00:00.
00:06Few countries are as passionate about football as Croatia.
00:14It's driven the Balkan nation of just 4 million people
00:18to one World Cup final and two further semi-finals
00:23in their first seven tournaments.
00:28It's helped sustain one of the most vibrant
00:31and hostile supporter cultures in Europe.
00:37And it's helped mould individual players of the highest quality.
00:44Croatia was only recognised as an independent nation in 1992.
00:49For most of the 20th century,
00:51it existed as part of an uneasy coalition
00:54known as Yugoslavia.
00:59During this period,
01:01Croatian footballers contributed enormously
01:03as Yugoslavia became major players in international football,
01:08especially during the 1950s and 60s.
01:14For example, when England played a World XI in 1953,
01:20four members of the Invitational Squad were Croatian.
01:27Shortly before the break-up of Yugoslavia,
01:29a golden generation of talent was beginning to emerge.
01:35at the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship,
01:40Yugoslavia roared to victory with a squad
01:43containing Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prozinecki and Davos Shuker.
01:52After independence,
01:54they would form the core of the squad that would stun the world
01:57on their major tournament debuts in 1996 and 98.
02:06Few arrivals on the international scene have proven so dramatic.
02:11The players were outrageously talented,
02:14technically and creatively,
02:16with a steely resolve.
02:20It helped that Croatia arrived fully formed,
02:23with one of the most iconic kicks in world football.
02:27The team jersey was created in 1990
02:30by Miroslav Å utej,
02:32the designer behind the nation's flag and coat of arms.
02:38When those checkerboards are gathered en masse,
02:40it makes for an imposing sight,
02:43especially teamed with the aggressive chanting and lighting of flares
02:47for which Croatian fans are renowned.
02:52At times, this has spilled into hooliganism
02:55and there is an uncomfortable relationship
02:58between football and ethno-nationalism,
03:01an unsurprising by-product of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
03:09The national team is based at Stadion Maksimir,
03:12in the country's capital
03:14and home ground of Dinamo Zagreb.
03:20Dinamo are an overwhelmingly dominant force
03:23in Croatia's domestic competition,
03:26winning three-quarters of all league titles since independence.
03:33Dinamo are the only Croatian club to win a major European trophy.
03:37Back in 1967, they took out the Intercities Fairs Cup,
03:42but in recent years they have failed to convert domestic dominance
03:46into continental competitiveness.
03:51Clearly, this has a lot to do with the economics of football.
03:54The domestic transfer record is just 5 million euros,
03:59whereas the likes of Verdansk or Luka,
04:02Luka Modric,
04:04and Josko Kvaryol have generated significant sums heading to Europe's richer leagues.
04:12It is a model that has served the Croatian national team well in recent decades,
04:17with no country coming close to Croatia for punching above its weight.
04:21They are an incredible success story of a football nation.
04:26They have a libre-force pendulum,
04:27among the leaders of Fort Worth,
04:27The Luka Modric is the first part of the football nation.
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