The performance of the Croatia World Cup squad is touching a nerve with ethnic Croatians now living in the Okanagan.
As Croatia prepares to play the World Cup soccer final on Sunday against France, members of the Okanagan Croatian Cultural Club from Penticton to Vernon are caught up in a global groundswell of pride for their heritage and their team91裸聊视频檚 undergo-like performance on the pitch.
Kate Sarac, the incoming president for the club, said with a population of only four million, the success of the team so far has unleashed a renewed sense of pride in their country, both back home and abroad.
91裸聊视频淪occer is a uniter. It is bringing us together,91裸聊视频� Sarac said.
| Croatians catching World Cup fever in Kelowna are Karla Gill and Maryann Gill. Photo: Contributed |
91裸聊视频淭hey must be exhausted from having to work so hard to reach the final. It has just been incredible to watch.91裸聊视频�
Led by the diminutive Luka Modric, a star with Real Madrid, and others such as Domagoj Vida, Ivan Rakitic and goalkeeper Danijel Subasic, Sarac says this is the best team Croatia has fielded since the 91裸聊视频�98 squad that reached the World Cup semi-finals.
That year, it was France that eliminated Croatia 2-1 in the semi-final.
91裸聊视频淚t is so weird that 20 years later we are playing France again, 91裸聊视频� Sarac said.
Sarac said she was living in Croatia back then, and was caught up in the excitement with all her native countrymen, a similar scene today she calls 91裸聊视频渏ust nutty.91裸聊视频�
91裸聊视频淚n the town square in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, people are gathered to watch the games on the big projection screen along with live music, fireworks and people waving flags. We are not the richest country in the world but our country91裸聊视频檚 economy is expanding and we are culturally rich.91裸聊视频�
Asked why soccer is such a unifying force around the world, Sarac said for Croatia it91裸聊视频檚 because everyone can play and identify with the sport like no other.
91裸聊视频淓veryone can play. All you need is a ball and group of players and you have a team. Everyone knows the rules and how to play. In Croatia, kids play everywhere91裸聊视频攐n the street, grass fields and even gravel.91裸聊视频�
As a young team, the national Croatia soccer squad is also emblematic of a regeneration of their country91裸聊视频檚 heritage among young people in the Okanagan and across Canada.
91裸聊视频淲hen I started with the club two years ago we had 88 members on Facebook, and today that is now about 160. We are trying to get the younger generation more involved in our club,91裸聊视频� she added.
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