00:06For such a small country, Croatia's ability to produce world-class footballers is almost
00:12unrivalled. Goalkeepers Daniel Subasic and Dominic Livakovic share World Cup records
00:21for saving spot kicks in penalty shootouts, while Vladimir Behrer was regarded by none
00:27other than Lev Yashin as the best goalkeeper in the world.
00:33Behrer starred in gold for Yugoslavia during the 1950s, earning plaudits for a memorable
00:38display of shot-stopping against England in 1950, winning an Olympic silver medal in 1952
00:45and earning selection for a FIFA All-Stars team in 1953.
00:53Robert Yarny was the quintessential reigning full-back of the 1990s, Dario Cerner of the
01:00decades that followed.
01:04But before them, Branko Zebic was the most exciting left-sided footballer of the 1950s, capable of
01:12playing on the wing, in midfield or in defence. He later went on to become a successful coach,
01:20especially in Germany, where he won the Bundesliga with both Bayern Munich and Hamburg.
01:26Another great defender of the 1950s to excel in Germany was Ivica Horvath. As a player, he won the first
01:34Bundesliga in Eintracht Frankfurt's history. And as a coach, he won only the second DFB
01:41player in the first round of the first two players. He won the first player in the first
01:45The first player in the first player in the first player in the first player in the
01:46first player was Dario Simic, the first Croatian to reach over 100 caps.
01:53midfield is where croatia has excelled the most
02:00slatko tchaikovsky dominated the middle of the park in the 1950s
02:04robert prosinecki and zvonimir boban beguiled all comers during the 1990s
02:10then more recently ivan raketic provided the ideal foil for luca modric
02:15to become the greatest footballer in the world out wide ivan perisic made a
02:22habit of finding the back of the net at major tournaments including the 2018
02:27world cup final he inherited the mantle of bernard vukas the left winger voted as
02:35the best croatian player of all time by the croatian football federation in the
02:40year 2000 stephan bobek was the star forward of the 1950s
02:50while joseph scotla became a legend of marseille in the 1970s
02:57alan boksic won the inaugural ua for champions league with the same club in 1993
03:03then went on to dominate serie-a
03:09during that same period strike partner davos shuker was lighting up la liga
03:15in 1998 shuker won the world cup golden boot and finished runner-up behind ronaldo for the golden ball
03:21and zinedine zidane for the ballon d'or
03:24his love over peter schmeichel at euro 96 croatia's first major tournament as an independent nation
03:31is remembered as the moment that announced the country's arrival as a major force on the international scene
03:40thirty years on croatia have gone from strength to strength becoming one of the most consistent
03:47sides in international football and a feared football nation
Comments