Native passion and a cup of coffee: Thousands of Bosnians welcome national team to Sandy base camp

For World Cup fans of most countries, the national team is a sense of belonging and community. But it goes even deeper for the Bosnian diaspora in North America.

SANDY, Utah — When more than 6,000 supporters of the Bosnian men’s national team arrived at Real Salt Lake’s stadium in Sandy, Utah for an open training and meet-and-greet with the team Monday night, they found a little piece of home — even a home some of them could barely remember.

“We left Bosnia when I was a baby because of the war that was going on,” RSL goalkeeper coach Mirza Harambasic told KSL. “We came here as refugees.”

For some, that piece was the chance to see heroes — like World Cup goal scorer Jovo Lukić or team captain and all-time goal scorer Edin Džeko. For others, it was a chance to reconnect with their Bosnian roots and a community as scattered as the country’s wide-ranging diaspora.

For a few, it was a chance for a the best cup of coffee they’ve had, a mix of espresso and americano poured from the world’s largest coffee pot — Guinness-certified, even! — crafted in 2004 that has been following the Dragons around North America during the World Cup.

“It’s the fuel for our Bosnian national football team,” one fan told ABC4.

For World Cup fans of most countries, the national team is a sense of belonging and community. For Bosnians — especially those living abroad in the United States and Canada — it’s even more.

“Those who try to create that division amongst us, those of us who are unified, we know in those moments we are watching those matches that there is nothing they can do or say to us to allow for even a millisecond of division or anger to enter,” one supporter told the CBC in Canada. “It’s only going to ignite more passion.”

Bosnia is expected to travel more than 5,200 air miles during the World Cup, between last week’s 1-1 draw with Canada in Toronto to group-stage games in Los Angeles and Seattle. That’s the most of any World Cup nation, according to Travel and Tour.

But for a moment, the flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina — and the passion — was flying proudly over Sandy, Utah.