WEBVTT - Croatia 2018 0:00:00.600 --> 0:00:07.760 Humans love predicting the future. We place bets, we fill 0:00:07.800 --> 0:00:11.200 out World Cup brackets, We tell anyone willing to listen, 0:00:11.280 --> 0:00:14.520 who will win, and who will score, and who is overrated, 0:00:14.640 --> 0:00:18.520 and who will finally, finally prove we were right all along. 0:00:19.079 --> 0:00:21.880 It's bailed by the way, of course, the solace we 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:24.279 seek in telling ourselves we know what will happen in 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:29.800 the future is bullshit. Case in point Croatia, two thousand eighteen. 0:00:32.920 --> 0:00:38.240 But first let's rewind to you. Remember amidst the backdrop 0:00:38.280 --> 0:00:41.200 of great boy bands taking over the pop charts, Croatia 0:00:41.280 --> 0:00:45.680 was emerging victorious. Croatia wrote a putt clingy enthusiasm, from 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:48.479 winning a civil war to entering the World Cup semifinals 0:00:48.479 --> 0:00:51.680 with one hell of a talented roster. Fast forward twenty 0:00:51.720 --> 0:00:57.520 years later, and they rode well nothing really. Croatia's soccer 0:00:57.560 --> 0:01:00.520 scene was mired into corruption scandal that threatened to jail 0:01:00.560 --> 0:01:03.560 their best players, and they had an unknown coach who 0:01:03.600 --> 0:01:06.520 had spent just three games total with the team, And 0:01:06.640 --> 0:01:09.760 they had one of the oldest squads and not one 0:01:09.800 --> 0:01:12.520 of the most talented ones either. So they took all 0:01:12.600 --> 0:01:16.320 of that and somehow made it to the final. What 0:01:16.360 --> 0:01:18.080 I'm trying to say is that the world is a 0:01:18.160 --> 0:01:21.839 terrifying and unnable place and that things do not happen 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:25.120 for a reason. Croatia's winding path to make it to 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:29.360 the final of the World Cup proves this. I'm Nando 0:01:29.480 --> 0:01:40.360 Vila and this is the best soccer podcast in the world. 0:01:41.160 --> 0:01:49.120 Goes with them, but it's still Cristiano Ronaldo. Yes, Yes, 0:01:54.840 --> 0:02:15.560 Team Wonderful, Never sin. This episode is Croatia Part two. 0:02:16.240 --> 0:02:18.519 In case you didn't hear it or just playing forgot 0:02:18.560 --> 0:02:21.200 what happened in part one, here's a short reminder. Our 0:02:21.240 --> 0:02:24.840 producers were very kind to put together for you. Yugoslavia 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.720 were like the Brazilians of Europe. It was an absolutely 0:02:27.760 --> 0:02:32.400 magnificent They qualified for Your ninety two in Sweden, but 0:02:32.480 --> 0:02:35.480 then the bar started and they were thrown out of 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:38.800 the tournament. The war in Yugoslava, it was a huge 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:42.679 tragedy for the people, but the Yugoslavitia broke up. So 0:02:42.760 --> 0:02:47.359 Croatia's motivation was that it had just was emerging from 0:02:47.360 --> 0:02:51.600 a not very happy union, the state of Yugoslavia the 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.600 decades between two thousand eighteen. We're not very kind to 0:02:55.600 --> 0:02:59.520 our Croatian victors. Let's recap what our main characters got 0:02:59.600 --> 0:03:06.840 up to. And then coach Cito Blazevich, who claims he 0:03:06.880 --> 0:03:09.920 invented the three five to formation, moved on to a 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:14.160 new team managing Iran. He promised to hang himself from 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:16.760 the gold post if Iran didn't qualify for the World Cup. 0:03:17.600 --> 0:03:22.960 They didn't qualify, he didn't follow through. Zvonimde Boban studied 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:26.840 history at Zagadab University in Croatia. His thesis was titled 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:31.080 Christianity in the Roman Empire. He eventually became the Deputy 0:03:31.080 --> 0:03:34.440 Secretary General at FIFA, where he oversaw the implementation of 0:03:34.560 --> 0:03:39.000 v a R or video assistant referee. Davosuka retired and 0:03:39.040 --> 0:03:42.520 spent a decade lounging around the tropics devouring shrimp on 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.680 endless vacations. He denied receiving betting tips from a convicted 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:49.840 match fixer in Germany. He also found thirty thousand dollars 0:03:49.880 --> 0:03:52.160 worth of antique gold coins left on a plane and 0:03:52.960 --> 0:03:55.520 he just kept them. This earned him a fine of 0:03:55.600 --> 0:03:59.160 eight thousand euros, but these petty crimes prepped him for 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.400 his next job. In two thousand twelve, suked became the 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:06.600 president of the Croatian Football Federation compared to the optimistic, 0:04:06.760 --> 0:04:11.600 brimming patriotism of Croatia. The two following decades were rough. 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:15.720 Croatia was considered the least developed nation in the U, 0:04:16.240 --> 0:04:19.680 The population experienced and exodus. In two thousand eighteen, it 0:04:19.760 --> 0:04:23.280 had decreased by three thousand people, with many forced to 0:04:23.360 --> 0:04:27.480 leave to find work, and Croatia's soccer ecosystem plunged into 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:31.560 a widespread corruption scandal, one that upended its federation and 0:04:31.600 --> 0:04:36.400 its biggest club. One man embezzled over fifteen million dollars 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.560 and claims to have bribed fifty referees before fleeing the 0:04:39.560 --> 0:04:44.039 country to escape the prison sentence. Well, yes, the football 0:04:44.080 --> 0:04:47.400 in Croatia has been a corrupt for quite a while. 0:04:47.800 --> 0:04:51.359 This is Michael Yoakin, a freelance soccer writer. By the 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:55.120 time the World Cup rolled around, this scandal had ensnared. 0:04:55.200 --> 0:04:59.800 Even Croatia's best player was interesting because Croatia, again, you 0:04:59.839 --> 0:05:02.520 had a genius midfield of driving them, Luka Modrid, But 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.599 the mood behind, the mood around the team was different 0:05:06.880 --> 0:05:09.800 in some pretty significant ways, not least the fact that Modric, 0:05:10.360 --> 0:05:15.039 Croatia's best player, was actually facing potential jail time for perjury, 0:05:15.360 --> 0:05:18.799 having taken the stand in defense of the erstwhile Croatian 0:05:18.920 --> 0:05:24.159 f a boss, Dravco Mammage, who was accused of pretty 0:05:24.240 --> 0:05:26.640 much having run Creation Football as his own, as his 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:29.160 own kind of fifer for his own ends, shall we say, 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:32.679 having a hand in transfers, having in hands in national 0:05:32.720 --> 0:05:36.160 team selections, and taking a percentage of whatever he could. 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:39.440 That was the accusation. He added, this is James Richardson 0:05:39.640 --> 0:05:42.920 posted the totally Football Shop. But anyway, Modrid had stepped 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.039 up to say that I believe he stepped up to 0:05:45.080 --> 0:05:48.039 say that manage hadn't received money for a move that 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.279 he'd made. And then it turned out that dear actually 0:05:50.400 --> 0:05:52.160 yes he had, And then Modrid was in a bit 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:54.360 of a position, and against the backdrop of the fact 0:05:54.400 --> 0:05:58.000 that he was effectively banged to rights for perjury, which 0:05:58.040 --> 0:06:07.760 was a jailable offense. So how did the ageless real 0:06:07.839 --> 0:06:10.640 Madrid midfielder get involved in all of this in the 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:14.920 first place. It's messy. As you may remember from the 0:06:15.000 --> 0:06:18.240 last episode, when Luca Madrich was six, his grandfather was 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:22.040 murdered by Serbian rebels. The Madrid family fled and joined 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:25.800 other refugees in the Hotel Colovade Mudrid spent his childhood 0:06:25.880 --> 0:06:29.480 playing soccer in the car park or between mortar craters outside, 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:34.000 and Madrid's childhood team had duck Split rejected him after 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:37.000 a trial because he was too small and scrawny. He 0:06:37.080 --> 0:06:39.400 then spent a year in the Bosnian league, which was 0:06:39.440 --> 0:06:41.920 known for its aggression and one player of the year. 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:45.600 When Lucas signed a tenure contract with Dina Mozagadeb, the 0:06:45.640 --> 0:06:47.880 first thing he did was by his parents a house 0:06:48.720 --> 0:06:51.200 his family could move out of hotel Is, where they'd 0:06:51.240 --> 0:06:53.800 spent most of the thirteen years since they fled their 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:57.120 village during the Civil War. At the time, a man 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.920 by the name of Draco Mamas was something like an agent. 0:07:00.720 --> 0:07:03.400 He would float players financially and in return they would 0:07:03.440 --> 0:07:06.640 sign over a percentage of all future wages to him. 0:07:06.680 --> 0:07:11.120 This was dubiously legal. Mamage made his money when he 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.920 bought discounted shares of the company in the wood industry 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:20.040 that was privatized as croatia transition to capitalism, also dubiously legal. 0:07:24.360 --> 0:07:28.440 In the wake of communism, nepotism and corruption took over Croatia. 0:07:28.840 --> 0:07:31.440 Mamage became the executive director of the Na mos agative 0:07:31.480 --> 0:07:35.200 and vice president of the Croatian Federation, running Croatian soccer 0:07:35.440 --> 0:07:38.400 like a mob boss for about a decade. He appointed 0:07:38.440 --> 0:07:41.280 his brother as Dna was coach and his son was 0:07:41.320 --> 0:07:44.640 an agent. They did things like have the transfer fees 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:48.120 skip the club and go straight to themselves. And that's 0:07:48.120 --> 0:07:52.280 what happened in Madrid's case. When Tottenham Hotspur bought him 0:07:52.320 --> 0:07:55.360 for a club record of almost twenty million dollars, part 0:07:55.360 --> 0:07:58.000 of it was structured to go to Madrid, who in 0:07:58.080 --> 0:08:01.080 turn passed it along to Manage. In the court case, 0:08:01.240 --> 0:08:04.040 Mamage didn't even argue this sequence of events, He just 0:08:04.120 --> 0:08:07.400 claimed it was legal. Modred's got tangled up in statements 0:08:07.400 --> 0:08:09.960 he'd made when the deal between him and Mamage was signed. 0:08:10.360 --> 0:08:13.040 Croatia and Liverpool defender de John Lavran was in the 0:08:13.080 --> 0:08:16.840 same predicament. Fans turned on them. They were fed up 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:22.640 with Mamach calling the shots at Dinamo and at Croatia. 0:08:25.600 --> 0:08:35.720 The Dinamo Ultras boycotted the team for years. Ja Jaw 0:08:36.840 --> 0:08:41.040 Once when fans confronted him, Mama yelled, quote I'll mall 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:45.840 you one by one face to face, and quote, I'll 0:08:45.880 --> 0:08:50.880 beat you like cats. Listeners, please don't beat cats. There 0:08:50.920 --> 0:08:54.199 was even an assassination attempt. Mamage was shot above the 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:56.920 knee while visiting his father's grave site, which he did 0:08:56.960 --> 0:08:59.400 once a year. This sounds like it's lifted from a 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:03.760 mob movie, but I swear it's true. Double Sucker's connections 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.400 with Mammages went a long way to sink his reputation 0:09:06.600 --> 0:09:09.640 as the nation's greatest ever soccer player. And it was 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:15.319 very said to see how Double Shuger, the brilliant, brilliant player, 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:19.640 striker Real Madrid, the striker who was the great style 0:09:19.720 --> 0:09:23.319 top scorer at that World Cup in France and ninety eight, 0:09:23.800 --> 0:09:28.160 became a very very corrupt president of the football federation. 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.080 Sucker did things like claim he was working pro bono 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:35.000 while collecting a salary and he was adored. Really he 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:38.440 was a huge idol as a player, but then he 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:44.160 became hated this passion as a politician and if you 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:47.959 ask an never expiation. Now they just had really really 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:51.880 despising which is very very sad because he turned out 0:09:51.920 --> 0:09:54.720 to be a crew. You'd have to ask creation if 0:09:54.720 --> 0:10:03.880 his reputation was yeah, sukatn Mamage appointed Anti Sacage to 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:08.040 manage the national team. Sacha was a former TV repairman 0:10:08.120 --> 0:10:11.080 who had an extremely average coaching career with a bunch 0:10:11.080 --> 0:10:14.480 of low level Croatian clubs. He had been unemployed for 0:10:14.559 --> 0:10:18.400 four years running a cafe. When Davco Mamage first called, 0:10:19.040 --> 0:10:22.840 Sacha took the job and it didn't go well. The 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.680 fans turned on the team. There were a lot of 0:10:25.720 --> 0:10:30.280 protests during the Croatia national team matches, especially tall and 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:35.520 sometimes as a stands were empty. The Croatian Federation responded 0:10:35.559 --> 0:10:38.720 to aggressive fans by labeling all fans who boycotted games 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:47.520 as hooligans. The tension came to a climax and culminated 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:50.679 in a game against the Czech Republic. If you think 0:10:50.760 --> 0:10:55.199 back to euro the one where they flew where they protested, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.559 and you know they fired all the flares onto the pitch, 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:04.400 Croatia fans are angry and their cynical. This is a 0:11:04.480 --> 0:11:08.560 senior writer for ESPN. He was at this game. Flares 0:11:08.679 --> 0:11:12.520 rained down, fans attacked each other, the game was halted. 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:19.200 Called the fans sporting terrorists and unfortunately there's a cynicism 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:22.400 where unfortunately, I think it may well be justified that 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:25.480 they believe people in power are corrupt and take advantage 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:28.240 of them. And there's no question that they viewed Davis 0:11:28.240 --> 0:11:32.640 Suger that way, and of course Momach and MoMA's brother 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.400 and and Luka Modrich as well. I mean, when you 0:11:35.440 --> 0:11:37.320 go and you testifying the trial the way he did, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:41.199 they really turned badly on this team fans saying Luca 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:46.200 Madrid little ship during Croatian League matches in Zadar. Graffiti 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:51.240 on hotel is read manages bitch. You will remember this day, Modrich. 0:11:51.920 --> 0:11:54.319 I think it said the football fans are stupid. It's 0:11:54.360 --> 0:11:57.679 just that they end up separating who the person is 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.840 off the pitch, who the person is an individual, from 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:04.120 what he can contribute for their team. So it's almost 0:12:04.160 --> 0:12:06.960 like they're they're cheering the shirt more than the guy 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.160 in it. And again, I'm sure there's gonna be Croatia 0:12:10.200 --> 0:12:13.600 fans who don't care and they love Modrid, and but 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:17.280 I think the vast majority of Croatia fans probably love 0:12:17.360 --> 0:12:20.640 what Modrids did for their country and admire his ability 0:12:20.760 --> 0:12:24.599 and his sense of sacrifice and whatever. But equally they 0:12:24.840 --> 0:12:28.680 would question his character and maybe they'll justify by saying, well, 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.120 he made a mistake when he was very young, and 0:12:31.120 --> 0:12:32.920 then he kind of doubled down on it, doubled down 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:34.480 on it and out of a sense of loyalty or 0:12:34.520 --> 0:12:36.559 maybe out of his sense of fear, because those are 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:40.640 some some pretty nasty people, pretty dangerous people, who knows, 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.640 And I hope they don't listen to this podcast because 0:12:43.840 --> 0:12:45.880 I don't know. I don't want to give myself into 0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:48.800 any more trouble. You know, the public record, he's there 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:55.439 for everybody to say. At the club level, Madrid did 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:59.400 pretty well, with Real Madrid winning four champions leagues, but 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:02.240 the Croatian national team was in danger of missing out 0:13:02.320 --> 0:13:05.720 on the World Cup. They lost to Iceland and Turkey 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:09.599 and had a draw with Finland. Sacha was properly dismissed. 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:13.480 They hastily replaced him with a man named Latko Dalis, 0:13:14.280 --> 0:13:16.680 who was appointed Forty eight hours before the final match 0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.800 against Ukraine. Dallage met the players for the first time 0:13:19.840 --> 0:13:22.720 in the airport on the way to Kiev. The entire 0:13:22.760 --> 0:13:27.199 coaching staff had been fired. According to that firing all 0:13:27.240 --> 0:13:30.000 of the coaching staff was like a form of shock therapy, 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:34.760 much like the transition to capitalism. It seemed hopeless, but 0:13:34.920 --> 0:13:39.320 Croatia needed to win in Kiev to stay alive Kritia's 0:13:39.400 --> 0:13:43.800 World Up times up traction. They are in the comfort 0:13:43.880 --> 0:13:48.240 zone and just like that, somehow Croatia was back in 0:13:48.280 --> 0:13:55.360 the running. Croatia stumbled into a do or die playoff 0:13:55.400 --> 0:14:04.400 against Greece. They won for one and qualified for the 0:14:04.400 --> 0:14:17.319 World Cup. So who was this new coach? Zlatkotdal It 0:14:17.480 --> 0:14:20.440 had bounced around some minor clubs in Croatia and Albania 0:14:20.480 --> 0:14:23.720 without winning anything of note before landing in the Middle East. 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:26.520 He won the league in the UAE and was runner 0:14:26.600 --> 0:14:30.520 up in the Asian Champions League. That's it, that's his resume. 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:34.560 He was coaching in Abu Dhabi when he took over Croatia. Yes, 0:14:34.640 --> 0:14:37.160 and most of the Croatians thought that he was another 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:42.240 puppet because that football federation only avoided puppets to the job. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:45.760 The managed court case was closing in, but he still 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:48.680 hadn't resigned his position. A lot of funs thought that 0:14:48.880 --> 0:14:52.640 Croatia basically arrived to the tournament without a coach. A 0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:56.200 toll and Modric should have a Modric and racket Tish 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:59.840 and the more experienced players should have done the job 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:04.440 the quotch themselves. But it turned out that did a 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:08.520 decent joke anyway. Ivan racket was the Barcelona midfielder who 0:15:08.520 --> 0:15:12.080 had played for Switzerland's youth teams. He formed an impressive 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.880 midfield base with Madrich. The rest of the team was 0:15:15.960 --> 0:15:20.280 more pedestrian. The lineups average age was nearly thirty, one 0:15:20.320 --> 0:15:23.520 of the oldest at the World Cup. The goalkeeper Danielle 0:15:23.520 --> 0:15:27.400 Superstitch was a reserve at Monaco. In defense, Dian Lovern 0:15:27.600 --> 0:15:31.120 was world renowned for making bone headed mistakes, right, you know, 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.280 on his day, he's fantastic. I think the difference was 0:15:34.320 --> 0:15:38.240 that the team wasn't wasn't as good you had, you know, 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:43.680 the stars were in their palm. You could say Modride 0:15:43.760 --> 0:15:46.640 was on top of his game. Racketitch, I think was 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.720 already in this, you know, on the slide a little bit. 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:53.680 You know, up front you had Mario Manzokich, who you know, 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:58.320 old warrior type. But what you had was individuals who 0:15:58.440 --> 0:16:00.720 who rose to the occasion. And you get this in 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:04.760 every World Cup, no one outside of Croatia expected much 0:16:05.280 --> 0:16:07.920 and no one inside Croatia expected much either for that matter. 0:16:08.640 --> 0:16:12.520 So I spoke with quite a few Croatian and journalists 0:16:12.560 --> 0:16:16.640 before the tournament and the general idea was that absolutely 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:20.240 everything was possible. This team had telled to win the tournament, 0:16:20.480 --> 0:16:24.600 but the same well, they could also very very easily 0:16:24.960 --> 0:16:27.880 have gone home after the group stage and they finished 0:16:27.960 --> 0:16:34.480 last in their group. Absolutely everything anything was possible. Corruption, confusion, ambivalence. 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:37.520 That was the scene as Croatia headed to the World 0:16:37.520 --> 0:16:40.240 Cup in the summer of two thousand eighteen. It was 0:16:40.320 --> 0:16:43.880 only four years ago, but a lot has changed. More 0:16:43.920 --> 0:16:56.040 about what happened next after the break. Hey remember the 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:58.640 pre pandemic world when you were taking part in the 0:16:58.680 --> 0:17:01.240 tide pot of Challenge while this thing to childish gambinos, 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:07.680 This is America on YouTube, Black Panther said all sorts 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.840 of box office records and Kendrick Lamar won a Pulitzer. 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:16.399 Prince Harry married Megan markle uh non royal billionaire. Union buster. 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:19.280 Elon Musk was dating Grhymes when he wasn't pretending to 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:21.920 help at tie youth soccer team trapped in an underground cave. 0:17:22.320 --> 0:17:26.159 Indris Elba was named People's Sexiest Man alive a banks 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:28.600 he sold for one point four million, and then self 0:17:28.600 --> 0:17:31.760 destructive private Equity sucked the last out of toys r US, 0:17:31.760 --> 0:17:35.199 which filed for bankruptcy, snuffing out the last remnants of 0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:44.080 your childhood, and the world turned its attention to Russia 0:17:44.480 --> 0:17:49.000 for the World Cup. It's weird today Russia is this 0:17:49.040 --> 0:17:53.159 global pariah, understatably so. But at the time people seemed 0:17:53.240 --> 0:17:56.000 quite happy to include Vladimir Putin in all their photo 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:59.439 shoots with Moscow's colorful skyline in the background. And he 0:17:59.520 --> 0:18:02.800 wasn't the only politician using the tournament to boost his image. 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:07.719 Croatian President Kalinda Grabar Katarovitch became a meme. People couldn't 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:10.800 get enough of her wild celebrations of Croatia's goals and 0:18:10.880 --> 0:18:13.320 awkward hugs with topless players in the locker room. The 0:18:13.400 --> 0:18:18.840 great adventure begins for Croatia and Nigeria. Croatia beat Nigeria 0:18:18.920 --> 0:18:22.119 two nil with one moderate goal and another assist now 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:31.840 Leshae sensational goal from Luka Modrich and surely now Croatia's 0:18:31.960 --> 0:18:35.560 Golden generation are on their way to the last sixteen. 0:18:36.040 --> 0:18:39.440 Then they beat Argentina three nil. A win over Iceland 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.720 made it three out of three and put Croatia into 0:18:41.760 --> 0:18:45.800 the knockout rounds. But it's Croatia who can finish it now. 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:55.200 In style, even parish full time in rostov Iceland out. 0:18:55.640 --> 0:18:59.520 Croatia win Group D, winning too where Croatia drew Denmark. 0:19:00.359 --> 0:19:02.960 Up against Denmark, but one of those flags where we 0:19:03.119 --> 0:19:06.760 folded away for a few years after tonight. Both goals 0:19:06.800 --> 0:19:10.320 came within the first five minutes, both from weird lucky 0:19:10.359 --> 0:19:14.160 deflections in the box. I turned, I came from the equalizer. 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:18.399 Mario Manzukich. What's a start for funds? Have they sights? 0:19:24.320 --> 0:19:27.360 Mario Manzukich was once fined a hundred thousand euros by 0:19:27.359 --> 0:19:29.560 his club Dina Mozagreb for a lack of effort in 0:19:29.560 --> 0:19:32.280 the Europa League game, which is weird because he went 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:34.160 on to make a name for himself as a Yeoman 0:19:34.240 --> 0:19:36.920 center forward who was more of a laborer than a finisher. 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:40.879 Manzukich played for some of the world's biggest clubs a 0:19:41.000 --> 0:19:44.760 Littio Madri, Bayron, Munich Juventus. He won league titles and 0:19:44.840 --> 0:19:48.360 a Champions League, but despite that, he never quite convinced 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.159 his coaches that he belonged there as a full time starter. 0:19:51.760 --> 0:19:54.680 But he scored here in a World Cup knockout game. 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:58.960 It was enough to force penalties. Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmichael 0:19:59.160 --> 0:20:02.920 saved two of them, but it wasn't enough, and Croatia 0:20:03.119 --> 0:20:06.600 no that if they score the next penalty, they are 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:13.920 through and he's done it. Croatians celebrations. Ivan Racketage held 0:20:13.920 --> 0:20:22.600 his nerve to put Croatia into the quarterfinals. President Grabar 0:20:22.680 --> 0:20:25.760 Katarovitch hugged as many sweaty players as she could, while 0:20:25.800 --> 0:20:29.119 her PR team posted videos on social media. Would it 0:20:29.160 --> 0:20:31.199 surprise you if I told you that Mamage funded her 0:20:31.240 --> 0:20:35.080 election campaign? She was again in attendance as Croatia took 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.679 on the host's Russia in the quarterfinal. Putin was there too. 0:20:39.080 --> 0:20:46.480 Chary Chef's not stopped. Dennis Jerysha love, He's quite something. 0:20:48.000 --> 0:20:51.480 The boys a star. A goal each in ninety minutes, 0:20:52.080 --> 0:20:55.000 a goal each an extra time. Yep, it went to 0:20:55.119 --> 0:21:02.159 penalties again. Yep. Racketage held his nerve again. Ivan Racketache 0:21:02.800 --> 0:21:06.520 with the opportunity to strike the telling glow to when 0:21:06.600 --> 0:21:15.840 the Russian carnival, Racketage and Russia dissolved entitiest but it 0:21:15.920 --> 0:21:20.359 is Croatia for free on penalties. The lasting image of 0:21:20.400 --> 0:21:22.639 this game is grab Ar Kitarovich in a red and 0:21:22.640 --> 0:21:26.600 white checkered jersey holding her hands aloft and cheering over 0:21:26.680 --> 0:21:31.320 Vladimir Putin himself in the heavily guarded box seats semifinal 0:21:31.440 --> 0:21:36.280 nights in Moscow, as Croatia and England set out each 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:41.560 to clear the last turtle before the World Cup final itself, 0:21:41.840 --> 0:21:47.000 England took the lead. It is character plays delicious Croatia 0:21:47.080 --> 0:21:50.080 in the last World Cup We're not a magnificent phenomenon 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:54.320 took an Abati's breath away. But they were solid, and 0:21:54.400 --> 0:21:57.800 they were good at times, and they were lucky. But 0:21:57.920 --> 0:22:02.280 yet again Croatia equalized, enforced extra time. Fine, oh boy, 0:22:02.400 --> 0:22:09.080 parasite proacous crimings are satisfied, at least for now. Ivan 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:12.800 Parrishitge was a forward and wore the number four. That's weird, 0:22:13.359 --> 0:22:17.200 but he was always a little bit unconventional. At seventeen, 0:22:17.240 --> 0:22:20.399 Parrisage left home to save his father's chicken farm. He 0:22:20.440 --> 0:22:22.439 still hadn't broken through to the senior team and how 0:22:22.480 --> 0:22:25.000 did split When the French team so show sent a 0:22:25.040 --> 0:22:28.359 private jet with the family chicken farm in debt, the 0:22:28.400 --> 0:22:31.520 family decided he should take the offer. After a few 0:22:31.600 --> 0:22:34.200 years in Belgium, Parrisage burst through it. You're in clubs 0:22:34.240 --> 0:22:38.639 Barussia Dortmund. When he got dropped, he complained publicly, quote 0:22:38.720 --> 0:22:42.440 when I'm on the bench, I'm dying. Club handled it calmly, 0:22:43.080 --> 0:22:47.199 just kidding. Clubs said quote, public winding belongs to kindergarten, 0:22:47.640 --> 0:22:50.560 and he told him to shut his mouth. Needless to say, 0:22:50.680 --> 0:22:54.000 Parrishage left later when his club in Debt turned through 0:22:54.080 --> 0:22:57.720 three coaches in a disappointing season, Parishadge selected an odd 0:22:57.760 --> 0:23:02.120 summer activity. He represented Asia at the Beach Volleyball World Tour. 0:23:02.880 --> 0:23:08.280 Some would call him a renaissance man, but here he 0:23:08.480 --> 0:23:11.639 was back on the pitch in the World Cup, using 0:23:11.680 --> 0:23:15.480 his feet, not his hands, hitting the net against England 0:23:15.520 --> 0:23:18.600 in a semifinal. This time Croatia was a little too 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:21.520 lazy to go through the rigamarole of penalties and decided 0:23:21.560 --> 0:23:24.640 to finish off the English in extra time instead. Mario 0:23:24.800 --> 0:23:34.440 mans And and Croatia, for the first time ever will 0:23:34.520 --> 0:23:41.920 play in a World Cup final. In the semifinal against England, 0:23:42.320 --> 0:23:45.000 you know, they were just a lot smarter than England. 0:23:45.640 --> 0:23:47.560 You know. I don't want to pick on Gara Southgate 0:23:47.640 --> 0:23:51.160 because he is a very very nice man, and he's 0:23:51.160 --> 0:23:53.320 a good person, and he's done a lot of important things. 0:23:53.400 --> 0:23:56.800 But that semifinal is kind of on him. You know, 0:23:57.160 --> 0:23:59.120 how do you let a lead slip when you've got 0:23:59.119 --> 0:24:05.760 this tremendous counter hackers, when Croatia are exhausted and you 0:24:05.840 --> 0:24:08.080 kind of throw that game away. And again I'm not 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:10.760 I don't want to take credit away from Croatia, right, 0:24:10.800 --> 0:24:14.080 but it takes two the and I think it's also 0:24:14.119 --> 0:24:17.320 a skill too, as Doledge did, to maximize your strengths 0:24:17.359 --> 0:24:20.120 and and be smarter than the opposition, and to drive 0:24:20.200 --> 0:24:23.679 home your advantages and to you know, to react to 0:24:23.720 --> 0:24:25.960 what the opposition does to regain your edge when you 0:24:26.000 --> 0:24:28.360 lose it. And Croatia did all those things in that game. 0:24:29.880 --> 0:24:34.520 Robert Pressinski from tam said, quote, we murdered the English 0:24:34.600 --> 0:24:38.120 in the second half. One Croatian newspaper published the headline 0:24:38.480 --> 0:24:41.920 Football's not coming home, as well as a photo gallery 0:24:41.960 --> 0:24:45.440 titled look how the English cry after losing to Croatia. 0:24:46.000 --> 0:24:53.440 Isn't that nice? The team celebrated back at the hotel 0:24:53.480 --> 0:24:56.880 with the famous pop singer. Players stood on tables, clapping 0:24:56.960 --> 0:25:00.320 and singing because twenty years after reaching the Seven Eyes 0:25:00.359 --> 0:25:03.280 in their first ever appearance, Croatia was going to the 0:25:03.320 --> 0:25:06.960 World Cup final. They are the second smallest country ever 0:25:07.160 --> 0:25:10.080 to play in one. More about what happened next after 0:25:10.119 --> 0:25:27.760 the break, j thirty teams, thirty countries had their chance. 0:25:28.320 --> 0:25:31.920 There were only two left. It's the pandit's ultimate game, 0:25:32.600 --> 0:25:36.240 the final of the twenty one Football World Cup. Now 0:25:36.320 --> 0:25:40.000 Croatia meant France on the field. The match was played 0:25:40.040 --> 0:25:45.320 in Moscow and then parisage La France took the lead, 0:25:45.800 --> 0:25:50.679 Ivan Parisitch equalized. The French just screaming at bowl and 0:25:50.800 --> 0:25:54.800 the referee is choosing to look himself. What a cool 0:25:54.840 --> 0:25:59.920 to have to make. He's given a penalty, A penalty 0:26:00.080 --> 0:26:03.120 for France in the World Cup final. A World Cup 0:26:03.160 --> 0:26:07.000 final first a v A R penalty call Vonna me 0:26:07.119 --> 0:26:09.280 Bob and the Croatian legend who helped over ce v 0:26:09.400 --> 0:26:12.960 a RS introduction must have been wishing that he hadn't 0:26:13.640 --> 0:26:16.160 and Paris Whitch may have been regretting that little volleyball 0:26:16.200 --> 0:26:23.359 detour penalty goal. Griesman did a silly little Fortnite dance halftime. Eventually, 0:26:23.440 --> 0:26:26.280 I thought that the first half was actually one of 0:26:26.359 --> 0:26:31.520 the best half. Croatia a head in that tolerance was 0:26:31.600 --> 0:26:36.000 fatigue beginning to show an aging roster. Three one and 0:26:36.000 --> 0:26:38.639 twenty minute matches in a row, one fewer day of 0:26:38.720 --> 0:26:42.320 rest than France. I don't think so. You always have fatigue, 0:26:42.359 --> 0:26:44.719 but if you speak to the footballers, and I've had 0:26:44.720 --> 0:26:47.800 the opportunity speak to many throughout my career, the adrenaline 0:26:47.880 --> 0:26:51.080 kicks in. So as long as you're not injured, you know, 0:26:51.600 --> 0:26:53.800 being fatigue, you're in the World Cup final, you may 0:26:54.040 --> 0:26:55.640 most people don't get to ever play in the World 0:26:55.640 --> 0:26:57.920 Cup final. I'm sure he was in the background because 0:26:57.920 --> 0:26:59.480 they played a lot of minutes. And I also believe 0:26:59.520 --> 0:27:01.439 they had a one day if you were rent, one 0:27:01.480 --> 0:27:05.000 day less rest than than France did. But no, I 0:27:05.040 --> 0:27:08.399 think France is just a better team. France pulled away 0:27:08.440 --> 0:27:16.959 in the second half. France and possibly now the world. 0:27:17.760 --> 0:27:26.080