Buzzing Bosnians bring World Cup boom to Santa Clara restaurant

SANTA CLARA, California, June 30 : With folk songs blaring and cevapi sausages sizzling on the terrace, Euro Grill restaurant has become Bosnia fans' home-away-from-home in Northern California ahead of the World Cup round of 32 knockout game against the United States.

The only Bosnian-run eatery in the South Bay Area has enjoyed a World Cup boom, with hungry customers tearing into spicy meats and burek pastries on Tuesday, while others queued out the door waiting for a table.

The fans who have travelled far to this corner of sleepy Santa Clara find an already strong Bosnian community on the ground, with some 10,000 living in the region, according to locals.

Many, like Aida Sibic, resettled as refugees from the Balkan wars of the 1990s, and can now hardly believe the national team will be up the road at the Bay Area Stadium on Wednesday, playing the co-hosts.

"Not even in my wildest dreams," Gilroy resident Sibic told Reuters. "It's pretty surreal to be here to experience this, the excitement. We have people flying in from all over the country, even from Bosnia and from other European countries."

Sibic was a child when she landed in the Bay Area in 1995, part of a family that had "pretty much nothing to (their) name" after fleeing the war.

Many in the community have similar background stories.

Euro Grill owner Ramiz Avdic arrived in California at the turn of the century, having passed bleak times during the nearly four-year siege of Sarajevo following the break-up of Yugoslavia.

Avdic took up arms to defend Bosnia and nearly lost a leg to a grenade but had it saved by a skilful surgeon.

"They were dark times but it's different now. We all support the Bosnia team. Everyone is welcome to my 'living room'," he says, referring to his