Danijel Subašić and Domagoj Vida joined journalists three days before the quarterfinal match against Russia.
The Croatia national football team is preparing for the quarterfinal of the World Cup in Sochi, where they await the host of the competition. Croatia and Russia play on Saturday at 20:00, reports Gol.hr on July 3, 2018.
Three days before the historic match for both teams, journalists attended the media conference featuring Danijel Subašić and Domagoj Vida.
Subašić was the hero of the match against Denmark after several very difficult saves during regulation time – and during the penalty shootout, he saved three of Denmark’s shots.
What went through your head before the penalty shootout?
“I was calm. At training the day before we practiced penalties and I defended five, six of them. I thought to myself ‘God, allow me to defend when I need to as I did today.’ It happened. Thanks to the boys who shot because it was not easy. That is a lot of pressure. In the end, everything ended nicely,” Subašić said.
Subašić was the hero of Croatia’s victory.
“It is important for me that we go further together as a team and impress our people. That is the most important thing. This is a collective sport and we are all together when it’s good and when it’s bad.”
Some say that the match against Russia will not be tough for Croatia. Do you agree?
“It will certainly be tough. They play at home, they will have great support from fans and are a good team. It will be difficult, but there is additional motivation because everyone in the stadium will be against us.”
What kind of Russia do you expect?
“They are the hosts. I guess they should attack. I do not know what to say, they have a good team and good individuals, and they will go beyond their capabilities, but I think we have the answers to everything that awaits us.”
Slobodan Kadić
Are you aware of your popularity after the match against Denmark?
“I’m not aware. I’m glad to have contributed to the team and our people. The most important is the team. And popularity? One game is up, the other is down. It’s nice to live through such moments.”
For those who aren’t familiar, how much does the shirt of Hrvoje Ćustić mean to you?
“It was… that was… when that happened…” Subašić said and broke into tears.
Vida quickly went to console the goalkeeper and took over the microphone from him to finish the press conference.
Subašić apologized afterward and said that it is still very difficult to talk about Hrvoje.
“I’m sorry for the tears, f***k it. Emotions are a f*****g thing. It’s hard to control,” he said at the end while socializing with the many media circling him in Sochi.
Hrvoje Ćustić was a Croatian footballer and NK Zadar midfielder who passed away in 2008 at the age of 24. During a home match against HNK Cibalia, Ćustić collided with a concrete wall situated 3 meters from the sideline. He suffered severe head injuries and was immediately taken to the hospital for surgery the following night. Ćustić was in an induced coma and stable, though an infection caused his body temperature to rise and significantly worsen his condition. Ćustić was pronounced brain dead on April 3, 2008.
Subašić has worn a t-shirt with Ćustić’s image for every match ever since.
