Perceived arrogance of ‘It’s coming home’ motivated Croatia at the
World Cup – but they get English humour better than most
When Michael Palin visited Split in the late 1980s, he was left baffled by a large group standing in the shallows on the city’s most popular beach, Bacvice, playing something that resembled
Tennis – only without rackets or a net and with what looked like a peeled tennis ball. They would throw themselves acrobatically after it in their Speedos, hitting it with their hands or feet, but none of them seemed to keep score or care too much about anything except not letting that small rubber object fall into the water.
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