Friday, March 22, 2013
Croatia vs Serbia March 22, 2013
When Serbia and Croatia take to the field at Zagreb's Maksimir Stadium on Friday, memories of a bloody, war-torn history between the neighboring countries will be brought sharply into focus.
The 2014 World Cup qualifying tie will be the first time the two teams have played each other since the break up of the former Yugoslavia and then the Croatian War of Independence, which raged between 1991 and 1995.
The break up of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s caused the bloodiest conflict on the European continent since World War II, with an estimated 140,000 people killed.
As the wounds of war continue to heal, Croatia coach Igor Stimac has urged fans not to use the game as an attempt to settle old scores.
