November 11, 2020 - Croatia national team player Domagoj Vida played coronavirus-infected in the friendly match between Croatia and Turkey on Thursday evening, which ended 3:3.

On Thursday, we will find out what the further procedure is and whether this situation will affect the Nations League matches this Saturday against Sweden and Tuesday against Portugal.

We are transmitting the HNS press release in its entirety:

"Immediately after midnight local time in Istanbul, the Croatia national football team's medical service received the SARS-CoV-2 virus test results, among which was a positive result among the players.

After all the players and staff members were negative in the regular test for the match against Turkey on Monday, the regular test for the match against Sweden was done on Wednesday morning. HNS received the official test results after midnight local time, which showed that national team member Domagoj Vida is positive for coronavirus.

The Croatia national team's medical service received initial information at the end of halftime that there was one potentially positive result. This is a common test procedure, and a questionable result is retested to confirm the result.

At that time, coach Zlatko Dalic had already decided to substitute Vida. The national team's medical service isolated Vida according to all epidemiological measures until the confirmation of the test results.

Vida will spend the next few days in self-isolation in Istanbul following regulations.

All other national team members and staff members, who tested negative, will travel to Stockholm. It is taken into account that the national team complied with all epidemiological measures, following UEFA's Return to Play protocol.

In addition to Vida, one member of the HNS delegation was also positive, and was not in contact with national team members or staff members."

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

For Croatian footballers, the winter transfer period promised significant things. Domagoj Vida was meant to go to an ‘Italian Giant’, Ivan Perišić was to live his dream in the Premier League, and the story of Nikola Kalinić was as up and down as ever. In the end, however, only a few Croatian footballers managed to secure deals that have them switching clubs in the middle of the season. 

After all the talk and media speculation, here is what really happened in this winter transfer window, as reported by T.portal on February 1, 2019. 

Ivan Perišić

Perhaps the biggest disappointment is felt by Ivan Perišić, who failed to achieve his dream to play in the English Premier League after his transfer to Arsenal (if there was a contract on the table at all) fell through. Perišić has hit the bottom of the barrel for Inter Milan fans, who whistled at Perišić in the last game against Lazio. 

Because Perišić was not shy about showing his desire to leave the Serie A club, restoring confidence in the fans won’t be easy - and he is currently in disagreement with coach Luciano Spalletti, who even benched him against Lazio. 

Domagoj Vida

Croatian defender Domagoj Vida was very close to a transfer from Turkish club Beşiktaş to Roma, though no agreement was made. The 29-year-old defender showed no remorse, and instead took to his Instagram to show his love to the Turkish club.

“I am privileged to be coveted by several well-respected European clubs, but I am also very grateful and thankful to the president @forman1903 and club management for seeing me as an important part of @besiktas. Together with my family, I feel very welcomed and respected here in Turkey and I am looking forward to fighting for Black Eagles and our fans.”

Nikola Kalinić

Nikola Kalinić’s departure from Atletico Madrid after only half a year was also expected, as Alvaro Morata left Chelsea to join the club. Atletico coach Diego Simeone decided to keep Kalinić in the end, although the forward saw the interest of Valencia, Schalke, and Tottenham. The question, however, is just how good staying at Atletico is for Kalinić, as he could see far less playing time in the spring season. 

Šime Vrsaljko

There were even talks about Croatian defender Šime Vrsaljako returning to Atletico Madrid from Inter Milan, though he awaits an upcoming knee operation and should see a long recovery in 2019.

Marko Rog

There are some happy endings to the winter transfer window, and Marko Rog is one of them. The 23-year-old has agreed to leave Napoli and head to Sevilla on loan until the end of the season. While the first news from the transfer reported that Sevilla would have the option to buy the Croatian for some 20 million euros once the loan is complete, we’ve learned that Rog will return to his carer in Naples in June. The good news is that Rog should see more playing time at Sevilla than  Napoli, which should also help his chances of falling in favor with Croatia coach Zlatko Dalić, too. 

Alen Halilović

Alen Halilović managed to secure a deal in the final minutes of the transfer window, which will see him go on loan from Milan to Belgian club Standard Liège. It is undoubtedly a good move for the 22-year-old who has long been without continuous performances in competitive games. 

Franko Andrijašević

Former top player of the Croatian First League, Franko Andrijašević, has also managed a successful move from Gent to Waasland-Beveren, where he will play on loan. 

Lovre Kalinić

Former Hajduk goalkeeper and current first keeper of the Croatia national team Lovre Kalinić has left Gent to continue his career at Aston Villa, who play in the second tier of the English football league system - the Championship. 

Croatian First League transfers

Perhaps the most powerful signing in Croatia was by young Hajduk midfielder Ante Palaversa who agreed with Manchester City for just over six million euro, while Dinamo’s Mario Budimir has gone to Persepolis. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

Apart from his footballing skills and crucial role on the Croatia national team at the World Cup this summer, Domagoj Vida has used his cleverness off the pitch to embark on a rather unusual business venture, reports 24 Sata on December 17, 2018. 

In contrast to the multi-million dollar manicured football pitches Domagoj Vida uses as the base of his everyday job, the famous footballer is building an entirely new career in parallel - though it's a bit muddier, and not in the glamorous cities of Paris, Moscow, or London. Namely, Domagoj Vida is opening a black Slavonian pig farm in his hometown of Donji Miholjac.

“I open the company on January 1st. One Zagreb company has made the entire program, I have people running the jobs, taking care of everything. It is focused on the indigenous black pig. So far I have 200, and I plan to have 500 of them next year. I have several restaurants that buy meat from me and know that it is fresh. It is a good business,” says Vida.

Vida’s offer of sausages, kulen and ‘kulen’s sister’, ham, čvarci and pork fat can be found on Facebook - and a few Austrians from Vienna are his regular customers! 

When Vida completes his professional football career, he plans to return to his Miholjac.

“They say I'm crazy about coming back here to live because the situation is not great, but I hope that better days will come, not just for Slavonia, but for Croatia in general. My wife Ivana would love to live in Zagreb, but in the end, we will decide together.”

At the moment, Domagoj, Ivana, and their three-year-old son David are in Istanbul. You might remember the beautiful blue-eyed toddler running around the pitch after Croatia knocked England out in the semis. 

“He and my wife give me strength. When we lost France, as soon as I saw him, I was better. Ivana and David have helped me overcome this defeat,” said the rather quiet and somewhat reserved Domagoj.

"I'm a man of the people, from a village, I do not like being in the newspapers, it's not for me.” 

Where has Vida stored his World Cup silver medal?

“It is in Miholjac, in the safe. I'm building a house, so I'll make a special space for it where I'll keep all the sports trophies, awards, jerseys... It would be like a small sports museum, a reminder once I finish my career.”

Vida started collecting jerseys several years ago and already has a rich collection, with some huge names.

“I traded jerseys with Iniesta at the 2016 Euro in Bordeaux. But I do not order jerseys. For example, I don’t tell Luka Modrić to bring me a jersey from Cristiano Ronaldo. I only collect them if I played against the team.”

But does he have a Ronaldo jersey?

“No. And I do not have any of France's from the World Cup final. I did not want to exchange it. This is the jersey I played with, and I did not want to give it to anyone,” Domagoj said.

But one unique story we didn’t hear about the World Cup until now is the brilliant gesture of Lionel Messi to the Croatia national team.

“Messi sent us 30 jerseys through Rakitić with his signature. For the whole national team. He liked how much heart we had. He thought we played the best football at the World Cup. Well, now I have Messi too,” Vida added. The Argentinian sent the 30 jerseys after Croatia defeated Iceland and thus opened the possibility for Argentina to pass the group.

Vida said that he thinks about Croatia’s experience in Russia and the grand welcome on Croatian soil every day. 

“Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the welcome home, the madness in the streets... Seven hours we traveled from the airport to Ban Josip Jelačić Square. When will this be repeated? God, let it be repeated, but I doubt,” Vida said.

He was just one of Croatia's heroes, the Croatian "Brave Heart", as the fans called him. First to the pitch, and first to the party. 

“I’m sorry about that, I'm from Miholjac, whoever loves me, loves me, and who does not like me, who cares! The song is part of me; I like to start and sing whenever there is a celebration, that's in me. While I was a boy, I was singing on the street, whenever we'd come back from school, ten of us would sing in the house from boredom.”

Vida’s thoughts on Dalić?

“The coach is like our father. He likes to listen to our advice, and in the end, he is the leader and decides. The welcome reception back in Croatia was phenomenal. Even now when I am having a bad day, I watch the recordings, the goals, the games... I was dreaming. Although, it still seems unreal that we are second in the world."

And even in a country like Turkey, with 80 million people, Croatia’s success can be felt.

“They look at me differently. And when our tennis players won the Davis Cup, even then it wasn’t clear to them. They wonder how we could achieve such results, with just four million of us. Nothing is clear to them.”

The qualifications for the European Championship in 2020 begin soon, though the team will be without Mario Mandžukić, Vedran Ćorluka, and Danijel Subašić.

“There are not even in the WhatsApp group, as we just made a new group for the upcoming qualifications. It’s a shame, I'm sorry. But we have new kids who are great,” said Vida.

Is Nikola Kalinic in the group?

“He’s not,” Domagoj added.

It is still not the end of the season in Turkey, which makes it hard to come back to Croatia. Although, the year was long, very long.

“I’m tired; I'm drained. I cannot wait to get home - my wife and the little one have already left.” 

And the little three-year-old David is already showing interest in football, just like his grandfather and father.

“He worships Mandžukić and Modrić. There was chemistry between those three in Russia. He always asks for them. He is not shy; he plays with everyone.”

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page. 

Translated from 24 Sata 

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