Eduardo Could Join Croatia at Euro 2008 (Though Not on the Pitch, Obviously)

Things are looking up a little for everyone involved in the Eduardo incident. Eduardo himself is out of hospital and expected to make a full recovery. Even Martin Taylor has turned the tide of public opinion.

And now the Croatian FA are suggesting that Eduardo could join the team at Euro 2008 this summer. He won’t play obviously, the tournament comes far too soon for Eduardo to be healed. But Zorislav Srebric, president of the Croatian Football Federation, recently visited Eduardo in hospital – where he found the striker in decent spirits – and suggested Eduardo could accompany the team in Austria and Switzerland.

Claude Le Roy tried a similar thing with Stephen Appiah recently. The Ghanaian captain was unable to play at the 2008 Africa Cup f Nations because of blood clots in his leg, but Le Roy kept Appiah involved with the squad (thought not on the official 23-man roster) so that he was at training and also on the touchline for all of Ghana’s games. Ghana ultimately lost in the semi-final, but that was mostly due to the team’s lack of a reliable striker. Appiah’s presence genuinely seemed to inspire his teammates.

Eduardo is a different player to Appiah, who’s vocal on-field leader, but Eduardo could do still do a similar job this summer. As the second top scorer (behind Northern Ireland’s David Healy) in Euro 2008 qualification, Croatia wouldn’t be there without him. So it would be great for the player to remain involved with something he’s contributed so much towards. And for his teammates, Eduardo’s presence would provide a nice little morale boost and a presence that has to be good for team unity. And unlike Ghana, Croatia won’t have to rely on poor Asamoah Gyan for goals.

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