Would you keep this guy?

May 5th, 2006 | By: Soze | 19 Comments »

Seric“They {Australians} call me a worm and a traitor, but I have only ever dreamed of playing under the Australian flag.”

This is a comment given by Croatian NT midfielder, Anthony Šerić to an Australian newspaper. If someone does not know, Šerić was born and raised in Sydney, Australia and accepted a spot on the Croatian NT during it’s heyday in 1998.

“Australian football at the time was a mess. Croatia on the other hand was in the middle of it’s Golden Age.” He apparently could not pass up the opportunity to play alongside Šuker, Prosinečki, Boban and Asanović.

Now, what kind of a comment is that 35 days before the WC begins…and one of the matches in your opening group is against your homeland.

..”I have always dreamed of playing in an Australian shirt. In that game, when we play Australia, I will represent both teams eaqually. It’s my home, where I was born and developed my football playing….”

I hope Cico Kranjčar has him handing out beverages to the rest of the team during the Croatia Australia match on June 22. His priorities may be a little fuzzy during this game.



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Comments
Username By Mike | May 5th, 2006 at 2:02 pm
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Now thats what I call committed to the cause! Hmm…

Posted from United States United States

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Username By Soze | May 5th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
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Yeah. Croatia has a few foreign born players on the team and I was on the fence about such players being on a WC squad. This guy should be ashamed of himseld saying something like that 35 days before the games. His team mates can’t be too happy either.

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Username By Bob | May 5th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
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The Australia-Croatia game is going to be something. I stillt think they should merge into their own empire. They’d field one heck of a team.

Poor timing for his comments.

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Username By kapcro | May 5th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
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Wonder if he makes it out of the locker-room in one piece. Can’t merge, they’d never agree on who gets top billing.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By Soze | May 5th, 2006 at 5:35 pm
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Why merge two teams where all the players would come from Croatia anyway?? It’s like merging Angola and Argentina. We know what nationality all the players would be…right Bob?

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Username By Marko | May 5th, 2006 at 9:11 pm
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It’s unfortunate that Seric has made those comments. In fact, it ruins it for his teamates on the NT.

Seric made a decision to play for Croatia. He should stoically accept that, and not whine.

He also shouldn’t be so sensitive to what others say. If he chosed to play for Austrialia instead, he would be complaining about how the Croatians are calling him a traitor.

Nevertheless I wouldn’t start this guy

Posted from United States United States

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Username By Ime | May 5th, 2006 at 11:14 pm
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If I were the coach I would kick him off the team and let him play on the same national team as Biscan.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By BIGCRO | May 6th, 2006 at 12:55 am
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I think we should put miki rapajic on the team and kick him out! I hope that happens. Krajncar has thought about it. Miki is far more experienced and a more talented player than seric and not to mention a hella good passer in the midfield and thats what croatia needs.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By BIGCRO | May 6th, 2006 at 12:59 am
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and i forgot to mention he would give his soul for croatia, while this guy makes stupid comments and could care less

Posted from United States United States

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Username By kapcro | May 6th, 2006 at 6:27 am
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Seric ends up a man without a country. Australia doesn’t want him and Croatia can see that the Australian assessment of him was correct. Any other player with dedication to and respect for Croatia would be a better choice.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By Crno Gorac | May 6th, 2006 at 7:07 am
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Seric wouldnt start for Croatia anyway…..

Posted from Australia Australia

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Username By Soze | May 6th, 2006 at 8:38 am
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Like Crno says, Seric is not a starter anyway. Kranjcar needs to asses this guys place on the team after a comment like that. Can you imagine a US player saying something like that. Bush would have them in a National Security Tribunal Jail within 20 minutes. And I think the people would demand it.

A list of 18 defenite players has been released by the Kranjcar camp and Seric is not on this list. So there is a chance he might not go to Germany. Unfortunately though, Rapaic is not on this list either and Kranjcar has said that he will not be calling him to germany. Rapaic may give his soul for Croatia, but his style of play s different than the rest of the recently starting squad. That may conflict with the vibe of the team.

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Username By Ashton Taylor-Taylor | May 6th, 2006 at 7:51 pm
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I think you have to understand that he didn’t mean it in a way that is going to benefit the Socceroos in any shape or form.

Rather that the game against Australia is going to be something special and that it’s not only for him but if you look at the Socceroos Viduka,Popovic,Skoko,Culina, Covic,Kalac and Milicevic all could have at some stage done the same thing and represent Croatia.

But, I think the main thing was just like the article has said Seric unlike Simunic is a fringe player for Croatia and is just simply lamenting on the fact that he never thought Australia would be in a position it finds itself now and it’s understandable he still feels in some way that he should have been more open in terms of his thinking towards representative football or is simply still an Australian(at heart).

Posted from Australia Australia

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Username By kapcro | May 7th, 2006 at 8:09 am
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The problem lies in the statememt ” I only dreamed of playing under the Australian flag.” Was there any credit given to Croatia for giving him a place? That makes it seem that Croatia was a secondary choice and his choice to be part of the team seems disingenuous. There are enough Croatian players that would make it a priority at this time. What his role on the team would be currently is irrelevant he is still part of a team and his alligance should be to that team. How do you represent both teams equally while wearing the shirt of one? By virtue of the fact that you wear a particular jersey there is an unequal representation. His comments are disharmonious and self-serving and call into question his role as a team player. The timing of his comments creates rankor and resentment just before the start of the WC and that is why people take issue with the statements made. He has certainly given the coaching staff something to mull over.

Posted from United States United States

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Username By Joe | May 7th, 2006 at 8:55 pm
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I don’t blame Seric at all. This all happened at the time when Soccer Australia was doing it’s damndest to rid all clubs of their ethnic heritage (Italians, Greeks, Croats, etc), and now all of a sudden when someone does really well and follows that heritage that supported them, everyone starts complaining and calling Seric and Simunic traitors. Bad luck, you snooze, you lose.

I think Seric said these things purely to silence the “tall poppy hunter” critics - not as any disrespect for the team that adopted him.

I for one am a big fan of Ante and wish him all the best in the world cup. While he is in Germany, Soccer Australia can sit there and lament on the thousands of Australian Croatians they had alientated.

Posted from Australia Australia

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Username By Crno Gorac | May 9th, 2006 at 3:55 am
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“Soccer Australia can sit there and lament on the thousands of Australian Croatians they had alientated.”

3/4s of these “Australian Croatians” cant even speak Croatian. They should be supporting the country that raised them. I was born in Yugoslavia, but I will still be supporting Australia (As well as Scg and Croatia). Its just a matter of respect..

Posted from Australia Australia

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Username By Joe | May 11th, 2006 at 7:31 pm
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That’s fair enough Crno Gorac… but why then, doesn’t everyone complain and moan about Christian Vieri playing for Italy - a Sydney rasied boy? Shouldn’t he “be supporting the country that raised” him?

It IS a matter of respect - you’re quite right. But in my eyes, Soccer Australia “disrespected” the ethnic clubs that got the ball rolling in Australia, and Seric got a better job offer and took it. Why not?

Posted from Australia Australia

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Username By Soze | May 11th, 2006 at 7:53 pm
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Doesn’t C. Vieri have a brother who might be playing for the Socceroos? I thought I red that somewhere.

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Username By Karlo Dunatov | May 26th, 2006 at 7:24 pm
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send him home, and send him home now!

Posted from Canada Canada

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