Cliff Pavlovic » Croatia

Soccer we will not see at the 2010 World Cup

Cliff — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:55:49 +0000

Here is a video of the nice goals from the friendly between Croatia and Lichtenstein this past weekend (which Croatia won 5-0).

A shame Croatia did not qualify. Hopefully there will be Euro 2012 to look forward to.

Pictures from recent travels (2009)

Cliff — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:18:39 +0000

Although I have not posted on my website the pictures of my recent travels, that does not mean they do not exist. Here are the links to the picture galleries that were created on Facebook (note: you do not need to be a member or registered to view them). Enjoy!

Bologna, Italy:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2318978&id=13621735&l=88aaa7a1fc

Croatia:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2320264&id=13621735&l=16d3414089

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2320268&id=13621735&l=3a52656cae

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2321454&id=13621735&l=148ff96a75

London, UK :

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2321998&id=13621735&l=e604be921a

Victoria, BC:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2344646&id=13621735&l=3add7ef64d

Croatia and Amsterdam pictures are online!

Cliff — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 02:14:07 +0000

The pictures from this year’s summer vacation, in Croatia and Amsterdam, are now online! Just go to the photo galleries section to check them out. Enjoy!

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 2 – 1 Macedonia!

Cliff — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 01:23:25 +0000

Darijo Srna and Eduardo da Silva lifted Croatia to a 2-1 victory over Macedonia. Croatia is still at the top of its qualifying group for Euro 2008. They had to come from behind to get the win (Srna in the 58th minute for the tie and another goal in the 88th minute by da Silva. Thank you, Eduardo, thank you . Croatia kept up the attack (and Macedonia was getting tons of cards, culminating with the loss of a man) and got the win, now sitting nicely at the top of group E.

Need a dentist? Come to Croatia

Cliff — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 20:20:48 +0000

Well, who thought you could make tourism out of dental work, but it’s being done in Croatia:

“Croatia has decided to take an unconventional approach to tourism – with dentists taking a starring role. [...] Croatian dentists are offering treatments for a fraction of a price of those in Britain, Switzerland, Italy or the United States.”

A pretty slick idea which works and gives the dentists a nice living (heck, as a visitor you end up on the coast and as a dentist you get to live on the coast).

Furthermore, the treatment is of the same quality:

“We have the same level of expertise as our colleagues in Britain, but almost 80% of people there can not afford the highest level service.”

Maybe I should start thinking about getting my teeth cleaned while on vacation.
Link to original BBC article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6171393.stm

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 4 – 3 Israel!

Cliff — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 21:14:24 +0000

Croatia is now at the top of its qualifying group for Euro 2008 , with a 4-3 victory over Israel. Eduardo got a hat-trick and Runje did a good job replacing Pletikosa (who was out with the flu). Still, I find Croatia plays better with Pletikosa as keeper. It was a hard fought match and Croatia prevailed.

Euro 2008 qualifier: Croatia 2 – 0 England!

Cliff — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 03:23:01 +0000

Croatia got past England, 2-0, in their Euro 2008 qualification match! Croatia (for) now sits at the top of its group (remember that the 2 first teams in each group automatically qualify for Euro 2008). Croatia worked hard for the win (even if the second goal was an English own goal) and is definitively a much better team than the one for World Cup 2006 (just a few months ago). I’m really happy with the outcome and how the team has played so far in qualifications matches.

Bilic is showing he’s got what it takes to be the national team’s manager. As for England, a lot of criticism will be leveled against their manager and coaching staff but I have one comment: What happened to the team that showed true grit in the face of adversity during the World Cup 2006 quarter-final match against Portugal, even playing a man down and getting all the way to penalties? That was a team I respected and admired. That team did not show up for the game… I wonder if the English players forgot the concept of playing as a team. Meanwhile, the Croatian players have figured that out.

Links to articles about the game:
UEFA.com -
CNN – BBC Sports – The Daily Express – Index.hr (in Croatian) – Vip.hr (in Croatian)

Hajduk at the top of the 1.HNL!

Cliff — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 04:27:49 +0000

Hajduk is at the top of the Croatian Premier League (Prva Hrvatska Nogometna Liga, 1.HNL), undefeated since the start of the season! Seven wins in seven games, which is a far cry from last season’s dismal performance (in which they finished 5th, barely). Niko Kranjcar was sent to Portsmouth with no-ill effect to the team (and I hope that he will grow more as a player, now he’s in the English Premiership, for the benefit of the Croatian National team). Looks like they (the team management) have found the winning mix yet again (and got out of last season’s rut). Let the good times roll!

Italy-Croatia vacation pictures up on the site!

Cliff — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:12:42 +0000

I’ve finally posted the pictures from this year’s trip to Italy and Croatia! Took a lot (nice) pictures in Italy but less in Croatia (since I took quite few pictures in previous years). If you go to Europe on a trip and need your dose of history (and beauty, and culture, and art…), Italy and Croatia are prime destinations to go to. Also took the opportunity to re-arrange the “Photo Galleries” section, since it was getting too big for just one page (feel free to give me feedback on the changes via email). So go on to the “Photo Galleries” and enjoy the pictures!

Croatia: On the Road to Germany 2006!

Cliff — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 03:29:55 +0000

With the 1-0 victory over Sweden in Zagreb, Croatia has qualified for the World Cup in Germany in 2006! With the qualifications completed, they have a chance to do better than in World Cup 2002 and Euro 2004 (in both cases, they never went passed the group stages of the tournament), and that should be easy enough (the question remains: Who will be in the same group for the tournament? This can make a big difference when it comes to chances to advance out of group play). This time around they have a good team and a good coach. Time will tell, and that time will be next summer. Ah, able to get my soccer dose again.