Croatia scouting report
Monday, 08 September, 2008
As England prepare to travel to Zagreb, we look at a Carlsberg Euro 2008 Scouting Report on the Croatians.
Croatia v England
2010 FIFA World Cup Qualifier
Group Six
8pm, Wednesday 10 September 2008
Maksimir Stadium, Zagreb
During Euro 2008, FA Partner Carlsberg ran a competition to find 'Probably the best England Scout'. One of the winners, Ben Whitelaw, watched England's World Cup Qualifying rivals Croatia during their matches in Austria and Switzerland.
With The Three Lions preparing to travel to Zagreb, we have a look at Ben's Scouting Report from the match...
"Somewhat resembling a character from Grand Theft Auto, Slaven Bilic has become the successor to the throne of Jose Mourinho, less outlandish but just as enigmatic.
Before the tournament, he claimed that his side’s final three victories were a textbook demonstration of ‘how to approach sport and life in general’.
The former Everton and West Ham centre back, you see, loves to win; just see his touchline celebrations. But more than that, he loves to see good football. After his team impressively neutralised Michael Ballack and co. to record a shock 2-1 victory over tournament favourites Germany, Bilic congratulated all 22 players on their role in the game for producing a great spectacle.
No footballing clichés here, no typical ‘we played very well’ drivel, just an uplifting summary of a good game, the kind of stuff that would have prompted you to stand in your living room and applaud whilst your overhearing mum commented on what a ‘nice man’ he is. You would have thought he was some sort of Euro 2008 ambassador were it not for the earring and occasional cigarette that make him look more like a rock star trapped in a suit.
With such a man at the helm, it is no surprise that Croatia have a balanced, rounded feel to them. Having shaken Croatia from their typical 3-5-2 to adopt a more solid 4-4-2, Bilic’s bedrock is experience and for experience read the Kovac brothers. Captain Niko and his centre back brother Robert do the simple thing but by god they do them well.
Sandwich between them the wily campaigner Josip Simunic and you have well over 200 caps worth of defensive nous, no doubt the reason they ended the group stages with two clean sheets. However, these golden oldies are susceptible to being beaten for pace and had trouble with Austrian pair Martin Harnik and Umit Korkmaz in their opening game.
In front of them, an altogether more youthful midfield revolves around 22-year-old Luka Modric, Tottenham Hotspur’s latest extravagance. The tiny playmaker rose to the tag of ‘one to watch’ by earning the man of the match plaudits against Germany. If he is not found in space in front of the back four, looking to shoulder the responsibly of dictating the play with his unfathomable passing, he can be found ghosting into the channels and busting a lung to swing in a cross, as he did to set up Ivan Klasnic in the dying moments of the quarter-final.
It is no wonder that Bilic feels only Kaka is better. The fact that Croatia’s tournament began with him scoring a penalty and ended partly due to him missing one goes someway to underline his importance.
Alongside him is the severely underrated Dario Srna, who does twice the running for half of the praise. Not one for many tricks, Srna plays as if dancing ballroom, coming to a stop, lulling his opponent in before brushing past him, usually by ghosting inside. He has a quickness of mind too; it was his gamble on a innocuous deep cross from the left that allowed him to slide in for the opening goal against the Germans.
Of a similar ilk is striker Ivica Olic, who by anyone’s standards has had a busy few games, going down for the championship’s fastest ever penalty in Vienna and predicting that a Jens Lehmann mistake was imminent to stun the Germans and guarantee Croatia a place in the next round.
At times though, he has looked isolated and, whilst young guns Klasnic and Rakitic are fast and furious, Olic seems to crave the gentle caressed passes of the injured Eduardo in the same way they combined to beat England in the 3-2 win at Wembley."