Zagreb Patriots became the newest CEFL member and the second Croatian team since the league began its play. They will participate in the league starting from next year, with the main goal to play on the he same level as other teams in the league. The task won’t be as easy considering the previous somewhat unsuccessful attempt with another Croatian team in the CEFL, but team president Dario Bilušić says that it was nevertheless a learning experience.

“Bad experiences from the past help us greatly not to repeat the mistakes of those before us and I believe that we were precisely for this reason able to skip a few steps. It’s our belief that for a successful football program one needs primarily a good coach and the agreement we have with a coach from the US, Mike Mitchell, who successfully coached on the college and high school level, we see as the first step”, says Bilušić.

The Patriots showed promise last season in their appearance in the Austrian league. They registered just one loss in the Austrian Division II, winning the Challenge Bowl. Next stop CEFL, as there was interest on both sides.

“The idea to enter the CEFL came right after we finished our season in Austria. We had participated in the second division of the Austrian league and won the Challenge Bowl with just one defeat during the whole season. As a club we have the ambition to be an equal opponent to all the teams in the region and we realize that it can’t happen over the night, it needs time and hard work, but I am confident we are on the right track”

The Croatian club joins the league prepared to do what it takes to develop a team, but they also showed they realize what it takes to win games. Last year they played with an American import Derron Thomas, and since other teams mostly had imports in the previous years, they realized it’s a must for most teams that want to seriously compete.

“We believe that the additions such as the coach and players will greatly help our team to present itself as a quality opponent. A regional league such as this one is a necessity for all the quality teams in this region and a league in which the champions of Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia participate is an enormous challenge for all of us.”