own fans. UEFA seems to like this self-policing approach. As shitty as it sounds, it seems the choice is clear: we can police ourselves or have UEFA observers do it for us. The advantage to doing it yourself is you may be able to avoid the steep penalties that UEFA hands down.
I love all this transfer talk during the Euros.
El Mundo is reporting that Barcelona were scouting Corluka during the Italy game. This, in addition to them inquiring about Dejan Lovren a week ago.
Could you imagine if we had two defenders for Barca? Lol.
I know it’s just talk, but the Euros provide great exposure to our players. It’s pretty much a guarantee that Mandzo is going to a good team after the summer. I wouldn’t be surprised if guys like Strinic and Corluka do the same. Hey, maybe even Plete can finally get a contract with a good team (and actually play).
Jelavic has a fever? Wah wah, oh give me a break. He better get his ass on the field for the most important game of his life. I don’t want to hear none of that BS.
Fuckin lucky stupid Greeks! But like someone pointed out earlier, they were persistent and relentless, and it paid off. They’re in the quarters.
Weird things tend to happen at Euros. I don’t think I need to remind anyone.
My boss recently told me he lives by this philosophy: The harder you work, the luckier you get.
I just hope our boys leave everything on the pitch, and then maybe we’ll get some of that luck…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/jun/16/euro-2012-mario-mandzukic-croatia
Robert Ivkovic
I believe we can win. We have go out believing thats what we need. Spain are not super mutants, they are humans and can make mistakes. We just have to exploit those mistakes.
Back to football matters…
Has anyone else noticed how shaky our defense looks for the first 30 minutes of both games and than as it gets towards the end the opposition can’t even get get close and our defense looks like a brick wall.
I think that we should make a change and play Vida as a central defender with Corluka.
I know most us are biased but i really think we can get a result against the Spanish, our players have proven themselves against big nations.
Lets do it again and show the world our class on the field!!!
Ivica~
“I don’t agree with what our fans did, but a point deduction is not a good answer when the same things are happening with Spanish and Russian fans as well. Are you going to dock points from every team that has a few fans with racist chants? or will Croatia be the only one as they are an easy target?”
Thats exactly right. We are easy to make examples of. And what i’ve been saying all along.
Denis~
“Well said. I agree that if we are punished then some of the others should be punished as well.”
Ziva seem to dissagree with you.
Ziva~
“As it stands right now, I have no idea if we will get hit hard (home games with no fans, point deduction for WC qualifliers), (but it will be deserved). Cry all you want about other nations being held to a different standard. Life is not fair”
Denis~
“I’m not talking just about the banana or the flares, I’m talking about the monkey noises and the jeering of the anthem”
Thats what made me feel ashamed aswell, there was no need for that, and there needs to be something done. But the spainish did exactly the same thing with ape noises, and their jeering of the italians athem was even more well heard around the stadium. But UEFA seems to have dissmissed that incident.
Ivica~
“Why not charge Italy will a point deduction for having a LARGE contingent of their fans humourously wearing Balotelli jerseys and painting their faces black? That’s racist too.”
Agreed. The italians need to be educated on rascism aswell.
Fines and point deductions would be just.
Denis~
“Most of our fans dont think that there is anything wrong with throwing a banana on the pitch. That is problem #1.”
Jarac~
“This my friend is very true”
Sadly i agree also.
@ Mishko
Don’t bother, start of the second half their formation changed to a 5-5-0
Since I’m the only one posting, I’m going to watch the Greece game against Russia to see if it’s a bus fest.
Just watching the Poland Czech game. Poland should have won definitely, but hot damn they gave them the box. If we control the box, and split the Spaniards and not come out FLAT as we did against Italy we can win it.
The ref we’ve got would have called the penalty that Webb didn’t.
I’m working on Monday but I will be watching.
@Ziva maybe if some banana or EBT cards were handed out this wouldn’t have happened. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrBNZGVRTOY
.
@Ziva that wasn’t me, but it’s a valid point.
BTW – Who runs UEFA and FIFA as in names?
Mishko…….what does that link you posted have anything to do with what we are talking about……This is a UEFA event and you live by their rules. I don’t care what is going on in Oregon.
At some point our savez has to be more proactive in getting rid of this element. There is no need for our fans to make monkey noises at a black player – and if you think there were only 10 or so doing that, then you are fooling yourself. Who can absolutely here a different type of sound emerging from our fan section when Balotelli was subbed out or when he touched the ball.
You guys are correct, 95% of our fans at international tournaments are great, but that minority with their actions really hurts us.
The flares are not an issue, those are only monetary fines, but moneky noises and bananas are what gets you fined.
The savez can catch these idiots if they want to. Those tickets were in the HNS ticket section, all modern stadiums have cameras on the crowd. The savez, if it had the balls, could work with the UEFA officials in stopping this instead of turning a blind eye.
As it stands right now, I have no idea if we will get hit hard (home games with no fans, point deduction for WC qualifliers), but it will be deserved. Cr all you want about other nations being held to a different standard. Life is not fair…..you know what, I can get away with some dumb actions at work over a first year associate just out of law school….that’s not fair either, but the powerful live by different rules. Let’s stop making the excuses…….I am as big of a fan as their is for our boys, but never in my mind would I condone monkey chants or a banana being thrown.
UEFA and FIFA should stay the FUCK out of jewish political correctness.
I bet the majority of you don’t even know where the word RACIST came from? From Bolshevik jews, it’s what they called land owners. Now think about that for a moment.
Mean while another racist gang attacks whites at random and we are supposed to get upset at a fruit being thrown.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2012/06/portland_police_shorten_hours.html
Everyone seems to be quietly awaiting the big game on Monday without much left to say. We can analyze this thing all day and still come up with the same conclusion: We need goals against Spain.
Jelavic has a fever it looks like and Baloteli might be out with a knee injury against Ireland.
I have:
Spain 2 Croatia 1
Italy 1 Ireland 1
@IvicA,
Well said. I agree that if we are punished then some of the others should be punished as well.
Also, this wont be a distraction as UEFA will announce something on Tuesday, a day after our game with Spain.
@IvicA-Yes we are a easy target to be made an example of,and thats why we will be more lokely to cop it.Winning Generals dont normally serve prison time either,they normally get to write history books.
We are far from the only country that makes trouble,lets all get that clear,but we have a pretty troublesome element that resists change for a number of reasons,lets stop making excuses and complain when we really start getting punished.
At least from me,I will have nothing more to say,as yes,we cant lose focus on the Euros.
Go Vatreni!
On another note, I’m not too crazy about Wolfgang Stark being the official for this match.
Our physicality is something that cannot be matched by Italy and Spain, and I would like Cro to use it to their advantage on Monday. We can really throw Spain off their game with our size.
But I can see Wolfgang being overzealous with his carding, and send off one of our players giving Spain an easy win.
If we get docked points for this, then I would appeal it.
How do Greek fans get to throw molotov cocktails at our fans in their stadium (which is pretty much attempted murder) and only get a one game ban from home fans attending in the next qualifying round?
I don’t agree with what our fans did, but a point deduction is not a good answer when the same things are happening with Spanish and Russian fans as well. Are you going to dock points from every team that has a few fans with racist chants? or will Croatia be the only one as they are an easy target?
Why not charge Italy will a point deduction for having a LARGE contingent of their fans humourously wearing Balotelli jerseys and painting their faces black? That’s racist too.
I think, at worst, Croatia should get a home game or two played behind closed doors with no fan attendance. This sends the message to the fans that, if you cannot behave, then you cannot attend the games.
Anyway, I’m getting pretty distracted from this racism charge against Croatia and I’m losing focus of the Euros. I just hope our players don’t get distracted by it, and show up against Spain.
@Ziva-Completely in agreement with you on all of this rubbish.
We have a element of supporters that we cant continue to make excuses for.They are a big enough minority,bad enough,stupid enough,regular enough ,etc,etc that we cant continue to make excuses.They let us down ,I am sick of it.The HNS are minimalists on what they really want to do about it.It truly hurts me to say it,but we need a higher authority to sort us out and to start breaking the mentality.
Guess what,the world is not a fair place,so dont expect that we will all be treated equally in punishment,we will cop it,but I can handle it if some long term good comes out of it.
Enough distraction,we have a huge game to play-Go Vatreni!
@Denis
“Most of our fans dont think that there is anything wrong with throwing a banana on the pitch. That is problem #1.”
This my friend is very true
Russia was threatened with a 6 point deduction for Euro 2016 qualifying if there was further violence after their Poland game. It appears to have worked as nothing further appears to have occurred. We could and should be subject to the same threat. For those who say that nothing can be done about hooliganism one need not look any further than the English in the 80s. A few years of being banned from European play forced them to deal with those who caused problems. A part of me hopes that the threat of that kind of punishment will force the HNS to deal with violence both domestically and more importantly on the international stage. I for one am fiercely proud of our ability as a small nation to show incredible support and passion at world events. I am equally embarrassed by the tendancy of a few morons in our midst to completely undermine such passion by jumping around like monkeys (how ironic) because they are able to light a flare. Weeding them out takes nothing more than planting a few people in our predesignated section of stadiums to identify culprits. Those identified could then easily be made examples of. Problem solved.
Shinobi,
Yes, I do agree with Ziva Istina just about every time. The last time I disagreed with him was about David Deihl and his DUI. You can call Ziva whatever you want, but dude knows his shit.
I agree with you most of the time as well and you bring plenty to the table almost day in day out.
“Few: i meant the few hundred. Bunch i meant all of us croatians.”
Thanks for clarifying this. Now your statement sounds sooooo much better. I agree.
“Are you that naive that it will stop them(hooligans) in the future by punishing the federation and the players and the honest fans?”
Was that the “hooligans” that jeered the national anthem? that make monkey noises in the stands? That threw a banana on the pitch? That threw the flares onto the pitch?
“jeered” and “monkey noises” were not all “hooligans, that is for sure.
The other two, we will not know. Throwing a banana on the pitch is typical Croatian behavior. fans in that section probably cheered that move. laughed. Patted the guy on the back.
Again, not everyone is like that. We have some awesome fans, some of the best the world has seen. I sat in that section for the Croatia-Australia game at WC 2006 and for Austria and Poland for EURO 2008.
I’m not talking just about the banana or the flares, I’m talking about the monkey noises and the jeering of the anthem. Who would HNS identify and place lifetime bans on? 200 people?
Most of our fans dont think that there is anything wrong with throwing a banana on the pitch. That is problem #1.
Listen ita a shame that these monkies huligan croatians go on with this stupidity fan from diaspora are much better than some of this homers that in the end it will cost our natinal team representatives who play the game and give it their all fuken huligans who let them in to the stadion, i know RESPECT and our fans are great i just hate when we are judged by these villagers seljacine who when they see a fat peron make fun of them and when they see a color person,
Second son of a bitch cigan mucko dubre who threw that flare when we tied it 1-1 we had a break away countr 5-3 and the game wa stopped rightley so for smoke Majku Jebene those fucken villagers.
-6 for what????
Russians kicked people in the faces and they did not get this.
The Spanish made racist chants as well. Why because he is black? FU some of you for evening thinking that this is ok. I guess you can kick people in the face as long as they are white. I can see 3 points.
highly likely sorry I’m just outraged by the stupidity by our fans.
I think its highly liking that Croatia will be at a minus six to start off qualifying. I’m disgusted in many things that Croatia does these days unless it involves the team or my friends on the site.
The savez should work with UEFA in idenifing these individuals and put a life ban on them from attending games.
@denis
said:
“I am with Ziva Istina on this.” Big surprise.
“A few bad apples really does spoil the bunch.” ~Shinobi
“Unfortunately, its more than a few bad apples.”
Few: i meant the few hundred. Bunch i meant all of us croatians.
“Just like drinking and driving, 90% of the people caught, never get caught again. Monkey noises, flares thrown on the pitch, jeering national anthems, and bananas thrown on the pitch will not stop (unless we are punished severely.”)
Whom is punished serevely? “WE” Are you that naive that it will stop them(hooligans) in the future by punishing the federation and the players and the honest fans? I dont think so. How does effect them? If the hooligans are not dealt with themselves, they will continue to do these sorts of things, its in there nature, they live for this. Preventing the culprits from attending games might be a better alternative.
dont you think?
Wow Greece! Who would have thought?
Czech’s toping group after getting humiliated by Russia in the opener.
Congrats to them both.
damn greeks! can’t believe they pulled that out…..and they could have had 1 or 2 more goals. hate to say it but they provided a good template for what we need to do monday. i dislike their style just as much as the next guy but they actually looked threatening for stretches today. early pressure on russia and do anything possible not to give up an early goal. then, settle in and take our chances when they come. agree with denis…0-0 first half would be fine. if we can avoid an early spanish goal….its there for the taking.
we are not going to control possession monday, no matter what. so its a matter of knowing that going in and preparing for it.
As far as the banana, flairs, jeer & whistle the Italian national anthem and ape sounds….
I am with Ziva Istina on this.
1) The monkey noises are standard in the HNL and I would be willing to bet that there were a couple hundred of them “monkeying around.”
2) jeer & whistle the Italian national anthem…. that wasnt just one person..
3) The banana, monkey noises, jeers and flares came from the Croatian section. This is a huuuuuuuge huge section of the stadium with, correct me if I am wrong, all or most tickets went to the HNS. Unfortunately, the team’s federation is responsible for their fans, especially in this section.
If the banana came from a random fan sitting on the other side of the stadium, then you can make a claim that “Jebeni UDBA su bacili bananu” ~Jarac
“We get what we deserve because our leadership is always slow to react to these idiots.” ~Ziva
“but what did balotelli think was going to happen by making death threats to anyone that threw a banana at him.” ~Shinobi
The Italians are known all across Europe as “prevaranti”. No excuses on this one.
“A few bad apples really does spoil the bunch.” ~Shinobi
Unfortunately, its more than a few bad apples.
“don’t be surprised if our fans cause some trouble when we go down 2-0 to Spain” ~Ziva
If this does happen, our fans should applaud our boys for a good performance at the euros. 4 points is nothing to be ashamed about. Hell, the Netherlands will have less points than us.
Raptore hit it on the nail:
“it will cost us in the end, just because a few hundred dickheads decided they’d try piss off the italians”
Just like drinking and driving, 90% of the people caught, never get caught again. Most people learn their lesson. Monkey noises, flares thrown on the pitch, jeering national anthems, and bananas thrown on the pitch will not stop unless we are punished severely.
If I was in the section, I would jump over that wall, grab the banana and throw it back in our section even if this means that security might escort me out or even throw me in jail. In the end, I will know that my deed was an example to others and might have saved our team from a severe penalty. Our fans should jump on the one responsible.
.
Gotta hand it to the Greeks! They never gave up, gratz for them!
Russija= CHOKERS
Who would have thought the czechs and the greeks to get out of the group? unbelievable!
Nice article, gives us something to talk about to say the least.
I really don’t know what to expect from this game. For the first time in a long long time, Slaven Bilic outcoached a respected manager. Bilic’ second half formation was expected and the Pranjic substitute was genius. While, the Italian manager wasted 2 subs on strikers which never got the proper service from a tired and squeezed midfield.
Call me a homer, but I think we have a chance against the Spanish. If we pack in the midfield like the Italians did and like we did in the second half against Italy, use our wings on the counters and have Mandzukic bully the Spanish defense in the air, we will have a good chance for an upset.
I wouldn’t mind a 0-0 half. Frusterate the spanish, have them open up a little more and surprise them on the counter attack. I don’t think that Croatia can hold an early game lead. The Spanish are faster, more skilled, and work better as a unit than we do.
A lot of things have to go our way to win this game, but looking at it today, its not impossible or a long shot.
I agree with Mainzfeldski “WE CAN DO THIS!”
Some news already popping up for Mandzukic, this would be great for our world cup qualifiers with Jelavic and Mandzukic playing together.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2160286/Mario-Mandzukic-hunted-Everton.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
GREECE SCORED AGAINST RUSSIA! 1-0 HT!!!
Geez-louise
Sentiments. Echoed.
When I look at the chances Croatia had at a horrible first half (for us), I can immediately count up two/three chances (Jelavic dragged down by Motta for a penalty, Jelavic getting through Motta and score off Strinic’s cross, and Jelavic smacking Srna’s ball past Buffon in the back of the net).
These chances make me feel optimistic. Even at a bad half, we can do serious damage.
It’s also a good sign (somewhat) that we conceded goals from set pieces rather than open play. By learning from our mistakes in set pieces, Bilic can set up a new position and instill a new awareness of set piece dangers to our players.
WE CAN DO THIS!
@BlackZodiac
You said man. You get. Thats why i like when you post. You know the deal.
Ziva seems to think we deserve what we get.
Yet i or 99.9 % of the fans didnt throw any banana, the majority of croatian supporters didnt make ape sounds, the players certainly didnt do any of the things in question. But yet in the eyes of the great ziva istina and UEFA believe we deserve all we get. Lable us all rascists idiots because of a certain few.
How in the world is that justice? The players earned their right to be here, the true fans followed and lived threw the ups and downs of getting to this tournament and others like it, and now these wankers hold our future in their hands.
That is the thing thats messed up, we are all doomed when people like this make these decisions and people like ziva swallow their nonsense.
@ Ziva
“And you are an idiot for blaming Balotelli for this.”
Slightly.. What does he expect when making such stupid comments going in to two countries which are known for neo-nazi’s and racial issues. It’s like going to KKK territory and making threats to anyone who calls him a nigger.
“ou think that gives some fans a reason to throw a banana and make monkey noises?”
It gives no one the right do do it but it’s expected, it’s the world we live in.
@-Shinobi-
“because we are easy targets.”
Well that’s pretty obvious since we became independent, why wouldn’t uefa not try to cash in on our errors. Its simply to easy.
“how easy would it be in the future if i wanted to punish an opposing team than to dress in their colours and throw bananas on the field and make ape sounds, so UEFA can punish that national team with deducted points and fines?”
That is a good point and where uefa fails, cause I’m pretty sure there are quite a bit of Italian fans who disagree with African people on their national team.
@Bobby V
“Would there be any fines if someone threw a Cevapi on the field against us?”
No, to Anti-Racists only white people cannot be victims of racism.
Anti racism is a money grab for fifa/uefa and in the end it also makes them look like the good guys.
The one single banana throw from the crowd onto the pitch and the HNS is being investigated is a joke. It would be different if one was pelted with a few.
I support Hrvatska for match vs spain. I love all countries from old jugoslavija.
Croatia can beat Spain. My concern is how Bilic will set up the midfield. I would drop Jelavic to the bench and go for Mandzukic as the lone forward. a 4-5-1 (4-2-3-1) would work best against the Spaniards who we all know have more speed and quicker passing than the Italians. Not sure who I’d put in as the added midfielder but I can see Pranjic fitting in against Spain. He looked good when he came on against Italy. Bottom line is we need another player to disupt the Spanish attack instead of using a second forward. With this approach we can get a draw and if our boys play extremely well, a famous victory.
What are the odds and Mandzukic nabbing his fourth? It’s as close to inevitable as you can get…
I really dislike the picture you have for this subject..a Croatia jersey guy holding a cross? really? is religion a part of soccer? I dont believe it to be…do we lose fans of Croatia because of it? yes we do!
…in fact, let’s make a food list for every country/race/ethnic background at the Euro’s as far as what is not allowed to be thrown.
They “UEFA” need to punish the individuals or group of fans that are krivi not the savez and players and the rest of us repesctable fans. They need to identify these certain scumbags and ban them from attending any more games.
Thats what happens here in australia in our domestic AFL football games if rascisim is involved. They identify the culprits and punish them accordingly. Punishing the whole club would be ludicrous.
WTF – Would there be any fines if someone threw a Cevapi on the field against us?
@Jarac
You seem to get it.
@ Ante B.,
jel znas ko radi u poznanu?
Jebeni UDBA su bacili bananu!
@Ziva
you said:
“You think that gives some fans a reason to throw a banana and make monkey noises??”
a banana, yes a single banana, one banana.How many fans does it take to throw a banana? Dont you think that one fan holds to much power and influence over a nation’s soccer team?. One individual with that much control over how much a soccer federation is punished. Isnt that just crazy?
Ape grunts by a collective is one thing, but they seem more interested in whom threw that single banana.
If they do punish the savez for this, dont you think it will open up a pandora shit box for others to punish opposing fans by doing the same? How can a nation be responsible for the actions of a single individual?
If balotelli didnt make those threats i doubt they would be so concerned about a single banana. Do you?
Thats all i’m saying.
I agree that there has to be a better way in dealing with these incidents as opposed to punishing the whole federation.
Lets be fair…this own website can be used as an example. The majority of us are against racist actions yet one guy like Wallace will come on here and start spewing “white race this, white race that”…..and then what?
Will Ante and Dennis be accused of having racists among their website? Should this whole website be accused of racism by the comments of a few?
As a majority we do need to speak out against these kinds of actions ….and on this website, drown out anyone who IS making racist remarks.
I cant remember who’s nicknames they were but they know who they are….but prior to the Italy game they were saying stuff like…”we need the banana brigade for Balotelli”….and at the time I said they would be stupid for doing anything like that.
Yet, I wasn’t hearing a peep from anyone else regarding those banana comments at the time.
In a large stadium with a ‘mob mentality’ its much harder to combat racist comments or actions but the only thing that allows bad things to go on……is for the good people to do nothing to stop it.
We need to strongly condemn any racist comments or actions.
Come on FIFA and UEFA… actions by fans and penalize the team for it???
Racist chants and symbols???? A person can not display anything with an “U”, or make some animal noises directed at a person… big deal.
I am sure if the Croatian fans all held rosaries and made the sign of the cross in unison, FIFA and UEFA would say that they were taunting all the pravoslavci, zidovi, and mujo’s.
And I guaranty that waving a fuc#ing ‘peder’ flag by a fan is OK by UEFA and FIFA. Some of us are more disgusted or offended by pederi (promoting a disfunctional lifestyle) vs a racist or faschist (promoting unconventional beliefs).
I agree that throwing item/projectiles onto the field or at others in the stands is wrong, and that person or individuals should just be ejected. And anyone disrespecting a country’s national anthem, is just low class… but that is pretty much done by segments of all the countries fans there.
These actions by fans still should not give FIFA or UEFA the ability to penalize a national team for it. If they want to ban fans from a match, that would make sense. Otherwise, point reduction penalty should only be given for doping, match fixing/cheating, or racist taunts by the actual players or teams during their match.
Za Dom Spremni! Bog i Hrvati!
Check out this video of Croatian fans succesfully preventing one of our own from being arrested.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUnkITOZ6Ts&feature=related
@Ziva
Where did i say i was blaming him? i said what did he expect. I am blaming our idiot fans for falling into his trap, thats whom i’m blaming.
You think he didnt know what he was getting himself in for by making these threats? He knew what he wanted to achieve.
This is what i wrote: No need to call me an idiot ziva.
“but what did balotelli think was going to happen by making death threats to anyone that threw a banana at him. If you ask me he was asking for that. It was just sad that “some” of our national teams idiot supporters fell into his trap.”
You say we deserve it, but bigger nations get of the hook for the same type of rascisim, Why? because we are easy targets. There needs to be equal treatment of every federation, not make us into a scapegoat because they can. UEFA needs to act as they preach, “equalatity”
I’m embarrassed by the actions of these fools, but UEFA need to have a better way of dealing with these type of incidents.
I mean how easy would it be in the future if i wanted to punish an opposing team than to dress in their colours and throw bananas on the field and make ape sounds, so UEFA can punish that national team with deducted points and fines?
How would they know i’m an undercover supporter trying to fuck them over?
Actually, Russia is being investigated.
Nobody to blame for this but our own people (small, but vocal #) and our own savez. Stop with the excuses. Blah, blah, blah…..they did the same thing. Big deal. Conduct yourself properly. It’s always easier for UEFA to make an example out of Croatia (or any smaller nation) than another country. Here is an idea…..don’t give them the opportunity to make an example out of you. Unfortunately, we have given UEFA that chance. Any punishment we get (big or small) will be deserved.
And you are an idiot for blaming Balotelli for this. So what if he made blind death threats? You think that gives some fans a reason to throw a banana and make monkey noises??
If they want everyone to be treated equally, they need to make an example and treat every federation equally.
@zivi
Whats this “we” gave them the opportunity? Did russia give this same opportunity when the made rascist remarks towards sellasie? and what about the spainish against that idiot balotelli on their match against italy? Is that going to be investigated? or are croatia just easier targets to make an example of?
I dont condone rascisim, but what did balotelli think was going to happen by making death threats to anyone that threw a banana at him. If you ask me he was asking for that. It was just sad that “some” of our national teams idiot supporters fell into his trap. Fucken morons!
A few bad apples really does spoil the bunch.
UEFA has made its announcement that it will now investigate what took place. The HNS will probably respond in the following way: those who did this have nothing to do with croatian soccer and are hooligans. Well, not enough in my opinion. This goes back to the domestic game in Croatia and the savez not doing enough to crack down on bad behavior.
None of of this is a shock. Anyone who has ever been to a national team game in Cro or a Hajduk-Dinamo game knows there are racsist actions by our fans. Monkey noises are not uncommon. We get what we deserve because our leadership is always slow to react to these idiots. They can do more, but they are lazy. Well, might as well let UEFA show us how it should be done.
Plus, looking at Monday’s game against Spain…..don’t be surprised if our fans cause some trouble when we go down 2-0 to Spain. I can easily seeing our fans doing something stupid when that game gets away from us and the Italy jumps all over Ireland.
I know some of the homers will cry that UEFA is going to make an example out of us. Well, so what. There always has to be a first and we just gave them the perfect opportunity.
all through out gdansk today chants of “Bjezite ljudi and u boj, u boj” can be heard and its still 2 days away from game time. No matter what the outcome is on monday night, all of Hrvatska should be proud of what our fans bring to tournaments. Yes there are the few stupid, embarrassing ones that make us look bad but the media and uefa blow it out of proportion. Most are here having a good time and getting along fine with the italian, irish, spanish and poles.
apparently someone thre a banana on the field towards balotelli, if that is true we r fucked, uefa is holding a meeting on the 19th of june and dont be suprised that even if we go thru they will deduct points from us, from what I have read we will be made an example out of, good one dickheads . Village idiots.
alot of our fans are idiots & embarass our nation with their behavior, although i some how believe this Rascist row has been blown out of proportion a touch.
i mean come on, Italian Observers & your going to take their word after their national team drew with us in a game they supposively thought they were going to win comfortably, & these FARE group or what ever they call them selves dont hand in a report to UEFA when monkey chants were heard at the Italy v Spain game..
our fans also jeer & whistle when the Italian national anthem is being played, very dissrespectful with out a doubt, youd think the 2 countrys were mortal eneimies with the way our fans behaved, this could be another reason FARE handed in a report & want to screw us over as much as they can..
it will cost us in the end, just because a few hundred dickheads decided they’d try piss off the italians..
@Shinobi Croatians in general are such an honorable and noble people. All our hard work could be ruined.
@LikaJoey
Agree with you. Fools like this make us look bad and punish us all for their behavior.
Points deducted in the world cup qualifers is the last thing we need in a group with serbia.
@ Toronto Croatia i like the picture. lol
Extra pressure on our team before the biggest game…IDIOTS!!
Croatian fans charged with racism! WHY ARE SOME OF OUR PEOPLE SO STUPID?
Mihovil, it’s my job to post the referee profile! Lol
http://www.goal.com/en/news/2898/euro-2012/2012/06/05/3075374/germanys-controversial-selection-euro-2012-referee-wolfgang#
I think Allen Outraged may be doing a video for this one to preview this game. I can’t remember last time I was this pumped for a game…oh wait Thursday. Nevertheless this could be something will never forget or a complete let down. Outraged productions may resume tomorrow with a preview video.
Great article Ante, I enjoyed it!
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/croatia-becomes-1st-team-charged-uefa-racism-euro-122931684–sow.html
just great! let the world look at our people as a bunch of backwards racists.
as for the game, i think we need to hold back tightly early on and hold off the initial wave. i don’t think we can run and gun for 90 minutes with spain. look at how italy controlled the game for the first half, in possession and shots on goal. if italy did that to us for 45 mins, spain will be more dangerous. i think we should aim for a 1-0, 2-1 kind of win rather than a 3-2 kind of game. just my two cents.
i can’t watch the game (away from a TV for work that afternoon) so i will be following as best i can! i hope to watch a victorious replay that night!
Ante, your article gave me goosebumps! I couldn’t agree with you more! The pressure is on Spain…not Cro, and we should take advantage of that fact. Was reading an article on UEFA, and how Spains coach is watching Cro VERY closely-in fact, the Spaniards had spies amongst us in our last 13 games! Spain’s clearly nervous….and let me tell you. If those usrani Italijani were able to tie with Spain, then we should be able to do a lot better than that!! Molim Boga da daje snage nase igraci!!! Ajmo Vatreni!!
You are absolutely right Ante we must go balls to the wall protiv Spain we cannot hope for an Ireland win against the Italians because in most likely hoods it wont happen, we have to play spain like its the championchip game to go through to the knockouts and all I can say is ” wow” what an exhausting group stage this has been thus far Za Dom ” SPREMNI ” -U-
well said ante! did we all have that immediate first reaction? lol
It is a deserved possibility which was carved out of the heart of a small nation that does not know defeat. We will win and make the pundits squirm and moan. They will make excuses of now the other team played bad….not now we were the better team,… F em. Go for broke. Naprid vatreni
Wolfgang Stark – Official for the Croatia Spain Match
http://tinyurl.com/7mnzdcf
No matter what happens, Bilic and his boys did a great job. Sure Ireland is not the best team in the world, but they did qualify so they’re not that bad. And you still have to beat them. Then there is a draw against Italy, a land which much more habitants and considered as a top football nation. Against Spain it will be tough, but even Brazil or Germany would have a difficult time beating Spain.
My guess is that Spain will beat Hvratska but Italy won’t win against Ireland.
@Colin-Ziva will be providing Homer glasses for everyone,cant wait to get mine!
one things for sure… our fans will be heard… i don’t know what feed you guys were watching but the one i watched, 90% of the chants were hrvati…
people always say they have the craziest fans but we all know who really does…
they will leave everything out on the field
Oh man… Everybody better be clenching a rosary on Monday. Players and fans. I’ve got a good feeling. I’m wearing my homer glasses to this game. 🙂
Top article fucken!
Nailed it ante!
Can’t wait till we wreck Spain
By the way, that pic of Bilic looks hilarious…
How will Slaven Bilić be remembered once Euro 2012 ends? Judging by that pic….perhaps as Mr. Bean.
I agree……GO…FOR…THE…WIN!…
Nothing less. I don’t even want to see them playing for a tie.
My only question is…(and i posted this in the forums)….should Bilic think about starting Eduardo instead?
Lets be honest, with 23 goals, Eduardo is currently the second most prolific striker that has ever played for Croatia (behind only Šuker)
Mandzukic and Eduardo….go for goals.