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Journalism of Courage
Croatia began their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign with a disappointment, then found form before struggling past rivals Slovenia in the play-offs to at least end the qualifiers on a high note and reach the Euro finals for the second time in their history.
As one of the favourites in Group 8, which included Bulgaria and Belgium, as well as footballing minnows Andorra and Estonia, Croatia had more trouble than expected in the early stages of the campaign and after two matches, they were already lying behind Bulgaria and Belgium.
Coach Otto Baric, who took over the coaching reins in July 2002 after Croatia’s disappointing first round exit at the World Cup in South Korea and Japan (where they finished third in their group behind Italy and Mexico), had to start the qualifying campaign without the older generation of players like Alen Boksic, Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker, who were no longer considered for the national team.
In their absence, a number of players who had not managed to grab the headlines, managed to shine on the international stage.
Forward Dado Prso springs to mind immediately as the 29-year-old Monaco player who scored both goals for his side in the play-offs against Slovenia and the tall striker’s goals were also instrumental in Monaco’s march to this year’s Champions League final.
The one thing that will be worrying Baric is the low number of goals scored by his team in the qualifiers, as 12 goals in eight games (including four against Estonia and Andorra) indicates a weakness that needs to be addressed and the play-off hero, Prso, might just be the man to address that problem.
What makes their play-off victory even more remarkable is the fact that they had to play a third of the return leg with ten men after defender Igor Tudor was sent off. Prso scored two minutes later and Croatia then had few problems in hanging on to the lead to qualify for Portugal.
The only other time they qualified for the Euro finals was in 1996, when they managed to advance from a group that included Denmark, Portugal and Turkey. A 2-1 defeat against Germany in the quarter-finals ended their first-ever appearance at the finals of an international football tournament.
As third seeds in a group also containing France, England and Switzerland, Croatia will need top performances from the likes of the Kovac brothers, Robert and Niko, Tudor and the others if it is to repeat the quarter-final appearance of 1996.
Having warmed up with a friendly loss to Germany, a draw with Turkey and a win over Balkan neighbours Macedonia, Baric has picked a 26-man squad for Croatia’s last friendly before the Euro tournament – on May 29 against Slovakia.
