Croatia celebrates on of the greatest successes in its sports history – the second place at the FIFA World Cup Tournament in Moscow. We mention the deserving players: Mandžukić, Rebić, Modrić, Perišić, Rakitić, Brozović, Vrsaljko, Lovren, Vida, Strinić, and the deserving coach Dalić. We believe that the Croatian team has shown the most attractive football play during the World Cup tournament. It is no surprise that Luka Modrić (on the photo) has won the prestigious Golden Ball – Balon d’or. Luka Modrić shares his second name with Professor Paul L. Modrich, USA, 2015 Nobel prize winner Chemistry, who has Croatian roots. We also add a lovely story about the most famous photographer at the moment, thanks to the goal od Croatia.
Dragutin Surbek 1946-2018 legendary Croatian table tennis warrior
Dragutin Šurbek, nicknamed Šurba in Croatia, and Surbeka in China, has won hundreds of table tennis tournaments, from Tokyo and Beijing to Zagreb (37 medals from European and world championships!). In China he was treated as table tennis God . He has founded a very nice Table Tennis Academy in the city of Zagreb, bearing his name. In 1992, during the Olympic Games in Barcelona, he was the oldest sprtsman, than at the age of 46.
Croatia and France in the final of the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Moscow
This is the greatest succes of Croatian football in history, surpassing the third place of Croatian soccer team in 1998 during the FIFA World Cup in France. We recall the names of Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban and Slaven Bilić from 1998, and the names of Luka Modrić, Ivan Rakitić and Dejan Lovren in 2018. Before arriving to the final match, Croatian won in matches with very strong teams: England, Russian Federation, Denmark, Argentina and Nigeria. Furthermore, we indicate in this article some very interesting historical and cultural contacts between Croatia and France. On the photo Domagoj Vida immediately after the match with England, with his kids and the kids of Ivan Perišić.
Croatia 2 – 1 England media reports from the FIFA Word Cup semifinals in Moscow 2018
EUROSPORT: What an incredible achievement! Croatia are into their first ever World Cup final as a nation. England just couldn’t see the game out. They had chances in the first half, Kane in particular missed a sitter, but you have to admire the way Croatia wrestled back control over the course of the match. “For Croatian football and for Croatia as a country, this is history being written,” Coach Zlatko Dalic said. On the photo Dejan Lovren, one of the pillars of Croatian defense. The team is filled with stars from top to bottom, and the teamwork and determination has set this team apart from the rest. Meanwhile, England will face Belgium on Saturday in the third-place match.
Croatia 2 – 1 England at the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Moscow
Croatian win in the semifinal match with England at the FIFA World Cup 2018 has shown that the claim that Croatia is a small country is ridiculous. Croatia was for the first time recognized by the Roman Pope already in the 9th century, or more precisely, in 879. Rugjer Bošković (Ruggero Boscovich, on the photo), distinguished Croatian polymath and Jesuit from the 18th century, predicted the existence of nuclear forces almost two centuries before their discovery. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society and the greatest acclaim of this scholar came from England and France.
Croatia – England semifinal soccer match at FIFA World Cup 2018 in Moscow
In 2007, Croatia has won 3 – 2 in a soccer match with England in London at Wembley, in a qualification match for European championships. Due to this win, Russia was placed second in the group, just after Croatia, while England was placed the third. As Slaven Bilić, Croatian coach at that time, explained, the Croatian team was at that time simply better than the English team. How strong various soccer teams are today has been shown by Iceland, by winning in a match with England at EURO 2016. On the photo Dr. Kathy Wilkes, Oxford, distinguished English humanist, who spent very turbulent years 1991 and 1992 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. We owe her our eternal gratitude. When she died in 2003, according to her wish she was burried in Croatia.
Croatia 2 (4) – Russian Federation 2 (3) at the FIFA World Cup 2018
Croatia has won in a dramatic soccer match with Russian Federation, which was the host country of the FIFA World Cup Tournament 2018. On the photo Luka Modrić, captain of Croatian team. We indicate several very interesting historical and cultural contacts with Russia. Recall that the Croatian win in a soccer match with England in 2007 enabled Russia to participate at the European Championship in 2008. On that occasion, Russian fans activated a web site called Thank You Croatia! – Spasibo Horvatiya! .
Croatia 1 (3) – 1 (2) Denmark at the FIFA World Cup 2018
Croatia has won in a dramatic soccer match with Denmark to the quarter-finals of the World Coup 2018 tournament. Ejnar Dyggve (1887-1961), distinguished Danish historian and archaeologist (on the photo), is important for his scholarly studies of the history of the southern parts of Croatia, in particular of the region of Split. A well known cartoon movie figure Professor Balthazar is very popular in Scandinavia, including Denmar. We also mention Karin Michaelis, who wrote an article in Danish about Croatian politician and martyr Stjepan Radić, who was assassinated in the Belgrade Parliament in 1928.
Ivana Marija Vidovic performed in Amsterdam in June 2018
In June 2018, the Dubrovnik pianist Ivana Marija Vidović performed again in Amsterdam as part of the concert season of the Pianola Museum in the heart of a fairy-tale city with 1500 bridges! The successful concert celebrated the great French composer Claude Debussy on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the death of the composer, while the young Polish violinist Karina Sosnowska also performed with Vidovic, while the poetry by Ivana Marija Vidović translated into English were beautifully read by Marijke Brekelmans.
Toni Kukoc's Induction Speech to FIBA Hall of Fame
One of the most influential players in European, international and NBA basketball, Toni Kukoc is being honored with induction to the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2017. The 6ft 10in (2.08m) forward left his mark everywhere he played thanks to his exciting style and a leadership quality that resulted in numerous titles at both the club and national team levels. A native of Split, Croatia, he grew up playing at Jugoplastika where he developed his game into one that would inspire generations of players to come. He was a long and lanky point power forward with exceptional court vision and passing skills. He could also run the floor, finish and shoot well from outside.
Luka Krilic: DIJASPORA Kuda idemo? Što možemo učiniti?
Kao pripadnik Dijaspore osjećam dužnost izraziti nekoliko misli o tome da je došlo vrijeme da mi iz Dijaspore pođemo ususret realnosti; moramo se suočiti sa golom istinom i sagledati stvarnost baš onakvom kakva ona jest, jer nalazim da je prijeka potreba i nužnost da pokušamo naći pravilan i dobar smjer koji smo, prema mome iskustvu i saznanjima, odavno izgubili. Ako je Država u krizi moramo priznati da to vrijedi i za nas. Vjerujem da svi jako dobro pamtimo ono što su nas učili o tome da se prvi masovni val iseljavljanja iz Dalmacije dogodio još potkraj XIX stoljeća kao posljedica bolesti vinove loze… Ono što nas nisu učili… jesu Komercijalni ugovori koje je potpisao Beč sa Italijom.
Croatia 2 – 1 Iceland at the FIFA World Cup 2018
On the photo Zlatko Dalić, coach of Croatian national soccer team, which won in a match with Iceland 2 – 1. Zlatko was born in the city of Livno in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and now lives in Croatia. Iceland was among the first countries which diplomatically recognized Croatia, on 19th December 1991. An interesting connection between Croatia and Iceland is the fact that Ivica Kostelić is married with Elin Arnarsdottir from Iceland. In Croatia’s capital Zagreb there is a street named after Iceland (Islandska ulica), about 700 m of length.
1139 years since the international recognition of Croatia and 26 years since its diplomatic recognition
In the 9th century, more specifically, in 879 AD, Croatia obtained its first international recognition when Pope John VIII sent his letters to Croatian prince Branimir, in which he blessed him and his Croatian people. Croatia never lost its state continuity, even when it was a part of other empires, kingdoms and states. For example, Croatian Deit (Sabor) is one of the oldest in Europe, and in this sense, Croatia is one of the oldest states in Europe. Its diplomatic recognition was realized in 1992, under dramatic circumstances of Serbian and Montenegrin military aggression on Croatia.
Borna Coric Croatian tennis player stuns Roger Federer at the Halle 2018 Finals in Germany
Borna Coric: This was the most unbeleivable week of my whole life. We provide a video summary of his win against Roger Federer (in the semi-finals he won agains Zverev), as well as an interview with him and a short report about his potential, described among others by Goran Ivanišević. Roger Federer until Borna’s win No 1 on the ATP list. Borna Ćorić’s coach is Ivan Ljubičić, distinguished former Croatian tennis player.
Sanja Falisevac Croatian sculptress and poet enriching us with her deafblind world
Sanja Falisevac began to portray at the age of 14, when she was already completely blind and deaf. She remembers from her childhood beautiful pictures of snow under sunset and Christmas. Her mother used to play with her by writing letters with her finger on her back, which Sanja easily recognized. She now communicates with the outer world in a similar tactile way, by writing on her palm. Her sculptures reveal her as a born artist, and she is now a member a the Union of Professional Croatian Artists. According to her own description, although being blind and deaf, she sees the outer world very clearly in her mental pictures and communicates by using touch. She is a perfect example for all those who think that their life is difficult.
Croatia 3 – 0 Argentina at the FIFA World Cup held in the Russian Federation 2018
After defeating Nigeria 2 – 0, Croatia achieved sensational 3 – 0 result against a very strong Argentinean team, led by Messi, the best contemporary soccer player. Some of the Croatian players are of world-wide fame, like Luka Modrić (captain), Ivan Rakitić (on the photo), Mario Mandžukić, Ivan Perišić, Dejan Lovren, Mateo Kovačić etc., directed by Zlatko Dalić as a coach. The match took place in Nižni Novgorod in the Russian Federation. The greatest Croatian success at previous FIFA World Cup championships was achieved in 1998, when our national team won the third place, with players such as Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban, Slaven Bilić etc., under the baton of Ćiro Blažević.
Mario Juric distinguished Croatian astrophysicist & the leader of the Data Management team for LSST
I’m interested in astronomical ‘Big Data'(TM): developing and applying methods and algorithms that let us use large data sets to answer research questions. Major astronomical surveys of today are routinely collecting hundreds of terabytes of images, creating databases with billions of objects and several billion measurements. Large surveys astronomers are becoming part data scientists. In my research, I go where the data takes me -EUR” I’ve worked on topics ranging from asteroids in the Solar System, Galactic structure, to the scale structure of the universe.
Jakov Radovcic distinguished Croatian paleonthologist and an expert in the Neanderthal culture
NEANDERTHALS represent a magical and mystical idea of the prehistoric people of Europe. They are one of the many secrets of the beginning of our species. Who were those people who lived between 30,000 and almost 300,000 years ago? How did 19th century science discover and interpret the finds and what do we know now, at the beginning of the third millennium, about these Stone Age people who used to hunt for rhinoceros in this area 125,000 years ago? If you want to find out the answers to these questions, visit the new KRAPINA NEANDERTHAL MUSEUM, in Krapina, in Croatia! On the photo Jakov Radovčić, the leading Croatian paleonthologist, a discoverer of the Neanderthal jewelry.
Louis Zorich the USA veteran stage actor has died in New York in 2018 at the age of 93
Louis Zorich was born on February 12, 1924 and died on January 30, 2018. He was an American actor. He is perhaps best known to television audiences for his portrayal of Paul Reiser’s father, Burt Buchman, on the NBC series Mad About You. He played the role from 1993 to 1999. Zorich was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Croatian immigrants Anna (nee Gledi) and Christ Zorich. He was Broadway veteran and the husband of Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, he also starred on TV’s ‘Brooklyn Bridge.’
Stjepan Radic 1871-1928 a great Croatian politician, humanist and martyr
In 2018 we commemorate a tragic death of Stjepan Radić, one of the greatest Croatian politicians and humanists in history (on the photo with his grandchildren), assassinated in 1928 in the Belgrade Parliament. We provide an articl written by Dr. Ante Cuvalo, an information about a new street in the Prague bearing his name (and his wife Marija was a Czech schoolteacher), as well as an article about him written by a Danish writer Karin Michaelis, who used to know his family in person. We conclude the article with a very interesting article of Stjepan Radić about the Russian Branch of the noble Croatian family of Jelačić.