Croatian enclave weighs up options

Large community
As many as 50,000 ethnic Croatians live in the region, having preserved their identity and culture for over 400 years in the face of, at times, intense pressure. They have their own villages and newspapers and speak an antiquated form of the Croatian language, but it is far from a safe assumption that they will get behind Slaven Bilić and his troops when they take on the co-hosts in Vienna. The team's decision to base their operations in the Burgenland spa town of Bad Tatzmannsdorf has certainly been welcomed, but it is a common sight to see cars flying the flags of both Croatia and Austria.

Complicated question
"Austrian Croatians speak both languages and the question of who they feel closest to is a complicated one," explained Sarina Gludovatz, an ethnic Croatian born and raised in Austria. She should know too. While she serves as a volunteer at the Croatia media centre, her father Paul is the current Austria Under-17 coach and the man who led them to the semi-finals at the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada. "Having the Croatian team here means so much to the people of this region and they've been looking forward to it for a long time, but Austrian Croatians feel loyal to Austria and will possibly be leaning more towards Austria."

Proud heritage
Gludovatz senior certainly looks to have leaned in that direction, and he is currently assisting coach Josef Hickersberger in compiling information on Austria's opponents during UEFA EURO 2008™. "We're definitely not in contact," said his daughter, before underlining that: "Loyalty isn't an issue with him. He's very objective and is only interested in doing the best job he can. He's just as critical watching the Austrian team or the Croatian team." Born in Austria, the 61-year-old is nonetheless intensely proud of his heritage and is said to have addressed naturalised Austrian duo Zlatko Junuzović and Tomas Šimkovič in Croatian while in charge of the U20s.

No tensions
"There's a different mentality [among the ethnic Croatians] here," adds Sarina Gludovatz. "They seem a lot more relaxed about things, whereas the Austrians tend to be more analytical. I think it's that different mentality that's helped them maintain their identity. There's never any tension between the two, though. The Croatians have lived in Austria for a long time, especially here in the south east, so there are no problems. I have lots of friends in both groups. Among younger people especially, you see a lot of mixing between the two." As for who she would prefer to see advance from Group B, the answer is easy: "I hope Croatia make it to the next round because I love this job!"