Do you want a chance at a professional football career in Croatia?
A new Croatian sports project titled ‘Game of Your Life’ has finally kicked off, and for the next three months, TV viewers across the country will follow each step of 30 amateur footballers who will not only win our hearts but will fight for a single spot to receive a contract with GNK Dinamo, reports Dalmatinksi Portal on March 21, 2018.
Former Croatia national team footballer Danijel Pranjić, together with the partner and author of the project, Ivan Rukavina, has launched a unique reality television series that will inevitably become a hit in the football world. As we all know, football is the most popular sport in Croatia, but many talents go unnoticed, without ever having the chance to play for a professional side. This aspect, precisely, will be the goal of ‘Match of Your Life’ as the project seeks to change the life of the winner and the finalists forever.
The project is based in Zagreb where a camp will be hosted on May 15th. In addition to Ivan and Danijel, former Croatia national team footballer Igor Štimac will head the professional staff. Television producer Dubravko Merlić, kinesiologist Mario Kožul, medical doctor Tomislav Madžar, Dinamo representative Alen Lesički, and the head of the City Sports and Youth Office of the City of Zagreb Milan Pavelic will also be in attendance. The narrator of the new sports series will be journalist Fani Stipković who will return from Madrid to Croatia specifically for this project.
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“I’m exceptionally proud of the fact that we are presenting the ‘Game of Your Life’ to the public. I am grateful to all who have recognized the project, and especially to my friend Danijel Pranjić. I got the idea for the project nine years ago because there are many talented players stuck somewhere in their path of development that cannot realize their greatest dream, and that’s top-level play. Croatia is full of talents, and this project will help them show it. I invite all talented boys from 18 to 25 years of age to sign up and play the ‘Match of Your Life,” said the author of the project Ivan Rukavina.
Participants for this innovative project will be selected in four Croatian cities; in Orahovica on May 1 and 2, Šibenik on May 4 and 5, Kostreni on May 7 and 8, and in Zagreb on May 10 and 11. In each city, the expert staff led by Igor Štimac and Marijo Kožul will pick the best 11 players, who will then train at the football camp in Zagreb for one month.
After the selections and a month of tough preparations, on June 12, the final 11 selected will play the match of their life against an All-Star Team at Maksimir. The best individual chosen by the jury and audience will get what most only dream about – a one-year contract agreement with GNK Dinamo. The public will be able to monitor the entire project in a television series, which will be broadcast live on Croatian football television on May 14.
“The ‘Game of Your Life’ will intrigue many, in a real football fashion. It is a project full of optimism in which participants will have the opportunity to show themselves, without thinking that they’ll never get a real chance. This is an opportunity for them to show what they are capable of in front of TV cameras and excellent professional staff – to show off and deserve their chance,” said the coach and head of the expert staff, Igor Štimac.
The project was supported by former football players and team members Nikola Pokrivač and Ivan Bošnjak, football manager Andy Bara, and television directors Mila Horvat and Ivica Blažičko.
“I’m very excited for the project to see the light of day, but now the real work is happening. Now we have to have teamwork. I’m making selections in the cities, and 30 of them will go to the camp. They will work with top experts, and one of them will receive a scholarship contract. Of course, we hope that other participants will show what they know and develop their career in that way, too,” said football player and project partner Danijel Pranjić.
By training in top conditions, candidates will have the opportunity to work with doctors, mental health psychologists, nutritionists and other experts, and will be led by former footballers and jury members Nikola Pokrivač, Dario Krešić and Ivan Bošnjak, and coach Hrvoje Braović, as well as many other players and coaches. Applications can be made through the official website.
Translated from Dalmatinksi Portal
