00:00.
00:05Few countries are as passionate about football as Croatia.
00:13It's driven the Balkan nation of just 4 million people
00:17to one World Cup final and two further semi-finals
00:22in their first seven tournaments.
00:27It's helped sustain one of the most vibrant
00:30and hostile supporter cultures in Europe.
00:36And it's helped mould individual players of the highest quality.
00:43Croatia was only recognised as an independent nation in 1992.
00:47For most of the 20th century,
00:50it existed as part of an uneasy coalition
00:53known as Yugoslavia.
00:58During this period,
00:59Croatian footballers contributed enormously
01:02as Yugoslavia became major players in international football,
01:07especially during the 1950s and 60s.
01:13For example,
01:14when England played a World XI in 1953,
01:18four members of the Invitational Squad were Croatian.
01:25Shortly before the break-up of Yugoslavia,
01:28a golden generation of talent was beginning to emerge.
01:34At the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship,
01:39Yugoslavia roared to victory with a squad
01:42containing Zvonimir Boban,
01:44Robert Prozinecki and Davos Shuker.
01:51After independence,
01:53they would form the core of the squad that would stun the world
01:56on their major tournament debuts in 1996 and 98.
02:05Few arrivals on the international scene have proven so dramatic.
02:10The players were outrageously talented,
02:12technically and creatively,
02:15with a steely resolve.
02:19It helped that Croatia arrived fully formed,
02:22with one of the most iconic kicks in world football.
02:25The team jersey was created in 1990,
02:28by Miroslav Å utej,
02:30the designer behind the nation's flag and coat of arms.
02:36When those checkerboards are gathered en masse,
02:39it makes for an imposing sight,
02:42especially teamed with the aggressive chanting
02:44and lighting of flares,
02:46for which Croatian fans are renowned.
02:51At times,
02:52this has spilled into hooliganism,
02:54and there is an uncomfortable relationship
02:57between football and ethno-nationalism,
03:00an unsurprising by-product of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
03:07The national team is based at Stadion Maksimir,
03:11in the country's capital,
03:13and home ground of Dinamo Zagreb.
03:19Dinamo are an overwhelmingly dominant force
03:22in Croatia's domestic competition,
03:25winning three-quarters of all league titles since independence.
03:32Dinamo are the only Croatian club to win a major European trophy.
03:36Back in 1967,
03:38they took out the InterCities Fairs Cup,
03:41but in recent years,
03:42they have failed to convert domestic dominance
03:45into continental competitiveness.
03:50Clearly, this has a lot to do with the economics of football.
03:53The domestic transfer record is just 5 million euros,
03:58whereas the likes of Verdan Chorluka,
04:01Luka Modric,
04:02and Josko Kvaryol,
04:05have generated significant sums heading to Europe's richer leagues.
04:11It is a model that has served the Croatian national team well in recent decades,
04:16with no country coming close to Croatia for punching above its weight.
04:20They are an incredible success story of a football nation.
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