Euro 2004 Team Profile: Croatia

Ozren Podnar

Croatia Shirts On Sale

Of all nations formed by the disintegration of the multi-ethnic federations of Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union, Croatia and the Czech Republic have caused the greatest sensation on the soccer field. While the Czechs reached the Euro '96 finals against Germany, Croatia won the third place play-off at the 1998 World Cup in France, finishing as the best European team of the competition barring the hosts France.

After Croatia's readmission by FIFA and UEFA (its membership having been frozen at the end of the World War II), the national team qualified for four of the next five international competitions, only missing out on Euro 2000 by a single goal as they failed to beat Serbia and Montenegro in the decisive match.

Previously, Croatia won the group ahead of Italy to qualify for Euro '96 and overcame Ukraine in the playoffs to reach the 1998 World Cup. Following the Euro 2000 failure, Croatia again impressed by gaining direct qualification for Japan and Korea unbeaten against Belgium and Bulgaria.

One fact the Croats are especially proud of is: they have never lost a qualifier at home. The current Croatian squad is more similar to the pretty ordinary one that failed to progress beyond the first round at the Japan and Korea World Cup 2002, although it still managed to upset Italy 2-1. Croatia, located along the Adriatic coast opposite Italy, has not assembled, and maybe never will, another team to match the one featured in France six years ago when the red and whites defeated Roomania, Germany and Holland on the way to a third place finish.

The team will not so much miss the goalscoring prowess of Davor Suker (owner of a phenomenal 45 international goals) and the cunning of Goran Vlaovic, as the new wave of great forwards has proved a valid replacement. Neither is the defence any inferior to that composed by fiery Igor Stimac and the rock-solid Slaven Bilic.

The chief difference, and shortcoming, of the present Croatian team is the lack of imagination in midfield. Between 1992 and 1999, the trio virtuosos of Robert Prosinecki, Zvonimir Boban and Aljosa Asanovic could hide the ball from any rival, launch deadly-accurate passes from distance and frequently get on target themselves.

USA | Japan

Croatia, coached by the veteran Otto Baric, has competent midfielders but not players capable of upsetting the opponents' defenses with a meandering run or a telling pass. Niko Kovac and Jerko Leko are typical defensive midfielders, who excel at intercepting passes and winning balls rather than at creating play, while stoppers-cum-midfielders Igor Tudor and Stjepan Tomas only - and redundantly - step up the competition in defensive midfield.

The Israel-based Giovanni Rosso, though more imaginative upfront, lacks the stamina for the top stage. 19-year old Niko Kranjcar could do the job, but he has still not earned his first cap in the senior team. Things look somewhat brighter on the flanks, where speedy Dario Srna or Marko Babic on the right, and ingenious dribbler Milan Rapaic on the left, are capable of puzzling rival defenses.

In a desperate attempt to find a good ball holder with vision, Baric recruited Nenad Bjelica, 32-year old anchorman from relegation troubled Kaiserslautern, but the presence of the midfield general from a lowly German team has not exactly boosted fans' or media optimism.

In other areas, Croats consider themselves as good as any other Euro '04 participants. The towering goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa is reliable and consistent. The Croatian answer to Buffon, he debuted for Hajduk at 18 and won three different trophies before being transferred to the Ukrainian side Shakhtar in the summer of 2003.

His usual replacement is the agile and flexible Tomislav Butina, formerly of Dinamo Zagreb, but last season surprisingly a reserve to 40-year old Danny Verlinden at Club Brugge. Since the old man has finally retired, Butina (aged 30) is looking at a prolonged reign between the Flemish side's posts. The third keeper is the Australian-born Joseph "Joey" Didulica, Austria Vienna's "torwart", who chose his parents' homeland over the Aussies, probably to find his chances in the chequered squad pretty scarce.

The defence in front of any of the three renowned keepers features renowned stalwarts like Robert Kovac from Bayern, Igor Tudor from Juventus, Dario Simic from Milan, Stjepan Tomas from Fenerbahce, Joe Simunic from Hertha, Boris Zivkovic from Stuttgart and several other steady performers. In fact, Baric has the material to compose two excellent defensive lines which would not drop their pants even when faced with terrifying French frontrunners like Henry, Trezeguet or Pires.

At the other end of the pitch there is plenty of talent as well. Dado Prso is the second-highest scorer in the Champions League with eight goals before the finals; Ivan Klasnic has been one of the three most important members of Werder Bremen's championship winning squad, alongside Ailton and Johan Micoud; Tomo Sokota is an idol of Benfica fans and among the most popular strikers in the Portuguese league; Ivica Olic keeps on scoring and winning titles wherever he goes - the potent sprinter won three League championships in the past three seasons with three different teams (NK Zagreb, Dinamo Zagreb and CSKA Moscow), always bagging goals aplenty.

Croats are aware that they are considered underdogs in Group B with France and England the favorites to progress, and that they are expected to fight against the Swiss for third place.

The game against the French is already booked as lost because France was an uncomfortable opponent even for the "golden generation" of the nineties. But, should they beat Switzerland in the opening game, the Croats still believe they can hold their own against England in the last match of the first phase.

The reason for the relative optimism against Eriksson's men is simple: Croatian ball skills and fanaticism could be more than a match for English professionalism and tactical order. The analysts see the English central defence, reduced to Sol Campbell and John Terry, as a decent chance for the Croatian goal-poachers, provided that Baric's eleven match England's running and physical effort.

How Croatia Qualified

Second place in Group 8 behind Bulgaria: beating Slovenia in the playoffs 2-1 on aggregate.

Road to Portugal

Bulgaria 1-0, 0-2
Belgium 4-0, 1-2
Estonia 0-0, 1-0
Andorra 2-0, 3-0
Slovenia 1-1, 1-0

Friendlies

Split, February 18th: Croatia vs Germany 1-2
Zagreb, March 31st: Croatia vs Turkey 2-2
Skopje, April 28th: Macedonia vs Croatia 0-1

Upcoming Friendlies

Rijeka, May 29th: Croatia vs Slovakia
Copenhagen, June 4th: Denmark vs Croatia

Prediction

While the majority of the Croatian media, footballers and coaches takes the French supremacy for granted, unpredictable Croatia is seen as capable of finishing anywhere from the bottom up to the second place in Group B with Switzerland, France and England (in order of play). The really bad atmosphere in domestic football with its corruption and mismanagement scandals does not have to affect the mostly foreign-based squad, and it will all boil down to the players' confidence and motivation. The start may prove crucial and if Croatia justifies its role of the favourites against the Swiss, they will most likely dispute the second spot with England in the last game, perhaps with a bit of psychological advantage as they will start as underdogs. The predictable English overconfidence in the confrontation with a less fashionable outfit could also help, believe the Croats, remembering how Romania defeated Kevin Keegan's squad four years ago in the decisive group phase game.
Croatia's odds to win Euro 2004 80/1

Coach

Otto Baric (born 1933 in Zagreb)
Well-respected in Croatia, but a living legend in Austria, where he's known by the nickname of "Otto-Maximal", an allusion at his desire to have his players give "a maximum" of their abilities. He lead Rapid Vienna to three League titles and four Cup wins during the eighties, but above all to the first of their two appearances in the Cup Winners' Cup final, losing in 1985 to Everton in Rotterdam. He almost equalled these feats at provincial Casino Salzburg, whom he made two-time Austrian champions and UEFA Cup finalists in 1994 against Internazionale. When he finally got a chance of managing a top Croatian side, he swept the board with Dinamo Zagreb, champions with a record (81 out of 90!) points and Cup winners in 1997. After a middling spell on the bench of a mediocre Austrian national team, he got the Croatia job and created a solid side from scraps, practically inventing players like Rosso, Prso, Babic and theMaric brothers. (In)famous for his dismissal of homosexuals as "abnormal" and "dangerous" for public health, he drove a Croatian gay rights group to state they would support England against Croatia because of the "superior gay rights record" in Britain.

1970-72 Wacker Innsbruck
1972-74 LASK Linz
1974-76 NK Zagreb
1976-80 Dinamo Vinkovci
1980-82 Sturm Graz
1982-85 Rapid Vienna
1985/86 Stuttgart
1986-88 Rapid Vienna
1988-91 Sturm Graz
1991-95 SV Salzburg
1996/97 Dinamo Zagreb
1997-1999 Fenerbahce
1999-01 Austrian national team
2001/02 SV Salzburg

Euro 2004 Squad (to be confirmed May 30th)

Interim squad list:
Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Shakhtar Donetsk), Tomislav Butina (Club Brugge), Joey Didulica (Austria Vienna)
Defenders: Dario Simic (AC Milan), Robert Kovac (Bayern Munich), Igor Tudor (Juventus), Boris Zivkovic (VfB Stuttgart), Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin), Stjepan Tomas (Fenerbahce), Mato Neretljak (Hajduk Split), Mario Tokic (GAK Graz)
Midfielders: Niko Kovac (Hertha Berlin), Milan Rapaic (Ancona), Jerko Leko (Dynamo Kiev), Marko Babic (Bayer
Leverkusen), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Nenad Bjelica (Kaiserslautern), Giovanni Rosso (Maccabi Haifa), Niko Kranjcar (Dinamo Zagreb), Jasmin Agic (Dinamo Zagreb)
Forwards: Dado Prso (Monaco), Tomo Sokota (Benfica), Ivica Mornar (Portsmouth), Ivica Olic (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Klasnic (Werder Bremen), Marijo Maric (Karntern)

Ozren Podnar