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Known most for the distinct checkerboard-patterned uniforms inspired by the country's shield, Croatia hopes to make waves in Brazil. (Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)
Known for their distinct checkerboard-patterned uniforms inspired by the country’s coat of arms, Croatia hopes to make waves in Brazil and advance out of the group stage for the first time since 1998. (Dominic Ebenbichler/Reuters)

If it’s your allergies that don’t get to you as the summer heats up over the next month, there’s a good chance that you might end up coming down with World Cup fever instead.

Our latest episode of The A Lot of Sports Talk Podcast is all about the World Cup, but from a couple of unique perspectives and angles. With so many people in the States and around the world finding their favorite restaurants and bars to watch the footballing gala, we conducted an interview prior to the Brazil-Croatia opener with Mirela Rosini, owner of the Croatian restaurant Veslo, located in the Astoria section of Queens in New York City.  Born in Croatia, Mirela enlightens us about her establishment being a hub for Croatians and Croatian-Americans to gather in the Big Apple, the elements of her homeland that she has incorporated into the restaurant and speaks in greater detail about the heritage and personality of Croatians, including the unyielding passion they have for their athletic heroes.  Also, Mirela goes in greater detail about an annual charity golf event that management has actively participated in for over a decade to benefit the less fortunate, with former professional stars of Croatian descent (e.g. Toni Kukoc, David Diehl) taking part in the past.

The second interview is with Peter Azen, an acclaimed New York City-based filmmaker who was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro. Aligning himself with many other Brazilians disenchanted by many of the conditions in their home country, Peter is boycotting the World Cup, and he mentions in great detail why he is not supporting the national team’s possible success in the tournament (and how Brazil winning the World Cup may make things worse for many of its citizens), the neighborhood deterioration he has personally seen in his hometown of Rio since the 2007 announcement of Brazil being named host of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and why he would be conflicted if a certain Brazilian domestic league team were in action in the backdrop of the protests going on in Brazil.

Please enjoy the podcast, and leave us any and all comments that you have. Click here to go to the A Lot of Sports Talk podcast page on iTunes, and from there, you can download this show as well as subscribe to our podcast page and receive new episodes on your device the second it is posted. You can also open iTunes, and in the Podcasts section, type in “A Lot of Sports Talk” in the search box to find our shows.

[audio:https://s3.amazonaws.com/ALOST/TheALOSTPodcast6.mp3]
Interview Order: Intro (0:00-2:06); Mirela Rosini (2:08-11:39); Peter Azen (11:43-36:34); Wrap-up (36:39-38:39)


[Cover photo (Christ the Redeemer statue-Rio de Janeiro) courtesy of Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP-Getty Images]

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