Croatia is in the final of the World Cup in football. The biggest sensation in the history of the most important side event in the world. Regardless of the result on Sunday.
A historic success for Croatia and a historical flash for the entire region. It will take decades for a country of four million inhabitants to reach the World Cup final. Once upon a time, it followed little Uruguay, but that time cannot be compared to today's conditions and competitiveness in football. That is why this unexpected, but not accidental, passage of Croatia to the World Cup final is a result that will be difficult to repeat in the near future.
20 years ago, Croatia played the semi-finals of the World Cup in France, since then it has participated in all major competitions, achieved good results, its teams are regulars in the Champions and European leagues, while Croatian internationals play notable or leading roles in the biggest European clubs. Because of all this, this result of neighbors is not accidental. Well done, Fire!
Apart from Croatia, the region should also celebrate. The Western Balkans, the Adriatic countries, the former Yugoslavia, Croatia, above all, but also Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro - all these terms have been mentioned more in the world media in the last ten days than in the last couple of years. Even for good and success.
A poll on the Vijesti portal before the semi-final match showed that two-thirds of the citizens support Croatia, and most of the comments below the text did not differ much from those on some Croatian portal. However, a lot has changed compared to the time when a convincing minority of the citizens of Montenegro sang - "From Lovćen vila cry, forgive us, Dubrovnik"! Croatia's passage to the finals was celebrated in Podgorica cafes with a song, and the town heard firecrackers and watched fireworks in honor of the finalists from the neighborhood. Football won, the awareness that a neighbor is the closest to us after a family member, overcame the consequences of the time when some leaders taught us to "hate chess because of the chessboard" and threatened to "break with the Ustasha for all time"! Croatia impressed in football, Montenegro showed a more beautiful face in cheering. This is a fact that cannot be disputed even by those noisy and foaming-at-arms wartime hostages who would still go to Zagreb with tanks rather than congratulations and support.
It would be great for the entire region if it were the same in the largest country from our Balkan alley, Serbia. Unfortunately, it didn't. As long as the local political elite, the great Alexander and the controlled media are guided by the defeatist maxim, "let the neighbor's cow gobble", there is no luck for Serbia. Even the greatest Serbian athlete of all time, perhaps the Balkan one, Novak Đoković, who has already been world champion 10 times and in an individual and demanding sport like tennis, even he came under the attack of Belgrade politicians, manipulators, but and propaganda garbage just because before Croatia's quarterfinal match with Russia he tweeted: "Let's go, Vatreni". After a barrage of insults and threats, he had to explain what sport, support, normality and neighborhood are, but in the majority Serbia today, which is still sleeping in the nightmare dreams of the 90s, few people had to hear him. Let alone understand.
However, let's move on. If the Croatian national team performs another miracle today and even takes the title of world champion in football, it will be a great victory for a small country on the Adriatic, but also a historic day for the entire region. After decades of defeat, all of us in the Balkans, Western and Eastern, need victories. Both those in sports and those in the economy, the rule of law, education, culture... Above all, we need victory over our past, near and far, losing mentality, we need reconciliation and mutual support, because that's the only way we'll reach the rest of the developed world. of Europe. Maybe even before 2063, which our leader, Đukanović, predicted for us.
That's why, on Sunday - everyone for Croatia. Let's go, Fire. And all for Djokovic. Come on, Nole. For all of us.
Bonus video:
