On Sunday, the Social Arena at the Stella Maris complex was clad in red-and-white checkers, going from having a typical tennis setting to becoming a football fan pit.
From the moment the match started, numerous fans sporting jerseys, scarfs, flags and other fan gear cheered on the Fiery Ones, sending positive energy from Umag all the way to Russia and playing together with the Croatian team as if they were on the pitch of the Luzhniki Stadium themselves. Many foreign tourists hopped on the fan wagon and supported our footballers.
Thunderous clapping followed every good Croatian move, every dribbling by Rakitić, every pass by Modrić, every save by Subašić, every sprint by Rebić… The crown erupted when Perišić scored the equalizing goal to make it 1:1, and Mandžukić brought fresh hope to the fans near the end of the match. You could hear shouts of “Let’s go!” until the very end. Umag believed the Fiery Ones could come back into the game once again…
With the final whistle, the fans broke into a clap and gave the footballers a standing ovation in Umag regardless of the outcome of the final match. Everybody had recognized the tremendous fight the Croatian football team had put up, thus deservedly becoming our heroes for yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. Even though we were emotional over the team’s defeat, our sorrow was quickly overpowered by a sense of pride and happiness as our team had given us an unforgettable, month-long fairytale.
They inspired us all with the way they fought for their country, and showed us we should never give up and should always fight bravely against every opponent. That is something that this week one of the players here at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open might even draw some lessons from to make it as far as possible in this ATP tournament.
