Mislav Orsic, the attacking midfielder who scored the winner for Croatia, has a special connection with South Korea

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With the match tied at 1-1 after goals from Josko Gvardiol for Croatia and Achraf Dari for Morocco, 29-year-old Mislav Orsic found the ball on the left of the penalty area in the 42nd minute of the third-place match between the two teams in the World Cup at Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday evening. The midfielder-defender, who had two assists in the World Cup, curled the ball from the edge of the penalty area to get past Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to put Croatia in the lead again in the match. The Luka Modric captained team would defend the 2-1 win till the end to claim their third spot. Orsic’s family, including his wife and sons were watching the match from the stands. Orsic had five attempts at the goal in the match and also had 19 of 25 accurate passes apart from winning three duels apart from a brilliant save in the team’s penalty area in the second half of the match.

“We stood well on the field and defended well, we won. The roll came to me nicely and I broke into the other corner. I like to shoot from that position. This is my favourite and most important goal in my career. I dedicate it to my family, parents, sisters, children and wife who has always been by my side,” said Orsic after the match. The Croatian midfielder, who had got the ball from team-mate Marko Livaja before he scored the goal, was asked about giving a gift to his team-mate for creating the chance for only his second international goal for the team. “We will make an agreement,” Orsic told reporters.

Born in Zagreb, a young Orsic attended Zagreb’s Amte Kovacic Primary School in the neighbourhood of Spansko and initially played football with the clubs Tresnjevka and Kustosjja before he was picked up by Inter Zapresic youth team at the age of 13. He scored 12 goals in a season for the team before he joined Spezia Calcio in Italy, a stint where he did not play a single game. “I am a neighborhood boy. I was impatient and young. The coach in Italy did not know English and I refused to learn Italian. As we could not come to an agreement, I didn’t play,” Orsic had told documentary Knjaz kod Vatrenjh last year.

Croatia’s Mislav Orsic front, and Croatia’s Ivan Perisic celebrate after a goal uring the World Cup third-place playoff soccer match between Croatia and Morocco at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Dec. 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Orsic joined Croatian club Rijeka post his Italian stint and was loaned to South Korean club Jeonnam Dragons in 2015 before he was signed by the club for a sum of 7.5 million pounds. Orisic would play in K League and Chinese Super League for Dragons and Changchun Yatai respectively before returning again to Korea to play for Ulsan Hyundai. Orsic, who was named Orsha by fans in Korea, scored 28 goals and 15 assists for the Korean club in 101 matches in K League.

“I was in Korea for three years and in China for half a year. I was 22 or 23 when I went to Korea. I was scared because I didn’t know where I was going but the manager explained to me that they respect foreigners there and life is very organised, so I didn’t hesitate. It wasn’t easy at first but my wife Suzana and I adapted quickly. The hardest thing for me was to adapt to their food. I didn’t want to eat it for six months but as I tasted it, I was delighted with new flavours and now I miss them,” Orsic had told Vecernji List this month.

Earlier last month, Orsic shared a picture of his sons Manuel and Ivan watching the match between South Korea and Uruguay and the footballer posted a picture of both his sons on Instagram and wrote ‘Made in South Korea,”. “Actually that country has played an important role in our lives; I proposed to my wife there, we conceived a son there and I must say that our life in Korea was great in the end,” Orsic told Vecernji List about the photo.

Orsic, who made his debut for Croatia in Euro qualifiers last year, scored his first international goal during Croatia’s dramatic 3-5 loss against Spain in Euro 2020 last year. The 29-year-old came close to scoring his second international goal against Canada in a group game in World Cup in Qatar before he made a pass to team-mate Lovro Majer to put Croatia 4-1 ahead in the match. Days later, Orsic assisted Bruno Petkovic against Brazil in the World Cup quarter-final, which saw Croatia coming from behind in the 117th minute. Orsic then scored the first penalty and talked about his assists against Canada and Brazil. “ I knew right away that I would add to Majer. As soon as I saw that he was on the right side, I didn’t even think about finishing the action myself. It was as clear as night and day that I would add to it. I moved as close as possible to the goalkeeper and pushed Majer, who was in a better position. Look, there as always scales in life. And it always comes back somehow. I think it came back to me because I assisted Petkovic against Brazil and then scoffed in the shootout. I really mean it,” Orsic said post the win against Brazil.

Post the win against Brazil, Orsic’s club Dinamo Zagreb, for which he scored a hat-trick against Atalanta in the Champions League earlier this year, posted on Facebook terming Orsic as joker of the team. “Our Mislav Orsic at the first world championship in his career = 2 assists and a goal from the penalty spot in a total of 28 minutes on the field in 4 games. The most efficient joker of the World Championship!” the team’s official handle on Facebook wrote.

The footballer, who has so far played 476 matches in his club career, had watched Croatia reach the 2018 World Cup final in Russia from a training camp in Slovenia. “Four years ago, I was looking at the neighbourhood with my friends. We were in a cafe and celebrated like crazy. I watched the other matches during the club’s preparation in Slovenia,” Orsic had told NovuTv last week.

As the Croatian team arrives in the home country post their third podium finish in seven World Cups next week, Orsic would spend some time with his family before he is called by his club. “We were told by Dinamo that we have to come to training at the beginning of next year. There will be time for a short rest and then for new victories,” Orsic told Germanijak prior to the third-place match.