Karlo Jelinčić
The 46th annual Croatian North American Soccer Tournament took place over the weekend of September 4-6 in the American city of Cleveland, Ohio hosted by Cleveland Croatia.
The successful tournament founded in 1964 is the oldest of its kind in the Croatian diaspora, having inspired the Australian version which was founded a decade later. The latest edition of the tournament saw 21 clubs enter, 8 from the USA and 13 from Canada.
The hosts and defending champions ClevelandCroatia, a club founded in 1957, was hosting the tournament for the fourth time which included hosting the very first tournament back in 1964.
The tournament was hit with a major setback just weeks before the kick-off, with the most successful Croatian team in North America, TorontoCroatia, pulling out of the tournament in controversial circumstances. It was the first time ever the tournament would take place without TorontoCroatia
participating.
Despite the set-back the tournament proved to be a major success, one of the most successful in recent memory. With Cleveland being one of the strongest Croatian communities in the USA and easily having the best facilities of all the Croatian clubs in America it was always going to be a successful tournament both on and off the field.
The 21 competing clubs were split into 5 groups, eventually eight teams emerged to do battle in the quarter finals; HNNK Hrvat Chicago (USA), Milwaukee Croatian Eagles (USA), CBP Adria Chicago (USA), Chicago Zrinjski (USA), Cleveland Croatia (USA), Kitchener Hrvat (Can), HamiltonCroatia (Can) and LondonCroatia (Can).
The American sides proved too strong for their Canadian counterparts with all four semi-finalists coming from the USA, three of which were the powerful Chicago trio and finally the Milwaukee Croatian Eagles.
Hamilton Croatia, former Canadian national league champions in 1970, was by far the best performed Canadian club. They stormed through the group stage with ease, but unluckily went down 1-0 in a tight battle against Adria in the quarter-finals.
In the semi-finals Hrvat smashed their Chicago rivals Zrinjski 4-1, while in the other semi Milwaukee defeated Adria 2-0. Both HNNK Hrvat Chicago and the Milwaukee Croatian Eagles were clearly the best teams in the tournament and deserved their place in the final.
HNNK Hrvat Chicago were founded in the 1950s, and has historically been the most successful Croatian side in the USA, though in recent times they have been overshadowed by fellow Chicago club Adria.
The glory days for Hrvat came in the 1970s and 1980s, where they dominated the top league in Chicago and more significantly made the final of the prestigious US Open Cup (the American version of the FA Cup) on 3 occasions. The club went through a tough time in the 90s which saw the club disbanded, only to eventually be re-formed a few years later. Since then the club has once again returned to being one of the leading sides in Chicago soccer.
Hrvat were looking to make it title number seven, having won the Croatian tournament on 6 occasions with the last time being in 1986.
Their opponents the Milwaukee Croatian Eagles were founded in 1922, making it both the oldest soccer club in the Croatian diaspora and the oldest surviving soccer club in all of North America.
By the 1930s the Eagles had became the dominant force in the state of Wisconsin, winning the Milwaukee championship on 6 occasions that decade. The club has continued its high level of success ever since, with the current decade being one of its most successful winning the Wisconsin state championship multiple times.
The club has also become famous in Wisconsin with its strong junior and youth set-up, one of the best provided by any Croatian backed club in North America.
The Eagles despite its long and illustrious history had never won the Croatian tournament, having come close on many occasions but always failing at the final hurdle.
In the tournament final Hrvat dominated most of the match, as the Eagles never quite got into the game. Hrvat were just a class above running out 2-0 winners to take out their 7 Croatian Tournament title, breaking their long 23 year drought. While the Eagles will have to wait another year to finally win their first ever title. In the third place final Adria defeated Zrinjski 2-1.
Next year the tournament will head over the border to Canada to the city of St Catherines in the province of Ontario, with the club St Catherines Hrvat hosting the 47th edition of the tournament.
Tournament Winners since 1964:
· Toronto Croatia 14
· CBP Adria Chicago 12
· HNNK Hrvat Chicago 7
· Cleveland Croatia 4
· Hamilton Croatia 2
· Cleveland Zagreb 1
· Windsor Croatia 1
· Vancouver Croatia 1
· Oakville Velebit 1
· London Croatia 1
· Kitchener Hrvat 1
· Chicago Zrinjski 1