Former national futsal player and coach at NK Dobra invites all interested girls to contact her to jointly establish a new club. 'I can't gather ten girls for futsal, I don't know what the problem is,' she says.
Karlovac currently has no women's futsal club, and Antonija Vranić, a former player for ŽNK Četiri rijeke Karlovac and a national futsal team member, has decided to change that. In an interview with Trend radio, she revealed her main goal, establishing a new club that would bring together girls eager to play the world's most important side activity.
Antonija is now a proud coach at the football club Dobra from Novigrad, where she will work with the youngest age groups. She made the decision to change her environment independently, without any grievances towards anyone. "I need a new challenge. I need a bit of a new environment to try something new and with some new kids. I have no complaints about anyone. It was my personal decision. Let's see what and how it will be there," she stated.
However, her greatest passion remains futsal. She is aware that in Karlovac and its surroundings, there is a problem with gathering a sufficient number of female players. "I don't know what the problem is. Karlovac is not, for example, Rakovica, where it's many kilometers away and there's nothing around. Here we have Karlovac, Duga Resa, Novigrad, and surrounding places, yet we can't gather girls. I can't gather ten girls for futsal. Okay, for big football you need twice as many, but I don't know what the problem is," Vranić emphasizes.
Playing in a men's team is not unfamiliar to Antonija. You can regularly see her at tournaments throughout Karlovac County, and she especially remembers her performance at Cetingrad Municipality Day. "I played a tournament there with the guys. We came in third. Initially, there were looks and comments in the stands about a girl playing, but later everything turned positive," she recalls.
She also fondly remembers her football beginnings. Her first coach was Dario Blažina, whose calmness and knowledge were a winning combination for her. Alongside the University of Zagreb futsal team, Antonija also engages in teqball, darts, winter swimming in Karlovac's rivers, and writes and sings songs. Earlier this year, she started learning to play the guitar.
She is also aware of the broader picture of football in her area. The quality of men's county football, as she notes, has declined over the last 10 to 20 years. Clubs are shutting down, and children's interest in football is waning. That is precisely why her mission gains importance.
"There is no futsal club in Karlovac. I'm trying to gather girls, and I'm using this opportunity to invite all interested girls to contact me so we can bring a futsal club back to Karlovac. With work and training with kids, I don't have time to go to Zagreb or further away, and there's nothing closer. There aren't even senior women's teams here for big football," said a determined Vranić. You can listen to her complete life story in the radio show 'Klub žena' on Trend radio, airing on Tuesday at 5:30 PM.
