Tucak: One game can’t change what the national football team has done for Croatia

The Croatian national water polo team has been preparing for the Olympic Games in Paris for the past two weeks. On the fringes of the preparations the coach of the national team gave an interview for Croatian Radio during which he touched on the national football team and its EURO 2024 campaign.

The Croatian national water polo team has completed the first part of their preparations for the Paris Olympics in Kranj, Slovenia, and will gather in Zagreb in a few days to continue their preparations. On the occasion Coach Ivica Tucak told Croatian Radio that the first stage of preparations went as planned, adding that he had expressed his gratitude to the players for their commitment and effort, noting that this is the basis for his team to expect strong performances in the future.

“The medical situation is really good. As for the number of players with the team, we have reduced the roster from 22 to 19. The three players that have been cut from the roster are center Antonio Dužević, set guard Luka Brnetić and goalkeeper Mauro Ivan Čubranić. I would like them to still be with us, but we have to reduce our roster as we enter the second phase of preparations,” Tucak said.

The water polo players still have a warm-up tournament in Sardinia and then will return to Šibenik for the final part of their preparations, at which point Tucak will have to make his final cuts from the roster for the Paris Olympics, which can be a maximum of 13.

Coach Tucak also commented on the Croatian national football team: “I keep in touch with Zlatko (Dalić) via messages, I don't want to bother him too much. I also spoke with Vedran Ćorluka by phone, they know that they have my full support and of the entire national water polo team. I've said it a thousand times and I'll say it again: for me personally and for everyone who loves this country, one poorly played match or one poorly played tournament cannot change everything that they've done for Croatia. These criticisms come from a small number of people, who are waiting for one moment, one stumble, one failure to try to devalue everything that is good in Croatian sports.”

“They have given us so much that it is unbelievable. When 100 thousand people come to Berlin, all of whom love the Croatian national team, of course there will be criticism among those people after a bad match. But the insulting coming from a small number of people speaks more about those who engage in that kind of commentary, about their own personal frustrations, than it does about the team. Unfortunately this minority is also a part of the population. For me, the Croatian national football team will always be one of the biggest brands in Croatia, and everything they have done will forever be etched in the memory of all of us who love Croatia and Croatian sports. After all, nothing has been settled yet, and I believe that Croatia will play a good match against Italy. But even if the opposite happens, nothing will change,” Tucak concluded.

Source: HRT