Wearing a Croatia jersey, Lucy Zelic wiped away tears as she reflected on Croatia's historic appearance in the World Cup final.
Zelic, who has Croatian heritage, apologised to SBS viewers as she spoke with Craig Foster about the hardships the small country overcame to gain independence in 1991.
“They’ve used that adversity to channel it, it’s deeply ingrained in their DNA and their culture and it’s also the rhetoric that comes out from (coach Zlatko) Dalic, from the players,” Zelic said.
She became emotional as she read quotes from football star Ivan Rakitic.
“I’m sorry, this is the line (from Rakitic) that got me,” she said as the tears began flowing.
“‘If there was a stadium big enough for 4.5 million people it would be full,’ and I’m sorry, apologies (for crying). It’s a really big deal for the Croatians, for the players and what it means to us.”
