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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — It truly is a horrific thought that not even the giant Maracana Stadium, filled to the brim with 74,000 people high on life and football, could fit all the dead from the Bosnia war. But their presence — in hearts, in memories — was felt as the young nation they never lived to enjoy made its World Cup debut, the 77th country to plant its flag on football's biggest stage.
"This is why we came, to remember," Adnan Filipovic said as he filed into the stadium with his parents, his voice breaking with emotion. "All those people are coming with us to this game."
When the 1992-1995 war made refugees of the Filipovics and so many others, never did they think they'd one day see Bosnians teamed together, in Brazil of all places, giving two-time world champion Argentina and its superstar Lionel Messi a tough bone to chew.
The morning of Sunday's match, Filipovic prepared by looking at photos of the conflict on the Internet, to remind himself how far he and Bosnia have come and why this warm Rio de Janeiro night was such an important milestone. The conflict killed more than 100,000 people, turned half of the country's population of 4.3 million into refugees and left a legacy of poverty, high unemployment and never-ending political strife.
"We're all looking for some closure here. I think that's really what it is," said Filipovic, who was 11 when his family fled Banja Luka, in northern Bosnia, in 1994. They wound up in the United States, in Augusta, Georgia, and built a new life.
"In these things there is never a winner, there is no 'victory.' I don't even know what victory is — until today. I know for our flag to be in Maracana is — I don't how else to define it — some kind of victory."
For a debut, Bosnia couldn't have asked for better: a marquee opponent in the World Cup's marquee stadium. The result — 2-1 to Argentina — wasn't what Bosnians wanted, although, if they are honest, they probably feared worse.
Bosnia's scorer was Vedad Ibisevic. When Serb soldiers murdered his grandfather and burned down his father's village, his mother hid him and his sister in a fox-hole she dug in the woods. Ibisevic came on as a second-half substitute and planted his goal in the 85th minute.
Ibisevic was already a hero to Bosnians. His goal in a 1-0 win over Lithuania last October punched Bosnia's ticket to Brazil. Now he'll also forever be the first Bosnian to score a World Cup goal.
Edin Dzeko, the striker Bosnians call their "diamond" — forged under great pressure — wasted his best chance, sending his left-footed shot over the bar in the first half. Dzeko lived through the siege of Sarajevo, when Bosnian Serb forces shelled and fired on the city daily, killing over 11,000 people. He describes his early childhood as "nothing but fighting, war and bullets."
"They are children of war, with scars, of course," said Mirna Mahmutcehajic, also a former refugee, who now lives in Norway. Their team reflects how Bosnians were scattered to the winds. Midfielder Miralem Pjanic, for example, fled with his family to Luxembourg. Of the 23 players in Brazil, only reserve goalkeeper Asmir Avdukic actually plays for a Bosnian club.
"Football is bringing us together, making us believe in Bosnia, that we can build something," said Mahmutcehajic. "It gives you a kind of pride. You know you are stronger than people who have only known happiness. We can come up from the dirt."
Just as Bosnia coach Safet Susic promised, his team offered strong resistance to Argentina, a favorite to lift the World Cup if Messi remains on song. His winning goal was spectacular, ending a weaving run through the Bosnian defense with a shot that fizzed in off the post.
Bosnia made the worse possible start, with sheer bad luck seeing the ball bounce off defender Sead Kolasinac into his own net to give Argentina the lead after just three minutes.
Technically strong on the ball, confident going forward and sufficiently well-organized to blunt Argentina for much of the game, Bosnia should come out of this thinking they can beat Iran and Nigeria and qualify out of Group F behind Argentina and continue their adventure into the knockout stages.
But that is for future matches. This was far more than just that. It was, fans said, the beginning of a new chapter. Instead of ethnic cleansing, concentration camps, mass graves and mass rapes, they said they hope people around the world will now instead associate Bosnia with football.
Even on a historic night like this, Armin Alijagic said forgetting the war was impossible.
"We cannot think that we cannot think about it. It's strange," said Alijagic, who traveled from Zenica in central Bosnia.
But he was gratified to see so many fans coming together, including some from other Balkan states turning out in support.
"What the politicians couldn't do, football has done," he said.
___
John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A motorcycle policeman can be seen on an Associated Press video firing what appeared to be a live pistol round at anti-World Cup protesters Sunday near Rio de Janeiro's Maracana soccer stadium.
During the small but violent and chaotic protest that played out about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) from the stadium, another man in plainclothes who identified himself as a police officer also pulled a pistol and fired two shots into the air.
Pedro Dantas, a spokesman for the Rio de Janeiro security secretariat that oversees all security forces, said in a phone interview that if authorities verify the accuracy of the video, "we'll immediately open an investigation into the incident."
In a later emailed statement, the secretariat said riot police were hit by Molotov cocktails thrown by protesters. The statement didn't indicate if any officers were hurt.
The action took place around the beginning of the soccer game between Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina — the first World Cup match played in Maracana stadium since 1950.
"We're seeing tonight the same police brutality we've seen during the past year, and that's why we have to keep protesting," said Karen Rodrigues, a 23-year-old student at the demonstration that drew around 200 people.
Another protest occurred in the capital, Brasilia, but drew only a handful of participants, and a small protest also was held in Porto Alegre.
Mass protests broke out across Brazil during last year's Confederations Cup soccer tournament, the warm-up to FIFA's premier event. At that time, more than 1 million Brazilians took to the streets on a single day in the largest demonstrations this South American nation had seen in a generation.
But those mass protests died down after about two weeks. Since then, hundreds of smaller, violent protests have been seen across the country, though primarily in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
The demonstrations have turned violent largely because of the almost constant presence of masked adherents to the "Black Bloc" tactic of protest. Black Bloc is a violent form of protest and vandalism that emerged in the 1980s in West Germany and helped shut down the 1999 World Trade Summit in Seattle.
The masked, young Brazilians are following the main anti-capitalist tenets of earlier versions, routinely smashing the windows of banks and multinational businesses, as happened Sunday night near Maracana.
The protest turned violent as demonstrators left the plaza where they gathered and marched toward the stadium on a main avenue. When they reached a security perimeter about a kilometer (half mile) from the stadium, riot police unleashed tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowd.
The protesters sprinted into a maze of smaller streets as World Cup fans drinking in small bars looked on. As the protesters regrouped and ran down roads, they frightened families with small children pressed themselves against buildings or took refuge in restaurants or taverns.
Before the violence broke out, the protesters marched through streets and chanted "FIFA, go back to Switzerland," referring to international soccer's governing organization. The protesters are angry over the lavish public spending on stadiums for the World Cup while conditions in Brazil's schools and hospitals remain woeful.
___
Bradley Brooks on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bradleybrooks
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Justin Morneau came to the plate in the eighth inning with one thought in mind: just see the ball and hit it.
Morneau hit a two-run double against left-hander Javier Lopez as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Francisco Giants 8-7 Sunday to complete a three-game sweep with another comeback victory.
"He throws from a tough angle and the hardest thing with him is picking up the ball," Morneau said. "Fortunately it was in a good spot and it was another good win for us."
Morneau's pinch-hit highlighted a four-run rally for the Rockies, who scored in the ninth in each of the first two games of the series for the win.
"It was a great three games here," Rockies' manager Walt Weiss said. "We kept it together and came up with big-time clutch hits. I love coming here and playing in this atmosphere."
Troy Tulowitzki had three hits, including a home run, and drove in two runs for the Rockies, who won extended their season-high winning streak to five games.
"I've been here when they came back against us plenty of times," Tulowitzki said. "It's nice to be on this side and celebrating a terrific series."
Tulowitzki, who was nursing a sore toe, said he was good enough to play even though Weiss said the star shortstop talked his way into the lineup.
Madison Bumgarner pitched seven innings and homered in the fifth inning for the Giants, who have lost six of seven and were swept at home for the first time.
"We should have won some of the games we lost on this homestand but you're going to have some adversity," Bumgarner said. "The Rockies have one of the best offenses in the league and we weren't playing that badly. We just found ourselves on the losing side."
Matt Belisle (2-2) pitched an inning for Colorado. Juan Gutierrez (1-2) allowed four runs on three hits for the Giants.
LaTroy Hawkins pitched the ninth for his 14th save in 15 chances.
"It's amazing, last week at this time we're in the dumps," Hawkins said. "Now we're on a high. It can turn around just like this."
Tulowitzki singled to open the eighth and scored on Drew Stubbs' one-out triple. Michael McKenry beat out an infield single to score Stubbs and Charlie Culberson walked.
D.J. LeMahieu then hit a sharp grounder to shortstop Brandon Crawford, who bobbled the ball before getting the force at second. Ehire Adrianza also had trouble controlling the ball and his relay throw to first was late, setting up Morneau's hit.
"The bullpen just unraveled," said Giants manager Bruce Bochy, who was ejected with two outs in the ninth for arguing balls and strikes.
The no-decision denied Bumgarner a chance to move into a tie for the NL wins lead with nine. He allowed four runs on six hits, walking four and striking out nine. Bumgarner had allowed a combined four runs in his previous 29 innings.
Rockies starter Juan Nicasio gave up three runs on four hits over two-plus innings. He walked four and struck out two. He's allowed 25 runs on 35 hits over his last 15 2-3 innings, a 14.36 ERA.
Nicasio walked Tyler Colvin and Crawford to open the second inning and Adrianza singled to put the Giants ahead. Bumgarner bunted and was safe when Nicasio threw the ball wide. Crawford scored on the play. Hunter Pence also drove in a run.
Tulowitzki's 18th home run of the season, a two-shot into the left field bleachers in the third, cut into the lead but the Giants answered when Hector Sanchez and Pablo Sandoval hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth.
Sanchez hit for Buster Posey, who left the game as a precautionary measure after taking a foul ball off his mask.
Brandon Barnes' RBI groundout in the fifth was matched by Colvin's RBI single in the sixth to make it 7-3 for the Giants.
Pinch-hitter Josh Rutledge added an RBI double against Bumgarner in the seventh to cut it to 7-4.
NOTES: Giants OF Angel Pagan was scratched from the starting lineup with lower back tightness. ... The Giants will start RHP Matt Cain (1-4, 3.84) against the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday. He is 8-10 with a 2.71 ERA in 22 career interleague games. ... The Rockies will start LHP Tyler Matzek (1-0, 2.57) in their series opener against the Dodgers in Los Angeles on Monday. He'll be making his second career start. ... Rockies C Wilin Rosario made his first start at first base. ... Nicasio threw a season-high 38 pitches in the second inning ... RHP Santiago Casilla is expected to be activated by the Giants in time for their series in Chicago. ... Giants RHP Tim Lincecum turned 30.
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