With Hearts Of Steel

They danced in the streets of Zagred , celebrated

in the biggest mosh pit ever seen in Split and drank

the vino dry in Osijek . All over Croatia and in Croatian

communities dotted across Europe and the rest of the world,

fans toasted their team's emphatic 3-0 victory over the mighty

Germans and a berth in the semi-finals of the greatest sporting

tournament on the globe , The World Cup.    

 CROATIA

There were tears following the loss to France, but jubilation nonetheless a few days later with the playoff victory over the elegant Dutch. Fans soaked it all in, sat back and in a collective breath, wondered out loud' We finished third in the World Cup, can you believe it, third in the World Cup!

   Sport,it is often said , can lift the spirts of a flagging nation. Croatia needed an injection of optimisim and its World Cup team delivered the goods. Political conditions, corruption scandals and economic cries are all par  for the course these days in the new post-war Croatia. But for a magical few weeks, Croatia watched entranced as its team slowly created history.

It all began rather unsatisfactorily. Sure, Croatia defeated Reggae Boyz of Jamacia and the speedy Japanese, but it did not inspire confidence. The defence looked shaky , employing what seemed to be a basketball zone system of defence , guarding space instead ofthe man . Prosinecki looked slow, Stanic uncomfortable in a striker's role and Davor Suker was out of touch. A subsequent loss to Argentina pitted them against the skill and finesse of the Romanians in the second round and although victory wasb hoped, Croatia wasn't expected to knock off their more fancied opponents. What ensued in the following days will live in the memory ofthe Croatian fans for years to come. Brilliant midfielder, Aljoas Asanovic orchestrated a dominant victory over Romania and was again the lynchpin in Lyon in the quater-final win over Germany.

   A lot has been said written about the dismissal of defender Christan Woerns for bringing down Davor Suker. The Germans claim they were dominating the first 25 mins of the match and if not for the sending off, would have won. The Germans are, if anything, sure of themselves. But the gendarme cap-wearing, crystal ball gazing, chain smoking coach Miroslav Blazevic had changed a few things since the group stages. Stanic was shifted to the right wingback position Stanic installed as sweeper and Asanovic and Boban given the reins of the wind open mid-feild. Furthermore, Blazevic instructed his team to soak up the pressure and hit the Germans on the break. Remember Euro' 96 was the catchcry, when the inexperience Croations were suckered into playing the Germans' physical brand