The secret of Croatia’s success, the team that trains between embassies, boats and falcons

Unlike what happened with the Netherlands, which had its base just 500 paces from the Argentine bunker of the Qatar National University, to observe the Croatian team, rivals in the semifinals of this World Cup in Qatar 2022, you have to travel about ten kilometers towards south, very close to the center of Doha. The team led by the indestructible Luka Modric, who stays overnight at the Hilton hotel, works in Onaiza, known as the embassy district of the Qatari capital. There are 27 diplomatic posts within blocks of the property. Furthermore, there is a sort of private neighborhood without barriers around it. You see, among the cars, a couple of boats parked against the cordons. And in the gallery of a traditional house you can see a man, surrounded by his family, practicing falconry, the art of raising and taming falconsthe national bird of this small emirate.

Against this framework, the Croats have their “offices” at training ground 3 in Al Erssal. There, with the West Bay towers as a postcard in the background, they received this Sunday an unusual number of journalists in a meeting room, completely papered with images of the players and with the colors of the team, which was packed.

Tomislav Pacak, press officer of the European team, is the master of ceremonies. He manages times and languages. Questions in English are accepted, but Bruno Petkovic, the hero against Brazil with his heartbreaking goal that took the match to penalties, and Josip Juranovic, the brilliant right-back, can only answer in their native language. And then comes the translation of a nice Pakac, which he immediately makes a note on a piece of paper. Towards the end, once the players left for training, he admits that he didn’t expect such a massive presence. “We didn’t expect so many people. We’ll take more time in the final”promises Pacak with an optimism that goes against the always cautious “step by step”.

The first question is the million dollar question. How to stop Messi? And the answer is more or less the same given by everyone who has faced Argentina. “We don’t have an individual plan or idea on how to stop Messi. We won’t focus on just one player. I don’t think we will have a special plan for just one person, Argentina has so many good players and it’s difficult to focus on just one‘, says Dinamo Zagreb striker Petkovic, who measures 1.93 meters and has barely played a game from the start so far in the tournament. Against Brazil, in fact, he came off the bench and ended up converting the ‘most important’ goal ” of his career.

Juranovic, who plays for Celtic of Scotland and is the undisputed regular of Zlatko Dalić, the Croatian manager, passes in the same lane. “Honestly, we don’t have to be afraid of anyone or anything in particular. We don’t have a plan or individual solutions for Messi. We are not an individuality team nor is the rival a single player. Argentina is a team that has many good players, “he underlined. And he continues:” We have to look inside ourselves. Tomorrow (Monday) we will see the analysis with the coach and decide how to play.”

Petkovic, for his part, says his team’s secret to surviving back-to-back penalties, against Japan in the round of 16 and Brazil in the quarter-finals, is to remain calm. “Many people are excellent at taking a penalty, but the difference is calm, you have to bear the pressure. And there’s our goalkeeper, who you can always count on and who makes your life easier. In those moments you see the character of the team, and ours has a huge character,” he says.

In this sense he is full of praise for Dominik Livakovic, Petkovic’s teammate at Dinamo Zagreb and one of the great architects of their arrival in the semifinals. “He is very critical of his mistakes, I think he doesn’t even sleep after a few games. He is constantly working and trying to improve. We knew how he was in training and now he is showing it to the whole world,” he remarked.

Juranovic also hands out flowers to his team-mates Luka Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovacic, who make up “the best Croatian midfield in history”. And he launches a metaphor: “When you give them the ball it’s safer than having money in the bank. When you play with them everything is easier, I’m lucky enough to share the pitch and dressing room with them”.

Petkovic and Juranovic were the last to arrive for training. There, just a few meters away, their teammates, with Modric in the lead, were waiting on the other side of the press box. The sprinklers had just gone out, leaving a small rainbow over the two fields in the cool Dohana night.

They are seen from afar in the first minutes. However, towards the end of the 15 minutes open to the press, the troops move a few meters from the containment fence, near the journalists’ and photographers’ gallery. Divided into three groups, while the goalkeepers gather at the goal, the field players put together three crazy ones at full speed in which they show their suddenness for the short game. It’s all laughter. Pure relaxation. They know, despite being the last runners-up in the world, that everything to come will be fine.

What is the secret of Croatian happiness? Juranovic reveals it: “I would say that the secret of our success is the union. The fact that we act and play as a family. Everyone plays for the others, we play as a team and this is our secret.”

Doha, Qatar. Special delivery.