Everyone loves the Croatians

Luka Modric can give Russian President Vladimir Putin a run for his money in a popularity contest, though the latter brooks no opposition from any quarter. Modric and his Croatian teammates have charmed this massive country by reaching the final of football’s most important tournament.

Russians have reasons not to support Modric’s team. First, it was Croatia that knocked the hosts out of the tournament in the quarterfinal. Croatian defender Domagoj Vida won no friends here with a proUkraine video after the quarterfinal victory. Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads, following Putin’s decision to annex the Ukrainian territory of Crimea in 2014.

Though Vida has since apologised, the bitterness lingered because Russians are touchy about nationalism. The hosts now seem to have put the quarterfinal loss and Vida’s faux pas behind them as they are rooting for their Slavic brothers from Croatia. It is useful to remember that France is not Russia’s friend on the diplomatic front.

Neural fans have fallen head over heels in love with Croatia. Even Argentine and Brazilian fans have buried their historical enmity to unite for the common cause of supporting Croatia in the final. After Croatia’s win over England in the semifinal, a TV crew managed to assemble the fans of Argentina, Brazil and Spain — they all now back the Balkan nation — at one place for sound bites. Now it is one of the easiest jobs in Russia as everyone you bump into is a supporter of Croatia.

France’s colonial history and their legendary snobbery put off neutral fans. Many people have lauded France for having a profusion of players of African origin in their football team but the presence of Kylian Mbappe and Paul Pogba in Les Bleus can also be interpreted as a reminder of a bitter past. If not for the brutal colonisation of much of Africa, black players may not have found their way into the French football team.