June the 10th, 2021 - The German media has been no stranger to the entire Rimac story, with numerous articles praising the Croatian Mate Rimac, being referred to as the ''Elon Musk of the Balkans'' and compared to genius and countryman Nikola Tesla. That trend hasn't stopped and the showers of praise from Germany continue for this remarkable entrepreneur from Livno.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the popular German publication Der Spiegel has featured the brand new car made by Croatian Mate Rimac, as reported by Index. The beautiful new Nevera is described by the publication as "superior", and Rimac has been referred to as a person who is "introducing new standards" to the electric car industry.

“The 2000 hp Rimac Nevera sports car demonstrates the superiority of electric drive on the racetrack,” Der Spiegel points out in an article entitled ''Bugatti was yesterday. Now comes Rimac's Nevera.''

The German paper also states that Croatian Mate Rimac's truly stunning Nevera represents "the current peak of a brilliant career", during which Rimac, in ten years from being "completely unknown" became an advisor to some of the most famous managers in the automotive industry, even advising the bosses of Volkswagen and Porsche on switching to electric cars.

However, Der Spiegel critically states that "Nevera plays on the lowest instincts", reports Index.

"We wanted to show off what is technically possible. And, of course, have a little fun,'' Rimac told Der Spiegel, who recalls that he started his career as a race driver. "Infidelity is not a contribution to mass mobility, but it's a fun activity for a few," explains Rimac.

Despite appealing to speed lovers and perhaps ''the lowest human instincts'', Nevera should also demonstrate "what Rimac Automobili can produce". According to the Index, Der Spiegel believes that Rimac's "technology can make ordinary vehicles faster, more economical, or safer".

For more, follow Made in Croatia.

June the 10th, 2021 - Croatian Eurozone membership depends on numerous factors, and the sorting out of the mess that is the portfolio of state owned companies is just one of the pressing ones.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Ana Blaskovic writes, although some strides have been made, state-owned companies remain synonymous with political flattery, corruption scandals and, in general, just bad business. However, if Croatian Eurozone membership is to become a reality, and if the country wishes to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which are two strategic foreign policy goals of the government, Croatia will have to make serious efforts to sort out the mess in the portfolio of state-owned companies.

To this end, in the form of the OECD team, in cooperation with the European Commission and the Croatian authorities, a comprehensive diagnosis was made and the government was provided with a number of recommendations for improving corporate governance.

Three are key to a significant turnaround: centralising state ownership, professionalising governance, and harmonising the legal and regulatory framework through a new law on state-owned companies, the OECD said.

"The owners of these companies are taxpayers. The idea is that they should be accountable to the public as private companies are to their shareholders,'' said Charles Donald of the working group on state-owned companies and OECD privatisation.

"Although these recommendations aren't mandatory, they're the ''acquis'' for joining the OECD," Donald said.

Sanja Bosnjak, State Secretary of the Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property, assessed the guidelines as a benchmark and made sure to state that Croatia has committed itself to reforms in the state-owned enterprise sector in the action plan for joining the exchange rate mechanism.

"This is a symbolic start to work on reforms in this area that involve the entire administration," she said.

The value of state-owned companies is estimated at a massive 190 billion kuna, making up a whopping 47.2 percent of Croatian GDP in 2019. The (central) state owns 59 of them, of which 39 have special status. 19 are wholly or majority owned by the Centre for Restructuring and Sales (CERP), and two more companies are outside that umbrella. Beyond them is a constellation of 938 local state-owned companies. Most of them operate in the segment of transport, energy, construction, finance, telecoms, manufacturing, tourism and property/real estate.

While with about 260 state-owned companies per million inhabitants, Croatia can ''boast'' of being one of the record holders in the EU, as well as in the rest of Southeastern Europe where a similar phenomenon reigns, the problem is, in typical Croatian fashion - total and utter inefficiency.

The return on capital and revenue growth is lower than it is in the private sector, and with the exception of strategic companies, more than 80 percent of non-strategic ones have failed to reach even the median return on capital of the sector in which they operate, the OECD found.

With fragmented competencies, from ministries, the CERP to various agencies, the OECD recommends the establishment of a single body with adequate mandate and resources to coordinate stakeholders and end the current practice of unclear roles and, more importantly, blurry responsibilities.

The second recommendation for Croatian Eurozone membership is aimed at professionalising management through strengthening the role and powers of the supervisory board. The current election of members of supervisory boards is open to political staffing, varies by company, and the prescribed fees are typically not very attractive to professionals.

The recommendation is to establish professional and independent committees, as well as independent auditors, and to enable supervisory boards to set their own strategies and oversee management. In doing so, the OECD emphasises in particular that government officials and policy-appointed persons cannot by any means ever be considered independent experts.

Finally, a new law is needed that should harmonise the current legal framework and underpin reforms in the state-owned enterprise sector.

In addition, the list of recommendations for Croatian Eurozone membership includes increasing transparency, strengthening internal controls, setting clear financial and non-financial targets, and simplifying the legal framework and corporate structure of companies so that state-owned companies compete evenly with private ones in the same market.

For more on Croatian Eurozone membership and Croatian politics in general, make sure to follow our dedicated politics section.

June the 10th, 2021 - For all those who have been through the delightful procedure of renewing a Croatian passport, driving license or other document, the topic of stamps will be all too familiar. Could that outdated and quite frankly ridiculous process now finally be coming to an end? Maybe.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, the Ministry of Finance has submitted a proposal for a new Regulation on the tariffs of administrative fees for public discussion. This is a revolutionary decree, which will reduce the amount of tariff numbers from 95 down to a much lower 58.

What this translates to is that it's now possible that people might no longer have to pay administrative fees or buy stamps for many as 177 various documents obtained from the state authorities.

Should this proposal be accepted, people will no longer need the infamous stamps when obtaining a driver's and traffic license, a Croatian passport, when certifying signatures, for issuing a decision to open a company, for issuing new documents, for issuing site approvals for oil, gas and more.

There has also been a proposal to totally abolish all cadastral fees, fees in the field of education, sports and water management, when acquiring real estate, in the field of cultural heritage protection and fees in the field of competition protection. This, of course, doesn't mean that all these documents will no longer be needed, and this decree merely abolishes the payment of stamps for their issuance.

The explanation of the proposed decree which will remove this outdated procedure for the issuing of Croatian passports and much more states that the abolition, ie the partial abolition of administrative fees/stamps, will reduce the state budget revenue by around 80 million kuna. The biggest relief for people and businessmen, in the amount of about 69.3 million kuna, will be felt in the area of ​​internal affairs.

Revenue from cadastral fees will be lower by about 3.6 million kuna, in the field of healthcare by about 2 million kuna, and in water management by about 1.2 million kuna, reports Jutarnji list.

For more, follow our dedicated lifestyle section.

June the 10th, 2021 - There has been a lot of conversation surrounding the controversial so-called ''covid passports'', which Croatia has already introduced. Of course, in true Croatian fashion, the Croatian covid certificate has been plagued (no pun intended) with issues from the very beginning.

The rules appear simple if you want to get your hands on a Croatian covid certificate. You either have to have been vaccinated, have proof of having recovered from the disease, or have a negative PCR test result proving you aren't hosting the novel virus. Easy, right? No. Not at all.

Many people who have previously contracted and then recovered from the disease, including myself, are unable to get their Croatian covid certificate approved. Many people had absolutely no idea they had the disease, either having only very mild symptoms or being asymptomatic, and as such never sought medical attention, testing, or proof of them being infected. The number of people who have actually been infected is more than likely far higher than official records suggest. This poses a massive problem and despite Croatia's attempts to ''avoid discrimination'' - this is precisely what this is.

As a result of numerous complaints, Interior Minister Davor Bozinovic has decided to speak out about the Croatian covid certificate, claiming that all is working well, much to the frustration of very many people who are entitled to the document, but can't get it.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Bozinovic announced on social media that the Croatian system for issuing the EU digital COVID certificate, also referred to in this article as the Croatian covid certificate, has confirmed its full functionality and interoperability. Many would disagree.

"More than 100,000 people managed to have their certificates approved in just seven days," wrote Bozinovic, who said the certificate was eligible for 1.7 million people, who had either been vaccinated or had contracted the disease and since recovered.

The problem of those who overcame the disease, but didn't confirm that with by taking a PCR test, however, still remains an enormous problem, writes RTL vijesti/news. This is a huge issue which it seems nobody even thought about when coming up with this idea, which honestly seems incredibly shortsighted.

By the way, the European Parliament has adopted regulations on its digital certificate which will be applied at the level of the entire bloc from the 1st of July. The certificate will be issued free of charge by the national authorities and will be available in either digital and paper form and will contain a QR code.

The document will serve as confirmation that the person has been vaccinated, has a new negative test result, or has overcome the disease. In practice, these will be three different confirmations. The EU Common Framework will ensure the interoperability and verifiability of certificates throughout the Union and prevent their forgery and fraud.

For more, follow our lifestyle section.

June 10, 2021 - Great Internet is a prerequisite for remote work. An interview with Croatia Telecom (Hrvatski Telekom)'s Proposition Management Expert, Nikolina Pejovic, on the quality of the Internet in Croatia, and what her company is doing to support the digital nomad initiative.

1. The digital nomad revolution is here, and there is quite a buzz about Croatia as one of the top nomad hotspots. Let's look at one of the most important requirements for potential remote works - connectivity and speed. How good is the Internet in Croatia?

Yes, it's a popular topic nowadays, I think the whole corona situation made all of us really aware of how everything can be subject to a fundamental change. This has made a lot of people open to new ways of living and working. When it comes to tourism which accounts for some 20% of Croatian GDP, it is of course essential to make the most of the opportunities we have, building on the traditional ways and appeals Croatia has, with digital nomadism being a powerful platform.

In terms of connectivity Croatian Telekom is the leading network in Croatia, confirmed by not one, but three independent international pieces of research, and not only that but were named one of the 10 fastest mobile networks in the whole world, so the nomads coming to Croatia are covered. You can do your work worry-free from Croatia and we take care of the rest. Especially as we have implemented the first commercial 5G network in Croatia ensuring better coverage, speeds, and user experience through it, and we are fully committed to improving it even further which definitely benefits digital nomads that coming to Croatia.

2. Internet speeds vary across the country. Where are the quickest destinations, and where can people find online information about Internet speed if they are considering spending time at a particular location? 

There is a really cool tool called the coverage map on Hrvatski Telekom web page, and you can check the coverage in the whole country, and also specifically per location. We are constantly working on better network capacity, although we are already the leading network. We are well aware that the quality infrastructure is the foundation for great customer experience, and it is one of our priorities.

3. How will Hrvatski Telekom be developing its coverage and service over the next 5 years? What are the key strategic milestones for HT?

The past year has made it clear how vital the ICT industry and investments in digital infrastructure and digitalization are to all aspects of our lives, society, and economy. Hrvatski Telekom has been leading Croatia’s digital transformation through continuous investments in network infrastructure and innovative services, ensuring technology and digitization development will continue being our priority. Next to the investments in technology, our second focus area will continue to be our customers and not only meeting but exceeding their expectations.

(Nikolina at the Digital Nomads-in-Residence Program, with Mayor of Dubrovnik, Mato Frankovic, and DNA co-founder, Jan de Jong)

4. HT was one of the first private companies to support the Digital Nomad Association and this new initiative to welcome digital nomads to Croatia. Tell us a little about that?

Yes, we really feel that our mission is to improve the quality and digitalise the life of our citizens, we are calling it a world of better opportunities. In a world where almost every business is digital, digitalization is a prerequisite of progress, be it the community, economic improvement, business development, and a better quality of life.

When it comes to the DN initiative we recognized it from the beginning as a big thing for the whole society and also as a concept that fits perfectly well with our mission of connecting everyone in the country with the opportunities of digitalization. Because with a laptop, tablet or a smartphone and a reliable internet connection we are in position to help redefine not only the way we work, but also where one can work, and then Croatia is an excellent choice.

We are interested in supporting programs that really create value, and that is why we recognised and support the work of DNA and wanted to help to make the Nomads feel welcome, and we went even further by creating a product that DN can and will use while living here.

5. As part of that support, you provided a specific digital nomad product to the 10 Dubrovnik Digital Nomads-in-Residence, which is also publicly available. Tell us about that product, and what feedback did you get?

I really loved working with my team on this product, actually we very quickly realised that all a remote worker wants is a really easy-to-use solution that works everywhere they go. They said that prepaid is the best thing for them, because it can be paid (topped up) upfront. We really wanted to find out what DN think of our product and is it as good as we thought.

I had the opportunity to meet these interesting young people, and the feedback was really positive. They liked the product and had great coverage everywhere they went, and they were travelling quite a lot with the Nomads-in-Residence program. Our ‘Unlimited’ offer is an easy to use flat prepaid solution, with weekly flat options, that just by topping up your account automatically gets reactivated. We have a web page dedicated to the product, where you can order the product or additional hardware, like for example a router if you are in need of one.

6. How do you see HT's future role in developing this sector of the Croatian economy?

Bringing tech-savvy, dominantly high-skilled, knowledgeable people to Croatia could prove to be a valuable source of capital inflow for the country’s economy. And since their numbers have been growing over the past years the potential could be great.  The one estimation I saw was that there are 4.8 million people in the world who have in some way opted for a digital-nomadic lifestyle, with as many as 17 million people aspiring to it. Having in mind the characteristics of such a lifestyle, mobility, flexibility, creating your own schedule, and choosing the location of work, Hrvatski Telekom wants to provide digital nomads with a fast and stable internet connection at any time and in any place, which is crucial for their ability to work from any location across Croatia.

7. And finally, your impressions of the Dubrovnik Digital Nomad-in-Residence program?

It was very well-organized, I want to congratulate the City of Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik Tourist Board, Saltwater Nomads, Jan, and you Paul as initiators and organizers of this project. I think working in that little paradise part of Croatia is something that appeals to a lot of people around the world. I am from Dalmatia although I have been living in Zagreb for quite a while now, and every time I have this little escape from the capital to Dalmatia, I realize how unreal it is and how interesting it surely would be for young people to come and enjoy it. It is our task to make them aware of this being a real option.. Also, I believe all other parts of our country have a really good potential to offer tourism solutions for this group of people. I enjoyed my 2 days in Dubrovnik, only could wish that it lasted longer...

8. And finally, finally, will we be seeing you at Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2021?

Yes, indeed! After the great energy of Dubrovnik, it is great to see the DN opportunity being featured in Zagreb. I think Zagreb is a fantastic destination for digital nomads, and there is plenty to see and do. Of course Hrvatski Telekom will be involved in Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2021. We are happy to support such great initiatives.

About Nikolina Pejovic:

I really got to know our customers and their needs by career-wise growing gradually through the company, starting with my first student jobs in our shops to today being the Proposition Management Expert and creating products for HT. I started working while I was an undergraduate student and keeping to the mantra that you learn every day I’m presently a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb. In my free time, I am interested in improving the education system, which I am helping with as a member of the Board for quality management of education at the University of Zagreb and member of the Community for the promotion of intellectual capital at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about Zagreb Digital Nomad Week 2021 & Digital Nomad Ambassador Project, visit the Saltwater Nomads website.

For more news and features on digital nomads in Croatia, follow the dedicated TCN section. 

June 10, 2021 - Another Hajduk fan campaign has launched after the successful signing of Marko Livaja. Perišić, it's time! 

After the incredible fan energy that went into Marko Livaja staying at Hajduk for another three years, fans of the Split club are embarking on a new campaign, reports Gol.hr.

The Hajduk Zagreb Society of Friends has launched an initiative on its Facebook page to bring back Ivan Perišić to Hajduk.

"After Livaja, it's time for a new action: #Perišićuvrimeje (#Perišićitstime). Inter has financial problems, and we have a great desire for Perišić to return and, just like Livaja did this year, to play for the Hajduk senior team finally.

You won the Champions League; you were the champion of Germany with both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern; you recently conquered Italy by winning the Scudetto with Inter. Where are you going?

Get rid of the contract with Inter, arrange an amicable termination and return home. The whole of Dalmatia is waiting for you, and we on the continent, there are a lot of us, thank God," DPH Zagreb said.  

Perišić has a contract with Inter for another year, until June 30, 2022, but as Hajduk fans claim, the Nerazzurri have financial difficulties. After all, coach Antonio Conte recently turned them down just after winning the title because he was not on the same wavelength as the club's leaders regarding sports policy, i.e., transfers. The Chinese owners have announced cost-cutting and debt relief, and Conte wanted an extra step forward and new reinforcements to make Inter as competitive as possible in the Champions League.

Recently, Perišić was in Split with Livaja at the Hajduk juniors match when they celebrated the title. He did not make any statements, but the very arrival at the junior game ignited the imagination of the fans so that they could watch them both at Poljud in the upcoming season.

How things will develop, we will see in the coming weeks. Until a few months ago, it seemed impossible for Livaja to return to Hajduk at this stage of his career and look at what happened! 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

To learn more about sport in Croatia, CLICK HERE. 

June 10, 2021 - German and Swiss tourists in Croatia can now visit without restriction upon returning home, which is a great sign for tourism on the Croatian coast. 

Slobodna Dalmacija reports that the best news for the Croatian tourism sector in the last two years came from Germany and Switzerland. After the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention last week removed the entire Croatian coast from the red epidemiological zone and placed it in the yellow zone, the German state epidemiological institute Robert Koch removed Croatia from the list of high-risk areas on Monday.

Moreover, Split-Dalmatia County, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Istria County, Karlovac County, Krapina-Zagorje County, and Požega-Slavonia County entered the green zone of this prestigious institute. The whole of Croatia was removed from the list of epidemiologically high-risk countries on Tuesday by Switzerland, with the abolition of all restrictions on completely vaccinated persons, persons who have recovered from Covid-19, but also those who have not been vaccinated or have recovered from Covid, but travel by land.

Since the ECDC map, like the opinion of the German Robert Koch Institute, is considered the most relevant indicator of destination safety for European tourists, the door to a successful season in Croatia in early June is wide open to all Europeans, who no longer have to isolate themselves after returning from the Adriatic. This is the best confirmation that the epidemiological situation is the only criterion that will determine the success of the season and that the effort of reaching the "green" in some regions pays off.

"Given the current epidemiological situation as well as the forecasts for the coming weeks, and if something unforeseen does not happen in the next period, the overall result of the season could be significantly better than last year, but still below the record 2019. What is crucial is that we ensure a quality epidemiological situation for as long as possible, preferably to be "green" at least until October," said Veljko Ostojić, director of the Croatian Tourism Association.

How important it is for Croatia to be in the green zone of epidemiological safety in Germany is shown by the fact that 1.5 million Germans arrived during last year's Covid season while we were in the green zone, so even better numbers can be expected this year.

Croatian tourism partners from Germany welcomed three Adriatic counties in the green zone with great pleasure, which is why the airlines will certainly strengthen their routes to Split and Dubrovnik. Thus, Split Airport already has 30 confirmed airlines in June, with the expected 80,000 passengers.

Eight regular lines have been announced to Germany, seven to France, five to Poland, four to Great Britain, three to Switzerland, two to Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, and one to Serbia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Italy, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Ukraine, Latvia, and Denmark.

In addition to many airlines already operating to Split, Aeroflot from Moscow, Air France from Paris, Iberia from Madrid, British Airways from London, Luxair from Luxembourg, Ryanair from Dublin, Edelweiss from Zurich returned to Split Airport, Ukraine International and Windrose from Kyiv resumes in early June. Last weekend alone, 70 flights landed on regular routes, and 8,000 passengers passed through Split Airport.

"At the moment, bookings for July, August, and September are excellent. For some types of accommodation facilities, it is even at the level of 2019. We are already seeing a much fiercer market competition, considering that we are no longer the only Mediterranean country that can achieve significant international tourist traffic in such epidemiological conditions this year. The whole main season is ahead of us, and we must be careful not to repeat the mistakes of last year," warns Ostojic.

"Croatia is primarily a car destination, which is why it is logical that guests from key markets first visit Istria and Kvarner and Zadar County. As for our southern destinations, we expect a larger influx of guests after June 15, i.e., from the beginning of July, when over 180 airlines from our most important markets start operating. We are especially looking forward to direct flights from the USA to Dubrovnik," said Kristjan Staničić, director of the Croatian National Tourist Board.

For all you need to know about coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel, border, and quarantine rules, as well as the locations of testing centers and vaccination points across the country, make sure to bookmark our dedicated COVID-19 section and choose your preferred language.

Follow the latest travel updates and COVID-19 news from Croatia HERE.

For more on travel in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

June 10, 2021 - The gymnastics spectacle in Osijek can begin! Everything is ready for the 12th edition of the DOBRO World Cup in gymnastics, which will host 140 athletes from 31 countries from Wednesday to Sunday (June 10-13) in the Gradski vrt hall.

"We have some more small details to finish, but in general everything is ready, most teams came, stayed in hotels, accredited, passed all the COVID procedures that we received from the World Gymnastics Federation and all those epidemiological measures that are currently in force in the Republic of Croatia. The hall and the whole production are 99% ready. We are all looking forward to the start of the competition. The figure of 31 countries is one of the best in terms of attendance at gymnastics competitions in the world this year. 140 competitors are coming. We also have a lot of those who are interested in the highest medals at the Olympic Games because Osijek is the last international stage in the preparations for the Olympics in Tokyo, so the competition will be very interesting for Tin, Aurel, Jakov, Filip Ude, our girls ... very interesting to follow the outcome of this competition. However, we as the Croatia national team also expect a lot from the DOBRO World Cup. It is no secret that we are expecting podiums, and all our national team members will want to show themselves in the best world at home," announced the director of the competition and vice-president of the Croatian Gymnastics Association, Vladimir Mađarević.

Slobodan Kadic

Let us remind you that Croatia has won as many as 30 medals in Osijek since 2009.

At this year's tournament, the Croatia national team will consist of Tin Srbić (horizontal bar), Aurel Benović (floor and vault), Filip Ude (pommel horse), Jakov Vlahek (pommel horse), Filip Boroša (floor), Ana Đerek (floor and beam), Tijana Korent (vault), Christina Zwicker (beam and uneven bars) and Sara Šulekić (uneven bars).

All of them attended the last press conference today before the start of tomorrow's competition. On Thursday at 3 pm, Benović and Boroša on the floor, Ude and Vlahek on the pommel horse, Korent on a vault, and Zwicker and Šulekić on uneven bars will be in the qualifications. On Friday, Srbić will be on the hunt for the finals, Benović on the vault, Zwicker on the beam, and Đerek on the beam and the floor.

Tin Srbić (gold in Osijek 2017 and 2018, bronze 2016):
"I am ready for my last check before going to the Olympics in Tokyo. I'm in great shape, we're training great. If I have to go to the Olympics tomorrow, I'm ready! Osijek will be a simulation of Tokyo for me, an exercise that I will do here, 6.2, I will also do in Tokyo. I hope to qualify for the finals so that I can try out the 6.5 exercise we are training to be ready for the Tokyo finals, which I hope. I didn’t watch the competition here. There are no strongest who will be in Tokyo. There is last year's European champion Tvorogal, but I do not see this "defeat" in Mersin as something big since I did not consider the EP very important given the whole epidemiological situation, the number of countries that came, and the trial there. I don't bother with that. I know I'm better than him. I’m not saying he’ll never beat me because I can screw up too, but if we both do the exercises, I’ll always be better than him. He’s definitely a big competitor, he does great exercises, but I repeat, if we both do ours, I’m realistically better. I have had back problems for a long time, it has been worse in recent weeks, but it is getting better. Yesterday I did exercise 6.2. I didn't think it would go this much better, but it is going."

Slobodan Kadic

Aurel Benović:
"I am not under pressure to perform in my city. I’m sorry there shouldn’t be an audience in the hall this year, but I hope that as early as next year, the fans will refill the City Garden. I expect a good performance, I am sure that none of us members of the Croatia national team will let down all those who will watch us on small screens thanks to the broadcast of HRT. I am happy that I won gold at the World Cup in Varna ten days ago with my strongest exercise. I hope that I will be able to do the same in Osijek. I didn’t study the competition, I just heard it was going to be strong, like every year. I was happy when I heard that Artem Dolgopjat had come, I look forward to meeting him again. He beat me at the EP last year, I beat him now in Varna. We will see how it will be in Osijek. The legendary Marian Dragulescu is also here, I am honored to perform with him. He is a gymnastic icon. Still, at 41, he shows that he can still perform challenging acrobatics and difficult elements on the jump. I will also perform on the vault and I will be honored to stand next to him."

Filip Ude (gold in Osijek 2014, bronze 2010 and 2013):
"I am and I am not ready. I’m not in the shape I wanted to be in, due to a shoulder injury, but in the last 2 weeks, I’ve done my best to make it OK. We are already used to Osijek being our competition, that our people can see us there and I am glad that it is so. I hope that one day a world or European championship will come to Croatia. I have not studied competition in Osijek, I never do that, I do not fight with anyone, it is not martial arts or some contact team sport. This is more of a mental sport. If you don't beat yourself, unfortunately, you won't beat anyone."

Slobodan Kadic

Ana Đerek (gold in Osijek 2019):
"For me, this is the last competition before going to the Olympics in Tokyo, which is only a few weeks away, so I am in good shape. I’ve been doing my best in training lately, because Tokyo is close, but also because this World Cup means the most to me. I trained well, and I hope that the results will follow. About 10 days ago we were at the World Cup in Varna, I competed for 4 days, I won 2 finals, I know physically that I am in shape, but you know how it is in sports, it takes a little luck to get to the finals, and then whatever. I had a small accident before coming here, from one state to another, I traveled from Split to Osijek for 2 days. Namely, before Zagreb, the tire on our car burst, we crossed a metal part that was on the road and cut our tire. Fortunately, neither I nor coach Miroslav Končarević had any other issues. But while the towing service came to pick us up, while they took us to the service station, so they didn't have tires ... My coach is still in Zagreb waiting for the tires, and I came to Osijek with the Zagreb team. But nothing rattled me before the performance. It wasn't that scary. I’m more sorry we’re going to perform without spectators this year. The audience is the No. 1 favorite thing of this World Cup. They are something special. But everything is going in the direction that we will soon return to normal life."

Slobodan Kadic

Tijana Korent (silver in Osijek 2009, bronze 2010):
"Given that in Varna 10 days ago the final escaped me by 0.001 points, which is partly discouraging, I hope that I will make up for that crumb in this competition and that I will fight in the final on Saturday. I have silver and bronze from Osijek, I would not complain about completing medals ... But, considering the competition here, it will be difficult. Although, when you’re in the finals there’s always that factor that we all often forget, and that’s luck. It's not all about training. We can be in great shape, but if just a little bit of luck is missing, it doesn't have to turn out well."

Christina Zwicker:
"I'm ready. I don't have too many goals in terms of results, just to do both exercises the way I know how to train. The competition here, thank God, is very strong. However, the Games are at the door and everyone came here, and there is always a perfect organization, hall, everything, so it is clear to me why all the best always come to Osijek. It's simple, everyone here feels perfect."

Sara Šulekić:
"I don't have any additional anxiety. Although I am still a junior by age, this will be my third competition in a row among the "big girls" and I am slowly adjusting. I hope that I will be able to perform my exercise the way we do in training, and that is the only thing that matters to me here for the first time."

Slobodan Kadic

Jakov Vlahek:
“Just three days ago, I landed from Egypt where I won silver at the World Cup in Cairo, but honestly, I’m not tired. I have been waiting for five years to get the opportunity to perform in Osijek and I am really happy to be here. I hope that I will be able to repeat the good performances from Cairo."

Filip Boroša:
"First of all, it is a great honor for me to be part of the Croatia national team in Osijek and to have the opportunity to perform here for the first time. I am sure that each of us on the team will do our best not to disappoint and to justify our colors."

The ceremonial opening of the competition is on the program on Saturday at 12.45, and both final days, will be live broadcasts from Osijek on HRT 2.

Follow the Livescore results at the link https://osijekgym.com/rezultati/

All information about the DOBRO World Cup can be found at the link http://osijekgym.com/

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