Photo: Hrvatski vaterpolski savez
Captain of the Croatian water polo national team has achieved many great sport successes in the pool, and has been playing for the Paris Noisy-le-Sec for the past several years
In the world of comics and film, Aquaman is a superhero fighting for underwater peace and justice. In the Croatian sports version of this, this superhero wears a water polo cap and is the captain of a mighty water polo national team. His name is Ivan Krapić, and his superpower is winning many medals in big competitions such as the world and European championships. In his successful career, he has played for many water polo teams in Croatia and Italy; for the past several years, however, he has lived in Paris, playing for Noisy-le-Sec.
The Croatian water polo national team is one of the most successful sport teams in Croatia. How do you handle the pressure of winning medals in big competitions?
In Croatia, sport is a way of life. Passion for sports has been instilled in us since our childhood, and this passion is manifest at all levels, from recreational sports to top sports competitions. From an early age, we are used to being monitored and assessed, and we are expected to be good, to compete and win. It can be stressful, but I have learned to use this type of sports stress as an additional motivation. I know that our supporters always have high expectations, and we always try our best to win a match, to win a medal. It’s like an addiction – this constant wish to climb to the top, to collect trophies and prove our worth. Besides, to play and win medals for one’s country, for the national team, is the greatest honour an athlete can have in their career.
In the national team, you played under coaches Ratko Rudić and Ivica Tucak. Can you compare the two great coaches?
The strength of any national team is built on teamwork. In a team that plays in sync, each player knows their role, as well as the role of their teammates. They can predict their teammates’ next move and react fast and effectively. Chemistry between players is not something that can happen overnight. It takes time, joint training sessions, and sometimes spending time together outside the pool in order to build trust, mutual respect and understanding. Ratko Rudić and Ivica Tucak have different characters and they used different methods to achieve tremendous sport successes. This shows their coaching talent, as well as their managerial skills. The job of a head coach is not only to produce a game in the pool; I’d say they have to create an atmosphere for each of the players to give their best. And they don’t have a lot of time to do that because there is only a short period of training before big competitions. I see head coaches as conductors that have to help the soloists blend in to create an orchestra that will play in unison. Rudić and Tucak have both done a great job here. Mr Rudić belongs to the old school of water polo coaches, while Mr Tucak is a bit more flexible; however, they are both capable of communicating their methods to the team and creating serial winners. In sports, the result is the most important thing, and the stats showing medals and trophies that have been won prove that both Rudić and Tucak are masters of their craft…
