March the 16th, 2023 - Borovo has been swimming in troubled waters for a long time now, but could an otherwise wholly unpopular measure actually end up being the best solution of all for this enfeebled company? Maybe.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, a couple of years ago, it seemed that everything regarding the survival of Borovo had finally fallen into place properly, a restructuring programme was fully drawn up, of which the consulting company KPMG was in charge. Since then, the extension of the CERP guarantees has only been approved in order to postpone the repayment of loans to the state banks for yet another year, thanks to which Borovo is still keeping afloat, and the new deadline for another such decision is coming up in just a month.

In CERP, which is the 100 percent owner of this much loved Vukovar-based footwear manufacturer, the case of its restructuring is considered one of the top priorities in 2023, after several problematic cases in the state portfolio were finally closed over the past two years. At the same time, the process within Borovo stands stagnantly right where it was two years ago - the restructuring proposal prepared by KPMG clearly didn't meet the expectations of the relevant ministries.

However, on the other hand - when it comes to Borovo, no deadline was actually set in which the case should finally be closed, either through a new model of operational and financial restructuring, an attempt at privatisation or the worst case scenario - bankruptcy.

Although bankruptcy is something to be avoided like the plague in Croatia, there are those working within the ministries of economy and finance who see this very solution as the best one. In their opinion, the projections from KPMG's proposal fail to offer what is needed, and instead only work to postpone the solution of the problem and prolong Borovo's limbo and uncertainty. This is because it starts from some basic recommendations for improving business, such as reducing overhead costs and the number of employees, changing the production profile and focusing on more profitable programmes, and finally finding a good strategic partner. According to the assessment of the relevant ministries, Borovo will continue to remain in a difficult state in which it will hardly manage to attract any serious investors seeking a safe project.

For this reason, as has since been learned, it was requested that KPMG define much more clearly what it would to to ensure and enable a long-term solution without bankruptcy threats and then to find a strategic partner, and that the programme be organised so that it can receive the approval of the European Commission (EC). That something is simply not right with the existing solution was also confirmed by the President of the Board of Borovo, Gordana Odor, who said the following:

"KPMG prepared a restructuring plan one year ago, but it hasn't yet been adopted by the relevant ministry and will have to be refined by KMPG. The main complaint of the ministry is the lack of a strategic partner that would be a guarantee for the survival of Borovo,'' said Gordana Odor, adding that when it comes to Borovo, the bigger picture must be looked at.

First, as she explained, it's actually very difficult to find a private investor who is ready to take over Borovo with all of its accompanying problematic buildings on an area spanning 13 hectares. This is full of unresolved property-legal disputes that are being conducted on the territories of both Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia.

According to the current restructuring plan, the state should recapitalise Borovo with 92 million kuna, which would close its existing liabilities to the banks. The share capital of Borovo is at the level of 316.7 million kuna. The assessment of the Management Board and KPMG was that this would enable better positions for the search for strategic partners and investments in the modernisation of Borovo's production, which normally also takes place on machines from 1940, and for which the company could finally rely on European Union funds. In Borovo, they're convinced that, once the company is relieved of all of its loan debts, it can meet all of its obligations and conduct its business properly.

According to the first data for 2022, revenues compared to the previous year have increased by 2% and are at the level of 10 million euros. However, business expenses grew much more. On average, total material costs increased by 23%, wage costs by 6.5%, and the largest increase of 100% refers to gas, while energy costs increased somewhat more slowly, due to government measures, by 20%.

All other input resources had growth trends of 10 to 20 percent, especially leather. An additional cost was a 12% increase in workers' wages, which is a significant increase for a labour-intensive activity, which also increased costs of about 5 million kuna. Overall, the increase in costs resulted in a loss of 9 million kuna for Borovo.

"Under these circumstances, we had to adjust our operations and we placed the emphasis on optimising procurement, production, storage and transportation costs, with the goal of maintaining existing liquidity," explained Gordana Odor. As for the number of employees, currently their number has fallen to the lowest level so far - 563.

"Borovo is aware that in times of crisis it has to make business adjustments for the conditions ahead, but we certainly need help and the involvement of the state, which we have been talking about for several years now,'' concluded Gordana Odor, noting that we're still talking about the largest employer in the entire Vukovar area which employs mostly women, and that they have spent most of their working lives working for Borovo and have no other qualifications.

The problems faced by Borovo will be on the agenda of the CERP Board of Directors as early as next month, in order to consider another extension of the guarantees for loans that the company has in the amount of 6.1 million euros each, for which the state's shares in Podravka, Koncar and HT are pledged as insurance.

However, before that, representatives of the Management Board, KPMG, CERP and the relevant ministries will need to sit down together in order to shed light on the current ambiguities surrounding the preparation of the final proposal on which the future of the company depends entirely. The reason that no expedient solution has been found for many years lies in the fact that Borovo is not only a commercial and economic issue, but is also burdened by the political context and inter-ethnic relations between Croats and Serbs, as well as conflicting relations between local and state authorities, which further complicates matters.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

March the 16th, 2023 - Last year was a record year for Croatian startups receiving investments, some of which involved enormous sums of money. What will 2023 be like?

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, there is no winter rest period or a sense of being ''out of season'' for Croatian startups, and despite investors' caution towards making any particularly risky investments, as much as 958.3 million US dollars were invested in Croatian startups in the first three quarters of last year alone. The aforementioned was concluded at the Algebra startup meetup, which was recently held at the Algebra campus in the City of Zagreb, on the Algebra Spark Event Space premises.

Bernard Ivezic, the editor of the Startup Report magazine, said that the appearance of unicorns such as Infobip and Rimac, as well as big exits like Nanobit and Gamepires, and now Photomath's astonishing success with Google, encourage an increase in investor interest in Croatian startups. Last year seeing a record number of Croatian startups receive investments proves that. "However, due to the war in Ukraine and the hectic exit from the coronavirus pandemic, investment values are lower than they were before, although for Croatian conditions they're still very good. 2022 was the second best year so far," Ivezic pointed out.

Four new venture capital funds are coming to the Croatian market, and over the next five years, the amount of money that will be made available to Croatian startups will be 10 times higher than it was in the past - standing at about 300 million euros. A lot of money also means more problems for funds that are going to need to start competing for startups, which makes the entire ecosystem quite dynamic and competitive, especially in an environment of crisis and economic uncertainty.

"In a crisis, it's important to always lead by example, and that's what the leaders of every startup should focus on. Investors expect this period to last 24 to 36 months. It's the most difficult for seed stage startups that aren't yet in the portfolio, because for them the risks are the greatest, as is their dependence on investors.

This is precisely why good networking with potential investors is most important - my advice is not only to look at them, but also at their portfolio of companies and the companies with which they're connected, because building that network of acquaintances is the key to future success," Miryana Joksovic from Arcion Labs pointed out, before reflecting on recent layoffs in the tech community.

"Most of those who were previously employed in large companies can hardly adapt to the new startup culture, so the question is how we can connect this talent to the startup ecosystem, because they're used to different work standards, atypical for the dynamics of those entrepreneurs who are only just starting to build their own companies,'' explained Joksovic.

Matija Nakic, the founder of Farseer, saw that every crisis, including this one, can also double up as an opportunity. "Our process of getting investments wasn't dramatic and we got the hang of it quickly. Investments have slowed down if we look at the environment, while in the last two years there has been a lot of capital and a significant jump in employment and investments in IT companies. I love crises and I think they're a good opportunity to rethink things like business models. People who left large IT companies like Google will surely find a job quickly because they have excellent knowledge and will return to the ecosystem and bring this new knowledge to young companies. I believe that we have an interesting couple of years ahead of us, especially with the increasing influence of AI".

"In 2021 and 2022, capital was cheap not only for startups but also for funds. In the last quarter of 2022, there was a significant drop in investments. There is money, investments have been shaken up, but they haven't stopped", emphasised Vedran Blagus from South Central Ventures.

Despite the data on the reduced investment wave as a result of global economic events, the panelists agreed that the challenging period facing the domestic and global startup scene is only a prelude to the continuation of a fairly prosperous period. Namely, Croatian startups now face new challenges in the form of investment in research and development, as the basis of new innovations that can help them to overcome these times of crisis.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

March 16, 2023 - Cautious trading is expected on the Zagreb Stock Exchange on Thursday, where the Crobex index could stagnate, and the focus of investors will be events on world stock exchanges, which could recover after yesterday's sharp fall.

As Index reports, all analysts who participated in the Hina survey today expect Crobex to stagnate.

The Crobex index sank on Wednesday by 1.76 percent, to 2,218 points, and Crobex10 by 1.73 percent, to 1,267 points.

It was the biggest daily decline of these indices in the last two months, and they slipped to the lowest levels since February 27.

At the same time, all sector indices also fell, with Crobextransport seeing the most significant change of 4.87 percent.

Regular share turnover amounted to approximately 1.37 million euros, about 100 thousand more than the day before.

"The main stock indices on the Zagreb Stock Exchange ended yesterday's trading in the 'red', following the negative sentiment that prevailed on foreign markets. The total turnover amounted to EUR 1.4 million. Almost the total amount related to the trading of shares, while bonds were traded in the amount of only 5 thousand euros," points out Miso Kalajzic, head of brokerage trading at OTP bank.

The highest turnover achieved by the HT share

The highest turnover, 177 thousand euros, was achieved yesterday by the HT shares, whose price fell by 0.78 percent to 25.50 euros.

With a turnover of 163.5 thousand euros, Span shares followed, whose price sank by 2.58 percent to 49.1 euros.

The focus was also on the Podravka shares, with which EUR 146,000 was realized, with the price falling by 2.17 percent to EUR 90.

Shares of Atlantska Plovidba achieved more than 100,000 euros in turnover, whose price fell by almost three percent to 58.6 euros.

The biggest loser was the share of Alpha Adriatic, with a price drop of 10.5 percent to 23.8 euros.

The share price of the Zagreb Stock Exchange rose the most, by 2.7 percent, to 3.8 euros.

A total of 37 shares were traded on the Zagreb Stock Exchange yesterday, of which the price of only four rose, 25 fell, and eight stagnated.

"For today, we predict stagnation in the movement of stock indices, whereby the direction could largely depend on the sentiment on foreign markets," said Miso Kalajzic.

Fear of a banking crisis weighed on world stock markets

Thus, yesterday, Crobex followed the sharp decline of European stock market indices. The London FTSE slipped 3.8 percent, while the Frankfurt DAX sank 3.3 and the Paris CAC 3.6 percent.

Stock indices suffered sharp corrections on the most important European stock exchanges yesterday. The biggest losses were in the shares of the banking sector, continuing the crisis that started last week with the collapse of the SVB bank in the USA. Of yesterday's more important announcements, the growth of industrial production in the Eurozone stands out, which was somewhat better than expected, while in the USA, a drop in the rate of producer prices was recorded, as well as a drop in retail sales.

Stock prices fell on Wall Street on Wednesday. The Dow Jones lost 0.9 percent, and the S&P 500 lost 0.7 percent. The Nasdaq index gained 0.05 percent.

Recovery is expected

This morning, European futures indices are positive, which heralds the market's recovery after yesterday's sharp decline caused by the problems of the second-largest Swiss bank, Credit Suisse.

Credit Suisse's share price sank about 14 percent to record lows yesterday after the bank reported weaknesses in its financial statements for the past year, and the bank's biggest investor, Saudi National Bank, said it could not provide any further financial support aid to this Swiss bank.

This, along with the collapse of SVB at the end of last week, caused speculation about which other banks could be in trouble.

But fears of a banking crisis eased somewhat this morning after news that the Swiss central bank will open a nearly $54 billion credit line to Credit Suisse.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

March 16, 2023 - If we continue like this, in 2060, 3.5 percent of our GDP will go away, and we will be spending around 5.8 billion euros on something preventable," warned Music Milanovic while discussing the problem of obesity in Croatia.

As Poslovni writes, Croatian citizens are the fattest in the European Union, and treating diseases related to obesity costs 1.7 billion euros annually, it was pointed out on Wednesday at the 7^th conference on obesity at the Institute for Public Health "Dr. Andrija Štampar".

"About 35 percent of children and 65 percent of adults in Croatia are overweight or obese. Children are in the high fifth place, while our adults are European champions, both men and women," said Sanja Music Milanovic, head of the Health Promotion Service of the Croatian Public Health Service (HZJZ), before the conference.

She also stated that in 2019, 2.7 percent of the GDP was spent on obesity-related diseases.

"1.71 billion euros. If we continue like this, in 2060, 3.5 percent of our GDP will go away, and we will be spending around 5.8 billion euros on something preventable," warned Music Milanovic.

She also asserted that obesity is the result of the environment in which we live and which forces us to consume more while using less energy.

The conference was held on Croatian Obesity Awareness Day, and this year it was dedicated to young people, changes in habits and behavior.

When asked if the Government stimulates weight gain by protecting the prices of foods that make you fat, such as fatty meat, white flour, and oil, Music Milanovic said that any food is fine; it's just a matter of moderation.

Obesity is a disease and a risk factor for numerous other diseases – cardiovascular, locomotor system diseases, mental health, and certain types of cancer.

The problem of obesity at "Štampar" is approached in a multidisciplinary way; they have three counseling centers with a nutritionist, a kinesiologist, a doctor and a psychotherapist.

Last year, the Ministry of Health launched a working group to draft a proposal for an action plan to prevent obesity.

The representative of the Ministry, Ivana Portolan Pajic, reported that the coordination of the action plan, which will be followed by e-Consultations, is still ongoing and is expected to be adopted in the middle of this year.

The primary level of health care should be more concerned with obesity monitoring, said Ino Protrka, director of the Zagreb Center Health Center.

Following this lead, the Health Center Center launched two obesity prevention projects this year; at the diabetes center, they brought together a nutritionist, a pharmacologist and a diabetologist, and they're planning to introduce exercise as a doctor's prescription.

Psychiatrist Veljko Dordevic concluded that obesity was once considered an aesthetic problem, but today we know it is a health problem and one of the leading causes of mortality.

"Obesity is a deadly disease that we need to prevent, treat and monitor throughout life," he said.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated News section.

March 16, 2023 - Starting tomorrow, Croatia will be officially included in the second series of group trips for Chinese tourists, as announced by the Chinese Embassy in Croatia.

As Poslovni reports, the Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Croatia held a press conference at the Esplanade Hotel, where the internal and external policy of the People's Republic of China in 2023 was discussed, as well as the Chinese point of view on various issues related to international relations between Croatia and China, current world events, changes and challenges in politics, economy. In addition, some main points from the "Two Sessions," an important event in China's political life, held these days, were also discussed.

Two sessions

H. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin, Ambassador of China to Croatia, emphasized four key points of this year's "Two Sessions". One is a reform, strengthening the optimization and adaptation of the responsibilities of institutions in the fields of science and technology, the financial regulatory framework, and big data, and reducing the number of staff in central government bodies by 5%. Another is development - in the past five years, China's GDP has increased to about 18 trillion US dollars, with an average annual growth rate of 5.2%, which ranks it second in the world. This year, stability will be a priority. The goal is to increase the GDP by 5%, which aligns with the consensus forecasts of international financial institutions. Looking ahead, relying on China's huge market size, complete industrial system, abundant human resources, solid foundations for development, and outstanding institutional advantages, China's economic growth will have unlimited prospects, which also provides more new opportunities for Croatia and other countries in the world. The third is openness, the fundamental state policy of China. In the past five years, China has decided to open up even more to the outside world and deepen mutually beneficial international economic and trade cooperation. The fourth is China's modernization, which strives to achieve shared prosperity for all instead of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. This means an increase in the Chinese people's purchasing power and scope of market consumption.

Chinese foreign policy

The meeting discussed China's foreign policy. H. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin emphasized that in the face of the complicated international situation, China's overall foreign policy remains unchanged, and China will continue to implement an independent foreign policy of peace and a mutually beneficial strategy of opening up; China will always be a builder of world peace, contribute to global development and defend international order. China will keep in mind the interests of the world, look at internationalism, and actively participate in global governance. Over the past ten years, President Xi Jinping has put forward several important initiatives and proposals, the Belt and Road Initiative, the shared values of humankind, the Global Development Initiative, and the Global Security Initiative. The main message of these initiatives is that countries are interdependent, humanity has a common future, and the international community must unite for cooperation.

This year, China's diplomacy will be carried out in the following five aspects: follow the guidelines of diplomacy at the highest level, and defend China's core interests. China opposes any form of hegemony and power politics, and Cold War mentality. It will build an extensive partnership relationship. The goal is openness and development. It will encourage high-quality development and openness to high standards. It will champion an open and inclusive world economy and create new opportunities for the world. It will move towards multilateralism. It will promote the building of a community with a future for all humanity, promote greater democracy in international relations, and make global governance more just and equitable. It will offer more, better Chinese insights and solutions to help solve humanity's common challenges.

Relations between China and the EU

Relations between China and the EU were also discussed; Mr. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin stated: "China has always seen the European Union as a comprehensive strategic partner and supports European integration. We believe that our interactions are an independent choice of the two parties based entirely on our respective strategic interests. The relationship between China and the EU is neither directed against any third party nor subordinated to or controlled by any third party. Trade and investment between the EU and China continue to grow. According to Eurostat data, the trade volume between China and the EU reached 856.3 billion euros in 2022, with an increase of 22.8%. China is the second-largest trading partner of the EU, the largest source of imports, and the third-largest export market. In the future, it is important to maintain good relations between China and the EU."

Relations between China and the USA

Mr. Qi Qianjin referred to the relations between China and the US and commented on the recent incident related to the drone. He emphasized that it was entirely an accident caused by force majeure. He stated that China does not pose a threat to the US and that China does not want to create problems. China is dedicated to promoting the healthy and stable development of relations with the US in accordance with the principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial cooperation.

The Taiwan question

Mr. Qi Qianjin also touched on the issue of Taiwan: "Taiwan is part of the territory of the People's Republic of China." It is the inviolable duty of all Chinese, including our compatriots in Taiwan, to carry out the great task of reunifying the motherland. This is our position on the Taiwan issue. Solving the Taiwan issue is a matter for the Chinese people, and no other country has the right to interfere."

The war in Ukraine

The crisis and the war in Ukraine were also discussed. China's Position on the Political Resolution of the Ukraine Crisis was recently published, which comprehensively and systematically explains China's position and proposals on the Ukraine crisis, which can be summed up in one sentence: to promote peace and negotiations.

The ambassador emphasized that China firmly rejects the use or threat of nuclear weapons, advocates that nuclear weapons should not be used, and that nuclear wars should not be fought. Last week, China donated 200,000 euros to Ukraine's nuclear safety technical assistance project through the International Atomic Energy Agency, supporting the International Atomic Energy Agency's efforts to strengthen the safety of Ukraine's nuclear facilities through practical action.

Chinese-Croatian relations

Since establishing diplomatic relations between China and Croatia 30 years ago, China has always considered Croatia a good friend and partner. The two sides have always respected each other, setting a good example of friendly cooperation between countries with different populations and social systems.

Economic and trade cooperation flourished. Last year, the trade volume between China and Croatia reached 2.42 billion US dollars, increasing more than 60 times in just 30 years. The Peljesac Bridge, a project of trilateral cooperation between China, Croatia, and the EU, opened to traffic as scheduled last year, becoming a symbol of friendship between the two nations. H. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin pointed out: "Since I arrived in Croatia a year and a half ago, Croatian friends from all walks of life have been full of praise, stressing that the bridge has helped Croatia achieve its long-awaited desire to connect the north and south of the country, strongly promoted local economic and social development, embodied China's speed and showed a good image of Chinese companies. Croatian government officials aptly call it the brightest pearl in the crown of Sino-Croatian relations."

The Senj wind farm, built by Chinese companies, annually provides about 530 million KWH of clean electricity for Croatia, helping the country achieve a green energy transformation and better cope with the current energy crisis. Chinese companies like Huawei and Xiaomi are dedicated to providing more high-quality products and services for Croatia. At the same time, high-quality agricultural products from Croatia, such as wine, olive oil, and truffles have been put on the tables of Chinese families. In the future, more high-quality food will enter the Chinese market, which is one of the priorities of the Chinese embassy, as well as work to strengthen mutual deepening and friendship between the two sides.

H. E. Mr. Qi Qianjin emphasized: "Croatia will be officially included in the list of the second series of group trips by Chinese citizens from tomorrow, and we believe that the number of Chinese tourists will recover this year or even exceed the number from 2019. In the future, we will constantly strive to strengthen the exchange and cooperation between the two countries at all levels and in all kinds of areas and to deepen the friendship between the two peoples. In particular, by hosting the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, we will use the potential for deepening cooperation and advancing practical cooperation in infrastructure, green energy, digitization, and agriculture as an opportunity. We also hope that our Croatian friends will take the opportunity and make good use of the benefits of China's rapid economic recovery and its large middle-class market of over 400 million people

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Travel section.

March 16, 2023 - So what are the ideas to build a better Croatia? An innovative conference in Zagreb on Saturday - the second edition of Dangerous Ideas.

This is turning out to be a hugely positive week for me. 

Firstly, I welcomed on board my first official partner to try and realise my concept of the Dalmatian 'Olympics' of Traditional Dalmatian Games, an attend to preserve and celebrate the individual heritage of Dalmatian villages before some of these traditions are lost. You can read more about the concept in Introducing the Traditional Dalmatian Games Olympics: Get Involved!

Yesterday's fun was at Kaptol Cinema for the annual 3T - Tourism, Travel and Technology conference, which was a very inspiring and GREAT networking event. In addition to presenting Unlocking Croatia's 12-Month Authentic Tourism Potential, there was a great chat with conference organiser Oleg Mastruko on how Croatia can compete in the modern multi-polar tourism world. Great energy and an awesome list of speakers. 

Tonight is one of my favourite events of the year, where seemingly all the positive energy in Croatia gathers for one night - the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award. It always feels as if the future of Croatia is gathered in one room for an evening. 

And as if that was not enough fun, a nice addition to the weekend at Hotel Westin in Zagreb on Saturday, for a conference which is bound to throw out some very cool suggestions. Dangerous Ideas 2, an initiative from the Centar party nd FNF (and no, I am not interested in Croatian politics, but I do support cool ideas) to invite people to pitch their ideas for a better Croatia.

"All the good stuff you wish could happen in Croatia but nobody dares to implement."

Each speaker will have just 10 minutes to get their points across, and there is a very impressive list of speakers, and I am grateful for the invitation to contribute my 10 minutes. You can see the timetable and list of speakers below. Everyone is welcome, and the event will be streamed live here. 

I will be presenting my concept, the Vukovar Card, a New Deal for Eastern Croatia, which you can learn about in this video from my channel.

The conference is open to all, and entrance is free, starting at 10:00 at Hotel Westin.

The latest sprinkling of positivity in Croatia - there is a lot of it about these days. 

See you there!

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You can subscribe to the Paul Bradbury Croatia Expert YouTube channel here.

What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.

Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.

Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.

March 15, 2023 - Hajduk U19s are in the semi-final of the UEFA Youth Champions League!

In the quarter-final match at Signal Iduna Park in Germany, Hajduk U19s defeated Borussia Dortmund on penalties. After 90 minutes it was 1-1, and Marijan Budimir's team won 9-8 on pens after a wild shootout.

Dortmund maintained possession throughout the match while Hajduk had more chances. Hajduk had its first serious attempt in the 21st minute when Roko Brajković's left-footed shot went just short of the goal post. Hajduk missed an even bigger chance in the 64th minute. 

A more concrete game by Hajduk finally resulted in a goal in the 72nd minute. Brajković precisely crossed from the right side to Mate Antunović who found the back of the net with a beautiful header for the lead! 

However, Borussia came back only four minutes later. Julian Rijkhoff accurately executed the penalty kick after Tomislav Arković fouled Michel Ludwig.  Hajduk was not swayed by that goal, and they were close to winning even before the penalty shootout. Brunner almost shook his own net after Hrgović's cross hit the top of the crossbar and was saved by the Dortmund defense.

The drama of penalties did not prove to be a problem for Hajduk. During the eight rounds, both sides were infallible, but in the ninth, Hajduk's goalkeeper Borna Buljan saved Filippo Mane's shot, while Ante Kavelj scored for the big celebration! 

With this victory against Borussia Dortmund, the Hajduk U19s qualified for the semi-finals of the UEFA Youth League. Hajduk has thus made history and became the first Croatian club to reach the semi-finals of this competition. 

The final tournament will be played in Nyon, Switzerland, from April 21 to 24. In addition to Hajduk, Sporting, AZ Alkmaar, and AC Milan advanced to the semi-finals.

On April 21, Hajduk will play against AC Milan, while Sporting and AZ will compete in the second semi-final. 

The final is scheduled for three days later, on April 24. 

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 15, 2023 - Life in Dalmatia is amazing. The pace of life, the polako, the pomalo, the laganini.

Over the years, I became fixated with the wise elders of Jelsa, as they gathered each evening on the white bench under the Mayor's office to discuss the weighty matters of the day.

I can't explain it but I became a little bit obsessed, and all I wanted was an invitation to sit with them on the bench, an honour that is never bestowed upon foreigners, I was assured.

And then one day, after 13 years...

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You can subscribe to the Paul Bradbury Croatia Expert YouTube channel here.

What is it like to live in Croatia? An expat for 20 years, you can follow my series, 20 Ways Croatia Changed Me in 20 Years, starting at the beginning - Business and Dalmatia.

Follow Paul Bradbury on LinkedIn.

Croatia, a Survival Kit for Foreigners is now available on Amazon in paperback and on Kindle.