All bets are off when Croatians are in the mix; even if they’re playing against each other. In what is slated as one of the most hated rivalries in all of sports, Real Madrid battled out a 0-0 draw against Real Madrid at the Nou Camp Wednesday night in a lackluster El Clasico.
Both these clubs hate each other. Their fans hate each other. And there is no love lost when they play.
But something truly amazing happened Wednesday night that has 100% never happened in an El Clasico match before. A Barcelona player legitimately and genuinely gave a Real Madrid player a kiss during the match. As Luka Modrić was being subbed on in the second half, Ivan Rakitić stopped by for a quick kiss and ‘kako si?’ to his Croatian captain.
It was completely unnecessary. It could have waited 15 minutes when the game ended. But no, Rakitić gave Modrić a kiss in the middle of El Clasico in Barcelona.
You gotta love sports!
When kissing your best friend is more important than playing the Clasico
Rakitic, I feel you pic.twitter.com/XTA027HMoU
— @RM_Modric10 suspended at 2.4k (@RM__Modric10) December 18, 2019
Kramaric!!!!! Scores the winner vs Dortmund today!
badelj scores!
@LOL – some points you make are valid, other countries may “play down” to a smaller country like Croatia. But I’m not totally sure they look across the pitch and see Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic, etc as “smaller players”. I think for the most part, all nations respect the talent Croatia has assembled.
However, as to your criticism that Croatia can’t be a soccer power bc they have to send players to bigger professional leagues, here is another list of nations whose top players can’t wait to move onto to foreign leagues – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal… Not having a wealthy domestic league in no way excludes putting together great talent as a national team
bempti!
was just being a kurac, ante, love this site.
“If my aunt had a dick she’d be my uncle.”
These days she can make that happen.
Everyone plays down. It’s normal. I love it, helps us beat bigger countries. Let’s not take credit away from how Croatia plays in those games. Serbia regional. Quality is not comparable. Mexico is a rivalry. I was discussing European countries.
Harry Kane offside. Watch the full highlight not the British clip. His goal would have never counted and anyone can use If’s.
If my aunt had a dick she’d be my uncle.
Mexicans see “Croats” as American wannabe’s.
But Mexicans love Croats because we have a lot in common, both Catholic people, and both have had land stolen from us.
I love Mexico, and if they’ve attacked “Croats” then you know the “Croats” deserved it.
One more thing we do have a rivalry and it’s with
Mexico who have beaten us twice now in the
World Cup and have attacked our fans but most
If you wouldn’t even know that.
I know enough and it’s not a rivalry with
England. You are over valueing your selfs
In their lives. If beaver teeth Kane converts
that sitter in the first half it would have been over.
They blame themselves more as the chokers they have been. But rivalry No way Jose. You guys are just to insulated
and gauge things through things like twitter
Comments. I go to plenty of EPL
Events and none of them even mention
Croatia.
@EUsports.com nation
You “Croats” always say that Croatia plays down to the level of their lesser opponents, but can one of you “Croats” say that Croatia would ever play down to the level of the Serbs. If your answer is NO, why is that?
Serbia is Croatia’s only rival.
It is possible that England, Spain, Italy etc. play down to the level of little Croatia, you are a team whose players have to go abroad to make something of themselves, and the big countries all know that, all those big leagues share in Croatia’s 2nd place in Russia, Croatia can’t do anything on it’s own.
In my opinion none of the bigger teams would see Croatia as a rival, but just a capable team that on their day can cause an upset.
Or do you “Croats” believe only you guys play down to the level of lower teams?
100p Maminjo on all posts. Germans Italians Spanish now English. Decent record vs all in the last while. Like Bilić said, wake up! 82 mill pop, 60 mil pop, 55 mill pop. We just finished second in the world cup 20 years after a bronze and they had to jack them. Uruguay won world cups and kudos to them but it was a zillion years ago when whoever had a boat qualified. There were 8 teams. No one can say fuck all to us! We play best when we play with our balls or we shouldn’t play at all.
Yea, with France, I wouldn’t say it is a football rivalry as much as it is a sports rivalry (as we definitely have one with them in handball and in tennis). The average Frenchman definitely knows who we are (despite being just some small country in Central Europe).
But it can become a rivalry if we cross paths with them at the Euros.
England and Spain are definitely ones. Italy is one to an extent, as we are neighbors and we have a lot of Croat exposure in Serie A…though we haven’t crossed them in a tournament in some time (but they’re definitely afraid of us). Germany was a good one too (and we are one of very few nations that strike fear in Germans) but we haven’t crossed them in some time as well.
Personally, I would love to cross paths with France, Belgium or Portugal at the Euros. Those are really the only elite teams we have unfinished business with.
We have the upper hand with the rest of them.
agree and disagree. The unfortunate fact about any true rivalry is that is has to be 2-sided at least to some degree. Although with Spain, Germany and Italy, that is indeed the case….there is unfortunately not one single game of consequence in which we beat France. There can’t be that much of a rivalry on their side then if they don’t fear us, aren’t itching to get us back for something too, etc.
sorry 1.5 years ago but u get my drift
Knocking them out of a WC semi-final just 6 months ago equates to “not a blip on their radar”?
lmfao… okay mate, whatever…
Oh yea?
Do you have 56 million English friends? LOL
The “I have ____ friends” statement means nothing, if you have less than a sizable sample size.
Rivalries are not strictly based on what country borders another. There are definitely rivalries that go beyond just regional ones.
Croatia vs England in football is definitely a rivalry.
@Maminjo
I have English friends and i can tell you none remember the 2008 Euro. We aren’t a blip on their radar. Now if it was Scottland or Irish then the English would be ginned up.
You may disagree, but why is it that everyone grinned sheepishly when Croatia drew England at the Euro 2020 draw?
They did the same when we were paired with them in WC2010 qualifying a long time ago as well.
English fans still remember the sting of missing out on Euro 2008, and they will not forget the sting of being bounced out of the World Cup semifinals for a very long time.
They definitely respect us, and their reaction when they draw us confirms their acknowledgement as a football rival.
The same goes for us and France, Spain, Italy, etc in both football and other sports.
Croatia vs France is a pretty big rivalry in handball, and we have a bit of a football rivalry with Spain now after beating them a couple of times and them beating us too in recent years (as well as having a presence in La Liga with Modric et al, and us meeting up with them in several other sports like Waterpolo, Handball and Basketball). Same goes for us and Italy with waterpolo too, plus we are their neighbors. There is even a name for our rivalries against France and Italy in their respective newspapers (Le derby tricolore and Derby Adriatico).
The so-called rivalries we have against Serbia, Greece and Turkey are minor.
Serbia only because of the war, but we beat them very handily in Zagreb in a game that was pretty anti-climactic because we are just so far ahead of them in football, it’s not even funny. Most Serbs on their media portals are hoping to not even qualify because they simply think they will be embarrassed at the Euros.
Turkey, maybe, because of Euro 2008…but we are so far ahead of them too, and we already had our revenge on them a couple of times for that. Greece was never really a rivalry, and the gap between us and them is too large too.
If we’re going by ‘region’ then you may as well throw Hungary or Slovenia in there as well…but in almost all these games, the stakes are never really that high as these teams never go far in tournaments.
The REAL rivalries are against these upper tier teams that we have been meeting regularly on the big stage.
I disagree because the fans of these other countries would say Croatia is a good team but we wouldn’t consider them a rival. There has to be hate boths ways. We have regional rivals who we do hate Serbia, Turkey, Greece etc.
Croatia and France have a rivalry, just like Croatia has a rivalry with England, Germany, Spain and other countries who are in the upper echelon of sports.
Croatia has transcended to that level.
Thanks gbvh,
I struggled through that article. Was half asleep. Good eye. I hate when I make that mistake.
So are they building a Croatia-France rivarly???
Watch us play them in next years EURO.
Cahtolic Croatia and old Europe vs the Mujo France and FIFA Mafia
Hopefully those friendlies in March will be in US or Canada as rumored ..
thanks for this. awesome.
ps for such a good headline, wish it wasn’t tainted with the use of “their” here instead of “there” …
>>>>>And their is no love lost when they play.
just shitting. love this site.
google led me to this
now:https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7809813/Fans-enjoy-heartfelt-moment-Luka-Modric-Ivan-Rakitic.html
https://www.croatiaweek.com/croatia-set-to-face-france-ahead-of-euro-2020/
Why? Do we want to be reminded of that shame team? If we win so what it’s a friendly! Stupid.
Lovely to see tbh, good on him
More then Barca respects Rakitić
Bros before hoes which I guess in this case are their club teams
They have had battles against and with
I hope they both go to their latter stages of their career and get all the respect they deserve
I guess Madrid respects Modrić more then Barca does kar