‘Soccer is No. 1 ... it’s like a religion’
Vancouver supporters of Croatia’s team turn out in force to watch World Cup victory
It’s the World Cup.
Croatia is playing host Russia in a Saturday morning quarterfinal at jam-packed Fisht Stadium in Sochi.
At the Croatian Cultural Centre on Commercial Drive in Vancouver, there’s a sea of red-and-white-checkered fans with the team’s colours on their shirts, hats, jackets, head bands, socks and scarves.
It’s standing room only in one of the big rooms with two big-screen TVs. It’s full to capacity and so others must spill into two smaller rooms. Everyone wants to be in the big room to embrace the emotion of hundreds of people cheering on their small country.
There is another big room that normally would be available but it was booked for a wedding a year ago and is set with tables and chairs and decorated — and so it’s out of play on this day.
Hey, who knew Croatia’s men would be playing for a spot in the semifinals?
The last time the country did this well was in its 1998 debut, just after it had gained independence. That year the team finished third. Soccer team, pride and country go hand-inhand.
Every play on Saturday was watched with intensity, any missed chance a collective gasp. The shock of seeing host Russia score first was felt in stunned belief by the more than 600 gathered in the cultural centre.
There is exultation when Croatia ties the game just before halftime and then goes ahead in the 101st minute.
“Soccer is the No. 1 sport. It’s the only game. It’s like a religion,” says Ivan Krcmar, who came to Canada in 1972 and has two sisters (Maria and Ljuba) in Croatia.
“It’s a madhouse over there,” said Krcmar. He and his sisters have a friendly bet on who will advance the farthest : Croatia or England.
That bet will continue as both teams won their respective Saturday matches (England beat Sweden 2-0 earlier in the day).
It was a nail biter for Croatia as the team led 2-1 when Russia scored with just minutes left in the extra time. It went to penalties with Croatia coming out ahead 4-3.
When it went to penalties the only thing Steve Ivacko had to say, between nervous gulps, was: “Oh god!”
Ivacko and the hundreds of other Croatian fans at the cultural centre held their collective breaths.
When the final penalty goal was scored by star midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who drilled it into the bottom left of the net, everyone was on their feet, screaming, hugging and shouting.
Ivacko stared at the screen: “Wow.”
There is an intimate relationship between the country of just four million and its soccer team. By comparison, there are 140 million more people in Russia.
“We’re a very new country. I tell people that,” said Marianna Paulich, who is here with her three girls and likes the atmosphere that the World Cup creates, both for Saturday’s match and in a larger sense.
“It’s one of the only events that brings the whole world together,” says Paulich. “I tell my girls cheer for your team, but don’t put down the other teams.”
Victor Klemes, 8, took in the action with his family.
With the help of his mother, he made wristbands in the Croatian colours and sold them in the foyer before the match started. His favourite player is team captain Luka Modric.
Victor was at the cultural centre for the round-of-16 match against Denmark, also won on penalties.
“It was very exciting and crazy,” he said.
Marlon Lazic drove from Kelowna to watch Saturday’s game in Vancouver.
“I lost 10 years in the last game,” he says of the tension brought on by watching penalty shootouts.
Adds his friend Frank Zeba: “We’re very proud of the history of our country. We’re a small country. Soccer brings all the people together. It’s a great feeling.”