Croatia beat Britain 2-/Kloc-0 in the semi-final of the World Cup. It will be a miracle to get close to the final and win the trophy. How did a country with a population of 4 million become such a powerful football player? Let's take a look at how Croatian Ambassador to China Ko Harovic answered this question in the English edition of Global Times.

During my five years in China, almost every friend in China asked me a question: How did a country with an eloquence of more than 4 million cultivate such excellent football players in less than 30 years of independence? Therefore, when the English edition of Global Times wrote my report on Croatian sports, especially football, I knew I had to question this question-"The population of Croatia is equivalent to the population of an area in Beijing. Is its football team the top four teams in the world after 20 years? "

The answer to this question is very complicated. In the final analysis, it comes from the tradition of Croatian society and values. In our tradition, it is hard to imagine young people not taking part in sports. This is especially true for boys.

So how did this way of thinking come into being? Is it our traditional history of competition from the Middle Ages? Or is it because our country is forced to defend its territory for a long time to develop a strong body culture? Sociologists and historians are still arguing about this problem. Others believe that this is due to the aesthetic standards in the Mediterranean region, and that appearance is more important than anything else. Besides taking part in sports, what else can bring people the beauty of fitness?

The success of Croats in some sports is also related to our social traditions and cultural habits. Croats are better at sports, such as football, basketball, handball, water polo, tennis and other ball games, rather than gymnastics, which requires perseverance and exercise. We like to improvise, enjoy the game, beat our opponents and bring happiness to the audience and ourselves. This happiness is deeply rooted in southern European civilization and Mediterranean culture.

Our views on football are quite different from those in northern Europe. It is also different from China's Confucian values. We enjoy life and entertainment and improvise our fun. We never consider sports as an achievement or a responsibility. This is why our football match is closer to Latin American football than Nordic football. Nordic football may pay more attention to the result of the game than passion, skill and charm of the game.

All these social and historical factors determine why we play football in Croatia and how we enjoy it.

In contemporary Croatia, there are two fundamental reasons for the successful development of young athletes, especially football players. First of all, it is generally believed that playing football or participating in other sports in China is not conducive to achieving other educational goals, but we don't think so. We believe that physical education and other fields of education complement each other and can promote the development of youth. All parents in Croatia hope that their children can take care of both study and physical exercise. A child who is addicted to books may be laughed at by his peers, and every responsible parent will want to avoid this situation. Physical education is an important part of cultivating young people. Families, schools and sports institutions all advocate more sports.

Second, sports and football are important social topics. These topics have attracted media reports and have great social significance. In Croatia, it is often said that three topics in men's conversation are considered polite: politics, women and, of course, football. There is an old joke that there are only three important things in the world: disease, war and football. Compared with China, Croatia attaches more importance to sports, which can be reflected in education and social attention. Football has brought something unimaginable to Croatia 30 years ago. Football has become one of our most distinctive national characteristics. Red and white plaid shirts have become an important symbol of our country. A series of victories of the national team made them the most outstanding ambassadors of Croatian culture. Their influence is big enough to make football a big brand outside of tourism.

Shortly after our independence, the Croatian national team achieved good results in the French 1998 World Cup. The performance of the national team attracted the attention of the whole world, which was what we really needed at that time. It makes us a brave little country in the world. Vatreni (son of fire) is the nickname of our national team in 1998, which reflects the enthusiasm of the players to fight for their country. From the beginning of this competition, they have become a symbol of national pride and unity, and have always maintained it. Perhaps many old Jarny fans still remember the names of our first generation of "golden players": Suker, Bo Ban (Bo Ban), Proshchin Necki (Proshchin Necki), bilic, China, Boksic (Boksic), Radic and coach Ciro Brazevich (C). Iro Blazevic)

During the twenty years of the 1998 World Cup in France, we had such an excellent coach, Siro Blazevic, but until the 20 18 World Cup in Russia, we didn't achieve the same results as at that time. The golden players of this generation: Modric, Rakic, Mangduic, perisic, Luvun and SuaBasic, have the last chance to create radiological photography on Russian stadiums. They have style and style. Croatia's support throughout the country has enhanced our visibility in the world. This time, they are expected to reach the climax!