(Props: YouTube/10CroCop)

As has been noted on this website in the past, we can only assume that it is really, really hard for anyone – even actual Croatians – to find Croatian-to-English interpreters. Either that, or whoever is doing it for www.CroCop.info is just totally half-assing it. As you can see with your own two eyes, the “English” subtitles on the above video only make “sense” in a highly impressionistic, inexplicit kind of a way. If the translation can be trusted at all, it purports to be a local news report about our guy Mirko, where he insists that he is healthy headed into 2011 and “can hardly wait” to see some kind of the positive return on the “investments” (we assume he’s talking physical and financial here) that he’s made in training.

Also, we’re not sure if we should just laugh or be kind of legitimately mad about the 20 second span from the 52-second mark to 1:12 when the subtitles drop off entirely and the words “About Croatian Politics” appear on the screen in red type. Look, are we interested in Croatian politics? Hell no, but we’d like the opportunity to make the decision for ourselves. We don’t need CroCop being our Jack Valenti, but it’s whatever, on to the fighting stuff.

“Finally I should be OK now,” says the C.O.P., 25 seconds into the vid. “I invested a lot in trainings, therapies and I think 2011 will be my year. Better than 2006 … I have two options (to fight) in February. Which of these two will be, I don’t know (but) I will be fighting in second month.”

First of all, referring to February as “second month?” Awesome. But as for CroCop’s expectations for the new year … we suppose it depends on what he means, exactly. If we can consider 2011 “CroCop’s year” if he goes, say, 2-1 in the UFC and defeats a couple of marginal talents in the “co-main events” of lackluster shows in Eastern Europe, then yeah, 2011 could totally be CroCop’s year. Expecting anything more from the 36-year-old legend would probably be a little too optimistic.

Mirko’s reference to 2006 is also a little bit disconcerting, since that was the year he went 4-0 and won the Pride open weight grand prix with back-to-back victories over Wanderlei Silva and Josh Barnett. Anybody (including Mirko himself) who is waiting for the 2006 CroCop to show up in the Octagon in 2011 is probably going to have a very disappointing year indeed.

But hey, if the guy really is healthy and can stay that way, maybe he can put together a nice little year for himself. At least that’s what the Croatian news, as filtered by CroCop’s people, are trying to tell us. Hell, they even say, “After a long time for the first time he can normally do all the kicks.” That sounds good, right?