This year's World Cup somehow did not impress me very much. My brother tried to get me interested, but until today I was quite indifferent. However, during the early afternoon I decided to watch the eighth finals, Croatia and Japan. The match started at 3 p.m. and since that was working time, I stayed to watch the game at work.
I came to our Cyber Café, at the top of the building, and there I found a young Asian colleague trying to start a TV broadcast on the new TV, installed especially for the World Cup, with the cafe staff. "Are you Japanese?" I asked and he confirmed. In the meantime, my friend Bruno, a fellow Croat, arrived and the two of us, along with Bruno's Japanese colleague Kosuke, started watching the game.
For us Croats, it was a rather disappointing match in the first half because we were losing 0:1. During the game, Kosuke received support, first from two German colleagues, then from a Chinese friend, and then from a few more colleagues that joined us. Somehow, Bruno and I were a team against everyone else. During the game we chatted amicably, and I even video called my brother from Croatia to say hello to everybody. Among other things, I asked Kosuke if Japanese men dye their hair, or only football players do that. He replied that only football players do that and that they show off.
The score changed to 1:1 in the second half, and that's when Bruno and I breathed a sigh of relief. But right at the end of the game, during overtime, Bruno had to go pick up his children from kindergarten and school. I remained the only Croatian fan and I invited Bruno’s friend, an Englishman, who had also joined in the meantime, to sit in Bruna's place and be my support. He refused, so I concluded that he also supports Japan, although he did not confirm this.
During the penalty, while I was jumping in the air with happiness, my surroundings were either silent or quietly showing displeasure. The Croatian goalkeeper proved to be up to the task and saved three penalties to ensure victory for Croatia. At the moment when it was clear that we had won, I turned to Kosuke and the other colleagues and said "I'm sorry, but today we had to win." Although disappointed, everyone congratulated me, palm to palm. On my way out, with one last look at the TV, I saw the Japanese players and fans crying and I felt sorry for them. But I was happy above all. Thank you to the Croatian players for the pleasure they gave me on this cold, December Monday.
Kristina
Monday, December 5th, 2022
Nogomet sa kolegama - Hrvatska v Japan
Ovogodišnje nogometno prvenstvo me se nekako nije pretjerano dojmilo. Brat me pokušao zainteresirati, ali do danas sam bila prilično indiferentna. No, tokom ranog poslijepodneva sam odlučila pogledati utakmicu osmine finala, Hrvatska : Japan.
Došla sam u naš Cyber Café kafić, na vrhu zgrade i tu sam zatekla jednog mladog kolegu Azijata kako sa osobljem kafića pokušava startati TV prijenos na novom, u svrhu svjetskog, nogometnog prvenstva instaliranom televizoru. “Jesi li ti Japanac?” pitala sam i on je potvrdio. U međuvremenu je stigao i moj prijatelj, Hrvat Bruno te smo nas dvoje, sa Bruninim japaskim kolegom Kosukeom, započeli gledanje utakmice. Za nas Hrvate bila je to u prvom dijelu podosta razočaravajuća utakmica jer smo gubili 1:0.
Kosuke je tokom prijenosa dobio potporu, najprije dvojcu njemačkih kolega, a onda i jednog kineskog prijatelja, pa potom još nekolicine. Nekako smo Bruno i ja bili tim, protiv svih ostalih. Tokom utakmice smo prijateljski ćakulali i čak sam zvala brata u Hrvatsku na vido poziv da ih pozdravi. Između ostalog pitala sam Kosukea dali japanski muškarci boje kosu, ili samo nogometaši. Odgovorio je da to rade samo nogometaši i da se time prave važni.
Rezultat se u drugom poluvremenu promjenio u 1:1 i tu smo Bruno I ja odahnuli. No točno na kraju utakmice, uključujući produžetke, Bruno je morao otići pokupiti svoju djecu iz vrtića i škole. Ostala sam jedini hrvatski navijač i pozvala sam kolegu Engleza koji je se u međuvremenu isto priključio, da sjedne na Brunino mjesto i bude mi potpora. Odbio je to pa sam zaključila da i on navija za Japan, iako se nije izjasnio. Tokom izvedbe penala, dok sam ja skakala u zrak od sreće, moje okruženje je ili šutilo ili tiho pokazivalo nezadovoljstvo. Hrvatski se golman pokazao na visini zadatka i obranivši tri penala osigurao je pobjedu Hrvatskoj. U trenutku kad je bilo jasno da smo pobijedili okrenula sam se Kosukei i ostalim kolegama i rekla “Oprostite, ali danas smo mi morali pobijediti.” Iako razočarani svi su mi čestitali, dlanom o dlan. Na odlasku sam zadnjim pogledom na TV vidjela kako japanski igrači i navijači plaču i bilo mi je žao za njih. Ali, ipak bila sam prije svega sretna. Hvala hrvatskim igračima na zadovoljstvu koje su mi priskrbili u ovom hladnom, prosinačkom ponedeljku.
Kristina
Ponedeljak, 5. prosinca 2022.
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