At the 2006 World Cup, the Croatian community’s role in Australian soccer reached its crescendo. Of the 23 Socceroos in Germany, seven boasted of a Croatian heritage, including arguably Australia’s greatest footballer Mark Viduka. In a cruel twist of fate, Australia advanced to their first and only quarterfinal at the expense of Croatia, which contained three players who were born and brought up in Australia but chose to switch over to the nation with which they felt close cultural ties.
Twelve years later, three Croat-Australians have made the cut: Mile Jedinak, Matt Jurman and Tomi Juric (under scanner with a knee injury). Fran Karacic, who hasn’t set foot in Australia and played for Croatia’s U-23 side as recently as March, was part of the provisional list. Emulating Viduka and Co is a long shot for the second-last team to qualify for the World Cup.
Fortunes of the green and gold have long depended on a healthy smattering of red and white. The Croat-Australian community has accounted for over fifty national team players and overseas exports. Unsurprisingly then, relegating the proud sporting community to the backwaters of Australia’s football landscape hasn’t worked out for anyone.
The symbiotic relationship began in the 1950s, when the first Croatian migrants left the communist Yugoslavia and stepped ashore in Australia. Largely unfamiliar with the overtly indigenous sports like rugby (league or union) and Australian Rules Football, the Croats, along with other European migrants, took to the kind of football they knew: soccer.