Croatia: Defining a Nation

The story of Croatia’s rise to public consciousness on the football pitch is staggering.

The Yugoslav wars of the early 90s was one of the most bloody and destructive conflicts in modern history as the communist nation broke apart.

Croatia came into being in 1991 during the war and the country searched for its identity. They found it through football.

Global stars were born across the decade like Davor Suker, Zvonimir Boban, Slaven Bilic and Igor Stimac.

They found their feet in Euro ‘96 as the underdogs tore the competition apart before coming unstuck against eventual champions Germany. Two-years later, the world took notice as they made the World Cup semi-final. The stage was set but they unravelled as France won the day and then the competition.

Those players were an inspiration to the millions back home as they took their message of home and freedom forward.

This is their story.