Matches were played, but it seems that other controversies not related with competition itself are the issues getting the attention, so we bring you the highlights of Croatian sport for the second week of March
The week started with controversies regarding the list of players for Croatian Football National Team. Coach Čačić announced it on Monday, March 7, 2016, and it caused many comments by fans and the media. It is a widespread opinion that Čačić is influenced by Zdravko Mamić when picking players for the national team, and the fact that he picked Dinamo’s captain Domagoj Antolić, favoring him to some players in better form, like Mario Pašalić, Marin Tomasov, and Mijo Caktaš did not help his cause. One more to raise eyebrows was him not inviting young Tin Jedvaj, a starter for Bayer Leverkusen, a sure future star of Croatian football.
Ivica Olić poured some more oil on this fiery issue, refusing to play the friendly game against Israel, as he feels there is no respect for him by the national coach and CFF Officials. We wrote about the fact that Olić is not the first player raising this matter after retiring from the team, and we wondered if it is finally time for someone who is still a member of the national team to stand up to the officials.
There was some good news too, as Pula is likely to get a public swimming pool after many years of mere talk and no action, and we introduced CroRun project and Tour of Croatia cycling races, both starting in a few weeks time, promoting both sport and tourism alike. By the courtesy of CroatianSports.com, we also brought you the interview with Croatian NBA rookie Mario Hezonja.
Probably the best highlight of the week was staged in Split, where more than 3000 fans attended the female handball match between Croatia and Montenegro, showing that both the city of Split and the region of Dalmatia are desperate to see more of Croatia’s national teams playing there. Croatian team won and is close to qualifying for the European Championship.
Unfortunately, we’re back to Croatian football; CFF refused Hajduk’s demand to introduce foreign referees for semifinal Cup games, with CFF refereeing board addressing the public with a cynical statement. Once again, it proved the Hajduk’s supporters case that thorough changes are necessary when it comes to the way CFF is ruled. In the end of the week, Hajduk announced that it has enrolled more than 30K members this year, an event to be remembered in Croatian sports history. An additional note on that subject, nuber of members is already over 31K today.
One can only hope this will be a starting point for all the sports lovers in Croatia to get more involved, as it is not looking good at the moment, with many sports officials caring more about their own well being, than the sport itself. And since even the Minister does not see a big problem in some of those officials blatantly ignoring state laws, maybe it is time for people involved in sport to realise that it is up to them to change things, and t to keep looking the other way.
