Why do Croatians love football?

How small is Croatia? The country covers an area of ??just over 50,000 square kilometers, and its population is even more pitifully small, only 4.17 million.

If placed in China, let alone comparing with provincial capital cities, even among all cities in the country, this population does not rank among the top 100, and is slightly smaller than the population of Chaoyang District in Beijing. A little more.

However, such an inconspicuous small country is an out-and-out football power. In the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the Croatian team reached the final in overtime and penalty kicks, but was ultimately defeated. France finished second in the World Cup.

Now, the Croatian team has made a comeback and eliminated the Japanese team in the top 16 on penalty kicks. In the early morning of December 10, it eliminated the powerful Brazilian team on penalty kicks and entered the top four. The Grid Army is getting closer and closer to the Hercules Cup again... How did this country with a population of just over 4 million cultivate such strong football players? What is the secret behind Croatian football success? The answer to the question of the inheritance of passion is complex. In the final analysis, it stems from Croatia’s social tradition and value tradition.

Nebojsa Koharovic, Croatian Ambassador to China, said in an interview with the media, “In our tradition, it is difficult to imagine that young people will not participate in a certain sport. For boys This is especially true for Croatian football, which has been formed since the Middle Ages.

Croatian sports journalist Mihowel Tobic said: "I don't think there is a model behind it.

There are many reasons to explain this achievement, but the 'Croatian model 'It's not one of them. I believe genetics play a big role. People in this country are very strong genetically and very talented for football,' Tobic said, pointing out that climbing the ladder of success in Croatia is very difficult. Exercise is one of the shortcuts.

This is also related to Croatia’s social traditions and cultural habits. Croatians are better at sports that require improvisation, such as ball games such as football, basketball, handball, water polo and tennis, rather than sports that require persistence and repetition, such as gymnastics. In Croatia, it is often said that there are three topics on which men are considered polite to chat: politics, women and, of course, football.

There is an old joke that there are only three important things in the world: disease, war, and football. Compared with China, Croatia pays more attention to sports, which can be reflected in education and social attention. Youth training system originated from the former Yugoslavia Croatia's youth training system has not been outstanding among European countries, its football infrastructure is also relatively backward, and the Football Association has no clear youth training development plan. Among the 20 provinces in Croatia, 12 have no artificial turf football fields and the infrastructure is very inadequate. Even in the capital Zagreb, at clubs that produce great players, the conditions in the dressing rooms are not great.

But every League One club has a dedicated youth training camp. The youth training camp is full almost every day, and parents also encourage their children to participate in sports from an early age. In order to develop the sport of football, the country's government has built football training venues in every community and town, and requires children to receive 20 hours of football training every week. In most Croatian clubs, the monthly training fee for a child is about 200 kuna (about 200 yuan).

In Dinamo Zagreb, children do not have to pay fees. The club will provide training facilities and pay for travel and match accommodation.

Romero Rujak, the former head of the youth training development program of the Croatian Football Association, said: "Croatia's original golden generation originated from the youth training system of the former Yugoslavia. In 1987, they won the U20 championship in Chile. World Cup champion, defeating teams of the same age in Brazil and West Germany. "Four years later, Yugoslavia disintegrated, but the Croatian stars who separated from it gradually matured, such as Suker, Boban, Prosineski, Jarni and others. Reaching the semi-finals and finishing third in the 1998 World Cup also planted the seeds for Croatia's glory again 20 years later. .