All right, welcome back everybody to the All Things Croatia podcast.
Today's episode we have Doris Bacic, who is a professional football player who's played
for clubs like Arsenal, Juventus and Napoli.
And she's currently the goalkeeper and captain of the Croatian national team.
And we're going to learn a bit more about her here.
Doris, thanks for coming on the podcast.
Thank you for calling.
Yeah, I really appreciate having you on.
To start us off, I want to hear a little bit about you growing up.
So you grew up in Neum, you're from Neum, right?
Yeah, I am from Neum.
I grew up and I started also playing football there.
And it's really like small city, like there is not so much thing to say about it, honestly.
I started playing football really accidentally because it was the only sport that retrained
in the city basically.
So I started training it because there is not anything else.
But then I started loving it and then it became my life.
And then after I went to Dubrovnik, I went to high school in Dubrovnik.
I played there and which after this I went out.
I was playing for Osijek for one year, but I was still studying in Dubrovnik and I was
just like playing the games and I had my middle trainings.
But at that level everything was just like, you know, it was very unprofessional.
I mean, it was very like I was a kid, like I was young and it was something I was doing
like on the side, you know, like having fun, part of the school.
And then I went to...
Then I got called up for the young conditional team of Croatian.
And then things started to become a little bit more serious.
Like for me it became much more...
I mean, I had to be more serious because I was like national team player.
I got called up for the junior team and that's where I would say everything would start.
So you got called up in high school before you were even playing on clubs?
No I was playing in Dubrovnik in the club.
It was like with maybe 15 years I got called up first time for under 15 and I went for
one camp.
This was like really a long time ago.
I don't even remember anymore who was the coach honestly.
But yeah, like I was playing for Dubrovnik and I got called up for the national team
and this is how it started.
Like I was playing for under 15 and I passed really all the...
All the...
How do you say it?
Like I played for under 15, I played for under 17, under 19 and then I came to play for this
first team and I had my first game when I was 17.
Okay, wow, wow.
Well yeah, I want to talk more about that but I want to go back to Neum, because I've
been there basically every time I go to Dubrovnik on the bus.
It stops there for the...
But now there is a bridge.
Now you have a bus there anymore.
Now there is a bridge.
That's right, yeah.
But a lot of the listeners here, for all things Groesche Podcast, are diaspora who live in
the US or Australia or places around the world.
And me coming from a big city like Los Angeles and I know other people as well.
Maybe it's interesting to hear sort of what's life like as a kid growing up in Neum, you
know, and you can imagine...
I know you played in some big cities around the world so I'm sure you can compare the
differences.
Yeah, like I was...
Honestly I was really lucky that I grew up in Neum.
Like I always take it inside my heart everywhere I go and I was...
I was the first girl who ever trained with the men.
Like we were the first girl I think ever trained in football with men in the team.
But I really never felt any type of discrimination or anything.
All the boys, they were all my friends so we were always just having fun.
After the training we would go to the street and play football in the street.
Like Neum was like...
Like you know, we would get back at Neum, it's in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But we all like feed ourselves like I would say very creations and stuff and now we all
live like...
We live from tourism, like we basically work three months and then from the rest of the
year we're just like not doing anything, like chilling.
But like I was lucky because life was really easy, you know, like you could go...
It's really calm and very peaceful city, like you could go out on the street to play all
day and whatever.
I don't know, like I always loved it.
I loved to go back home.
Yeah, yeah, it's very beautiful that whole area.
I mean all of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, that whole region is very pretty and yeah
the coast, it must be so nice to grow up right there, you know, by the sea so close.
Growing up...
No, actually like I don't think like I ever realized how lucky and fortunate I am until
I like...
When I started living out of the Neum actually.
Like I remember when I was a kid I was always thinking like this is so small city, like
there's nothing to do here, like what is this place?
But like, you know, when you're a kid like you...
Sometimes hard to see a bigger scene, but like I appreciate it much more today than
I do like appreciate a lot bigger cities where I lived.
Definitely yeah.
You know, as a kid or as a young, you know, player in the beginning of your career, who
were some of your idols that you looked up to in terms of football?
Well, like I...
Like my father is very, he's very good friend with Mark Viduka and he used to be a lot in
the home so like he was kind of always like, I don't know, around the family and also like
we're very close like with family with Goran Iuric, he was 98 like he played for Zvezda
and we know him like left back.
So I would say like growing up with them like I was kind of always like looking into them
generations like little bit older ones.
I also I was always fan of Hajduk Split but like I always admired really Zvonibir Boban
which is mainly a little bit uh...
Contradictionary but like I did think always that Zvonibir Boban is one of the greatest
players that uh, Croatia ever had.
And uh...
I don't know, I was calling him always like Hajduk Milan, I always loved Malvini and stuff
like from the goalkeepers it would be definitely Buffon.
And uh...
I do remember also following like Tim Hoewart for some time but I thought always that he's
uh super cool.
Like maybe not like I don't know like maybe he's not as good goalkeeper as like Buffon
is but uh...
I always remember I was thinking that he's so cool.
Yeah, yeah, definitely.
That's awesome, I'll do a quick uh...
I think I mentioned before I started recording but we'll do some sort of random questions
in the middle of these other questions so not really related to football but really
quick what is your favorite food to eat when you're back home in Naom?
I love pizza.
Eddie, just cheese or...
Pizza is my favorite food.
Not only in Naom but pizza is my favorite like I love Italian food and I think like
I had some friends like that they're always saying to me like I only eat pasta and pizza.
Like it's not the small square thing but I just really love pizza and...
I'm a big fan of I don't know very simple and easy food like I like seafood.
Well how does the pizza in Croatia and Herzegovina rank against Italy?
Oh I mean something like it's good but it's not like you know like I live in Naples,
Naples is home of pizza like I can't I can't hear it like it's really hard.
Yeah you can't say anything about pizza over there I'm sure.
No, no, I'm enjoying it here like it's the best place in the world where you can live
and have good food.
One thing that surprised me when I moved to Croatia I was living out there I was living
in Zagreb for a couple years and now I'm back in Los Angeles but I was down in Konavle with
some friends there and they were putting ketchup and mayonnaise on the pizza and to me that
was crazy I'd never seen that before.
Do you do that?
Yeah like I don't do it but it is something that we do and I do remember once doing it
in front of my Italian friends and they were all like no you can't do anything.
Wow that's what's bad doing some pizza.
I'm gonna eat it.
No like why the brog- Yeah I'm sure that's like a sin over there.
That is yeah that's the same thing I think here in the US if you were to do that people
would look at you like you're crazy not that we care about pizza.
But I know that like you in the US you would like ketchup on spaghetti like this is as this
is same like this is as word as bad as pizza.
That yeah I've never done that some people I know some people who do that but yeah even
to me that's that's too far.
This is also bad.
Same about same like a lot of bad.
Yeah I'll agree with you on that one that's that's true that's true.
Well I'll take this I'll take this back to football now but talk to me you mentioned
you're playing for Napoli now in Italy talk to me sort of about the different clubs that
you played for and and what those experiences were like.
Yeah well the first club that I went when I left Croatia its arsenal in England and
I was there like really really short because I'm that one Croatia wasn't part of EU so
I didn't get work permit.
So I was there just like couple of months training with them and then I signed for Rosicard
in a home in Sweden and there I spent one season one season and I learned that like
I was really young so like I played like I met so many like good players so many like
new friends I learned new culture.
The one thing I didn't like is that so cold like Sweden is super cold and it's not like
nice to be a goalkeeper in this cold like especially like in that point Rosicard was
one of the best clubs in Europe and it was like it was just for a goalkeeper I wasn't
the first goalkeeper I was like we wanted to be on the next ones but like I remember
I watched like the first goalkeeper and I'm the only thing like how can she do it like
it's like she doesn't like go once on a draft and like it's snowing outside in Sweden.
And after this I was just once even in Iceland this I did more like I just got excited about
the idea of being Iceland boring and like and seeing it so I did like so with the opportunity
for like myself to learn more about culture and country there and like it was really short
because in season in Iceland it's just three months because you know like weather and stuff
so it was really only during the summer three months and after this I went to Andalek, Belgium.
I played there and it was it was weird like the club was good like it was it's big club
was probably the biggest Belgian club the big beloved there like you this is maybe the
first time when I started to feel like this maybe that is missing to the clubs that are
independent or the men club like this fan club you know like you don't get the same
amount of love from the fans like if you play I would say in Andalek and if you play you
went to sport if you play in Rosengard because like Rosengard is much more independent like
people do support it but like you know like people are crazy about Andalek this huge club
and this is like where I would say like I learned a lot in Andalek that I got in maybe
like I was a little bit like unlucky I got I had really big injury at the beginning of
the season where I broke my entire face basically and I was like recovering for a couple of
months from this so it was like I was traveling at the beginning but all together like I nearly
left it in Belgium it's it was really nice experience and after this I signed for Juventus
where I was three years and then Juventus like I always say like it's it's like my second
channel even today like the players and the girls and the goalkeeper coach that I met
there I was I would say I was really lucky to meet goalkeeper like this at this beginning
of my life it was like absolutely everything that I needed as a immature maybe unfinished
and technically goalkeeper at that point like I met a goalkeeper coach he is to now goalkeeper
coach of the Italian national team where Giuseppe Mamoliti and he taught me really maybe more
than anybody else taught me anything in my life and I would be really forever grateful
for this and nothing like three years Juventus we weren't more or less anything that there
was one and then after this I went to Sporting to Lisbon Portugal and after this I was in
Spain last year I was in Spain in Levante Las Planas like just based in Barcelona and
nothing like I came back to Napoli this year like I came back to Italy this year because
I somehow always felt really Italy was my second home and I always find myself to to
be really good here and I always enjoy it but coming back to vacations or coming back
to see my friends I do think that Italian mentality is really maybe the closest link
to our our creation mentality especially for me where I'm for the south of creation and
all this like you know sea and sun influence and Mediterranean where you like just a little
bit more maybe slowly I was kind of creating this all my lighter flag I did I do remember
once I first time I left to Portugal where it was really like warm I said I'm never
going back anywhere where it's cold like there's no way like I don't want to go back to the
cold country good to this side meal I do believe that like it's very important to have also
good quality of life like it's not only about football yeah well yeah I can imagine Italy
down there down south is very similar I mean you can take a Jadrolinja basically from Croatia
what is that a couple hours and go two hours drive to body and from body there is the Jadrolinja
to do but only gives me eight hours I think yeah that's that's not too bad have you done
that before or do you always fly I'm always flying I'm I only went for Christmas home
like I'm just I have national team every time we were free I had national team so and my
national team pays me the flights yeah yeah that's true yeah very busy schedule you mentioned
you know playing in all these different countries and all these for all these different teams
and stadiums where was your favorite place to play in terms of like the atmosphere the
crowd well well probably oh this is hard one so I would say I loved playing a lot of games
in Osijek with the national team which I would say was first time ever that we played like
with this big crowd in Croatia and this for me was always my dream come true like this
is one of the dreams that I never fulfilled so it it was really like we all of us all
of us like girls we were really emotional about this and we like we didn't we didn't
want we lost against Norway that this I'm sorry for this but it was really for all of
us dream come true to play in front of our people in our home we played in Osijek in
radio stadium of Osijek which is just like built little thing like this while ago and
after this I would say I also love playing for you went to Senalian stadium this is maybe
like two games where I really enjoy playing like I do love to play at your soul store
like against teams that have like big crowds so whether it's more a way crowd than a more
fun but I would say that those two games for sure everyone on my favorite games.
That's awesome yeah yeah that new Osijek yeah that stadium was just built not too long ago
I guess at the end of last year maybe but yeah it's this it's brand new stadium like
really brand new.
That's awesome oh one quick question before I get back into into this line of thinking
but what type of music do you listen to either maybe when you go out and party and also like
when you're training and stuff.
Well I'm really like old-fashioned about music I do listen a lot about sixties and seventies
rocky roll and I do listen like I was saying you away from England when I go out to party
like obviously this is music that is not so much popular today to go on to the party I
don't know about in Europe it's not I mean you live in South Africa you know like it's not like that but when I go out to have
part there's something I mostly go to the other music but when I'm in the home and I'm
listening to my music it's mostly mostly like blues and and knocking old new way and like
this eighties and seventies years hmm so give me give me some bands of those like seven
is that like Led Zeppelin or like our game was one of my favorite band would be prop
for sure Pink Floyd and I would say oh wow and I also like Jefferson Airplane and I do
like also I mean Led Zeppelin I like them maybe they're not in mind top five but I do
like the Miami Canine all others but it's like they like do it so I like the I do like
Rachel dead and all that like San Francisco scene from 70 yeah wow yeah that's some real
throwbacks there the Jefferson Airplane yeah Grateful Dead yeah definitely some sixties
and seventies interesting yeah I don't remember any of the clubs in Zagreb playing any Grateful
Dead when you go on our you know my teammates hate my music like really like just anybody
can play music just don't give it a door different we just don't want to listen to this music
so obviously when I'm in a dressing room when I'm with my teammates I'm always like you
know like getting adopted like I am thinking okay if you want to listen to this we listen
to this like it's fine you know in the national greeting we listen more slowly creation music
like you know the one that gets you going before the game yeah all the like was a precious
boys all those songs and well you're you're you know you're a high duke fan you mentioned
you're down south there I'm trying to think what's the equivalent of a separate switch
boys for because like the separate switch boys you know they're dynamo but they also
have a whole bunch of like national team songs like that yeah I give me any solid like I
don't know like high duck is mostly like laying on Dalmatian songs and stuff like this being
caught so upset would be but he's dead now but he did a lot of songs about I think about
the reach yeah I got I was listening not too long ago to a lot I got in like a I just started
listening to a lot of high duke songs and like all these other songs like even somewhere
from some yellow bar song it's crazy to me that the Croatia has like every club has their
own music and their own songs it's like here we don't have that you know I think it's very
like I think everywhere in it's like this like also in Italy like every club that has
their anthem and their music and songs it's I do think it's normal yeah are you also hybrid
support there I never you know I grew up always just thinking you know Croatia everything is
Croatia and like it's all all one everyone is one you know so when I actually went out
to Zagreb and I saw that it's all dynamo versus high duke and all this all these rivalries
it was just weird to me so I never really I could never pick one because I like living
in Zagreb it was nice but I also spend a lot of the summers in Makarska you know down there
was the split so I don't know I can't I can't really decide and I don't want to get beat
up by any one of the other fans so I just say that's fair enough but I do like the music
I like the music of both teams of all the things because here in the US you don't have
that you know it's it's like there's no songs for the Lakers basketball team okay so that's
that's that's new for me and that's why I listen to that well bring I'll bring this
back to football but talk to me sort of about women's football in Croatia and how that has
grown and sort of how it is in Croatia versus around Europe the rest of Europe and the rest
of the world really well we've been like lately we've been growing a lot like I would say
also this game that I mentioned before that where we played in Osijek was just one consequence
of this growth of women's football in Croatia lately and we've been struggling for a couple
of years and I do think that there was a period where like women's football in Europe was
moving and we were a little bit like falling behind but then I do think that in the last
couple of years we did a huge step forward like that the federation started to invest
a lot of money that the little bit girls change like roster change like we've got the new
coach everything like you know like I would say that change is sometimes necessary but
that's a better if you're doing well or badly just just to shape things up a little bit
and this is exactly what happened like we got new coach we got the new like people who
were working around us but that got like more motivated than like I do feel that and like
never work once you work like for a long year you just maybe lose your motivation ambition
and then like stuff was stuff just started like you know happening I do feel that like
you know when football like it's always dominant like you just need to start doing something
and it just other things just come and now I wouldn't say that we are really growing
and I am really optimistic about national team although I do think that league and creation
like racially back home needs a lot more a lot more investments and a lot more I do feel
it's a little bit falling behind like I do think that maybe need some changes maybe need
some more people that are more involved and people that want to do more and I do feel
that they're the problem that we are a little bit falling behind but I then have the hope
that this is also going to come on on its own in this way like it's for sure like I'm
like very known about going back for who would football now once it's a sort of like happening
and the sudden well once the thing started like to move over with the World Cups with
euros with the investments in Europe's in transfer like there's no way in bed like just
going to go like forward and also with this grace we was going to go forward I just like
the only question is with what speed you know I do hope it's going to be like it's going
to like start going a little bit faster than it is but for sure the future about women
football women national team in grace is really bright well you mentioned the Euro Cup and
so that takes place one year after the the men's tournament right the euros so that
will be next year for you guys yeah what it what it's that what's the road to the Euro
Cup look like for your team so we had no like yeah we had not we have national team next
week actually a Monday the first April and we had to like it's the first the Euro quality
start now next week so it's the first games to the qualities and we are in a group with
the wells Ukraine and Kosovo and for us two games we play well so ready Ukraine on I do
like it's really like complicated now like I'm where like try to explain to you because
I'm not quite sure if I would be right but like the system works as a nation we work
so basically like the first team qualifies or needs to play one playoff and then second
team is to play I can play now we have these games I do believe that we but good group
I do think that we have a lot of chances I do believe that like well this is a really
strong opponent but it's it's possible to play against them and also like as Ukraine
and Kosovo we're going to like give our all and I am positive and I do know that we are
going to manage to follow the fighters before starting with well you were you were just
named you know captain your captain of the national team what does that mean to you and
what sort of role do you take on by becoming the captain but honestly like to tell you
it's something that maybe I always want I mean I feel that everybody wants to be and
they're all like it's something either one they want to like go out with your your team
represent your country like they can't bend and everything something that I really really
wanted but when I got it it was something that I realized that maybe I wasn't ready
for like it wasn't what I was expecting it to be you know like getting with a lot a lot
a lot responsibility which like for me maybe I was like a little bit thinking like oh you
know I'm sceptic like it's gonna be like easy and stuff which wasn't like her and it's
the maybe just when I became the captain I realized how like how our review sceptic which
is also maybe legend of creation food believe a long leg up thank how much she's been went
through and it came with a big responsibility but you just have to adapt fast and I do feel
like I did this like I do feel that I'm giving my all like course we are we're all humans
like we all made mistakes and stuff but I am always like trying to be there for the
girls trying to be there for the stuff and trying to be like also channel of communication
if it's necessary or anything with Federation or with anybody and it's been true to her
for me like it's been true to her for me it's been like you like my family is like really
proud and like it's also me to be proud of it then it's it's been one of my like really
to be since I started like wearing creation shirt well that's awesome yeah I love to
hear that so you really feel like you're you're stepping more into you know becoming a leader
and having to yeah I'm trying to like aren't hoping that like I am like I'm still like
like I became maybe two years ago captain I'm not like so long like I do feel like all
all my national team teammates are also my friends so it's not like that card we're really
like one family in the in the national team and we all do like I like the only difference
between me and five other players that I have arm bend but they're also the same leaders
like I am there have the same status like I do so it's just like I kill normal thing
like and I am happy like I am fortunate really to have teammates like this to have teammates
that are gonna step up in any moment and any moment really show that like doesn't matter
who is missing and what's happening there they're there they're ready like no matter
the conditions that's awesome yeah I want to change the subject to sort of global football
and what's been going on lately but what are your thoughts about players going to the MLS
and to the Saudi League because that's been the last I guess two years one year sort of
a big thing and I see a lot of mixed opinions on it so I wonder what are your thoughts on
players doing that what do you mean when man player would like well either in general I
guess I mean going to sort of a worse league I guess for either more money or more publicity
or yeah I don't like it's insane because of course if you go from an internet as a man
player if you go to MLS from a year of maybe it's not same level maybe it's a little bit
like you know like like slower level and stuff but if there's a woman you go to American
League the level is really high so it's not same like I think that for the women players
going back to America is huge step forward like it's really really big thing because
the women football in America is huge which it's not same with like the men if you go
maybe instead of you know it's a little bit slower a little bit maybe tactically not as
at the point where it is in Europe and Saudi League like I can't say much like at this
point like I don't know how it seems like to everybody that it's just so like like there
the players go there for the money but like I did also permitted a lot of players that
when they're also women and then that just hurt wouldn't crush it like the people like
they do have money so why wouldn't they like they can put their money into whatever they
want you know so if they're putting in like and if there is chance for like you to be
part of some probably at this good life why not put it at the end it's your job it's your
life your career like I'm not really like judging either way like I do feel that anybody
should do their career what they want and at the end of the day it's only football
no like it is a like it's not the end of the world like if you want to go and earn money
like nobody can can tell you you know that do this if you want to stay and play like
in the biggest level and if this is your own part thing for it then you choose this like
either feel to be like individual or choice and both fine for me yeah yeah it depends
just what you what you're looking for out of it or what you what's important to you
what you want that makes sense and yeah you mentioned it's funny that the American you
know the women's team has been one of the best in the world for the longest time and
the men's team has always been really bad up until just recently they're finally starting
to get a little bit better but yeah the American women's team the football team has always
been very strong and that was really our only in America but always have a huge culture
of women football I mean just if you see the base and the structure of women football in
America it's like they play every college in every university this is like crazy this
is something you can't imagine and it's like just huge base of the player that America
has yeah yeah definitely I want to ask sort of you personally because to me penalty kicks
are the most exciting part of the game to watch but also the most you know scary if
you're rooting for like the Croatian national team and you go to penalty kicks you know
you feel like you're gonna have a heart attack every kick what's your strategy as a goalkeeper
during those and what's going through your head when that happens well I think like depends
who is shooting penalties like I do feel it's like a lot of psychology in it and it depends
a lot about like characteristics of the player and well I didn't have some crazy strategy
really like I choose a side and I go strong for that side are you do you have to do you
know do you say oh this player usually goes you know left or right or are you just kind
of watching in the moment you know their body language and and trying to guess right there
well it's I would say it's a bit of everything really like you don't maybe know sometimes
how the players shoot what are their habits up but like I do think it's a bit of everything
in a moment that's fair that's fair yeah aside from football daughters what do you do in
your free time what sort of hobbies or what else do you like to do vacation no aside of
the wind but like I've been like before like I do a lot like I read the books I play a
PlayStation I go out to the beach and I do like all the beach sports like and but really
like really with the recent schedules and in the football bit like new nations thing
and stuff like mine free time is really redeemed to zero the only free time I have is for Christmas
when I go home and in the summer when I'm mostly in vacation and not like really nothing
but like just daily in my in my year like I would say that I mean I go out with a friend
so I read I watch movies like every other person I do see like just trying to kill some
time yeah that's fair yeah have you watched any good movies lately anything new I'm a
big anime lover so I mostly watch anime oh yeah okay I never really got into that but
I a lot of friends I feel like only just recently within the last I don't know maybe seven years
or so it's gotten like really popular amongst you know like everyone people who didn't watch
it before and now it's just it's become maybe I'm always I will have always been fan of
like you know her tunes and about the animations and stuff so like I I love in an anime like
I love all bit or a Gilby studio and all the Japanese like her tunes and I always love
this yeah very cool very cool well Doris I want to thank you so much for coming here
on the all things Croatia podcast I've got one last question for you which is a question
that I ask every guest at the end of the podcast and that's just what to you makes Croatia
special for Asia oh there's so many things that make me crazy special oh well I would
say that the thing that makes gracious special are the people like what makes it special
for the me after people like a lot of people in nature stuff see and other things but without
people grace would never be like this like maybe sometimes we are hard but at the end
like I do feel that we are all learning and we love our country and that we would do anything
for and I do always get proud to be creation because of this because of everything that
like our cute was written in our history because of everything our ancestors did and because
of everything that I hope that we and the future generation yeah that's a great answer
Doris I want to wish you you know the best of luck in your career both with the clubs
and of course with the national team and the upcoming qualifications looking forward to
those and uh yeah thank you very much for taking the time to come on today thank you
thank you for calling and I know you're going to follow us follow things now