Marijan Cabraja felt his Hibs team-mates were crying with him after the death of his father and insists their support has given comfort to his whole family.
The defender lost dad Frano suddenly last month and travelled home to Croatia for the funeral in shock. Despite having just 48 hours to compose himself, the summer signing told boss Lee Johnson he still wanted to play against Rangers and flew back to Scotland just a day after the heartbreaking wake.
The left-back was a first-half substitute and proved a key performer as Hibs snatched a dramatic 2-2 draw against the Light Blues. At the full-time whistle, Cabraja broke down in tears and was embraced by colleagues and staff before making a touching speech in the dressing room. Talking for the first time since those moving scenes, the Croatia Under-21 cap has laid bare the emotions of a spell he believes brought him closer to his sympathetic team-mates and also eased the worries of mother Kaca and brother Anto 1500 miles away.
He said: “I spoke to my brother – and I listen to him like he’s my father – and he told me our father would want me to play. I texted the gaffer on Friday to say I was flying back to Edinburgh, that I was ready if he needed me and I was able to do anything he might ask of me. So it wasn’t that hard a decision.
“I used my emotions throughout the game. The tears came and went a few times but it helped me. Football is emotional on its own so it helped me. At the end of the game, that was my release, my way out. It was much easier with this team.
“My family and I will never forget that moment (at the full-time whistle). They were so happy when they saw that because they know the guys are with me and that I’ve settled fine.
“My mother told me I needed to say thank-you to the players because she saw all the messages and also it helped her, so I felt that I had to do it. I felt like they were crying with me but everything they did for me, all the messages and support when I went home, I can’t thank them enough for that.
“Everyone sent messages – the physios, everyone. My family felt better because they are all together in Croatia, while I am here in Edinburgh with my wife and no one else and they thought it might be difficult for me. But when they saw all the messages they felt better.”
The comfort that was offered to Cabraja did not come as a surprise to the player himself. And the 25-year-old revealed that he has never experienced such a welcoming squad. It’s a togetherness the defender hopes can serve Hibs well in the coming weeks and months.
Ahead of the visit of on-form Kilmarnock, Cabraja added: “To be honest, in the first week when I came here I spoke to my friends and told them that this is probably the nicest dressing room I’ve ever been in, with the nicest guys.
“This club is like a family club and I felt that from the first week. We share moments like that every day at training. We are really close, we hang out a lot, speak to each other about everything.
“The dressing room is really close and it will help us through the season to get better results. I think we have much more quality than the points on the table suggest at the moment.
“The league campaign is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We’ve only played five games and we have a lot more to prove. I think we will.”
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