Croatia celebrate ‘fantastic’ feat
Coach Zlatko Dalic says his team will play the final against France like it is their last game
MOSCOW: : Six years back, Zlatko Dalic was coaching Al Hilal B, the second team of a top tier club in Saudi Arabia. Dalic had landed the job after a promising stint with lowly Al Faisaly.
A few months later, Dalic would get his big break in Saudi football. With Antoine Koumbare sacked by Al Hilal as head coach of the first team, Dalic was promoted to the role.
Dalic led the club to the national cup title but a league triumph eluded him. Dalic made another big jump when Asian powerhouse Al Ain came calling in 2014. He would spend three seasons at the club and lead them to the AFC Champions League final in 2016. So, it seemed somewhat unexpected that Dalic would be appointed head coach of Croatia. Yet, in less than a year since being put in charge, Dalic has done more than enough to convince doubters.
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone at the Luzhniki Stadium after Wednesday’s 2-1 World Cup semi-final win over England, Dalic termed his own journey ‘incredible’ but insisted on speaking about the national team rather than himself.
“For us, it’s fantastic. Tonight the whole country is celebrating, the whole country is in the streets. We are a small country of only 4 million. I don’t think in history a small country like Croatia has been in the final,” he said. The name of Uruguay may have slipped Dalic’s mind but the World Cup in 2018 is a different beast altogether from the ones in 1930 and 1950, and undoubtedly more difficult to master.
Like Dalic’s own ascent, Croatia’s rise to the top of the game may seem surprising given its size. When the country had reached the World Cup semis in 1998, it had seemed like a one-off achievement.
Croatia’s team bus carries the slogan ‘mala zemlja, veliki snovi’ (small country, big dreams). This summer has been the stuff of dreams for Croatia.
MODRIC OWES IT TO ENGLISH MEDIA
Speaking to the Spanish press in the mixed zone, Luka Modric, who took questions till well over two hours after the game, said reaching the final may have been his biggest achievement yet in a career where he has won four Champions League titles.
“If we win, it will definitely be the biggest,” he said.
Modric was one of the millions affected by the civil war in Yugoslavia. Less than three decades since the country’s independence, he and Croatia stand on the brink of something special.
For now, it’s just the football that matters for Dalic. “We will think about everything else after our last game,” he said.
But will fatigue be a factor? “We cannot be tired because it’s the final. You cannot be tired for a final. We cannot find any excuse. We will play the final like it’s our last ever game.” Croatia have done even better in tennis than football. In 2005, they won the Davis Cup, the team competition, which features 160 counties and could be considered the World Cup of tennis. They also finished runners-up in 2016.
Goran Ivanisevic (left) was their first big tennis star and won the men’s singles title at Wimbledon in 2001, scripting a fairytale ending as a wild card entrant. Iva Majoli was the first to achieve Grand Slam singles success for Croatia when she stunned Martina Hingis to win the women's singles title at the French Open in 1997. Current star Marin Cilic clinched men’s singles crown at the US Open in 2014.
In doubles, Mate Pavic is their most decorated tennis player, winning as many as three Grand Slam men’s doubles titles. He also holds the distinction of becoming the first player from Croatia to rise to No 1 in ATP rankings. Since declaring independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia has won 11 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals in seven summer Olympics. Besides tennis, handball and water polo, their sportspersons have done well in weightlifting, athletics, shooting and rowing. Croatia are placed 49th in the all-time medals table for
Summer Olympic Games.
RECORD IN WORLD CUP
1998- Third
2002- Group stage (23rd) 2006- Group stage (22nd) 2010- Did not qualify 2014- Group stage (19th)
LUKA MODRIC, They have a highly successful water polo programme with the men’s team winning gold in 2012 London Olympics and silver medals in 1996 Atlanta and 2016 Rio Olympic Games. The country won the World Championships in 2002 and 2017 and many medals in European Championships, World Cup and World League.
RECORD IN EUROS
1996- Quarter-finals 2000- Did not qualify 2004- Group stage (14th) 2008- Quarter-finals 2012- Group stage
2016- Round of 16 Croatia made a grand start in their Olympic campaign when their men’s team won the gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. It was only their second appearance at the Olympics as independent nation, the gold medal coming despite poor preparation due to factionalism in the team. Having inherited the handball tradition of Yugoslavia, they regained the gold in 2004 Olympics Games after winning the World Championships in 2003. They have won other medals in Olympics, World Championships, European Championships and Mediterranean Games.