Croatia celebrate important role
Monday, 8 March 2004
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PrintCroatian Football Federation president Vlatko Markovic explains what UEFA's 50th anniversary means to his association.
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of UEFA is a great holiday of European football which the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) celebrates with joy and pride.
Significant contribution
Although the HNS became a member of UEFA in 1993, Croatian football had already been present in European football for a century. It is with pleasure we emphasise that we have given numerous great players, coaches, referees and officials to the game.
Football roots
The history of organised football in Croatia stretches back to the late 19th century, with the first clubs, PNIŠK Zagreb and HAŠK, founded in 1903. The most successful clubs, HNK Hajduk Split and NK Dinamo Zagreb were formed in 1911, with the HNS created a year later and the first Croatian championship also taking place in 1912.
Individual identity
While the country was part of various different collectives, such as Austro-Hungary and Yugoslavia, the Croatian football has always maintained its national identity. In 1939, the HNS started to organise international matches and on 2 April 1940 in Zagreb, the Croatian national team played its first match, winning 4-0 against Switzerland.
FIFA membership
FIFA admitted the HNS in July 1941, which benefited the organisation as it continued to strive to improve the quality of football, particularly in relation to young players. Croatian club football's finest hour arrived in 1967 when Dinamo won the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the forerunner of the UEFA Cup.
Vukas hat-trick
On 21 June 1953, four Croatian players - Bernard Vukas, Zlatko Čajkovski, Branko Zebec and Vladimir Beara – represented Europe in a match against England. Two years later, Vukas played for Europe to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Football Association of Ireland, and scored a hat-trick.
Youth triumph
At the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Dražen Jerkovic was joint top scorer with four goals, while in 1971 Olympique de Marseille's Josip Škoblar was awarded Europe's Golden Boot. At the 1987 FIFA World Under-20 Championship, six players from Croatia were in the side as Yugoslavia won the event, with Robert Prosinečki and Zvonimir Boban voted into the team of the tournament.
Domestic competitions
On 22 May 1992, the Republic of Croatia became a member of the United Nations. Two months later, the HNS renewed its FIFA membership. During the years following the break-up of Yugoslavia, a Croatian league championship was organised for all age categories, including futsal and women's football.
International impact
The Croatian national teams have accomplished great successes, reaching the quarter-finals on their first appearance at the UEFA European Championship in 1996 and coming third at the 1998 FIFA World Cup - where Davor Šuker was the top scorer with six goals. Croatia also came third at the 1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship in Cyprus, and fifth at the FIFA World Futsal Championship two years later.
Valuable help
I thank UEFA for its concern and the help it provides to its member associations, which are needed to accelerate the improvement in the quality of football. I am especially thankful for the help and support in founding the HNS Academy for the education of qualified personnel.
Prominent role
Our greetings for the 50th birthday of UEFA are also followed by our pleasure that we are one of the few member associations whose senior and Under-21 teams have reached this summer's European Championships, a feat that could still be accomplished by our Under-19 team. In that way we will directly join the most prominent part of celebrations of UEFA's 50th anniversary and recognise the efforts of all those who have created the values of Croatian football.
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