In my opinion, the World Cup is about love, deep and inviolable love, and a sense of belonging to one's country and one's people. My homeland is Croatia, and I watched the recent World Cup quarter-final match, Croatia-Brazil, in an English pub. I came there with my friend Bruno. Bruno is a Paris born Croat with roots from one Croatian island that he feels deeply, and his love for Croatia is part of what connects us in our strong friendship.
Shortly after the two of us arrived at the pub, Bruno's niece Eva joined us with two friends, one of whom was Brazilian. Eva is the second generation of our emigrants to France, but her patriotism and attachment to Croatia is truly touching. At the beginning the pub was empty, but soon after the start of the match the room was filled. It was obvious that some of the people around us were Brazilians, but it was only after the first goal for Brazil was scored and a thunderous shout from the fans rang out, that and we realized that we were surrounded by Brazilians. When the Croatian equalizing goal was scored, Eva jumped into the air, screamed her heart out and hugged me tightly with laughter and exclamations. Her happiness touched me deeply, almost as much as the tying Croatian goal that turned the tide of the game.
Sometime after that goal, Bruno approached the next table of Brazilian fans and offered them a drink. At that time, it was not yet known that Croatia would win. Bruno's gesture seemed very classy to me, and I congratulated him on it. When the match ended with our victory, the Brazilians returned the same gesture and honoured us all. But they were not the only ones, the pub staff also treated us to a drink. We stayed in the pub for a while longer, cheerful, and happy.
Croatia is in the semi-finals of the World Cup and on this occasion, I congratulate all our footballers, and send a kiss from Cambridge to goalkeeper Dominik Livaković.
Love,
Kristina
Sunday, December 11th, 2022
O čemu je Svjetsko nogometno prvenstvo?
Po meni, Svjetsko nogometno prvenstvo je o ljubavi, dubokoj i neprikosnovenoj ljubavi i osjećaju pripadnosti prema svojoj zemlji i svom narodu. Moja je domovina Hrvatska i ja sam nedavnu utakmicu četvrtine finala Svjetskog kupa, Hrvatska- Brazil, gledala u jednom engleskom pubu. Došla sam tamo u društvu svog prijatelja Brune. Bruno je rođeni Parižanin, sa korijenima iz Hrvatske koje duboko osjeća i njegova je ljubav prema Hrvatskoj jedan od segmenata koje povezuje nase čvrsto prijateljstvo.
Nedugo nakon što smo došli u pub nas dvoje, pridružila nam se i Brunina nećakinja Eva sa dvije prijateljice, od kojih je jedna bila Brazilka. Eva je druga generacija naših iseljenika u Francusku, ali njezin patriotizam i privrženost Hrvatskoj je istinski dirljiv. Na početku je pub bio prazan i uskoro nakon početka utakmice sve se popunilo. Bilo je očito da su neki od ljudi iz našeg okruženja bili Brazilci, ali tek nakon što je pao prvi gol za Brazil, odjeknuo je gromaglasan navijački usklik i shvatli smo da smo u okruženju Brazilaca, nas šacica hrvatskih navijača. Kad je pao hrvatski gol izjednačenja Eva je skočila u zrak i zavrištala od srće i nije prestala. I ja sam ustala, a Eva mi je prišla i čvrsto me grlila uz smijeh i poklike. Njezina me sreća beskrajno taknula, gotovo jednako kao izjednačujući hrvatski gol koji je preokrenuo tijek utakmice.
Negdje nakon tog gola Bruno je prišao susjednom stolu brazilskih navijača i ponudio im piće. Tad se još nije znalo da ce Hrvatska pobijediti. Meni se ta Brunina gesta učinila vrlo gospodska i čestitala sam Bruni na njoj. Kad je utakmica završila našom pobjedom Brazilci su nam vratli istom gestom i sve nas počastili. No, nisu samo oni i osoblje puba nas je također počastilo pićem. Ostali smo u pubu još neko vrijeme, veseli i sretni.
Hrvatska je u polufinalu svjetskog kupa i ovom prilikom čestitam svim našim nogometašima, a golmanu Dominiku Livakoviću šaljem poljubac iz Cambridgea.
S ljubavlju,
Kristina
Nedelja, 11. prosinca 2022.
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