Croatian club soccer play is proud to watch World Cup

“It’s a form of relaxation,” Duvnjak said.

As a member of the Croatia Cleveland Soccer Club, Duvnjak follows Croatian soccer closely. He said he’s rooting for his home country’s national team as they play at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

“It brings a lot of sense of national pride for such a small country to be on such a large stage,” Duvnjak said. “We get to share our culture and our heritage with the rest of the world. So, it’s just a nice feeling to be able to see that.”

Duvnjak mentioned that soccer is one of many ways that he stays connected to his Croatian culture. He plays a special role on the club team.

“I play defender,” Duvnjak said. “I play center back.”

Sharing a similar story with some of his teammates, Duvnjak said his family moved to the United States for a better life.

“We moved here as a result of a civil war that happened on the Balkans in the mid-1990s,” he said. “We ended up moving to the states. I was 12 and a half. Spent some time in Salt Lake City, Utah, nine years, before we ended up finding the Croatian community here in Cleveland, Ohio.”

Duvnjak added that community is why he’s thankful for his club team.

“Really, the Croatia Cleveland [Soccer Club], our soccer team here is part of that glue that keeps everything together,” he said. “A lot of different cultures celebrate their traditions through music or food. One of the things that we celebrate and one of the glues in our culture is our affinity for soccer. This team is a strong sense of that.”

As the Croatian National Football Team continues to compete at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Duvnjak said he hopes to share some of his love for soccer and his heritage with his son, Arthur.

“He’s already playing on the [Croatia Juniors Soccer Club],” he said. “So, I hope that he continues on that tradition, playing here locally for the local Croatian team, but [I] also try and teach him the language as well.”

The defender said he’s already started teaching him a couple Croatian words.