Euro: Group C: Austria vs. North Macedonia, 6/13/2021

[Live in the Now]

I really got nothing for this one. Really strange game to be at a tournament. It's in Romania as well. There are fans allowed and I'm interested in what the crowd will look like. Somehow Pandev is still playing for Macedonia. Elmas plays for Napoli and they have some Croatian league players. But I got nothing.

Austria on the other hand is a nice mix of youth and experience, but I don't think anyone will have the insane expectations people had of them in 2016. Nor should they. Would be interesting to see what happened to this group if Macedonia (sorry I mean NORTH Macedonia) got a result here.

Click to read more...

 

[S E P H]

The Balkan nations break apart so fast that a new National Geographic book has to be updated every five years. Soon we're going to see a Northeast Montenegro and Serbiakosovokia. Like what the eff is a North Macedonia and why did they split from Macedonia from the first place? Religion or politics?

 

[cgf]

Austria would be so much more interesting as a club team that got to train together day after day. So many versatile players that could play a really Bielsa-y shape if they had the cohesion...something like:

Kalajdzic
Baumgartner --- Sabitzer --- Lazaro/Lainer
Alaba -- Grillitsch -- Laimer
Posch - Hinteregger - Leinhart
​

 

[cgf]

The Balkan nations break apart so fast that a new National Geographic book has to be updated every five years. Soon we're going to see a Northeast Montenegro and Serbiakosovokia. Like what the eff is a North Macedonia and why did they split from Macedonia from the first place? Religion or politics?

Oh S E P H

 

[Live in the Now]

Lmao. They changed the name that’s all.

 

[S E P H]

Wait...a country named Macedonia (with no other country in the world with that name) decided to change its name to North Macedonia for the hell of it and not due to any political or religious strife? It's like one of the furtherest south countries if you'd look at an entire map of Europe. That's even more weird and confusing, but Balkans are going to always Balkans I guess...

 

[maclean]

Wait...a country named Macedonia (with no other country in the world with that name) decided to change its name to North Macedonia for the hell of it and not due to any political or religious strife? It's like one of the furtherest south countries if you'd look at an entire map of Europe. That's even more weird and confusing, but Balkans are going to always Balkans I guess...

Yes, they changed their name just for the hell of it

Macedonia is also the name of a region of Greece (cf. Alexander the Great - of Macedonia) and the Greeks are really bitches about it so they were gatekeeping Macedonia from joining international organisations (especially the EU) unless they changed their name. Macedonia resisted for a long time but in the end it was pretty much give in or be internationally isolated.

 

[Savi]

and they have some Croatian league players.

@HajdukSplit

 

[HajdukSplit]

@HajdukSplit

Ademi is one of their key players but overlooked in most of the previews because he isn’t playing in a top league, a Kante like player who doesn’t stop running and does the dirty work, Dinamo’s captain. Pretty loyal to them too, he could have easily moved abroad by now but stays with them. Was capped by Croatia but never in an official match so lost patience and switched

The other two: Ristovski (Dinamo) and Velkovski (Rijeka) weren’t standard starters. Cant say much on Velkovski but Ristovski is a right back who was part of the Rijeka title winning team then moved to Sporting where he did but was surplus to requirements before joining Dinamo on loan, decent player

 

[S E P H]

Yes, they changed their name just for the hell of it

Macedonia is also the name of a region of Greece (cf. Alexander the Great - of Macedonia) and the Greeks are really bitches about it so they were gatekeeping Macedonia from joining international organisations (especially the EU) unless they changed their name. Macedonia resisted for a long time but in the end it was pretty much give in or be internationally isolated.

Interesting, didn't realise that! I remember reading that Alexander the Great was born in Macedonia, which I thought was actually in the Balkans of the Greek Empire (or at least was a City-State). However, I didn't realise that such a bankrupt nation would get so hissy-fit over a name of small neutral nation who's got like zero hate for anybody else. Now that makes perfect sense why they're called North Macedonia considering the region is in Greece. Thanks mate for the info! If I was North Macedonia, I would just troll Greece and call themselves the "Cooler Version of Macedonia" for like a month.

 

[maclean]

OK, I'm calling them "Cooler Macedonia" from now on

As for this part:

However, I didn't realise that such a bankrupt nation would get so hissy-fit over a name of small neutral nation who's got like zero hate for anybody else.

Nations with some kind of "former glory" always have a big complex about it

 

[serp]

Interesting, didn't realise that! I remember reading that Alexander the Great was born in Macedonia, which I thought was actually in the Balkans of the Greek Empire (or at least was a City-State). However, I didn't realise that such a bankrupt nation would get so hissy-fit over a name of small neutral nation who's got like zero hate for anybody else. Now that makes perfect sense why they're called North Macedonia considering the region is in Greece. Thanks mate for the info! If I was North Macedonia, I would just troll Greece and call themselves the "Cooler Version of Macedonia" for like a month.

Greece was vetoeing Macedonia joining pretty much any international organisation until they changed their name. "North Macedonia" was the compromise both sides accepted .

 

[cgf]

Constantinople???

*insert song by they might be giants here*

 

[robertmac43]

The Balkan nations break apart so fast that a new National Geographic book has to be updated every five years. Soon we're going to see a Northeast Montenegro and Serbiakosovokia. Like what the eff is a North Macedonia and why did they split from Macedonia from the first place? Religion or politics?

This literally made me laugh so hard...

Great off-topic thread this far.

 

[cgf]

Not that the proud modern-day Greeks agitated by this topic would manage to understand ancient Greek language themselves despite having had to learn it for years in school.

But also the other neighbors tend to have this "it's not a real country anyway" attitude towards (North) Macedonia for a reason or another. I hope they'll win this, Austria is about as beatable as any opponent will get at this level.

*shrug* and gibbon gave the eastern Romans s*** for their greek not being "as beautiful" as the greek of Alexander's chroniclers.

Languages evolve, doesn't mean the culture is disconnected from its past...or are you fluent in old german?

 

[Albatros]

*shrug* and gibbon gave the eastern Romans s*** for their greek not being "as beautiful" as the greek of Alexander's chroniclers.

Languages evolve, doesn't mean the culture is disconnected from its past...or are you fluent in old german?

I'm not fluent even in Austrian.

 

[cgf]

I'm not fluent even in Austrian.

Then why are you giving s*** to modern greeks for their language having evolved?


(my bad if you're not german/austrian & I am mixing you up with another poster)

 

[Albatros]

Then why are you giving s*** to modern greeks for their language having evolved?

I just find the selective way this passion for ancient Macedonia manifests itself amusing.

 

[Cloned]

Me: How does a thread about Austria v. North Macedonia have so many posts already?

Also me, after entering the thread: Oh.

 

[maclean]

Since we're already into it, it is worth mentioning that Cooler Macedonia gets a lot of shit from Bulgaria as well, who also have a Macedonian region and who think that the Macedonian language is just basically Bulgarian

 

[cgf]

I just find the selective way this passion for ancient Macedonia manifests itself amusing.

With you there

Thought you were going in a different direction with that, my b.

 

[cgf]

Since we're already into it, it is worth mentioning that Cooler Macedonia gets a lot of shit from Bulgaria as well, who also have a Macedonian region and who think that the Macedonian language is just basically Bulgarian

I will trust someone else to handle the broadstrkes of early Bulgarian history...

 

[maclean]

I will trust someone else to handle the broadstrkes of early Bulgarian history...

At the risk of going too completely off-topic, the idea of cultural heritage is so completely dependent on the extent to which it is able to be passed on directly in a way that is meaningful to the later generations. Probably all of us here can attest to the fact that in many ways we feel alienated from the cultural heritage of even our immediate parents, even in cases where we were raised in the same country as they were, to say nothing of those where the country was different.

In an attempt to make the idea at least someone on-topic, fandom of a specific football team is one of the few ways where generations can feel connected on the basis of at least something.

 

[cgf]

At the risk of going too completely off-topic, the idea of cultural heritage is so completely dependent on the extent to which it is able to be passed on directly in a way that is meaningful to the later generations. Probably all of us here can attest to the fact that in many ways we feel alienated from the cultural heritage of even our immediate parents, even in cases where we were raised in the same country as they were, to say nothing of those where the country was different.

In an attempt to make the idea at least someone on-topic, fandom of a specific football team is one of the few ways where generations can feel connected on the basis of at least something.

While I agree with most of your point wholeheartedly; there's good evidence of inherited traumas getting passed down even when the events/causes are not verbally communicated from the older generation. Which adds an interesting wrinkle to the idea of connecting to one's cultural heritage...especially when you're inheriting traumas from multiple sides of a trigger/event.

 

[maclean]

While I agree with most your point wholeheartedly; there's good evidence of inherited traumas getting passed down even when the events/causes are not verbally communicated from the older generation. Which adds an interesting wrinkle to idea of connecting to one's cultural heritage...especially when you're inheriting traumas from both sides of a trigger/event.

Certainly, though to a similar extent as general cultural inheritance could be broken down into conscious and subconscious layers - what is passed to you just by you emulating how your parents acted and raised you and what you consciously think of as who you are. With the progression of technology one can't help but feel like the conscious aspect is severely limited today, e.g. non-internet parents and internet kids feeling completely alienated from each other, and this across cultures, but it's hard to say that this hasn't been the case of every generation pretty much ever, as each of us can only experience one such interaction per lifetime. Personally I never ceased to be amazed how every generation seems to think they're the first ones experiencing this and then also the precise parallel of the older generation thinking the kids don't get it and the kids thinking the older generation doesn't get it, but what I do feel is at least somewhat unique today is the possibility for global communication to an unprecedented extent