NATIONAL Under-19 coach Bojan Hodak says Croatia’s achievement in reaching the World Cup final in Russia is already a huge victory for his country.
“With a population of just over four million, Croatia is a poor country and sports is the only way out of poverty.
“The training facilities are not as good as those in other European nations, but youngsters there see football as a passport to play abroad.
“Youth tournaments in Croatia are very competitive as everyone wants to attain success and earn a living from football.
“All they want is to play for top clubs in Europe,” said the Zagreb-born Hodak, who is in Indonesia with the national youth squad for the AFF Under-19 Championship.
The Luka Modric-led Croatia will face former champions France in the final in Moscow today.
The 47-year-old Hodak, who is among the best foreign coaches in Southeast Asia, said Croatian players are motivated in Russia as they want to achieve something great for their friends and families back home.
“I have my respect for Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic as he has managed to unite players from various backgrounds for the World Cup. It is also not easy to handle players who are earning huge salaries with clubs, but Dalic has done so brilliantly to make sure they play with pride,” said the former Kelantan and Johor Darul Ta’zim coach.
Hodak disclosed that he met Dalic and his assistant Drazen Ladic when they brought Croatia’s Under-19 team for a tournament in Malaysia in 2008.
“Ladic and I are good friends and I also know Dalic well. They came here with their youth team for an Under-21 tournament in Kuala Lumpur.
“Ladic was then the chief coach of Croatia’s Under-20 side while Dalic was his assistant.
“We spoke a lot then and I took them for Chinese food in Subang. They are simple people and do not expect people to buy restaurant food for them.
“When I met them, they only wanted to eat street food in KL,” said Hodak.
He is, however, unsure whether any of Croatia’s 2008 youth team is playing in the World Cup.
“However, there is one player in Croatia’s World Cup squad that played in KL. Midfielder Milan Badelj played for Zagreb’s youth team in a friendly against Malaysia’s Under-16 side in KL in 2004.
“I think goalkeeper Khairul Fahmi Che Mat and defender Bunyamin Umar were in the Malaysian team then.
“Badelj played and scored a goal in the 2-1 win over Iceland in the group stage (in Russia). I think he will be on the bench tomorrow.”
On Croatia’s chances of winning the World Cup, Hodak said: “Dalic’s side need to be cautious with France’s counter attacks.
“Croatia will dominate possession and also the midfield but the danger will come when they lose the ball. They need to be quick to regroup and also be tight in defence.
“Croatia will have chances to score but they also need their defence to be compact. I really hope Croatia will win the World Cup,” he added.