FEAR AND LOATHING
World waits with trepidation as Croatia and Serbia clash for the first time as independent nations
ARMED police and sniffer dogs swarm around the Serbian team hotel here in a city that is bracing itself for potentially one of the most explosive encounters football has ever seen.
At the team’s pre-match press conference a bewildering cast of sinister-looking heavies eyeball the assembled media. If ever a match could be described as more than a game, tonight’s World Cup encounter between Croatia and Serbia is it.
There will be 3,000 police officers on duty at the Maksimir Stadium this evening, 1,000 soldiers will help swell their ranks while a similar number of security guards will be employed inside the ground. Nothing is being left to chance. Surprising, really, given Serbian supporters have been banned from travelling to the game.
There remain fears some will ignore that order despite the tightening of security i n and around the stadium and on the border between the countries. The authorities here have threatened any Serb who makes the trip with a month in prison. Few imagine that will prove enough of a deterrent.
This, after all, is a first meeting of these nations since the bloody civil war of the 90s which tore Yugoslavia apart and left each fledgling nation to strike out on its own. Formerly close-knit families were destroyed, tens of thousands of people were killed and entire cities razed to the ground.
The memories of those horrors remain raw, painful enough to blur what actually is being played out here. Scotland’s Group A rivals are fighting it out for a place at the World Cup in Brazil, but it is almost a sideshow.
Both sides are on a final warning with UEFA whose president Michel Platini will be in attendance. FIFA observers will watch on with fear and trepidation.
Police have warned Croatian fans that they could halt the match if they resort to anti-Serbian chants. Coaches and politicians have tried to defuse ethnic tensions and Europe’s football governing body will closely monitor the game for any possible trouble. UEFA have twice in two years warned Croatian and Serbian officials that it could ban their teams from international competitions if there are any more acts of violence or racial chanting by hooligans.
It’s easy to forget this is a game of football. Already many in both countries have.
CROATIA has never f orgotten a Euro 2000 qualifier in 1999 where they played what was then still Yugoslavia in Zagreb. Former international team-mates faced each other in an eye-poppingly hostile Maksimir Stadium.
Despite Alen Boksic giving the home side the l ead, a Sinisa Mihajlovic-inspired Yugoslavia fought back to claim the point that prevented Croatia f rom qualifying.
Now Serbian boss Mihajlovic (right), who was actually born in Croatia, recalled: ‘ The stadium in Zagreb was like a volcano. I was hurled insult after insult.
‘Every time I went up to take a free-kick or a corner, the tension was high.’
But it didn’t stop him pulling the strings as his country defied Croatia. For a man who was a happy bedfellow with controversy throughout his career and revelled in his tag of the most-hated man in world football, he’s been very relaxed and sensible all week about the ordeal that awaits his team tonight.
He has consistently urged his players to enjoy the game, to use the atmosphere to their advantage and has used humour rather than animosity as his weapon in the build-up.
Last night he stressed: ‘I hope the fans are intelligent enough to behave properly. I expect i t here and in Belgrade.
‘I can guarantee my players won’t make any i ncidents. I have told them if any of them are sent off, t hey won’t play again for Serbia while I am manager.
‘The facilities here have been excellent, the welcome very warm. All the tensions are created by journalists.
‘It’s completely different f rom the match in 1999.’
Croatia are strong favourites after an excellent start to their qualifying campaign, but the locals will tell you they are at their worst when they get labelled with that tag. Manager Igor Stimac has also being doing his best to play down the unnecessary distractions outside what will be a difficult enough encounter. And he has urged his players to focus on football. ‘Yes, there is a feeling that this is an important match, but my players are involved in important matches week after week,’ he insisted.
‘ I will not return to history, this is just a f ootball match for us. We will not try to provoke anyone, and let the best team win. Support us with your love for us and not with your hatred for our opponent.
‘We are feeling tensions, but only because of the importance of the game. This is a football match and not a war.’
INFAMOUS Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir will have the unenviable job of trying to keep both sets of players under control.
He was at the centre of major controversy earlier this month when he sent off Manchester United’s Nani in the Champions League match against Real Madrid and so i nfuriated Sir Alex Ferguson that he wouldn’t speak to the media after the game.
But Stimac reckons the official won’t become the story again. ‘The referee is always important. I had a meeting with the players to discuss that topic and they were given clear instructions,’ he said.
‘Cakir is one of the best in the world — he is very strict. We have no excuses in this match and everything will start all over again when we come out to the pitch in front of the full stadium. We will attack from the first minute and with a smart approach try to get the desired outcome.’
Croatia captain Darijo Srna is well aware of the historical importance of the match, but was at pains to point out that the same three points are at stake for beating Serbia or Scotland.
‘We all know about the specifics of this game,’ he stated. ‘But we are preparing for it as if we were playing Scotland or Wales. Our goal is to go to the World Cup, to win as many points as we can — and we are all ready for it.
‘Of course, it will be a game like no other and we all know the history of the two countries and all that brings with it. But, during those 90 minutes, we’ll forget the history books, we’ll be professional.
‘I know everyone here has talked about this game in the streets for months and many people in Croatia cannot forget what has happened.
‘But I like to think the most important thing is football and that’s why we have to set an example.’