Ivković: At the Euros in Zagreb, they used helicopters to dry the lawn

Match of the round of 16 of the European Football Championship between Thank youč i Danes in Dortmund this Saturday was interrupted in the 35th minute with the score 0-0 due to a strong storm that hit that city.

– It falls like ping-pong balls. Unbelievably, the whole world has changed. Before when little ice fell, moreć was this and that. This is life-threatening today, we have to be careful about such situations. You never know what will happen – said Tomislav Ivkovi. they are also guests in the study show about the Euro on HTV.

Ivković on that occasion, he told an anecdote from the Euro held in Zagreb.

– A large amount of water, it reminds me of 1976 and the European Championship in Zagreb. Unprecedented rain, helicopters came to dry the pitch and they dried it, the match was played. This is a passing storm – said Ivković, former Yugoslav national team player, who was 16 years old in 1976.

The 1976 European Championship was played at Zagreb’s Maksimir and Belgrade’s Marakana. Only four national teams participated, along with Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands and West Germany, and the entire tournament was marked by rainy weather.

None of the four matches were decided in 90 minutes, Yugoslavia lost to West Germany 4-2 after extra time in the semi-finals in Belgrade and lost to the Netherlands 3-2 in extra time in Maksimir. Only 6,766 people watched that match in Zagreb, almost three times less than the semifinal between ČEchoslovakiačka and the Netherlands at the same stadium three days earlier (17,879 spectators). Antonina Panenka became the European champion after the penalty kick

Fortunately, the interruption in Dortmund did not last long, only 24 minutes. The fans took refuge towards the top of the stands, and some, like the two Danes, decided to shower under the waterfall that was created because the roof was unable to accept such a large amount of water.

– They shower under the roof, they are on vitamin supplements, so they are not cold.

Euro 2024 – Round of 16 – Germany v Denmark

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Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen

– It surprises me considering that they are German stadiums, and you can get wet in them. We are protesting something, and we see that it is happening on the world stage as well – said former Croatian national team member Vedran Ješe.