By Nikos Varlas/ info@eurohoops.net
The architect of Croatia’s triumph in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament was without a doubt Aco Petrovic. It was through his guidance that his country’s national team got transformed its mentality and attitude on (and perhaps off too) the floor, to become a tight squad, able to win crucial games for the first time in many years.
After the match against Italy, the Croatian coach talked to Eurohoops about this great accomplishment for his country. He admitted that: “For us this is a big surprise. When we met each other some weeks ago, nobody in our country believed we can do something. Nobody expect the players and the staff.”
The Croatians were completely focused on their goal, never losing faith in themselves. “Even when we lost against Italy we realized we can do great things. When we beat Greece, it was a big sign for us. And today (last night) we were ready 100%.”
Does he think that the success of can completely alter the negative “gene” in the team and create a generation of winners? “We’ve changed our style of playing. Croatia is not only about offense. Croatia is a defensive team. Now we can compete against everybody. When you are being tough on defense when you ready to play in win in most of your games”.