January 27, 2020 - Thousands of handball fans and Croatian citizens gathered at Ban Jelacic Square in Zagreb on Monday to welcome the Croatia handball team after taking the silver medal at the 2020 European Championship.
After a surprise welcome at Zagreb Airport, where 500 fans gathered to greet the team at 1 am, the party continued to the capital’s central square on Monday, where a reception was held for the Croatia handball team to congratulate them on a job well done at the 2020 European Championship.
Just after 12:30 pm, the team was announced on stage, followed by the coach and crucial members of the staff and federation.
Coach Lino Cervar was the first to address the crowd.
"Dear citizens of Zagreb, I am proud to have led our team with passion and immense love. I am grateful to all the generations and this team that has shown incredible unity. I look forward to seeing many children and many young people here. That's why I say, parents guide your children and help them when it is difficult for them. And I also ask the children for their endless gratitude to their parents so that you can say thank you to them. No one will take away our family, as the family is the cradle of life. And these guys showed how to fight when it's the hardest.
I wanted to say something else.
We have fewer and fewer children in our country. That is why we need communion, every day. To go into the future, universal values must be respected, namely truth, righteousness and love."
Igor Karacic, a member of the All-star team at the Euro, was the next to take the microphone.
“This is beautiful. I think that in these 20 days we delighted our people, and it was wonderful to be a Croat in those moments. It’s a shame that we just missed it, but when we see these people, we are happy and we can move forward. The worse team didn’t lose, but that’s sport. We were all together, as one, and the team breathed like a family,” said Karacic.
"I'm not a talker like Lino, but I’m sorry that we made you guys so nervous. Thank you on behalf of the whole team. We hope this is not the last reception,” the MVP of the European Championship and Croatia captain Domagoj Duvnjak concluded.
You can watch the reception in its entirety below.
Source: HRT
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