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For a few weeks, Luka Modric 's teams have been on everyone' s lips in this country of about four million people.
PERFORMANCE OF CROATIA By reaching the semi-finals of the World Cup reconciled the fans with their team In recent years, Luka Modric has played an important role in the fight against corruption in the Balkan nation.
In recent weeks, Luka Modric has been on the heels of four million people. Coach Zlatko Dalic and his players are celebrated as national heroes and their names are sung in the streets of Croatia, while they are described as embodying courage, perfection and humility.
But only a month ago, the situation was very different. 19659003] "Pray God that they lose everything!", Read graffiti and banners dating from the Euro 2016, especially in the coastal city of Split and in the surrounding area.
", reads a banner on a bridge in Split after a defeat of Brazil in a friendly match in June.
Critics say that obscure management within the Croatian Football Federation has led to a huge animosity among many football fans and the public towards the federation and football in general.
The country has been repeatedly punished by FIFA and UEFA against unruly supporters known for throwing flares at matches and chanting fascist slogans. Defender Dejan Lovren was targeted for his ties with former club Dinamo Zagreb boss, businessman Zdravko Mamic, sentenced in June to six and a half years in prison in a case. of several million euros
widely regarded as the true boss of the Croatian federation, is currently hiding in Bosnia.
Modric and Lovren both testified during the Mamic trial about their transfers from Dinamo Zagreb.
Dric, visibly confused and unable to remember the year when he made his debut on the national team, was furious with fans who feared that this would result in a reduction of pain for Mamic.
– Anger Angered –
But fans' anger seemed to be forgotten after Modric's brilliant performances at the World Cup.
Mamic's The trial, inadequate and outdated infrastructure in the stadiums, poor-quality refereeing and fan revolt against the federation and its president Davor Suker have created a negative atmosphere around of the team.
Although success in Russia has There are still problems with Croatian football
"The worst thing is that all the trust society has in football has been lost," said l & # 39; ex-international Dario Simic at AFP in April
. The beloved winner of the 1998 World Cup Golden Boot is hated by the fans because he was named head of the federation in 2012 because of Mamic's lobbying and is accused of To be his puppet.
Suker was re-elected for four years -terme. A top federation official, Damir Vrbanovic, who was tried with Mamic and sentenced to three years in prison, has retained his position.
"The success of the team at the World Cup and all other problems are not related" The sports journalist Robert Matteoni told AFP
"What is happening now is the consequence of pure football.We now have great players and a coach who can get the most out of it and that's where this result comes from. "
– Necessary changes needed – [19659003] After a spectacular victory in the shootout against Russia Croatia will face England on Wednesday in front of 80,000 spectators at the Luzhniki stadium in Moscow for a place in the World Cup final.
They repeated the success of the 1998 team that reached the semi-finals of the first World Cup in Croatia.
Some local media say that once the tournament is over, it could change for the better.
"Maybe football really gets home, where it belongs, to Croatia," commented the influential newspaper Jutarnji List, playing on the songs in England of "It's Coming Home "- the revived theme song of the 1996 European Championships.
" Croatian football has a chance to turn But he warned that "after the shower in the champagne of victory, not only cosmetics, but profound changes should be made. "
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