CNA: Croatia's World Cup soccer coach clings to the rosary as he finds success

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic Credit: wikimedia cc by sa 3.0

Zagreb, Croatia, Jul 11, 2018 / 02:34 pm (CNA).- On Sunday, Croatia’s soccer team will play France in the championship game of the 2018 World Cup, after running victoriously through a string of soccer powerhouses in the tournament.

Here’s one reason Catholics in the US might be rooting for the small Central European country: Croatia is a deeply Catholic country, and the coach of its national team, Zlatko Dalic, is a man of sincere faith.

Dalic said recently that his current success is due to his faith in God, and that he always carries a rosary to hold onto in difficult times.

Dalic spoke about his faith on Croatian Catholic radio when the World Cup began.

“Everything I have done in my life and in my professional career I owe to my faith, and I am grateful to my Lord,” Dalic said.

Croatia got a ticket to the final match of the World Cup after defeating England 2-1 in a game that went to overtime July 11.

"I can be very happy with my life,” Dalic said, adding that "without strong faith and that motivation, it would be very difficult to achieve it."

"When a man loses any hope, then he must depend on our merciful God and on our faith," he said.

In that sense, Dalic explained that "I always carry a rosary with me" and "when I feel that I am going through a difficult time I put my hand in my pocket, I cling to it and then everything is easier.”

Regarding the expectations of the Croatians for the success of their selection at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he indicated that "I know what our people expect, how many people love Croatian football and our team."

He stressed that “finding the good in life always brings satisfaction, happiness, a result. Man must always be honest with himself and with others. "

Before the July 11 game, Dalic said of his Cinderella-story team: “we do not fear anyone, not even England."

The coach is 51 years old, married and has two children. During his youth he played on Croatian soccer teams, among them Hajduk Split, Inter Zapresic and Varteks Varazdin.

In 2000, he finished his career as a professional soccer and started coaching Croatian teams. In 2010 he went to Saudi Arabia to lead the teams of Al-Faisaly Harmah and then Al-Hilal. A year later he moved to the United Arab Emirates to be the coach of the Al-Ain club.

In October 2017 he was appointed head coach of the Croatian national team.

World Cup 2018: Five Catholic players to watch (CHN)

Source: Catholic Herald News

Javier Hernandez pre-match prayers (Getty)

Lionel Messi and Javier Hernandez will be among the Catholic footballers representing their countries in Russia this month

The World Cup is fast approaching, with opening game between Russia and Saudi Arabia kicking off in Moscow on June 14. Here are five Catholic players to watch out for…

Lionel Messi, Argentina

Pope Francis with Lionel Messi (right) and Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon (Getty)

The greatest player of his generation is a committed Catholic. He has met Pope Francis and in 2016 the Holy Father said that his compatriot (Messi, not Maradona) was the greatest footballer of all time. In Russia, the hopes of Argentina rest yet again on Messi’s shoulders. The nation only scraped through qualifying, so winning the World Cup seems unlikely even with the little maestro leading them. If Argentina do lift the cup, Messi has reportedly said he will go on pilgrimage to the shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás, in San Nicolás de los Arroyos in Buenos Aires province.

Andrés Iniesta, Spain

Iniesta on the ball during an international friendly match against Switzerland (Getty)

Perhaps Messi got the pilgrimage idea from another Catholic player, his former Barcelona teammate Andrés Iniesta. The legendary midfielder made his own promise to go on pilgrimage – in this case the Camino de Santiago – if Spain won the World Cup in 2010. And win they did, with Iniesta scoring the decisive goal in the final (it’s unclear whether he followed through on his pilgrimage promise, though).

Jakub Błaszczykowski, Poland

Blaszczykowski celebrates (Getty)

One of Poland’s star players experienced unspeakable trauma as a child, witnessing his father stab his mother to death. The devout Catholic has since spoken of how he believes his mother is looking after him from heaven. Błaszczykowski, who plays on the wing, reads the Bible every day and was an ambassador for World Youth Day in Kraków in 2016.

Javier Hernandez, Mexico

Hernandez in West Ham colours (Getty)

There are certain to be displays of evangelical Christianity during the tournament, mainly from South American players (look out for Brazil players sporting ‘I belong to Jesus’ T-shirts). Look out, too, for Mexico striker Javier Hernandez’s own public display of faith – the Catholic player is regularly seen kneeling in prayer before the start of matches.

Antoine Griezmann, France

Griezmann (left) with his rosary tattoo on show (Getty)

Griezmann, one of the leading lights of a strong French team, expresses his Catholic faith through his tattoos. On his right arm there is not only a portrait of Jesus above a Christ the Redeemer statue, but also a set of rosary beads, pictured amid clouds and stars. “I have them because in my family we are all very religious,” he has said. In his autobiography, Derrière le sourire [Behind the Smile], he says he has “bathed in religion since childhood […] I continue to light candles in churches.”

And, while he may or may not be Catholic, it would be remiss not to mention (for obvious reasons) Nick Pope, England’s third choice goalkeeper.

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LONG LIVE ASSYRIAN BRETHREN!

CNA/EWTN News: Virgin Mary 'crosses the finish line' with Olympic gold runner

London, England, (CNA/EWTN News).- Ethiopian athlete Meseret Defar provided one of the most emotional moments of the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games when she crossed the finish line in the 5000 meter race to win the gold.

She then pulled a picture of the Virgin Mary out from under her jersey, showed it to the cameras and held it up to her face in deep prayer.

An Orthodox Christian, Defar entrusted her race to God with the sign of the cross and reached the finish line in 15:04:24, beating her fellow Ethiopian rival Tirunesh Dibaba, who was the favorite to win.

A teary-eyed Defar proudly showed the picture of the Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus that she carried with her for the entire race.

Throughout the event, Defar kept pace with three other Ethiopian runners and three from Kenya, until speeding past them on the homestretch to win gold.

The silver medal went to Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya and the bronze to Dibaba.

Defar is also a two-time world champion in the 3000 meters. In Athens in 2004 she won the gold in the 5000 meters and in Beijing in 2008 she won the bronze.

On June 3, 2006 she broke the world record for the 5000 meters set previously by Turkish runner Elvan Abeylegesse, with a time of 14:24:53.

We LOVE Soccer!

Leonel Messi

Ricardo Kaka

Catholic Athletes for Christ

Have you thought that one day, the smallest country in the world would be sending its own athlete delegates to the Olympics? If then, who would be these athletes? Priests? Nuns? Or the Pope being there to grace the Olympics?

I don't think that's possible in the near future. That's because the Vatican with it's small number of population which is composed mostly of religious people, are there particularly for running the affairs of the Universal Church, praying and helping Christians around the world and promote the Gospel values to nations and to bring hope. However those keen athletes can represent Christ in every sports they ar into. Consider the story about the Red Sox Mike Lowell who has been diagnosed with cancer and recently confesses that it was through his faith in the Lord as Catholic that saved him from this deadly desease.

For that same reason, our brother in the Lord Ray McKenna thought of spreading Christ even in sports which the late Servant of God Pope John Paul, The Great.

Here's what I've extracted from their site:

Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC) serves Catholic athletes in the practice of their faith and shares the Gospel in and through sports. We work with athletes at all levels of sport in an effort to promote a Catholic sports culture. CAC was formed in response to Pope John Paul II's call to evangelize the world of sports and his establishment of the Vatican's Office of Sports.

As St. Paul's epistles teach us, Christ is God’s true athlete and we are made perfect when, and only when, we imitate Him. John Paul II advises us that, "Every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ, that is a faithful and courageous witness to His Gospel." We invite you to join us as an "athlete for Christ."

Ray McKenna,
Founder of Catholic Athletes for Christ


Our Mission
The mission of Catholics Athletes for Christ (CAC) is to serve Catholic athletes and share the Gospel of Christ in and through athletics.

Our Goal
The goal of Catholic Athletes for Christ (CAC) is to provide an integrated network of sports oriented clergy and lay people to serve Catholic athletes, coaches and staff in the practice of their faith and to utilize the unique platform given to them to reach the world for Jesus Christ and His Church.

Our Vision
• To provide solid Catholic role models
• To work with the Church leadership and Catholic organizations
• To minister to Catholic athletes, coaches and staff
• To reverse the moral crisis in sports today
• To create a network of Catholic athletes, coaches and staff
• To organize sports conferences, pilgrimages, retreats and days of reflection