{"id":42666,"date":"2026-04-08T14:43:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:43:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/?post_type=news&p=42666"},"modified":"2026-04-08T14:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T12:43:37","slug":"president-milanovic-receives-players-and-coaching-staff-of-croatias-bronze-medal-winning-futsal-national-team","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-players-and-coaching-staff-of-croatias-bronze-medal-winning-futsal-national-team\/","title":{"rendered":"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives Players and Coaching Staff of Croatia\u2019s Bronze-Medal-Winning Futsal National Team"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cCongratulations on your great success \u2014 and I am sure there will be more to come! We will follow your competitions, results, victories and defeats, and support you even when you are not winning,\u201d the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said today to the players of the Croatia futsal national team, members of the coaching staff, and a delegation from the Croatian Football Federation at a reception held to mark the team\u2019s bronze medal at the European Championship in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI followed the closing stages of the tournament \u2014 the semi-final against Spain and the dramatic final against France. These are football powerhouses, and simply being among them speaks volumes about the quality and significance of this competition,\u201d President Milanovi\u0107 said, referring to the recently concluded European Futsal Championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

President Milanovi\u0107 also highlighted the long tradition and popularity of futsal, or five-a-side football, in Croatia. \u201cThe word futsal did not exist before \u2014 it was simply called mali nogomet (small football) \u2014 but that name never fully caught on because the adjective mali, a diminutive, seemed to diminish the value of football itself. But futsal is, in fact, football in every sense, except for the dimensions and a few minor details,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Futsal has been the most watched indoor sport in Croatia for several seasons, and this medal is the first senior-level medal in the history of Croatian futsal. The national team\u2019s previous best result was fourth place at the 2012 European Championship, held in Zagreb and Split.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his address, Croatia captain Franco Jelov\u010di\u0107 expressed hope that this generation would continue to achieve strong results and win more medals, while head coach Marinko Mavrovi\u0107 thanked the coaching staff, players and the Croatian Football Federation for the success achieved. He also gave special thanks to the fans \u201cwho filled the arena and gave us tremendous support.\u201d \u201cWe are happy that we made them proud, and I hope we will continue to do so,\u201d the coach added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Croatian Football Federation President Marijan Kusti\u0107 said that this first medal reflects long-term, consistent and high-quality work, as well as significantly increased investment in futsal players. \u201cThis medal is another incentive for further investment, because we are achieving historic success,\u201d Kusti\u0107 emphasized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alongside captain Franco Jelov\u010di\u0107, the reception at the Office of the President was attended by Croatian futsal national team players Ante Piplica, Nikola Gudasi\u0107, Duje Kustura, Niko Vukmir, Marko Kuraja, Kristian \u010cekol, Antonio Sekuli\u0107, Jakov Hrsti\u0107, Josip Jurlina, David Mataja, Vitor Hugo de Lima da Silva and Nikola \u010cizmi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Representing the Croatian futsal national team\u2019s coaching and support staff were HNS futsal national teams coordinator Boris Durlen, head coach Marinko Mavrovi\u0107, assistant coach Kujtim Morina, HNS futsal team manager Hrvoje Hrka\u010d, and staff members Du\u0161ko Martinac, Mario Modru\u0161an, Kristian \u0160o\u0161tar, Martin Nonkovi\u0107, Matija Lovrekovi\u0107, Antonio \u010cajo, Dario \u017dgrabli\u0107, Marko Cvijanovi\u0107, Romeo \u010cizme\u0161ija, Marin Maru\u0161i\u0107, Mario Horvat and Ivo Zokovi\u0107.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also present with Croatian Football Federation President Marijan Kusti\u0107 were Deputy Secretary General Iva Olivari, Vice President Ile Topuzovi\u0107, and Croatia national football team technical director Stipe Pletikosa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia \/ Filip Glas<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCongratulations on your great success \u2014 and I am sure there will be more to come! We will follow your competitions, results, victories and defeats, and support you even when you are not winning,\u201d the President of the Republic Zoran Milanovi\u0107 said today to the players of the Croatia futsal national team, members of the coaching staff, and a delegation from the Croatian Football Federation at a reception held to mark the team\u2019s bronze medal at the European Championship in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":42665,"template":"","news-cat":[12],"class_list":["post-42666","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-cat-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPresident Milanovi\u0107 Receives Players and Coaching Staff of Croatia\u2019s Bronze-Medal-Winning Futsal National Team - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.predsjednik.hr\/en\/news\/president-milanovic-receives-players-and-coaching-staff-of-croatias-bronze-medal-winning-futsal-national-team\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"President Milanovi\u0107 Receives Players and Coaching Staff of Croatia\u2019s Bronze-Medal-Winning Futsal National Team - President of the Republic of Croatia - Zoran Milanovi\u0107\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cCongratulations on your great success \u2014 and I am sure there will be more to come! 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