Croatia — Not a Football Underdog
Euro 2024 season is building up and the usual suspects of England and France start a s heavy favorite. There is one team that has punched above their weight at the international level in the past 2 world cups and that is Croatia. In the past 2 world cups, Croatia has finished runners up and 3rd respectively in 2018 and 2022. On top of that, they possess a Ballan D’Or winner in the form of Luka Modric who is still playing his trade at Real Madrid. They come into every tournament as underdogs, but in reality, the underdog tag is just a nametag given to them when they are playing at their real level i.e. that of greatness.
Croatia is a Blank land in Europe and does not possess a lot of facilities unlike the western European countries. My recent visit to Croatia was an eye opener in terms of how dedication and proper planning can build a world class team despite not having the best of resources. There are some long lasting visuals which made me realize that they are a world power in football and can never be underestimated or taken lightly.
1. Intense and quality training at school: A common sight even in smaller towns of Croatia was the after-school football training that was happening across all the schools. The skillset and the rigor of training of the children was unmatched and speaks volumes of the preparation that is underway in Croatia to build future world superstars.
2. All weather training: Croatia possesses a unique combination of weather embracing the humidity of the beachy areas and the high-altitude weather of the mountains. This allows the football players to adapt to difficult situations from the very beginning. As a result, the impact of a home and away match does not matter to them, and they become immune to any type of outside noise.
3. Gritty nature: Croatians are observed to be very gritty. This is evident in their captain, Luka Modric. They are willing to go beyond limits to bring benefit to themselves. This nature is inculcated in all budding footballers who are ready to do whatever it takes to win.
4. Cohesiveness: Football is a team game and no super skillset possessed person can win the world cup without a good team. Croatians are known for bonding well with people and this nature allows them to even bring the right concept of teamwork in football. Their beautiful journey in 2018 World Cup was characterized by teamwork which was never seen before.
Croatia is a football obsessed nation and the coming tournaments are few tournaments where they will not be underdogs, but favorites to pass the final barrier of winning a trophy. It’s time to find a new football underdog.
