Croatia Are Shining Bright in Spite of off-Field Controversies

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 23, 2016

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In some ways, there's nothing so extraordinary about Croatia beating Spain on Tuesday. The heart of Croatia's midfield, after all, plays for the best two clubs in Spain—even if Luka Modric did miss the Spain game with a groin injury.

They have the players. What's remarkable is they've been able to play as they have despite having a manager nobody seems to respect and despite the related problems off the pitch.

As the Croatian journalist Alex Holiga predicted in Issue 21 of the Blizzard, there are three broad groups of Croatian fans in France.

There are, for want of a better term, the "normal" ones, who basically just want to watch their team and have a good time. There are the hard-line nationalists, whose chants often echo those of the right-wing Ustase state of the Second World War. And there are the third group, the ones who are the hardest to categorise—the ones who, in this tournament, have been causing the trouble.

For years, Croatian football has been dominated by Zdravko Mamic, a former chief of Dinamo Zagreb, the country's most successful club. He rose during the latter years of Franjo Tudjman's reign as president, developing a network of contacts within politics, the judiciary and the media. Mamic is also the vice-president of the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), and few doubt he is the real power behind the president, the former striker Davor Suker.



Last year, Mamic's business was investigated. There were accusations that Mamic, his brother Zoran, his son Mario and the HNS executive director Damir Vrbanovic had embezzled club funds, drawing a personal profit on transfer deals. Modric and Dejan Lovren were among those called to testify. The Mamic brothers were arrested last year but released on bail. Charges were brought in April, and the Mamic brothers are awaiting trial along with two others.

Zdravko resigned from his position at Dinamo, but Zoran remains ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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