Croatian Pride is Key to Success
by Eoin O'Callaghan
'We were like soldiers on the pitch, making our country recognised.'
One would be excused for thinking that Slaven Bilic delivered such passionate words after last Monday night's gritty and hard-fought 1-0 victory over Poland, a win that guaranteed Croatia maximum points, top spot in Group B and a quarter-final against Turkey to look forward to.
Although fittingly prophetic, this defied utterance actually came from Bilic in the aftermath of the Croats' terrific 3-0 thumping of an aged and uninspiring German side in the last eight of the 1998 World Cup. That night, the tag of 'underdog' was suitably shown up as having been bandied about the wrong side. Even after a strong showing two years previously at Euro 96, the Croats were seen by many to be 'just another Eastern European team', lacking discipline and with 'one or two' good players.
On closer inspection, the Croatian side contained a nucleus of gifted footballers. In 1987, Yugoslavia defeated Germany (ironically enough, Berti Vogts was in charge of that German team, as he would be nine and 11 years later when facing Croatia in both the Euros and at the World Cup) in the final of the World Youth Cup in Chile. The combined efforts of Zvonimir Boban, Robert Jarni, Robert Prosinecki, Igor Stimac and Davor Suker ensured that despite losing their national identities as the Balkan crisis exploded, these players would gain many admirers, particularly in Italy and Spain.
As Boban starred for AC Milan (eventually winning four Scudettos, a Champions League and European Super Cup), Prosinecki clocked up a European Cup with Red Star Belgrade, while Suker won the 1998 Champions League with Madrid. While being constantly undermined as a collective unit, the big-game Croatian players were used to winning as individuals.
These players, notably this Holy Trinity, knew what it meant to represent their fledgling country. They knew how to battle, how to fight, how to earn respect. Boban had become a national hero when playing for Dinamo Zagreb in a league game against Red Star in May 1990. As the game descended into mass hooliganism, the team captain spotted a policeman beating a Zagreb supporter who had fallen over. Boban raced after the cop and booted him in the face.
Prosinecki received numerous death threats from his own supporters owing to the fact that his mother was a Serb, while Suker had played twice for the Yugoslavia senior side (and was included in their Italia 90 squad but didn't play - Prosinecki did play for Yugoslavia and scored at that tournament for them too) before making his debut for the Croatian national side in the same year.
With such a sense of patriotism, determination and hard-graft attached to their proud football history, it's interesting to note that Croatia's results at Euro 96, as well as their third-placed finish in France two years later, didn't seem to register with the wider footballing public.
As the excellence of the side and their equally impressive results were passed over for more glamorous stories, the golden generation of players drifted towards retirement and subsequently, the national side suffered - a non-appearance at Euro 2000, a dismal performance four years later in Portugal and sandwiched in between there was an inconsequential World Cup appearance in Japan and South Korea - a lacklustre international swansong for Prosinecki, Suker et al.
It's interesting to note that Slaven Bilic's managerial set-up contains Prosinecki, Aljosa Asanovic and Nikola Jurcevic - all survivors of a darker, gloomier country - ravaged by war and political struggles. Croatia's link to the past is an indelible source of inspiration and this current mix of talented youngsters and dependable 'old-timers' echo the side that brought so much to international football in the mid-90s.
To many, they were simply 'lucky' and will always remain the perennial 'under-dog'. But, given the right opportunity, their bite might be worse than their bark. With Bilic at the helm, these players will be fully aware of those who went before them and will do them proud.
