Why Florence Feels Like Home for World Cup-Bound Marin Pongracic

When the World Cup first landed on US shores 32 years ago, Fiorentina had just returned to Serie A at the first time of asking.

Their quest was helped in no small part by retaining Gabriel Batistuta and Stefan Effenberg, two of the best in the world at the time. The Argentine rattled in 16 goals in 26 league games as Fiorentina won Serie B by five points over Bari, while the German chipped in with seven in what would be his final season in Florence.

The duo enjoyed mixed fortunes in the USA, Batistuta scoring four goals but Argentina losing to Romania in the last 16, while Germany bowed out in the quarter-finals against Bulgaria.

Marin Pongracic, Fiorentina’s sole representative at the World Cup this summer, will be hoping Croatia can go further.

The Vatreni have made a habit of defying expectations, finishing third on their World Cup debut in 1998 and reaching the 2018 final in Russia where they lost to France.

Four years ago, Croatia finished third again, losing to eventual champions Argentina in the semi-final, before beating Morocco in the third-spot play-off.

Initially called up in Zlatko Dalic’s preliminary 34-man squad, Pongracic did not make the final 26 for Qatar, a year after he had missed out in similar fashion on selection for Euro 2020.

But the centre-back will instead be pushing for a starting spot this summer after coming off the bench against Brazil and Belgium in recent friendlies before playing the whole game against Slovenia.

One of Fiorentina’s defensive pillars, Pongracic started 42 of his 48 appearances for La Viola in all competitions this past season, as the Tuscans overcame a disastrous start to the campaign under Stefano Pioli to finish 15th and reach the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League, where they lost to eventual winners Crystal Palace.

Disappointing as the season was for Fiorentina, it marked a significant personal improvement for the Croat, who was limited to just 20 Serie A appearances in his first campaign in Florence because of injuries.

Having spent two seasons in Italy with Lecce, Pongracic was wanted by Rennes in the summer of 2024, but opted to remain in Serie A instead of making the switch to Ligue 1.

“When the opportunity to join Fiorentina came along, it felt like a much better fit for me,” he told Flashscore last year. “I had already proved what I could do in Italy and in Serie A.

“I know the language, I enjoy the lifestyle here, and it brings me closer to home. To me, Fiorentina is a bigger club (than Rennes) and the superior option, at least from my perspective.”

After the 1994 World Cup, Effenberg left Florence to sign for Borussia Monchengladbach before eventually returning to Bayern Munich, the team he arrived at Fiorentina from and with whom he would go on to win 10 major trophies.

Pongracic spent three seasons in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund, but isn’t in any rush to follow in Effenberg’s path.

“The top seven or eight clubs in Italy are at an excellent level – I can only really compare them to the Bundesliga,” he said. “In my opinion, though, the overall standard of the Bundesliga isn’t quite as exceptional as Serie A. In Italy, for instance, you have Inter, Milan, Juventus, Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and Atalanta – these top seven or eight clubs are truly elite.

“In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich stands out on their own. If I had to compare the two right now, I think Serie A is superior in terms of quality.”

That will be music to La Viola fans’ ears.