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I can't say that they were culture shock, but did it take getting used to? Of course, you know,
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living in a different country. And also there are some Americanisms that are kind of stuck with me
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that maybe don't work as much in Croatia or in Europe as I might've expected.
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All right, welcome back to the podcast, everybody. On this episode, our special guest is Helenna
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Hercigonja-Molten, a former professional soccer player who represented Croatia on the national
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team in both soccer and futsal, and now coaches and works towards improving participation in
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women's soccer in Croatia. Helena was born in Los Angeles with Croatian and Jamaican roots,
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and moved to Croatia where she graduated from the University of Zagreb and got her master's degree.
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In this episode, we're going to hear about her move to Croatia, her career there as a player,
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and how she's developing Croatian soccer programs now. Helenna, thanks for coming on the podcast.
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Hi, well, thanks for the invitation. I'm glad to be here. Yeah, of course. You know, before we get
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started, I have something very important that we have to clear up here. Should we be calling it
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soccer or football? Since we're both from LA. It comes out of soccer sometimes, but the longer
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I've been in Europe, the more I turn to calling it football. Yeah. All right. Well, then in this
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podcast, we'll call it that. I actually, the same thing for me. I've been, actually, I think just
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yesterday was my two-year anniversary in Croatia. And I've been, I mean, no go man. A baby still,
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a baby. I've been here for 11. 11 years you've been here now. Yep. Wow. Well, let's talk a little
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about the beginnings of that. So you have sort of an interesting heritage. Can you talk a little
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about that and then sort of, you know, growing up? All right. Well, for starters, my mom is Croatian
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and my dad is Jamaican and the both of them met in Los Angeles. So it's an interesting story right
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off the bat. I was born in Los Angeles, but I wasn't there for very long. Afterwards, we moved
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to Jamaica, was there for a few years, and then we moved to the US. And I basically grew up then in
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the US between North Carolina and Florida, lived in Miami, also spent a year in Canada, and then
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back to Miami before coming to Croatia. So I'd visited Croatia as a child, just like I'd visited
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Jamaica. But I only started living here after I made a more permanent move once I finished high
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school. So at that point, I was already playing for the U-19 national team. And I was traveling
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from Miami to Zagreb and to Croatia to play qualifiers for European and World Cup. And then
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I guess I was intrigued by that kind of thought, you know, at 18, if not now when, you know? And then
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I just kind of took the leap over the pond, as they say, and started living here in Croatia. And
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things just, you know, came after that little by little. That's awesome. Yeah, that's quite the
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story. A lot to break down here. I want to ask, how did your parents meet both in Los Angeles?
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You know, I actually interviewed a few, maybe like six months ago, Richard Gruica. And he was born,
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oh, I forget, but he also had Croatian and Jamaican roots. And I was, I remember, wow,
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he's probably the only person I'll meet. And then was born in the US or like raised in the US. I was
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thinking, oh, that's probably the only person I'll meet like that. Let's shout out to Richard right now.
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Yeah, that's pretty crazy. Yeah, how did your parents end up both in Los Angeles and meeting there?
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My mom left Zagreb to go to LA to finish a university or an extra university study. And
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then she started working and my dad had left Jamaica also for university in the US and then
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started working and that's where they met at work. And then so growing up, did you feel sort of one
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identity more than another, or were you sort of moving around so many different places that,
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you know, you felt a mix of everything? Honestly, I didn't think about it too much. I
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love Jamaica and I still love Jamaica to this day. I love spending time there. I loved growing up there.
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The US to me was associated more with school because I would have to go to school,
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but also with football because I played there. And I was in love with my club team.
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The Kendall Soccer Coalition was the name at the time in Miami. And then, you know, that age,
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14, 15, 16, 17, I was really consumed with that. But I can't say that I've always felt
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more American or more Croatian or more Jamaican, just kind of, you know, a mix of all of that.
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Yeah. Were you surrounded at all by Croatian communities in any of the cities growing up?
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No. Not one bit. Not one bit. Just my mom. She used to speak Croatian with me when I was younger.
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And I was, I kind of rejected it because it's quite a hard language. And I wasn't too interested
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until I actually started coming here. And then I realized I could use it. And then luckily,
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since she spoke Croatian with me, I just kind of had an ear for it. And then when I moved here,
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I learned. Yeah, it's a very tough language. That's for sure. What were your thoughts then
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going into that move? You know, was that a big decision for you? Well, maybe since I had moved
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several times growing up, I wasn't too scared. It was definitely a big jump. But I just kind of,
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you know, since it was my decision, I felt ready for it. I wasn't, you know, scared off by anything.
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So it's fine. When did, as far as football goes, when did you start playing as a kid?
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Yes, around like age five in the US. At the time we were living in North Carolina, actually.
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And you know, football is normal for girls in the US. So I'm not entirely sure why I chose
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football. I just remember playing and not stopping. Did you always feel a pull towards a professional
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career in it? Or is it just something that as the years gone by, you said, oh, wow, I can play this
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professionally? Yeah, more the latter. I wasn't expecting anything. I was just kind of playing
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and loving it. And then as time went on, I just kept going forward with it. And so your first,
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you were playing for Dynamo for what, two years? Was that your first sort of international
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professional? Yeah, I started playing for Dynamo when I moved here to Zagreb, right? Because it was
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one of the biggest clubs, obviously for men's football, but also for women's football. There
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are two major clubs here in Zagreb. And I guess that is my first international team because before
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that I was playing in the US. And now how many years I'd have to kind of trickle back and, you
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know, think about how long I was playing. It was more than two because I was doing my bachelor's
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degree at the time. So I was in Zagreb for three years. Then I started playing football at that
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time as well. And I was playing for the national team. And after that I went to Poland and I was
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playing in Poland for MEDEKONJAN for half a season. And then I had decided to do my master's degree
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and I came back to Zagreb. And then I was playing in Slovenia. I was living in Zagreb and playing in
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Slovenia for Joneka Pomorje. Oh wow, so you were commuting? Yeah. How long? How, by train? I know
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they have a pretty good train line. Driving. Yeah. How long? I had a car. Yeah, about two hours and
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15 minutes. Wow. I mean, I guess that's sort of like working and living in LA and going through
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that, the worst of that job. A little bit. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But definitely unusual in Europe and
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in Croatia, especially to have that. Yeah. It was a good club. It still is a good club. And I played
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for another two years, 11-V-11. And then I stopped with 11-V-11 football and I continued playing
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Flitsal up until 2019. What was the experience like playing for the Croatian national team for
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the first time? Well, it's an honor to play for your country. It's kind of hard to explain even.
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It just felt like you're part of a bigger cause and you're contributing to something bigger. So
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it's also nice to experience that with other teammates and really on the field, you're just
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doing your best. So you're playing the game. And at that point, you're thinking about the game as
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much as possible and representing your country as best you can. And then, so at the same time,
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you were playing Flitsal as well for the Croatian national team? Yeah. Well, in the beginning,
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there wasn't a Croatian national Flitsal team. That came a little bit later. And 2018 was the first
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competition for the national Flitsal team. And I was playing then. So I was playing for
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alumnus, which is, it was a men's Flitsal club at the time with a women's team. And now it's
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a women's Flitsal club. And we were playing in the first women's Flitsal league. And then
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when the national team was formed, then players from the first women's Flitsal league were
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the first to represent their country for that team. And I was part of that. Wow. So you're on
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the very first ever squad. Yes. That's pretty cool. What's the difference in terms of, I mean,
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obviously the playing the field is different in terms of football versus Flitsal. Flitsal?
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Everything's different. It's a different game. It's a different game. The ball is smaller and
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the ball is smaller and also heavier. The field dimensions as well as the surface is different.
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The goals are smaller. Obviously it's not 11 v 11, it's 5 v 5. So the movements are different.
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The tactics are different. At a higher level, it's safe to say that everything is different.
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It's a different game. At a lower level, Flitsal is usually recreational.
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And so do you prefer professionally, did you prefer playing one or the other or is it sort of,
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is just two different games for you? Well, during my career, there was a more professional
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environment for 11 v 11. Flitsal is still, you know, a growing sport here. And it's
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hard to say much about the professional Flitsal environment because
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it's still at an amateur level. So at that time, you know, in order to be more professional,
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it would have been in the 11 v 11 game. Now, you know, things are changing with time, both Flitsal
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and women's football here are becoming more and more professional. So for some younger players
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now, that kind of, the answer to that kind of question will be different.
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Yeah, well, clearly Flitsal is a lot newer in Croatia, but generally speaking for women's
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football, what's the status of that in Croatia? Is it popular? Is it becoming more popular?
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Yeah, definitely becoming more popular. There's a lot more money going into women's football.
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So it's really a work in progress. The leagues are becoming bigger, more younger players getting
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into football, more clubs than competing. All in all, you know, it's still working on
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mass participation. And then with time that goes up in a pyramid kind of shape towards the national
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team. Are you seeing more, I don't know, more media coverage and a bigger push, you know,
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sort of in the media to push women's football to become, you know, bigger than it is now?
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Definitely, definitely, definitely. I mean, it could always be more, you know,
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everybody wants more, which is legitimate. All of us want more and it's good to push for more. But
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with time, it's getting better. Does the men's team at all support in any way? I mean, I don't
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know, just any shows of support from, from, I guess, the men's teams in Croatia or leagues?
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Sure. Men's teams are actually obliged to contribute to women's teams. It's part of
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a licensing program within Croatian football and the federation. So they have to either have to
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have their own teams or contribute to women's football. Okay. Well, I know you were supporting
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the men's team. I think I saw that you were in Qatar for this last world cup. What was that
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experience for you? Phenomenal. I mean, Croatia versus Brazil winning in penalties. It's again,
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hard to explain how that kind of experience sticks with you. It was great. It was definitely,
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it was definitely something I'll remember for a long time. Yeah. I can only imagine. I mean,
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for me, that was one of the best experiences of my life being in Zagreb for the Croatia-Brazil
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game. And, you know, when we were down one zero, everyone was so quiet and like, you could hear a
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pin drop literally. That's the first time I understood that expression. And then when
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was it Petkovic, I think scored that goal and everyone, it was just so crazy. It was surreal.
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Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's nuts. Yeah. The women's world cup. But it's funny because the
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stadium was filled with Brazilian fans. Really? So all of a sudden, you know, there's a saying in
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Croatia, I'll say it in English, even though it's not the best translation, but there's not much of
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us, but we're here, you know? And that's kind of what you think of in that moment, because there
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weren't many of us there in comparison to the Brazilian fans, but you could really feel our
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any biography translations you order. Yeah, is it what is that the Malo nasje? Al nasima? Al nasima, yeah.
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Yeah, I love that song. Yeah, that's such a surreal experience, I'm sure. Speaking of the World Cup,
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the Women's World Cup is this summer, right? This year. What are you doing to prepare? Well, before
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we start talking about that, let me ask you, you know, when did you start coaching and how did that,
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what teams are you coaching for? I started coaching in 2016 when I finished my UEFA B
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coaching lessons. At the time, I was coaching for two clubs in parallel,
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Kerva Coach in Croatia. They were launching a women's team. So I helped get that started.
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And then afterwards, I continued to run that academy, which is also where I am today.
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Whereas I was also in Zagreb Nola Cetri Eden, which is a club that promotes equality.
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And at the time, we were starting up a program to help refugees get integrated into society
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here in Croatia, because there was a refugee crisis. So I was also running that program for them.
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So I finished the B license in 2016. I've been working as a coach since then. I've also done the
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A license now. So once I finished the A license, we launched Zunica Savica, which is a women's
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football club. So what came out of that female academy from Kerva Coaching has now turned into
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a women's football club here in Zagreb. And those are the teams that I manage and the club that I
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manage. But I also work with the national team as an assistant coach in the U-17 and U-19 women's
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teams. And do those, do the U-17s and 19s play, do they also have a World Cup? And does that go on
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at the same time as the professional team? They have their own cycle of qualifications and
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tournaments. And is that coming up this summer as well? Well, they have, so actually starting
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this week, we have qualifications with the U-17 national team. And then it really depends what
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happens after that, whether you qualify or don't qualify. And the U-19s have their qualifications
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at the beginning of April. And those tournaments are every year because in reality, your younger
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age groups have new players each year, right? As one age kind of someone who is U-19 or U-17
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right now at this time next year might not be able to play for the team, right? Because then they
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have to go into the next selection. So then for the younger age groups, you have tournaments
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yearly. Okay. So you have quite the busy schedule then managing all of that. Yeah. Who are some of
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the powerhouses in Europe as far as women's soccer go? Because I think the U.S. probably has the best
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women's team, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah. If we're talking about the professional level, then yeah.
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You know, the first team, the U.S. are obviously dominant. They won the last World Cup as is
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Netherlands dominant, right? Because they were in that final. So you can really, you know, look at
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the World Cup as some kind of mirror as to what teams and what countries have gone the furthest
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with women's football and investment in women's football up until now. But European countries are
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quite high, you know, also there are European Cups, obviously. And now there's going to be a
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new competition as a like women's nation league. Same as there's for the men's side. So a lot of
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competitions, a lot of, which is good because that's really how women's football develops in
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reality. A lot of countries investing and teams are getting better. So yeah, it's cool to see that
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the women's football as a whole is increasing in popularity and as far as, you know, tournaments
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and things like that go. I wanted to ask a little bit about the UEFA Playmakers Disney program.
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You know, can you talk a little bit about what that is and how you're involved with that?
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Okay, well, UEFA Playmakers is a fun and interactive program for girls between the
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ages of seven and eight. That's the target group. And it's meant in collaboration with
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Disney and Disney movies to attract girls into football, into being active in general, but
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also with a football. So it kind of gets them animating their favorite characters from favorite
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movies and interacting with picture books and football equipment. And then in the end,
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you know, after doing fundamental movement skills and learning about life skills,
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there's also that football component, which hopefully leads them to fall in love with the
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game and then continue playing afterwards. Just to completely answer your question,
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because you also asked how I'm involved. So I head of the Croatian Football Federation,
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I'm the project manager for Croatia. We have 30 centers within the country and each center is
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running 20 sessions a year. So 10 sessions or a season, 10 sessions in the spring season,
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10 sessions in the fall season. And girls from all over the country are welcome to
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participate in those sessions.
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Wow. So you're the your project managing for all 20 of those locations, all of Croatia?
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30.
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Wow. And when did that?
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We have people at each center who are, you know, responsible for that center.
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How many are in Zagreb?
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There are. So we have five regions within Croatia and each region has six centers.
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Okay. Wow.
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So the the region of Zagreb has six centers from Gorica to Pregada and also three within Zagreb.
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And is this program something that just this year started? Well, I guess 2022 started last year.
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And then do you see any, is there any plans to sort of make that bigger to expand or is it too new
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that, you know, right now you're sort of testing the waters with these programs?
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Well, it's going quite well. Actually, they were in the last season around 900 unregistered girls
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who are participating in the program. So those are all potential players later on
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if they stay in football and now we're in the second season. So we're just kind of following
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along to see how it's going to go. And we'll see what happens in the future.
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If we can continue, we'll try and continue.
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So it sounds like you've been getting, you know, good feedback, good results from the program so
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far. Yeah. Well, in women's football, especially you really take all the help you can get.
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If you can attract, you know, for some clubs, one or two players, it's meaningful.
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It's meaningful. So the clubs are doing their best. All the ones that are involved are doing
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their best to attract younger players because the younger they are, when they get involved in
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football, the more chances you have of them, you know, learning the skills on time and being able
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to compete later on if they'd like to. And, you know, the amount of effort that each club puts in
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is really a mirror of what they can get back. Is the program sort of a competitive
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football program or is it more just, you know, absolutely not.
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OUA5 has done research that has showed that girls love sport, but also football because
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of more social aspects than competitions. They like to hang out with their friends.
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They like to play games. They like to just, you know, interact with other people much more than
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they really want to compete. So the program written by OUA5 in cooperation with Disney is really just
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about being fun and interactive for them so that they enjoy the sport. And then as they get older,
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if they want to compete, you know, the clubs that are associated with the program then have a place
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for them to compete. I see. So then the goal is just get more girls in general involved and then
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those, you know, play at a competitive level and then go on and do that. Are there a lot of avenues
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for girls to play competitive football? You know, younger girls in Croatia? Is there a lot of...
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A lot of what? Sorry, I didn't hear what you said.
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Younger girls, you know, say they're 10, 11, you know, older, too old for the program.
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Is there a lot of teams that they can go play on after that?
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Sure. More and more. You know, a lot of these teams are also opening new groups so that
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beginners can join regardless of their age. So there are more and more options really
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for girls in any region of Croatia. If they reach out, we can always find somewhere for them to train.
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Yeah. Well, I'll give you an opportunity now to sort of shout out if there's a website that people
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can go to or, you know, if you have any social media handles or anything that you want to sort
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of shout out where people can reach you and reach these programs at.
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Yeah, of course. The Croatian Football Federation has a section on the website
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of the Croatian Football Federation where they can go to the Grouchers section and pick
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the USA Playmakers and they can register for the program there and there will be
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drop down windows where they can pick what region they are in and then get information on the Clifton
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Center. And if you want to share my email, that's also perfectly fine. If anybody wants to contact
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me and I can help them find a club or a new opportunity. Awesome. Yeah, I'll definitely
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include all these links in the podcast description so people can click on those as well.
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Helena, you know, speaking back on a personal level, did you have any culture shocks moving
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to Croatia? Is there anything now that you miss from, you know, other parts of the world in Croatia?
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Not really, but that's mostly because I was introduced to Croatian culture as a kid already,
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you know, through my mom and through vacations here in Croatia while I was younger. So I can't
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say that there were culture shocks, but did it take getting used to? Of course, you know, living
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in a different country. And also there are some Americanisms that are kind of stuck with me that
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maybe don't work as much in Croatia or in Europe as I might have expected. So in general, it's more
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of an adjustment than a shock. Can you give an example of one of those Americanisms?
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Let's say financially, US banks function in a certain way and European banks function in the
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same way. So there are some things, I mean, it might be a silly example, but let's say ATMs,
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ATMs in Croatia have only really now started including the deposit option where you can
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deposit money at the ATM, where that's something that in the US has been just kind of a usual
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thing at every ATM. So it's a silly example, but those are the kinds of things where like
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certain things function differently there than they do here. But I can't always say that it's
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better there than it is here. You know, it's just different.
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Different. Yeah, yeah, I agree. Yeah, you know, that's an interesting example. I've never thought
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about that before, but now that I have, yeah, that makes sense. Yeah, it's always those things that
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you don't even think about, like that you just notice all of a sudden, like, oh, this is weird.
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This is not like back home or going back in the US. That's interesting.
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I have a great appreciation for Croatian culture, really. The people here are very warm.
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The food is great. I have a liking for homemade food and America in that sense is a little bit
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too commercialized and industrialized for me. So in order to stay away from the processed food,
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I prefer being here. And that's kind of more laid back. I guess focus in life is also
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different here than it is in the US. So I have a liking for Croatian culture, for sure.
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You mentioned the food. I just recently learned that a lot of food that's sold in the US is banned
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due to European Union laws and certain ingredients and stuff that they put in food in the US.
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You know, they can't sell that here. It's just processed. Yeah, I don't like that.
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But I mean, you can't escape it in the US, which I think is ridiculous. But in general, I mean,
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in general, I mean, that those kind of things also happen in Europe. It's not like, you know,
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Europe is exempt, but certain regulations are just a little bit better in that sense.
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Yeah, yeah. What's some of your favorite food, the homemade food?
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Everything homemade is good for me. Yeah. Yeah, if it's domaci, then it's exactly exactly.
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Helena, I know you're really busy. You have a super busy schedule, but is there anything,
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do you have any free time? And is there anything else that you like to do in your free time?
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Not very much free time. At the moment, life is consumed with football, whether it's
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for the Federation or it's for a Junica Savita or some kind of initiative that might be beneficial
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later on. You know, everything is about football. So as much as I enjoy it, the downside is that
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there isn't much free time. But when I do manage to have free time, I like to kind of the usual
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normal people stuff, hang out with my friends or, you know, relax, watch something on TV or,
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you know, on Netflix and Disney Plus, the usual, eat some good food, spend time with family,
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sometimes travel, you know, just the usual kind of things people like to do to
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settle down. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Those are nice. Helena, I want to thank you, you know,
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so much again for coming here on the All Things Croatia podcast. It was really cool to hear from
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you. I hope, you know, what little I can do to help promote women's football in Croatia and
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these programs that you're running. I think it's great. I'm looking forward to, you know,
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what the future brings for you. And for these programs, it sounds like it's already only one
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year in as far as the Disney, the Playmakers Disney program goes. It's doing good things. So
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I just want to thank you again for coming on the podcast. Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks so
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much for your time too and initiative. I'm always happy to share experiences, especially if it goes
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towards promoting women's football, because the more the better and I'm glad to have one
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more supporter and hopefully as this podcast goes live, even more than that.