Tihana Nemcic

Nemcic -- who says she is just as comfortable in a tracksuit as the high heels she wears off the pitch -- is also well-respected by the club's junior players. “She is very experienced, has the authority and boys listen to her,” said the club's director Vitomir Mijic. It was boys -- or rather a particular boy -- that got Nemcic into football in the first place. “I was training in athletics and when I was 13 I fell in love with the boy who was the best footballer in town,” explained Nemcic, who was born in nearby Krizevci, some 60 kilometres northeast of Zagreb. “I followed him to the pitch, watched his techniques. The next summer the love was gone but my love for football was born and it lasts until today.” Whatever the reasons, Nemcic's arrival has buoyed the team's hopes -- and prompted a number of enquiries from players at other teams eyeing a possible transfer, said goalkeeper Tihomir Jagusic. “Tihana can help our club a lot. We hope to see first results within a few months,” he added. “I'm aware that I'm a blonde,” she explained, mindful of her undoubted good looks but insistent that femininity and football aren't mutually exclusive concepts.