Croatia World Cup Rally (photo gallery)

The day after Croatia’s second place finish in the World Cup Finals, the team flew back to Zagreb. From the airport, they would board a bus and parade through the city, eventually making it to a rally in Ban Jelečić Square. About an hour before the team was scheduled to arrive at the square, we left our apartment and met many fans ready to celebrate…

When we arrived, the square was a sea of waving flags and smoke. The statue in the center was sporting a long red and white checkered cape…

To get a better view, people searched for whatever higher ground they could find. Some atop an adult’s shoulders. The lucky ones had access to a balcony. For the truly adventurous, a rooftop gave the best view…

The team plane arrived more than an hour and a half late, but made it a point to fly over the main square to greet the fans…

After several hours in the sun, we were hot, thirsty and hungry. So we ended up watching the rest of the rally on television. The parade through Zagreb took over five hours and the team finally showed up to the main square sometime after 8:30pm. I applaud any fan who stayed through the whole day to cheer on their team.