Reaction: Croatia World Cup squad announced

by Bobo

Croatia's national team hasn't had much experience of football since the country became independent only recently, shaking themselves from Yugoslavian shackles.

Stipe Pletikosa is the main goalkeeper for the Croatian squad, and the main representative goalkeeper for his domestic team, Hadjuk Split. having previously played in the 2002 World Cup, he also played in the Youth World Championship in 1999 and Euro 2004.

Darijo Srna has experience of mostly Ukrainian football, having spent two seasons most recently with Shakhtar Donetsk. He made his professional debut at the age of 20, and since played in the 2002 World Cup.

Josip Simunic has spent most of his time away from his home country, spending the beginning of his career in Australia, but quickly moving to Germany where he has played since 1997. He was part of the 2002 World Cup squad and the Euro 2004 squad, and took a great part within these World Cup qualifiers.

Robert Kovac, like his brother Niko, who also is in the squad for this World Cup, has taken time to develop at the top level of football, but has done so with solid tackling that belies his physique. His first cap came at the age of 25, and he helped Bayern Munich to several trophies between 1999 and 2002. He contributed immensely to Croatia's successful 2002 World Cup, and played several times in Korea and Japan, before taking his domestic play to Italy. He moved on from Germany and went to Italy at the age of 32, and will be prepared to make as big an input this time as he did last time in the tournament.

Lately, the great Igor Tudor has been going through something of a renaissance. He failed to be fit for the last World Cup and is determined to do so this time around. And having had as good a season this year as he did during his top season of 2000/01, now playing for Siena, to whom he was loaned out earlier on in the year, he has found being at a less prestigious club more fulfilling.

Jurica Vranjes has spent the last six seasons in Germany getting ready for the biggest moment of his life. Having spent three seasons with Bayer Leverkusen, he moved to Werder Bremen in 2005. He had previously played with Croatia at the 2002 World Cup, and former VfB Stuttgart coach, Felix Magath, rates him as one of the best players he has ever played with.

General orchestrator of all of his team’s doings, Dario Simic has played for Zagreb and Internazionale before stopping off at AC Milan for the last four years. Nicknamed the Pitbull, he has played in two World Cups, but missed Milan’s Champions League win through injury.

Marko Babic currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen, and has accrued 32 international caps since first appearing for the team four years ago. He has spent some of his playing career in Germany, but started his career in his native Croatia.

Dado Prso is a power-built striker, and one of the strongest people to run through the Croatian attack. He started a career with Glasgow Rangers and despite having a couple of seasons in his career completely savaged by injury, looks to be fit and healthy and ready for this World Cup.

Niko Kovac possesses dual-nationality and has spent all of his career with German teams. The midfielder who spends most of his time doing the most unglamorous of jobs can’t be questioned about his workload, or his ball-winning skills. He and his brother then signed for Bayer Leverkusen, and took part in the 2002 World Cup. And despite being taken for a painful ride during Euro 2004, he is back amongst Croatia’s elite today.

Mario Tokic plays in Austria for Vienna, and though he often takes the place of a defensive midfielder, he can be useful in either of these two positions. He has previously played for the Croatian squad in Euro 2004, and easily cemented his place in this year’s World Cup squad after some outstanding league performances.

Joe Didulica is Australian-born, but at the last minute decided to represent Croatia. He played for Melbourne Knights, the Australian soccer team, before moving to Ajax. At 28, he is still young enough to battle for a goalkeeping slot in the Croatian first team.

Stjepan Tomas is yet another solid defender whose good record in the most recent season has landed him an easy place in this year’s World Cup squad. He has spent some time in Turkey with Fenerbahce and Galatasaray before the start of this tournament.

Luka Modric is slowly becoming the rising star of the Croatian national team. His coach is in awe of his formidable strike rate, the midfielder averaging a goal every four games.

Ivan Leko started his most notable stretch of his career at Hadjuk Split, before winding up in the big European leagues with Spanish side Malaga. Last year he moved to Brugge in Belgium, and with his new club, scored twelve minutes into his debut performance.

His namesake, Jerko Leko, makes his play in the Ukraine, as a versatile midfielder. He played in one match during Euro 2004, and played half a match in the tournament, in a draw against France.

Ivan Klasnic plays in his country of birth, Germany, and qualifies to play for Croatia through his parents. He is commonly the member of the team on whom they can generally rely for scoring late goals at the most useful times. He was used sparingly during qualifying for this tournament, though his fitness could easily shine through come the group stages.

Ivica Olic performs mazy runs on almost a weekly basis these days for his club CSKA Moskva. He played one match during the 2002 World Cup, but more extensively during Euro 2004, despite his role as more of a bit part player for his country during most international matches.

Niko Kranjcar is just one of those people. The boss’s son, he has since assumed the role of captain. He holds a joint Croatia-Austria passport, and admits that though he and his father don’t tend to see eye to eye, he knows that 95 percent of the time, his focus and his work is on his football working for his relationship rather than against it.

Australian-born Anthony Seric has spent lots of time with Italian clubs during his ten-year career, but the midfielder, who played in both the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, decided to stick with the country of his parents’ birth for his international career. He is a classic raider of the flanks, able to do anything his team need him to do at the most difficult of times.

Bosko Balaban currently plays in Belgium, and enjoyed his first taste of international football six years ago. In 2003, he even enjoyed a spell at British club Aston Villa, before moving back to Belgium at the end of 2003, to play with Club Brugge. He was part of the 2002 World Cup squad, while ending his spell at Villa, but soon found himself on his way to Dinamo Zagreb for his good work.

Ivan Bosnjak is a talented midfielder who has spent some time in Saudi Arabia as well as in his home country. He is agile and aggressive, and has a bad record in club football for picking up red and yellow cards when least necessary.

Tomislav Butina is a steady goalkeeper without ever needing to pull off spectacular runs or saves around the pitch. However, he is most likely to be used as the third goalkeeper within the Croatian squad, and is unlikely to see much play during this tournament.

Maybe this team can emulate what they did eight years ago. Some of their players appear to suggest that this is possible, but quite a lot of the squad are probably quite new to the idea of being able to win major trophies at the trickiest of times. It would be good to see the Croatians progress, but how easily will this be achieved?

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