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Croatia goes home satisfied
First appearance at World Cup proves fruitful
Posted: Saturday September 19, 1998 11:59 AM
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Croatia is going home a happy bunch, showing that a small nation can prosper at the highest level Shaun Botterill/Allsport |
PARIS (CNN/SI) -- Winning the World Cup would have been nice, but
Croatia will
be hard-pressed to complain about its maiden trip to the world's biggest
soccer party. The Croatians entered the tournament as a likely
second-round team, and left it with the third-place trophy and the respect
of soccer fans the world over. "I said before we came to France that no
one should underestimate us, that there was no limit on what we could
achieve," said coach Miroslav Blazevic after his team defeated the Netherlands
2-1 Saturday to clinch third place. Contesting its first World Cup,
Croatia quietly slipped into the second bfore unleashing all its forces. It
won against Romania and,
most important of all, it thrashed archrival Germany in the
quaterfinal before falling to France in the semifinal. Croatia's
game was based on a well-organized -- and often packed -- defense and
lightning counterattacks. That strategy was on show Saturday as the
Netherlands pounded Croatia with attack after attack, only to fall to
first-half breakaway goals by Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker who, with
six goals, stood as the tournament's top scorer with only one match to
play. Despite fielding such players as Real Madrid's Suker and AC
Milan midfielder Zvonimir Boban, many thought the team lacked experience at
the highest level. Croatia was also without injured Lazio striker
Alen Boksic, a regular first-team starter. But few other teams could
match the Croatians for competitive spirit and team unity, qualities that
lasted through to the third placed playoff, a match where players often
findit hard to get motivated. "Croatia had a mentality and will to
win that we didn't possess," said Dutch player Phillip Cocu after the
match. The team also found new stars like goalkeeper Drazen Ladic.
"If Ladic is not the best in the world then he is in the top three. If
he puts his mind to it, no one is better," captain Boban said. Now,
the team is waiting to celebrate its third-place finish. "It is an
honor to come third. Now we are all looking forward to going back to
Zagreb, where there will be 100,000 people and a big party waiting for us,"
said midfielder Mario Stanic. Croatia's march to third place wasn't
without controversy. Embassy officials lodged an official complaint
to FIFA after World Cup organizers used an interpreter that spoke
Serbo-Croat with a Serb accent at a post-match press conference. The
team beat Romania in round two thanks to a controversial penalty, and in
the semifinal Slaven Bilic was accused of getting Laurent Blanc sent off by
overacting, putting the Frenchdefender out of the championship match.
But the Croats are going home a happy bunch, showing that a small nation
-- Croatia has a population of less than five million -- can prosper at the
highest level. "We have been in a war and surrounded by the war. Now
we can show something else to the world," said team spokesman Bronko Miksa.
"We all wear T-shirts that say we are proud to be Croats."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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