VRLIC Josip

General
FROM CROATIA TO BRAZIL AND BACK
In 2013 he announced his intention to represent Brazil. He was granted Brazilian citizenship in May 2015. After playing for Brazil at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro he returned to play for Croatia in 2018 after a two-year break from international competition. "This is how life writes some good stories. I was not called to the [Croatian] national team and that is why I was looking for my place in the sun somewhere else. I found it in Brazil, I competed for them at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. I had no doubts at all when that opportunity came. Obviously, there are some regrets even today that I was not competing in Croatian cap earlier, but there was and is big competition in our team. But then other doors opened. It was nice to play for Brazil, but it's impossible to compare it with fighting for Croatia." (SportsDeskOnline, 04 Mar 2021; fina.org, 21 Feb 2021; parana-online.com.br, 27 Jun 2015; vecernji.hr, 25 Jan 2021; havk-mladost.hr, 01 Jul 2019; 24sata.hr, 23 Feb 2021)