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Scouting
Report
Style of play: Like Italy, Croatia plays a stingy
defensive game. The bulk of its midfielders drop back
and act as the first line of defence, making it difficult
for strikers to even get a sniff of the penalty area,
much set foot in it. Robert Prosinecki is the creative
catalyst in midfield, directing traffic and distributing
the ball to his strikers with sublime passes. A classic
midfield playmaker, Prosinecki is the conductor of the
game's tempo, and the action inevitably flows through
him. Davor Suker and Alen Boksic will line up next to
each other as outright strikers. Once the ball is passed
off to them, they'll either make their way into the
heart of penalty-area or let loose a shot on net from
just outside the box.
Strengths:
Experience -- No fewer than seven players who
were part of the team that finished third in 1998 are
back for another shot at the World Cup this time around.
Veterans Mario Stanic, Robert Jarni and Igor Stimac
will mentor the crop of youngsters on the squad.
Momentum -- Croatia finished with an unblemished
record in the qualifying round, winning five games and
drawing three to win a group the included Belgium and
Scotland. With the memory of 1998 still fresh in its
mind, Croatia will be looking to shock the world again.
Defence -- Croatia conceded only two goals in
eight qualifying games, a record comparable to that
of Italy's legendary defence. Croatia's defence is anchored
by Robert Kovacs and is rife with veterans who have
lots of international experience.
Weaknesses:
Injuries -- Igor Tudor, a world-class defender
and Croatia's best player in the qualifying round will
miss the World Cup due to an injury. Robert Prosinecki,
a creative playmaker in midfield, has had injury problems
all year, and Davor Suker isn't as physically strong
as he once was.
One-dimensional -- Croatia rely far too heavily
on Prosinecki to spearhead its offensive attack. If
opposing teams are able to contain him and stifle his
playmaking abilities, scoring opportunities will quickly
dry up for the Croatians.
Midfield woes -- Other than Prosinecki, Croatia
doesn't have any creative options in midfield. Because
of this, more pressure will be put on Robert Jarni to
push forward and create scoring chances, a role he's
not accustomed to.
Key injuries/omissions: Defender Igor Tudor
underwent ankle surgery in early May after aggravating
an injury, forcing him to miss out on the tournament….
Striker Alen Boksic is recovering from an abdominal
injury, but will be fit for the squad's opening World
Cup game against Mexico on June 3…. Croatian coach
Mirko Jozic surprisingly named Bosko Balaban to his
World Cup squad, despite the striker's poor season with
Aston Villa.…
Outlook: There's no doubt the loss of Igor Tudor
hurts Croatia. Both Alen Boksic and Davor Suker have
struggled this past season with their respective clubs
and there are serious doubts as to whether they'll be
able to elevate their game. Still, the Croatians are
a balanced, technically skilled side more than capable
of challenging Italy for first place should the Azzurri
stumble. They are one of the dark horses at this year's
World Cup, and most pundits wouldn't be surprised to
see them reach the quarter-finals. Croatia should have
little trouble brushing aside Mexico and Ecuador to
finish second in the group.
The
Country
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the
Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
Capital: Zagreb
Area: 56,538 sq km
Population:4,282,216 (July 2000 est.)
Government type: Presidential/parliamentary
democracy
Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental
climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters;
mild winters, dry summers along coast.
Ethnic groups: Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Muslim
0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian
0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991).
Religions: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%,
Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%
(1991).
Languages: Croatian 96%, other 4% (including
Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German).
History: In 1918, Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes
formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following
World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist
state under the strong hand of Marshal Tito. Although
Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in
1991, it took four years of bitter fighting before occupying
Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands.
The Community in Canada
Although most Croatians arrived in Canada in the years following the Communist rule of Yugoslavia following the Second World War and the more recent conflicts in the Balkans brought another influx, there is evidence of a much earlier Croatian presence in Canada. Two sailors from Dalmatia were said to be among the crew of explorer Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain enlisted a Croatian miner to help with his early reconnaissance of Canadian geography and geology.
The Croatian-Canadian community has produced no shortage of big names in Canadian sport: heavyweight boxing legend George Chuvalo, figure skaters Val and Sandra Bezic, and NHLers Frank and Peter Mahovlich.
In 1968 an amateur association, the Toronto Croatia, spearheaded the drive to bring professional soccer to Toronto. Largely through their fundraising efforts and European contacts, players, coaches and managers were enticed into coming to Toronto to form the Toronto Metros-Croatia - the team that later morphed into the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League Championship in 1976.
According to Mario Blaskovic, President, General Manager and Head Coach of Zagreb - a team in the Toronto & District Soccer League - thousands of Croatian-Canadians will gather at any time of day or night to cheer the Croatian team at one of many bars around Queen St. in Streetsville, Ont., near Toronto.
Things have gotten so packed during previous tournaments they've actually had
to close down Queen St. His prediction is that the Croatian
team will fare well in the first round with a win over
Mexico. Beyond that he didn't want to say - other than
to keep an eye on their star forward Alex Boskic who
has been playing for both Italian and English First
Division teams.
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