Croatia hopes to improve the heroes of the 1998 World Cup

In 1998, Croatia, born of a bitter independence war three years earlier, made its World Cup debut.

With a team consisting of Davor Suker, Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinecki dressed in blues shirts with a red and white checkered pattern, they beat Germany 3-0 in the quarterfinals in France, causing delirium at home. 19659006] Although Croatia suffered a distressing 2-1 defeat against host country France in the semi-finals, they beat the Netherlands 2-1 in third place.

Nicknamed "the Fiery Ones", this team Since 1965, a team is ready to join them in the pantheon of Croatian football heroes.

Robert Prosinecki, a member of the 1998 team, told AFP: I would like them so much that they are better than us.

"1998 will never be forgotten and should not be, but I would very much like the 1998" Fiery Ones "to be discarded so that we can not only talk about 1998, but also a little around 2018, "said the former player of Real Madrid

Confined to History

The coach of The 1998 team, Jaroslav Ciro Blazevic, told AFP that for a long time he did not want any other teams

"Until five or six years old, I was a little conceited and, in a way, happy that in 1998 we set the bar so high that it was even hard to contemplate it, let alone to cross it

now … I pray and I would give anything in the world that this team ends up "confining us to history." In the future, we'll talk about it " , has dec Blazevic, now 83, is known in Croatia as a "coach of all coaches".

The victory in penalty kicks against the Russian hosts in the quarter-finals on Saturday seems to have pbaded "

" We are still coming back to the 1998 team, which imposes a new burden on Modric and his team . Until last night, when all the pain was removed and when we finally experienced a revival of 1998, "Sportski Novosti newspaper said after match.

Squares wrapped with red painted fans and white, stalls selling football jerseys and drivers who scream their horns, people who hug and sing – scenes that look like 1998 are all around while the country of about four million people lives and breathes football

"We are happy that this generation knows its own 1998 See live what football's euphoria looks like … at least we will not have more at the same time" explain on YouTube, "said Sportske Novosti.

In the group stage in Russia, coach Zlatko Dalic said that it was difficult to compare the generations – when events were separated by a difference of 20 years. [1965] 9006] "We have good memories of France, our players have done a good job … We want to get closer to them, even if it is difficult to repeat this effort, but we will try, "51-year-old man

Two days before the clash with England, he seemed more confident.

"We respect everyone – England, Belgium, France But none of the three teams is better than us!"

On Wednesday, his team has a chance to write a new page of The history of Croatian football.

Former international Mario Stanic remembers perfectly the defeat of the winners of France. "In three days, we went from top to bottom, emotionally," said Stanic, 46, at AFP

"For me, it was the lowest level, since I knew we were a step in history and we failed. "

But Stanic said that he did not want to compare his team with the present.

" We had our story, they have theirs. Thank God for this generation that has managed to reach a semifinal and justify the status of Croatia as a football superpower … at least a small one, "said former Chelsea midfielder . [ad_2]
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