Aljoša Asanović appointed HNS ambassador at the World Cup

According to the agreement with President Kustić, Asanović will be engaged as an ambassador of the Federation throughout the FIFA World Cup and, in this role, will represent HNS and the national team during the Vatreni’s stay in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“I am pleased that Aljoša accepted this proposal and that he will be part of our delegation during the World Cup. Aljoša is internationally recognized, has an impressive club career behind him, maintains excellent relations with officials from all over the world, speaks foreign languages, and for all these reasons is an excellent choice for ambassador. What makes me particularly happy, however, is that he is an exceptionally pleasant, communicative, optimistic and cheerful person who will fit perfectly into our delegation. Aljoša is a legend of Croatian football, a man who took part in creating the cult status of the Croatian national team from that very first match against the USA, which is a nice link to this competition. He is therefore someone who knows perfectly well how to build and preserve the unity that makes Croatia a global phenomenon, and that is precisely why I am delighted that he is becoming part of our team,” said HNS President Marijan Kustić.

During his rich club career, Asanović played for Hajduk, Split, Metz, Cannes, Montpellier, Valladolid, Derby County, Napoli, Panathinaikos, Austria Vienna and Sydney United, but Croatian fans remember him above all for his outstanding contributions in the national team jersey. Asanović wore the Croatian shirt 62 times, and among his three goals, the first stands out in particular - on 17 October 1990, against the USA, when he scored the first goal in the modern history of the Croatian national football team.

Asanović also represented Croatia at its first two major tournaments, Euro 1996 and the 1998 World Cup, when Croatia won a historic bronze medal. He made a significant contribution to those successes, including memorable assists to Goran Vlaović for the historic goal against Turkey in 1998, to Davor Šuker for the winning goal against Japan, and again to Šuker for the opening goal against France in the World Cup semifinal. His won penalty kick against Romania in the round of 16 of the World Cup in France was also crucial.

“I had the opportunity to be a guest of HNS at the match against the Faroe Islands in Tórshavn, and I was thrilled by the atmosphere of unity within the team. I am truly fulfilled and proud to see that the lads have retained the same approach, love and passion for the national team that we had in the 1990s, and I am glad that on those foundations they have built even greater successes than our generation achieved. It will be a real pleasure to be part of this team, and I therefore thank President Kustić for the proposal, as well as the Executive Committee and Head Coach Dalić for the trust they have shown me. I look forward to helping the national team and HNS in the role of ambassador in any way I can, because there is no greater honor than being part of that national team family,” said Asanović.

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