‘What can I say! Thank you Croatia’
In an outburst of national pride and joy, Croatia has rolled out a red carpet and staged a euphoric welcome home for their football team despite losing to France in the World Cup final.
Tens of thousands of people wearing national red-and-white checkered colours and waving Croatian flags poured into the streets in the capital Zagreb to greet the team yesterday.
The joyful, singing crowd crammed the central squares and the route where the players passed in an open bus, greeting fans and signing autographs.
Police said more than 250,000 people came out in central Zagreb and many more along the route. The players’ bus travelled for hours, often stopping when it was blocked by the crowds.
‘‘What can I say! Thank you Croatia, thank you Zagreb!’’ captain Luka Modric told the crowd after the team finally arrived at the central square in the evening.
Midfielder Ivan Rakitic added: ‘‘There are no words to describe how we feel now.’’
Fans honking car horns, waving and shouting ‘‘Bravo! Bravo!’’ welcomed the bus as it slowly left the airport. The inscription at the front read: ‘‘Fiery heart, the pride of Croatia!’’ in reference to the name ‘‘The Fiery’’ as the team is dubbed at home.
The first Croatia team to reach the World Cup final embraced the atmosphere in Zagreb. Rakitic posted a photo on Instagram with controversial nationalist singer Marko Perkovic Thompson, who climbed the bus at some point, saying: ‘‘The king is here! One and only! Go Croatia!’’
Earlier, Croatian air force jets escorted the plane carrying the team from Russia as it entered the country’s air space and flew over Zagreb.
‘‘Champions! Champions!’’ roared the crowds as the players came out of the plane to a red carpet at Zagreb airport.
The success has been described as the biggest in Croatia’s sporting history, boosting national pride and sense of unity in the country that fought a war to become independent from the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s.