Football teams from war-torn countries value a cohesive fan base back home. is the closest thing to normality. Igor Stimac, whose Croatia Finishing third in the 1998 FIFA World Cup, it is said that the winning national football team heals political strife and rifts better than it knows.
“It’s a simple, beautiful idea. When your country qualifies for the World Cup, nothing else matters anymore. Everything else stops bothering you. No political issues, no problems, no sickness,” recalls Stimac, the former India coach, of the dizzying days when Croatia were finally allowed to qualify and went on to win bronze.
“Since then I have had this medal just as a souvenir. All the money went to healthcare and surgeries for soldiers and civilians injured in the war,” he recalled during a TV punditry gig with Zee5. Football offered a legitimate distraction from the reality of war, even for an overseas team. But nightmares of losing loved ones punctuated that escape, he says.
From 1991-97, Serbia and Croatia clashed on a terrifying front after the breakup of Yugoslavia. Stimac calls it “Serbian aggression”. “Our team carried a great responsibility because friends, people of our age, were losing their lives, surviving the aggression.” What he did do was bring together a country stunned by the destruction. “For football, everyone became one. No left wing, no right wing. It wasn’t easy. But he gave kids like Luka Modric.
Davor Šuker, Boban, Jarni to follow, and two more medals. 3 medals in 6 World Cups, not bad, huh?” he says.
Champion gene
The current Croatia side take on Ghana in a tough group match on Saturday in the battle for survival and things could get messy. Steimac, who spoke before the first match, however, maintains – a touch as hyperbole – that all Croats have had the “champion gene” since eternity.
“We fight as if our lives depended on it. Throughout history, Croats (sic) have been enemies seeking to destroy us,” he explains. “We have great warriors and victory in Central Europe and the first line of defense against terror. We defended our land with our lives and won 5 victories over the (Ottoman) Turks, more than anyone else. We fight. That’s our champion gene.”
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For a country emerging from the Balkan tragedies of the 90s, football was not even on a level playing field. Croatia were the reigning World U20 champions coming out of a communist regime, but Croatia’s official approval to participate was an endless wait from the FIFA and UEFA bureaucracy.
“It was disgusting, and we professional players weren’t given official entry, only friendly. The team reached the quarter-finals when we got the chance at the Euros. When we lost to Germany, the referee was responsible for not playing Croatia. We were sad, angry, but not bitter. We accepted the wrong decision because we at least got a chance to play,” he recalled. He made it count in the 98 World Cup. After Jamaica, Japan, Romania, the Croats defeated the old enemy of football, Germany.
“People came into the streets of Croatia and chanted at us. We beat them. Germany who beat us with the help of the referee,” he says with a boom as if he were Gloin’s son Gimli. “Though in our culture, we don’t believe in ‘revenge’. When we lose in football, it’s because the opponent is better than us. But with what happened at the Euros, it was a great satisfaction to end the injustice with the biggest defeat of the enemy (3-0).
Throughout the campaign, Stimac recalls feeling at home with the team in France. “We had the best manager (Miroslav Blazevic) and the golden generation playing at Europe’s top clubs. We were relaxed, understanding each other,” he says.
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Loyalty and camaraderie also involved some unpleasant business. But in his 20s, with fresh freedom, Stimac felt he needed to leave. “Oh, me and Dave Sukar and a few others left to go to Madrid, you know,” he says cryptically. “We’ll smoke at halftime!” He remembers. “We knew it was important to do our job on the field. But we smoked, which might be unacceptable to others. But there was trust and loyalty.”
He regrets it. a little bit “In the second game, Japan took a lot of energy while playing. After 5-6 hours, we faced big problems,” he says. “So, write it in bold in your paper – don’t smoke,” Stimac says. Football, however, smelled of freedom – a feeling he will remember forever.