New York, NY—One thing fantastic about living in New York City is that you can visit the world. All you need is a Metrocard and a bus/subway map, and you're off.  

With the Cosmos Copa NYC 2011 kicking off this weekend on Saturday, June 18th at the Parade Grounds in Brooklyn, I've made it a point to learn about as many of the Cosmos Copa Teams as I can.

Along with learning about the team itself, I wanted for the team to make a recommendation of where's a good place to eat and grab a drink.

Cosmos Copa Team Croatia will make their debut when they face Sweden on Saturday at the Parade Grounds. Their match will take place at 8:30 a.m. at Field 11. A victory guarantees Croatia will continue their quest of winning the Cosmos Copa NYC 2011.

A few weeks ago, I had the privilege to observe NYC Croatia practice. Basically, I shadowed Team President Tommy Radalj who taught me the ins and outs of running a Cosmos Copa Team. Very insightful and tons of responsibility and communication with so many different parties.

Now to the team itself. I believe in any competition, there's always an intimate moment between both combatants/opponents. There's that eye contact, and you're able to tell if that individual you're starring across has the guts to continue. I made a lot of eye contact with the players and I'm telling you right...Team Croatia is a team that will not quit.

Bottom line is this: any team that foolishly underestimates them will lose. Team Croatia has a beautiful passing game... 2-3 touch pass. Their players look like they have no reservation of being physical with their opponents.

Along with their tactics, the players appear in sync. Much like Professor X or Aquaman, they don't have to vocally communicate with each other.

One thing I observed with this team (that's very difficult to teach) is that they can adapt and improvise on any game-like situation that's presented. Really amazing and I look forward to seeing them in competition!

Here's Cosmos Copa Team Croatia's profile in their own words:

Team Name: NYC Croatia

Team Nickname: Vatreni (translates to the fiery, blazing, burning passion in our hearts)

Players to watch: Tommy & Kris Bistre, Dynamic Brother Combination

Type of Soccer Formation: 4-4-2

Community team is based from: Proud to be from every borough as well as CT & NJ, although we are primarily based in Astoria, Queens.

Best sports bar in your Community: Café Bar Scorpio

Best place to go for a meal in your Community: Veslo

Best Alcoholic Beverage from your Country: Karlovacko

To follow NYC Croatia, please go to their facebook page: Croatia Cosmos Copa

Thank you, NYC Croatia, and I wish the best of luck this Saturday!

Cesar Diaz covers Soccer for LatinoSports.com. He also writes for 5 Points Press & USSoccerPlayers.com ; your source for American Soccer news brought to you by members of the U.S. National Team. Easily accessible, you may reach Cesar at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and at Twitter at @CoveringSoccer.

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