Croatia goalkeeper will want to keep winning for dead friend

Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic will never forget his friend Hrvoje Custic, who died under tragic circumstances during a match 10 years ago. And he will be wearing a shirt with a photo of Custic again in the World Cup quarter-final against hosts Russia.
Goalkeepers Igor Akinfeev and Danijel Subasic took centre stage to set up Saturday's World Cup showdown between hosts Russia and Croatia with key saves in last-16 penalty shoot-outs. Akinfeev parried twice against Spain and now has an eagle in Moscow's zoo named after him.
Subasic later that day overcame a big mistake early on with a tournament record-equalling three shoot-out saves to see Croatia oust Denmark. In Saturday's quarter-final, Subasic will likely wearing a certain t-shirt again and looking at the sky. He has been wearing the shirt for a decade. It says forever, has a number 24 on it and a photo of Hvroje Custic.
Custic and Subasic were good friends and team-mates at the NK Zadar club. On April 3, 2008, Custic tragically died five days after a match in which he hit a concrete wall with his head having fought for the ball with an opponent. The long ball to the left wing had come from Subasic, like so many times before.
"My Hrvoje will always be with me. Not only on the shirt but in the heart," Subasic said after showing off the shirt under his match shirt last weekend. "I miss you, I miss you for everything that has been. I miss you for everything that will come. I miss you ..." he wrote on the 10th anniversary of the accident on Instagram.
Some wonder why a concrete wall was erected so close to the pitch but no one was ever charged over the incident. But Subasic feels guilty, as he once told goal.com. "I think what what have happened if I hadn't shot that fateful ball to him. Maybe the accident wouldn't have happened. Why did fate want exactly this to happen? Fate, nothing but unfortunate fate," he said.
Custic and Subasic were close as Custic's father Svetko was once quoted as saying that "I lost my son but Subasic is my child." Subasic initiated the t-shirt idea for the game after Custic's death and all players honoured him that way. Subasic has never stopped with the ritual, be it at his next club Hajduk Split, at current side Monaco or the national team.
Custic, who in his youth days also played with Croatia star Luka Modric, was honoured again with a mass on the 10th anniversary of his death. Subasic meanwhile will always have him in his heart, and maybe he can take him another step closer towards a joint world title on Saturday night in Sochi. Croatia have the chance to emulate the class from 1998 which reached the semi-finals.
"Croatia doesn't intend to stop now. Our objective was not just to reach the quarter-finals," Domagoj Vida insisted. Fellow-defender Sime Vrsaljko said: "Russia will enjoy home support but Croatia have enough power and quality ... to go the whole way."