Croatia hopes it has finally found a team to better 1998 heroes
ZAGREB: Croatia’s first World Cup semi- final for two decades has revived the memories of the country’s football highpoint and raised hopes that Luka Modric’s side can go one better than their legendary predecessors.
After a dramatic win on penalties against Russia, Croatia will play England on Wednesday for a place in the World Cup fi nal.
In 1998, Croatia, which had emergedfromabitterindependence war only three years earlier, made its debut at a World Cup fi nals.
Wearing blues shirts with a distinctive red and white chequerboard pattern, they beat World Cup giants Germany 3- 0 in the quarter-finals in France, sparking delirium at home.
Although Croatia went on to suffer an agonising 2-1 defeat to host nation France in the semifi nals, they beat the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-place playoff.
Nicknamed “the Fiery Ones”, that team has stood as an example to their successors ever since.
Now, finally, there is a team ready to join them in Croatian football’s pantheon of heroes.
Robert Prosinecki, a member of the 1998 squad, told AFP: “I would so much like that they be better than us. 1998 will never be forgotten and should not be, but I would love it if eventually the 1998 ‘Fiery Ones’ can be moved aside so that we can talk not only about 1998 but also a bit about 2018,” the former Real Madrid player said.
The coach of the 1998 side, Jaroslav Ciro Blazevic, told AFP that for a long time he did not want any other team to match his players’ achievements.
“Until five or six years ago I was bit vain, and in a way glad that in 1998 we set the bar so high that it was difficult to even contemplate, let alone jump over it.
“But now ... I pray and I would give anything in the world that this squad eventually ‘confines us to history’,” said Blazevic, now 83, and known in Croatia as the “coach of all coaches”.
During the group stage in Russia, coach Zlatko Dalic said it was difficult to compare generations when events were separated by a 20-year gap.
“We have nice memories from France, our players did a great job ... We want to get close to them, although it is difficult to repeat this endeavour, but we will try,” the 51-year- old told reporters.
Two days before the clash with England he sounded more confident. “We respect everyone – England, Belgium, France. But none of the three squads is better than us!” — AFP