People / World Cup
‘In Croatia we are very passionate when it comes to football’
Jelena Belec grew up in the small Croatian city of Koprivnica. She has lived in Bristol for the last two and a half years, however, and has supported both her home country and her adopted country in the World Cup so far.
But this dual support will end on Wednesday night when Croatia play England in the semi-final.
Proudly waving her Croatian flag at Kate’s Kitchen at Arnos Vale, 26-year-old Jelena tells Bristol24/7 that she is gutted she didn’t pick up her Croatian football shirt when she returned to Croatia a few weeks ago for her university graduation.
is needed now More than ever
But back then, neither Croatia nor England harboured realistic prospects of getting this far in the competition.
Tonight, Jelena and her boyfriend Mario, a skip lorry driver who she lives with in Knowle West, will be watching the match at a friend’s house in Filton with other friends from Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia – one example of the unifying power of football.
“We are very passionate in Croatia when it comes to football,” says Jelena, who first moved to Bristol to complete an EU-funded internship as a photographer with Bristol24/7.
Jelena’s first memory is from 1998 when Croatia lost in the World Cup semi-final to France. Her mum bought her the last Davor Šuker necklace from a vendor on the street.
“The World Cup was important then as it is important now,” she says. “Football brings people together. In Croatia, that’s very important. We are a very cranky people, but politics doesn’t matter anymore when there is football.”
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