Croatia

They are the number one nationalists in the World as voted by the Australian football public especially if you’ve been twatted by a flag pole at a local club game in Australia, North Perth Croatia comes to mind. They’re back after a remarkable performance at France ’98 where they were the only team to score a proper goal against the eventual winners in the semi-final yet fluffed their lines in the latter part of that game. Third place was an amazing effort, which was let down by a poor showing in 2002 where they failed to qualify.

They are back, heading to Germany a former failed conqueror. Croatia has always had an uneasy alliance with the rest of Europe – political systems have been tried, partnerships disastrously fostered, restored again and in the last 16 years further destroyed. Destruction is a common thread throughout their long history. They were cohesive enough buddies at the start with Hungary. The Ottoman Empire put paid to Croatian aims as they bullied in and made sure they took most of Bosnia-Herzegovina. There was Roman rule still floating around and it took many years to return Croatia to its status of freedom. It is said that the Croatian east border is where the Ottoman Empire stopped. But the Germans and Serbs still wanted power of the region, the French were stopped and the Magyars still wanted power like before – but the Croatian language was more or less the mother tongue – not Hungarian, not German. The region of Dubrovnik (which is now part of Croatia) had a time as a nation – Dubrovnik strangely enough formally recognised the United States as a new country in 1776, no one else was doing the same for Croatia. In the early 1900s, Croatia joined up with the other Slavic cultures hence Yugoslavia was born in 1929. There were efforts at communism which led to an assassination or two. There was partitioning in 1941, but the Ustashe terrorists (fascists) had a policy of genocide mixing in with the rest of genocide in Europe at the time. With another fascist invasion of Yugoslavia during WWII, Croatia went solo but got dragged back in through Croatia’s favourite son and eventual President Josip Broz-Tito. Tito’s leadership went on until 1980 – fears were rekindled after his death of a major break-up – though strictly not Communist during Tito’s reign of power, Socialism was the order of the day, but Right-wing policies became the ever terrifying mode of thought amongst dangerous minorities. The ethnic Serbs living in Croatia threatened change and violence erupted at the start of 1991, culminating in 4 years of an absurd war. The Yugoslavian football team at the time missed the 1992 European Championships with arguably one of the greatest teams ever assembled. The Croatian War of Independence was predominantly against the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) who initially out-gunned the Croats. Serb populations inside Croatia revolted more firmly and wanted their own state, which the JNA supported. Yet two major offensives in 1995 put paid to the Serbs, which sent them packing to Bosnia and back to Serbia. At this point Croatia had its darkest hour – the largest ethnic cleansing operations are said to have occurred, in which former US President Bill Clinton expressed a strange type of hope through it. Parliamentary seat control was at stake along with changes in constitutions. But ‘peaceful’ territorial disputes continued between feuding monsters Franjo Tudjman and Slobodan Milosevic throughout 1996. The late 90s was a time where many Croats avoided prison sentences related to atrocities against Serbs. Extreme film-making became the norm politicising every little nuance possible so as to emphasise the turmoil prevalent after the war. UN war crimes investigators have always been halted at the border and airports. There is great belief that mass graves must exist but Croatia tip-toes around it. Leave behind what is buried.

En-masse to Germany will be thousands of Croatian supporters armed with their flag poles and foul mouths. Their team will have two former Australian players Anthony Seric and Josip Simunic ready to play against Australia, probably the most important game ever for Croatia. The Kovacs brothers, street-fighting man Darijo Srna, Dado Prso and German based Ivan Klasnic will be critical players who will gleefully try and beat Brazil in game one. It’s not impossible. What is it that drives Croatia to be so fiercely independent? Firstly they want the coastline of the former Yugoslavia as tourism is massive for the area. The necktie (hence the cravat) started life in Croatia through revolutionaries who wore a dangling cloth around their necks, which business the world over mimic everyday. The fountain pen started life in Croatia – but the pen has not been mightier than the sword as the current Croatian media has found to its cost. Tito’s legacy does not live on even though he was a fervent Croat himself, nevertheless he would not have wanted the horrors of war 11 years after his death. Croatia travels to another nation decimated by war over 60 years ago, yet Croatia are Europe’s most recent war victims and murderers - everyone easily forgets – unless they meet Serbia in the Quarter-finals or who knows beyond? Friendship and war are never too far away in Croatia.

The future? Croatia expects to deliver and account for Australia and Japan – something tells me they’re in for a long haul like in 1998. Srna to earn a big contract after the tournament.
Bottomless pit ranking? With recent war crimes forgotten and ex-tennis ace Goran Ivanisevic seen cheering in the crowd one can only second guess how Croatians reflect on their past – there seems to always be an enemy. The theft of culture, land and language drives them batty – let’s hope in the future Hrvatske has less of a bloody history and even less flag poles and flares in the stands.