While our opener against Turkey at the Euros in England was our first major tourney game and was made memorable by Goran Vlaović's late winner, the win over Denmark, the reigning European champions, in the next game is probably one of the most famous ever by the NT.

A dull first half but a second 45 minutes of sheer bliss for any NT fan. No Bokšić again after picking up an injury in the opener, however Šuker starred, scoring one with that unforgettable chip and another from the spot (which he created with a sublime through ball for Stanić). He also assisted on Boban's goal and had a lob attempt from almost inside his own half that in itself was memorable.

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This is one of the best games I ever seen the National team play. Re watched this game several times. Suker was a men among boys. I forget just how good he really was. Unbelievable first touch vision and finisher. The one thing you notice is how offensive a lineup Ciro played in euros.

 

We followed up a controversial and disappointing Euro quarter-final exit with a disastrous France '98 qualifying campaign.

Come the final game we were in third spot one point behind Greece, who were hosting the group-leading Denmark. Our only hope of seeing France was via the play-offs. We got the job done in Slovenia and only thanks to some heroics by Schmeichel were the Danes able to scrape their way out of Athens with a 0-0 result.

The atmosphere around the team leading up to the first play-off leg against Ukraine in Zagreb was poor - Ćiro Blažević was public enemy number one and the standard XI we'd seen for the previous 3-4 seasons was no longer automatic.

Bokšić out again and Asanović by this time had lost his starting spot. Štimac was also on the outer. Despite all of this, Bilić got an early headed goal on a Prosinečki assist and Vlaović's brilliantly taken strike early in the second half put Croatia en route for the WC in France.

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We got a favourable group at the WC and were already through to the second round before facing Argentina in the last group game. Most significant thing to come out of the encounter was that it was Prosinečki's last game in the starting XI until the third-place play-off. From this point on Blažević chose to play a traditional DM, freeing up Boban for a (slightly) more advanced role.

We got over the Romanians in the second round and set up a revenge clash with the Germans in the quarter-final. After initially being under the pump we found our feet and the game turned when Wörns was sent off late in the first half. Robert Jarni beat Köpke with a nice strike from outside the box on the stroke of HT and goals by Vlaović and Šuker late ensured a historic win for Croatia.

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Following up the historic win in the quarter-final was the sad exit to the hosts France in the semi-final. The glory of hitting the lead in a WC semi-final was too quickly followed up by Boban's blunder and our hopes of becoming World Champions were dashed.

For the third-place play-off against the Dutch Blažević shuffled things around. Soldo moved back into defence in place of the suspended Šimić and Jurčić once again moved into DM. Boban played off Šuker up front and Prosinečki was restored to the XI.

Some Ladić heroics and goals each from Prosinečki and Šuker allowed us to positively cap off a great WC. Šuker's strike also gave him his 6th goal and the Golden Boot.

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After the glorious WC run we again botched the next campaign, this time losing the opening Euro 2000 qualifier away to Ireland and scrambling from that point on.

With two games to go we had home games against both of the teams sitting above us. First one in line was Ireland and nothing but a win would suffice. Prosinečki was retired from the NT and both Bokšić and Boban out injured.

Stanić had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside in the first half but it was again Šuker who came to the rescue, getting on the end of a hit-and-hope ball from Robert Kovač in injury time. Hard to imagine anyone else being able to score in similar fashion.

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The final group game in Zagreb against Yugoslavia was a do-or-die, a win potentially giving us direct qualification or at the very least a play-off berth. The game was obviously made even bigger because of the opposition.

Captain Boban was still out injured and he was joined on the sidelines by Bilić, Štimac and Šimić. Unusually, Bokšić was fit and in the XI.

The game started brilliantly, Bokšić scoring on a through pass by Šuker to give us the lead. However, two identical Mihajlović free-kicks six minutes apart and two inept reactions by Ladić lead to two goals for the Yugoslavs. The Mirković red card in the first half gave us hope and a Stanić equaliser relatively early in the second made victory seem possible. Unfortunately, a string of missed chances confirmed our first non-qualification for a major tournament and effectively the end of the Ćiro Blažević era (although he'd officially lose the job early in WC 2002 qualifying).

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Our start to the next qualifying campaign was another poor one and after draws in the opening two games Blažević was replaced by Mirko Jozić. Ironically, Ćiro's last game in charge (1-1 with Scotland at home) also marked the return of Robert Prosinečki to international football.

Croatia got their campaign together under Jozić but still found itself in a final day must-win encounter against Belgium where only a win would give us direct qualification.

Jozić preferred Bokšić and Vlaović up front to Šuker, and it was Vlaović who won a first half penalty. However, Prosinečki was unable to convert and with 15 minutes to go things began to look ominous. Jozić brought on Balaban who was able to get onto a beautifully weighted ball from Prosinečki and cut it back for Bokšić to seal the win and direct passage to Japan/Korea.

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The WC opener against Mexico was a huge let down, a 0-1 reverse against Mexico including a Boris Živković red card. Some of the veterans clearly showed their age and it was obvious we had too many of them in the XI.

For the next game against Italy, Jozić dropped Šuker and Prosinečki in favour of Vugrinec and Rapaić while Šarić came in for the suspended Živković. After a good first half showing we fell behind early in the second and hopes of another good WC showing looked gone. Enter Ivica Olić, the youngster coming on shortly after the Italian goal and it was he who tucked home a Jarni cross from the left (who can forget Olić's celebration and the seeming eternity it took for them to "fix" his jersey?).
A couple of minutes later Rapaić somehow managed to lob Buffon with a deflected effort and we were in the lead. A bit of good fortune and some questionable refereeing helped us hold on for a memorable win. Unfortunately, the final group game against an already-eliminated Ecuador was another disaster but the Italian game still goes down as one of the classic NT performances.

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After the WC failure, Jozić was replaced by Otto Barić. Naturally, this didn't prevent another poor opening to the next qualifying campaign, with a home draw to Estonia and loss in Bulgaria capping a disappointing 2002 for NT fans.

The next game, a home fixture against Belgium was viewed as a must-win, and Barić had spent the previous months searching far and wide for options. Somehow he found Dado Pršo, and the big man didn't disappoint, netting on his debut and almost instantly becoming a cult figure among fans. Barić also handed Darijo Srna his competitive debut and it was he who opened the scoring with a long range effort in the first half.

 

Great stuff Suho. Looking forward to reading more.

 

Jozic had some of the most defensive lineups ever

 

Like a walk down a blissful memory lane. Awesome job Suho.

 

Thanks boys, I was inspired by the win in Slovakia, felt like it could be one of those games that marks the start of a new chapter in the NT story...and then Azerbaijan happened

Btw, it's bugging me a bit that I can't find an extended clip of the 4-0 against Belgium...I can't remember exactly where Živković lined up...he may actually have been at RB or CM...I know Otto threw him around everywhere...small detail but since I've gone to the effort may as well try to be as accurate as possible.

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After the Belgium home game we managed to string a few wins together but stumbled again in the second last game, losing away to those same Belgians. This left us in the now all-too-familiar position of needing three points from our final group game just to make the play-offs. The only bit of good news was that our opponents Bulgaria were already through, and would perhaps come to Zagreb in a relaxed mood.

A big boost for the team was the return of Pršo, who'd missed the Belgium loss due to injury. After a scoreless first half Herr Otto brought on Olić and less than three mintes later it was he who got the winning goal. Pršo did all the hard work, holding off and then beating a couple of defenders on the right before delivering his cross. Olić should've had another one, again feeding off Pršo, but in the end that one goal was enough to set up a play-off encounter with Slovenia.

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The play-off encounter with Slovenia was always going to be a tight, tense affair. They still had the core of the team that got them to Euro 2000 and WC 2002 while we were still very much in a transitional phase.
The first leg in Zagreb ended 1-1, giving the Slovenes the edge going into the second leg in Ljubljana.

Barić was heavily criticised for his selection in the first leg and, perhaps as a result, decided for some big changes in the second - in came Šimunić, Rosso, Srna, Rapaić and the debutant Tomo Šokota. After an even first half with few chances, disaster struck with Tudor receiving a second yellow just before the hour mark. The Slovene crowd along with their fist-pumping captain Pavlin celebrated as if they'd scored. Luckily, the now festive mood at Bežigrad wouldn't last long, a mere two or three minutes after going down to 10 men Croatia scored. Šokota controlled a Babić pass down the left, turned his man and dinked a neat ball between two Slovene defenders for Pršo, who controlled and poked it under the Slovene keeper. Croatia held on and Otto and the boys were off to Portugal.

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I forgot what a nail biter that tie was. Good stuff on this thread, Suho :thumbsup:


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After scraping through to the tournament we opened with a winnable game against the Swiss. Barić's selection again came under question as he somehow managed to field a team with four central defenders and four attackers in his now standard 4-4-2, leaving out the likes of Rapaić and Srna. Before the tournament there were hopes he'd call up the young Niko Kranjčar but Otto resisted, preferring the veteran Nenad Bjelica as a surprise inclusion.

For the next game against France, Olić and Mornar were dropped for Rapaić and Rosso, while captain Živković made way for Tudor (coming back from suspension).

The first half was completely dominated by the French and we were lucky to be only one down (a Tudor own goal) at the interval. With the Croatian fans getting restless and the team looking down and out, potential disaster loomed in the second 45. However, a different Croatia came out after the break and within seven minutes Croatia was up 2-1. First, Rosso won a penalty which Rapaić converted and then Pršo, played in by Rapaić, capitalized on some clumsy French defending to lash a left foot shot past Barthez in the French goal. Unfortunately, a poor back pass by Tudor led to a French equaliser (a possible hand ball by Trezeguet not picked up by the refs) and the game ended 2-2. No NT fan can forget Mornar's missed chance at the death, a chance that if buried would've brought us another famous win.

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Yeah, great thread & work Suho! Brings back lots of memories both during & post match. Unfortunately, the most vivid one seems to be emerging into the dawn light from the Cro Club in Punchbowl, in a total daze, dumbstruck & bewildered, after the 2-2 draw with Yugo. It was surreal, hardly anyone spoke, all ruminating on the missed opportunity for qualification. Sh!t, I've depressed myself again..."think about all the wins, think about all the wins..."

 

Punchbowl. roud:

You been there recently, to the club?

 

The HNS replaced Otto Barić with Cico Kranjčar for the following WC campaign, and we started off with a comfortable home win over Hungary.

Under Cico we reverted to a 3-5-2 and the youngsters who were ignored by the previous coach at the Euros were promoted to the XI. Babić, Srna, Klasnić and now Niko Kranjčar became regulars, while veterans like Rapaić, Rosso, Mornar and Bjelica were gone. Gone too was the previous captain Živković, replaced in the role by Niko Kovač.

The first real test for the team came in the second qualifier in Gothenburg against a strong Swedish outfit. While under Otto fans became accustomed to seeing the XI chop and change, Cico's XI quickly became predictable - and the team for Sweden was unchanged from the Zagreb win against the Hungarians.

It was Srna who got the only goal mid-way through the second, curling a low flying free kick into the bottom left and giving Cico a flying start to his NT coaching career.

 

The next big game in this campaign was Bulgaria away. We'd thrown away a 2-0 lead against the same opposition in Zagreb, letting the Swedes back in and the game in Sofia was key to snuffing out the Bulgarians' hopes and giving us a cushion before the return fixture against the Swedes.

In a fairly hostile atmosphere in Sofia, Croatia opened the scoring early through Babić. Following up some good work by Olić on the left he ran onto a neat through ball by Kranjčar, beating the keeper at his near post. The second came just before the hour mark through Tudor on an Olić assist. The Bulgarians got one back with 15 to go but Kranjčar quickly restored the two goal buffer - he picked the ball up about 30m from goal and arrogantly went past the Bulgarian defender before adding a cool finish.

Although we'd ultimately fail at the WC this was only second time we'd topped a qualifying group and the only time we were undefeated in a campaign.

 

As with the previous two coaches, major tournament failure was met with dismissal. In a surprising move the HNS appointed U21 NT coach Slaven Bilić as Cico's successor and like his predecessor he wasted no time in reshaping the team.

The legendary Pršo retired and defensive mainstay Tudor succumbed to injury and would be lost to the NT for good. Bilić responded by promoting the key guys from the U21's, namely Eduardo, Vedran Ćorluka and Luka Modrić (a WC 2006 squad member). He also brought back the veteran Miki Rapaić along with the almost forgotten Mladen Petrić.

A sign of what was ahead of us was the 2-0 friendly road win against WC runners-up Italy. However, before the qualifying opener against Russia in Moscow, the NT was rocked by the Fontana scandal, resulting in bans for the partying trio of Olić, Srna and Balaban.

A respectable draw away to the Russians was followed up by a thumping of Andorra at home. The real test would be England at home; Rapaić got a start while up front we saw the Eduardo-Petrić partnership in what was to become Bilić's standard 4-4-2.

A comical error by the English keeper led to Croatia's first while a looping Eduardo header off a Niko Kovač cross, his first competitive goal for Croatia, would seal a 2-0 win and firmly put us on line towards qualification for Euro 2008.

 

By the time the second England clash came around, Bilić's Croatia had already secured qualification for the Euros. Eduardo's lone strike against Israel in Zagreb being enough to seal top spot with two games to spare.

On the other hand, England's road loss to Russia in their previous game left them needing a result from the Wembley clash, or a shock result in the Andorra-Russia game.

Croatia came into the game on the back of a surprise 2-0 loss on a mudheap Skopje pitch. Bilić made one change to the team, bringing in Olić for Petrić and within 15 minutes his team was up 2-0. The first came after Kranjčar skidded a long range effort through the English keeper and Eduardo played in Olić on a swift counter for the second. As expected, the English rallied after HT - getting a goal from the spot before Crouch controlled and swept home a Beckham cross. However, Croatia was not going to be denied, substitute Petrić once again beating the English keeper from outside the box with 15-odd minutes to play. Russia's narrow win in Andorra ensured England's non-qualification.

The win, although meaningless in terms of qualification, is definitely still one of the sweetest in NT history.

 

For as much shit as Baric got (which I was part of) the generation of players he had was brutal with the exception of Prso and the CBs, I mean look at that midfield against France at Euro 2004, no creativity except Rapaic with the likes of Bjelica/Rosso/N. Kovac :nervous: I don't remember the depth of that generation but the only guys really ignored was a teenage Kranjcar and Ivan Leko. Yes, Baric was too defensive but looking back it was an accomplishment to qualify + being somewhat competitive in a group with France/England, only poor finishing in the Swiss game (Olic missed a sitter) and Mornar against France prevented them from actually making the quarters :howler:

I would actually say Cico's tenure was a bigger failure. Despite qualifying with relative ease they failed take at least 4 points from Japan and Australia in essentially home games with the WC being in Germany. The team looked so unfit too

 

Looking back you'd have to say Cico failed, the group at the WC was decent and in the end we didn't show much. A bit of bad luck to get Brazil in the opener because it's always so much harder if you don't get a result in that first game. But we also did look unfit, I remember Cico going crazy on the sideline in the Australia game but the team just didn't have the legs.

Otto got the most out of his squad and took the team at a tricky time. However, once he got to the Euros he showed no faith in the young guys. It wasn't just that he completely ignored Kranjčar and I.Leko, he refused to start Srna and didn't give a minute to Babić or Klasnić (both of whom had good Bundesliga seasons behind them). Instead, he went with Rosso, Mornar, Bjelica...

And I will never understand how and why he chose Boris Živković for captain.

 

@SuhoZD we are ready for your next installment and I'm sure some of the new & returning members would agree with me


hvala!

 

OK, so we finished up with the last game of Euro 2008 qualifying and that unforgettable victory at Wembley.

Seven months on from that game, we headed into the Euros without the injured Eduardo and our form going in was poor. Only win from four friendlies in 2008 was a 1-0 at home to Moldova and of the other three played most significant was a home 0-3 against the Netherlands (also Eduardo's last NT game before his injury).

Biggest question going into the Euros was how and who would replace Eduardo. In the opener against hosts Austria, Bilić went with Olić-Petrić up front and Pranjić at LB. It was enough for a 1-0 win after a very early Modrić penalty, but the overall impression wasn't good. The Austrians probably deserved a draw and the fact Pletikosa was MoM says enough about the performance.

For the next game against Germany, Bilić dropped the underdone Petrić, moved Kranjčar into a second striker role and gave 20 year-old Rakitić a start on the left.

Srna got the opener mid-way through the first after ghosting in behind the German full back to poke home a Pranjić cross; and after the hour mark Olić was there to prod home a deflected Rakitić cross that came back off the post with Lehmann and the German defence all at sea. Kranjčar missed some good chances and a Podolski goal with 15 mins to play meant a nervy ending but Croatia held on.

Victory ensured top spot in the group, a second major tourney win over the Germans and, for Modrić, this was his first big major tournament performance. Unfortunately, the tourney ended in tragic circumstances and remains the biggest what-if in NT history.

 

Carli was a monster at RB in this tournament.