I thought this was interesting. So what are your thoughts? Is this just more crap from the Australian media or what? Interested in what the Aussie Cros think since many keep mentioning up and coming Aus-Cro talent....


http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2008/07/10/1215658044311.html?feed=fairfaxdigitalxml

 

Another article, this is a 2 pager....

Sydney club helps to poach talent for Croatia

Sebastian Hassett
July 11, 2008
Page 1 of 2 | Single page

ON THE sidelines of a suburban Sydney football pitch stands one of the most powerful men in Croatian football. Ivan Brlekovic, vice-president of the Croatian Football Federation, has been lured to Edensor Park, home of Sydney United, with the promise of the freedom to pick out some of Australia's best young talent...........

http://www.smh.com.au/news/football...all/sydney-club-helps-to-poach-talent-for-croatia/2008/07/10/1215658037280.html

 

This makes me proud. I wish more Australian-Croatian youngsters would prefer to play for Croatia. They probably will turn their backs on Australia once Croatia is in the EU...

 

:thumbsup:

I wouldn't think twice if an offer came.

The inaugural National Youth League starts this season so that might freeze up some of the youngsters going abroad.

 

I am all for this. The legalities of the situation IMO are on the side of Sydney United. Player transfers from one league to another are something which is a given in professional football. The fact that the most promising will be going to HNL, much like Viduka did, doesnt automatically mean that they will be playing for the Vatreni. If they are good enough, they have a passport, and they love Croatia more than Australia (which I have no question in my mind about) then, we have a Croatian club in Australia, developing young players for the Vatreni

Simple.

 

^^^I guess it helps when the clubs gaffer's name is Branko Culina.

 

From SMH:

One man who wasn't overlooked by the Olyroos, Matthew Spiranovic, faced a similar decision between the two nations before ultimately picking Australia.

Wasn't this guy sent home by Dinamo after a short time a few years ago? I know he's in Nürnberg now... Do you Aussie boys think he would have been a candidate for our NT if he hadn't choosen AUS?

On transfermarkt it says he also has a English passport, annyone knows why?

 

From SMH:




Wasn't this guy sent home by Dinamo after a short time a few years ago? I know he's in Nürnberg now... Do you Aussie boys think he would have been a candidate for our NT if he hadn't choosen AUS?

On transfermarkt it says he also has a English passport, annyone knows why?

No I don't think he ever visited dianmo.
His father was born in England or lived there from and early age if I remember correctly.

 

Daniel Visevic has been released looks like by Dinamo (not certain, but if he won't be playing for Lokomotiva next season it doesn't look good for him) while Mate Dugandzic stays with Lokomotiva. These are both Aussies who came to Dinamo last winter

 

Nothing dumbfounds me more than when I read how well organized the Aussie's are compared to both Canadian and American Hrvati.

Unreal. I can't believe the crooks running the clubs around here.

Cheersch

 

it used to be well organized but now it seems nobody give a crap anymore..

 

i didnt see what all the fuss was about Visevic, Dugandzic will be a good player

 

Interest has fallen way off since the 1980's... In Vancouver there is only a small cult following of the Croatia team, made up of mostly former players.

 

The Aussies are paranoid, there's really nothing in this story. The HNS delgates were there for the FIFA congress, they paid their respects by visiting both our biggest Croatian backed clubs which is only fair.

Now if one of these kids decides to roll the dice and follow the footsteps of Dzou, that's his choice and nobody, including the Aussie Football Aasic. has the right to deny that to any player.

 

This reaction is due to the issue of Simunic, Seric & Didulica opting to play for Croatia & supposed potential impact given historically the number of players to have represented Aust. of Croatian heritage.

However, times have changed. As the generations move on, the Cro emigre influence in Aust. is slowly fading away. This is a natural course as kids born here to parents born here are not raised up as kids of my generation were by our parents.

Hence the impact on this club. Twenty years ago Syd.Croatia was the biggest soccer club in Aust, first to go professional under the Vedran Rozic era, the unluckiest as the only club to win 3x -1st place minor premierships yet not proclaimed champions due to the lottery semi final process.

With the patriotic ways & popularity in those days, most Croatian dads & sons only ever wanted to play for Syd.Croatia. It's why all junior teams consisted of 99% Croatians & set the platform for talented players eg: at one time half the national youth & senior teams were filled with Croats eg WC06.

Nowdays the club is not what it once was, nor is the platform as all the ex:ethnic clubs participate in a 2nd tier league only to have a fraction of the support they once had. Tako ti je to..

 

Toronto Croatia has been around for 3 generations of Hrvati here in Toronto, and are an envy of many of the other clubs around here.

You're speaking in absolutes without looking at other examples. New York had a fading soccer culture for us, and now they have two clubs. I don't think what you say is entirely true, we'll always be here. I know of many kids who only want to play for the grb, and good on them for it.

Our social structures are strong because that's the only thing that kept us going for a long time without having a country of our own.

To think we'll fade away is an impossibility for me. Here, in America, in Australia across the whole world.

We'll always be here, always for Hrvatska...tako ti je to.

Cheersch

 

The independence of Croatia was also a set back for immigrant communities..it was innevetable.

 

I know what you're saying but this comment could easily be misconstrued..p:smileani:

The need to keep the candle burning diminished once we got independence.

 

I recognise & love the fact Cro's have contributed so much in their
communities around the world. Yes their are social stucture's, yes
their will always be a presence enabling generations to come to
recognise our people's history, contributions & successes.

My point was in context of Sydney, Numbers are down!
Overall interaction across the landscape between the community &
various social/sporting clubs is at an alltime low.
This applies to football attendances(Syd.utd used to avg.7-8K in the
late 80's dwindling to 3-4K come late 90's. Now they get 500 people.
Not to mention social club memberships, Cro church numbers,
Croat language education numbers all down etc.

I see it first hand with friends, colleagues, people I had played with 20
years ago. For most, they certainly all recognise their heritage that is
not in question, however are they as actively involved as their parent's
generation? Definately not.

You can't expect our kids generation to be as nationalistic as our
parents generation. They have been raised in completely different
circumstances not to mention environment.

Ljubuski, as you mentioned we'll always be here, unfortunately not in the same numbers through no fault of anyone, that's life.

 

Pa it's only natural, back then, someone of roughly the same political ideaology would be considered like a brother in arms, working towards the same goal despite other differences.

Now that Cro is independent, you realise how many dickhead Croats there is :tongue:

 

Now that Cro is independent, you realise how many dickhead Croats there is :tongue:

:howler::howler:

 

Well I think you're all wrong.

We've always managed to come to the top, irregardless of the inadequacies of some of the people who call themselves Hrvati.

The Hungarians openly tried to destroy our nationality, and the Yugoslav state couldn't assimilate us off. What makes all you think we'll just go away?

We'll always be here, I don't care, we'll never die.

Glory to Croatia, Bog i Hrvati....etc.

Cheersch

 

Yeah but Ljubuski that was done to Croatians in Hrvatska! You are right, that can never be done to us because Hrvatska(including BiH and other historical regions of Hrvatska) is our homeland and we have more strenght there. Ljubi zemlju svoju povezan si snjom! (MP THOMPSON). But we are talking about Croatians living in the diaspora. Look at all Croats lets say in Pennsylvania who are 4th generation or older, sure some of them know where their great grandparents came from but most are almost fully American assimilated and caker by now. Only small Croatian communities in Austria-Italy and Kosovo(not anymore) resisted assimilation and lived as Croatians for centuries in foreign countries. Notice all those lands were close geographically to Croatia. The longer we live in North America, South America, Australia, etc.... the less we will be Croatian=FACT!

 

Very good point but you are not proven wrong by it.

With each generation the likelyhood of a person choosing Croatia over their "adopted" country is higher, regardless of the mentioned ease of travel and cheap airfares.

Upbringing is very important, so like radman said

Teach your children well!

But most of all, come back to Croatia people, start your life here, have kids here and you never have to worry about asimilating.

Its a hell of a challange but worth it - the road LESS travelled!

 

amen blast. Good call.

 

Our dijaspora is ancient compared to some in America.

We started out there in the late 19th Century and we're one of the best organized in the country.

We're obviously not going to be as fervent as before, but when the time came, 3rd and
4th generation Hrvati were there for Hrvatska.

I think we'll survive, barring too many inter-marriages, for a very, very long time.

You guys are falling for that one world-one people liberal bullsh.it, that hates us and the notion we're different. They've done a good job assimilating so many, but they can never get all.

How did Radic say it again? 'You may get the Slovenes, maybe the Serbs too...but you'll never get the Croats."

Cheersch

 

Every Croat just has to make sure that their children know their history, land, and people and we'll always exist.

If I get married and my wife gets pregnant here in America, I'll buy the first tickets to Zagreb and then straight to Imotski for a little 9 month vacation.

p

 

Just remember one thing.

Ethno-linguistic ties have always been stronger than any political convention ever created. It happened to the Soviet Union, and it's even happened with the context of Christianity, the Roman Empire, France, and many, many other places.

Professions of allegiance can be changed easily but one's language, ways of life, history and blood can not.

Even Samuel Huntington is warning America that what's happening there now, can disintegrate the very notion of 'America'. If the elitists of the United States go so far as to say this, then if anything the prospects of the Croatian people surviving across the world is very good.

Cheersch

 

marrying Croatian girls? you have to be a millionaire I'm afriad (I'm talking about the ones in USA at least). They don't care how the **** you look like, as long as you can buy them 100 shoes and other silly things you should be fine....

 

Is that everywhere or just NJ?

 

probably just here in NJ/NY

 

amen for the dumb ones

 

To look at our future look no further than the South Americans. When the immigration stops or slows down its tough to keep the heritage going. Even here in the US look in the midwest like Pittsburgh etc.

I'm engaged to an Italian girl and I will do my best to raise my kid Croatian I still plan to go Croatian church, functions and get togethers I want my kids to know the language, culture and visit back home (will be quite often). Same goes for the Italian side. My girl is already starting to learn Croatian and I'm starting the Italian we'd figure it be easier if we knew both languages especially if we want our kids to be the same. Anyways it's tough but work hard and you always control your childs environment and instill in them the values, culture that you grew up with. :thumbsup:

 

Respect!!!
It's very hard to think different then what you are raised. Giving the kids and the wife the opportunity to experience both, might pull her toward Croatian more, or you toward Italian culture/food. But as long as you find the middle somewhere, it will work just fine

 

Yes it's very tough work. I have an 18 month old and I can't wait to take her to Croatia. Sneak some prosciutto and paski sir in her meal when my wife is not looking...