Croatia Greatest All-time Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

World Cup 1998

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

What if Yugoslavia went to USA 1994
What if Yugoslavia went to Russia 2018

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia after the breakup
Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia
Slovenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina

N.Macedonia/Montenegro/Kosovo

I have create an all-time Yugoslavian team that featured played from all the former republics.  This one is the all-time 23 member team for Croatia.  I am including players from the former Yugoslavia.

Croatia actually had their own representative sides around the time of the World War Two, representing sovereign states such as the Banovina of Croatia from 1939 to 1941 or the Independent State of Croatia from 1941 to 1944.  Historically, Yugoslavia is loaded with football talents, but they did not perform as well as they should have. After the breakup of Yugoslavia, Croatia is the most successful national team of all the former republics.  In 1998, they made history by finishing 3rd at the World Cup in France.  They beat Germany 3-0 in the quarterfinal.  They led eventual winner France 1-0 in the semifinal before France scored twice to win 2-1.  Twenty years later, Croatia reached the 2018 World Cup Final, providing the tournament's best player, Luka Modrić. They are one of the youngest national teams (since formation) to reach the knockout stage of a major tournament as well as the youngest team to occupy the top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings.  Four years later, they again reached the semifinal of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

World Cup 2018

Team
GK: Vladimir Beara (Yugoslavia)
Vladimir Beara played on three World Cups; 1950, 1954 and 1958.  He was considered one of the greatest keepers from the Warsaw Pact.  With Hajduk Split , he won the Yugoslav league title in 1950, 1952 and 1955. In 1955, he moved to Belgrade's Red Star, where he won even more Yugoslav league titles, in 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, and won the Yugoslav Cup in 1958 and 1959. He ended his career in German clubs Alemannia Aachen and Viktoria Köln.

Vladimir Beara 

GK  Franjo Glaser (Yugoslavia)
Franjo Glaser was a keeper during the 1940's.  Before the war, he played 35 times for Yugoslavia.  After the invasion of Yugoslavia, Glaser played further 11 matches for Croatia, all four matches that Banovina Croatia played, and seven matches for the Independent State of Croatia    He is the only Yugoslav footballer who won national titles before and after the Second World War, with three different clubs BSK Belgrade, Građanski Zagreb and FK Partizan.

GK: Danijel Subašić (Croatia)
Danijel Subašić made his name with Hajduk Split. In 2012, he joined Monaco in France, winning Ligue 1 Goalkeeper of the Year: 2016–17.  Since 2010, he earned 44 caps.  He was the starting keeper at Euro 2016.  He was a hero of the 2018 World Cup team, where he saved 4 penalties in two penalty shootouts in the knockout stage as Croatia reached the Final.

RB:  Darijo Srna (Croatia)
Darijo Srna is one of the best wingbacks of his generation. He started Hajduk Split. He is best remembered for playing over 10 years for Shaktar Donetsk and winning the UEFA Cup with them in the 2008-2009 season.  He is both captain for his club and country.  He played 134 times for Croatia, having represented his country at the 2006 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, as well as at UEFA Euro 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016.

Darijo Srna

CB: Dragan Holcer  (Yugoslavia) 

Dragan Holcer was born in captivity in a Nazi prison camp to a Slovenian mother imprisoned there. His father was killed during the war as partisan fighter. He played 52 times for Yugoslavia and went to play in European Championship of 1968. He is one of Hajduk Split's greatest player.  He also played for Stuttgart between 1975 and 1981 and Schalke 04 for a single season in Germany. 

CB: Ivica Horvat (Yugoslavia)
Ivica Horvat gained 60 caps.  He played in both 1950 and 1954 World Cup Finals and won a silver medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics.  In the Final, they lost the legendary Hungarian team of the 1950's. Horvat played from 1945 until 1957 for Dinamo Zagreb. In 1957 he moved to Germany to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he stayed until the end of his career.

CB: Ivan Buljan (Yugoslavia)

Ivan Buljan started his career with local club NK Mračaj before moving to Hajduk Split in 1967. In 1975, he was Yugoslavia Player of the Year. In 1977, he joined Hamburger SV where he played until 1981. They reached the European Cup Final. He then finished his career with two seasons with the New York Cosmos in the NASL.  He played 36 times for Yugoslavia.  He went to the 1974 World Cup and 1976 European Championship.

Ivan Buljan 

CB: Robert Kovac (Croatia)

Robert Kovac had 84 caps for Croatia.  He represented them in two World Cup Finals, 2002 and 2006, and has also participated at two European Championships, 2004 and 2008.  He was the captain of the national team after his brother Niko retired.  He made his name with Bayer Leverkusen. He played a few of the biggest clubs in the world, notably with Bayern Munich and Juventus.  He ended his career with Dinamo Zagreb.

LW/LB/CB/CM: Branko Zebec  (Yugoslavia)
Zebec was one of the greatest players ever from Yugoslavia. In his heyday the player from FK Partizan and Red Star Belgrade fascinated the world with his performances at the World Cups in 1954 and 1958. With Partizan he won 3 Yugoslav Cups (1952, 1954, 1957). With Red Star Belgrade he won the national championship in 1960. He led Yugoslavia to second-place at Euro 1960. 

LB: Robert Jarni  (Croatia)
Robert Jarni was a member of Yugoslavia's Golden Generation of the 1990's.  He went to the World Cup Finals in 1990 with Yugoslavia and later, represented Croatia at the World Cup Finals in 1998, where they reached the semifinal.  Professionally, he began Hadjuk Split had played in big clubs such as Juventus and Real Madrid as well as Real Betis where he played the longest.  He also played in England and Italy.

Robert Jarni

CM Ante Zanetic (Yugoslavia)

Ante Zanetic earned 15 caps for the Yugoslavia national team, and participated in the 1960 European Nations' Cup.  He won Gold Medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics. He deflected to the West in 1961 when his club team Hajduk Split was playing in West Germany.  He moved to Belgium, where he played for for Club Brugge K.V. between 1961 and 1964 and Racing White between 1964 and 1966.

CM: Ivan Rakitic (Croatia)

Born in Switzerland of Croatian background, Ivan Rakitic started his career with FC Basel. He played with Schalke 04 from 2007 and 2011.  Then, he moved to Sevilla in 2011.  At Sevilla, he won the Europa Cup in 2014.  He moved to Barcelona.  For Croatia, he earned 100 caps at the time of writing. He played in the midfield with Luka Modric as Croatia reached the Final of the 2018 World Cup Finals.

CM: Luka Modric (Croatia)
Luka Modric is one of the greatest playmakers of his generation. He earned more 90 caps for Croatia.  He currently plays for Real Madrid and won the Champions' League for the 2013-2014,  2015-2016, 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 seasons.  He also played with Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham Hotspurs.  He played in the World Cup Finals of 2006 and 2014, as well as the European Championship of 2008, 2012 and 2016. He was voted the best player of the World Cup Finals in 2018 as Croatia finished second.

Luka Modric

CM: Zlatko Čajkovski (Yugoslavia)
He was considered one of the best Yugoslavian players ever.  He played for FK Partizan before moving to play for Koln in Germany. Internationally, he played between 1942 and 1943 twice for the Independent State of Croatia, and between 1946 and 1955 he played 55 times for the Yugoslav national team scoring seven goals. Participating at the Olympic Games 1948 and 1952 he won the silver medal on both occasions.  He also participated in the FIFA World Cups of 1950 and 1954. 

LW: Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
Perisic is a product of the Hajduk Split and Sochaux youth academies, he played for Club Brugge, where was named Belgian Footballer of the Year for 2011. He later played for Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg before joining Inter Milan in 2015.  For Croatia, he had over 70 caps.  He played in Euro 2012 and 2016, and the World Cup Finals of 2014 and 2018.

AM/CM: Zvonimir Boban (Yugoslavia/Croatia)
Zvonimir Boban was the captain of the national team that finished third at the World Cup in 1998.  He was also an important player of the highly talented Yugoslavia under-20 team that won the 1987 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was also remembered for his career with AC Milan with whom he won four Serie A and one UEFA Champions League titles. He also played Bari and Celta Vigo at the club level.

AM: Robert Prosinecki (Yugoslavia/Croatia)
Robert Prosinecki was considered one of the most talented players from Yugoslavia in the 1990's.  In 1987, Prosinečki was named the tournament's best player as Yugoslavia won the World Youth Championship.  He then played for Yugoslavia at the 1990 World Cup and for Croatia at the European Champion in 1996, and both of the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.  For his club career, he played for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, but he failed to establish himself at neither club.

 Robert Prosinecki

FW: Dražan Jerković (Yugoslavia)

Jerković played for Dinamo Zagreb between 1954 and 1965 In 315 games for Dinamo, he scored 300 goals. He was capped 21 times for Yugoslavia.  In the 1962 FIFA World Cup, Jerković scored four goals and was, with five other players, the top goalscorer, winning the World Cup Golden Boot. Yugoslavia finished in fourth place.  In 1960, he also helped them to reach the Final of the European Championship.  He played once for Croatia in 1961. 

FW: Josip Skoblar (Yugoslavia)
With OFK Beograd, Skoblar won the Yugoslav Cup in 1962 and 1966. He played for Hannover 96 before moving to Olympique de Marseille.  He was three time top goalscorer in Ligue 1 (1971–73), winning the European Golden Boot in 1971 with 44 goals. He won the French league title in 1971, and French league/cup "Double" in 1972. OM fans refer to him as "the Dalmatian Eagle", or "Monsieur Goal" (Mister Goal).  Capped 32 times.  He went to the 1962 WC Finals.

LW/FW: Bernard Vukas (Yugoslavia)
In 2000, Bernard Vukas was voted by the Croatian Football Federation as the best Croatian player of all time.  He had 59 caps for Yugoslavia. He was also a part of the Yugoslavia team in the 1950 FIFA World Cup and 1954 FIFA World Cup.  With Yugoslavia he won 2 silver medals in the Olympic games: 1948 and 1952. His career was associated with Hajduk Split, but in 1957, he moved to Bologna in Italy, where he stayed for two years. He also played in Austria at the end of his career. 

Bernard Vukas

FW: Stjepan Bobek (Yugoslavia)

He played for Partizan between 1945 and 1959 helping them win two Yugoslav First League titles and four Yugoslav Cups, and was named the club's greatest player in history in 1995. Internationally, he is the all-time top scorer for Yugoslavia, scoring 38 goals in 63 appearances between 1946 and 1956, and was member of Yugoslav squads which won two Olympic silver medals (in 1948 and 1952) and played in two World Cups (in 1950 and 1954).

ST:  Alen Boksic (Yugoslavia/Croatia)
Alen Boksic won the 1992–93 UEFA Champions League, and was voted fourth in the 1993 European Footballer of the Year poll. That same year, he was named Croatian Footballer of the Year. He also won two Serie A titles in 1997 and 2000 with Juventus and Lazio respectively, and is regarded as one of the best foreign players in the history of Serie A since 1980's.  He played for both Yugoslavia and Croatia.  He missed the 1998 World Cup Finals due to an injury.

ST: Davor Suker (Yugoslavia/Croatia)
Davor Suker  was a part of Yugoslavia's Golden Generation in the 1990's.  He later played for Croatia, where he is the all-time leading scorer.  He is best remembered for finishing the top scorer at the World Cup Finals in 1998, where Croatia reached the semifinal.  For his club career, he won a Champions' League in 1998 with Real Madrid.  He also played with Sevilla, Arsenal, West Ham and 1860 Munich. He was Croatian Footballer of the Year: 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998.

Davor Suker

Honorable Mention

Zlatko Škorić, Stipe Pletikosa, Tomislav Ivković, Zlatko Škorić and Zvonko Monsider, Dražen Ladić, Tomislav Crnković, Jurica Jerković, Mario Mandžukić,  Velimir Zajec, Aljoša Asanović, Ivan Gudelj, Ivica Šurjak, Gustav Lechner, Marcelo Brozović, Željko Perušić Vedran Ćorluka, Domagoj Vida,  Dražan Jerković, Josip Skoblar, Dado Pršo, Franjo Wolfl, Ivica Olić, Danijel Premerl, Igor Štimac, Zvonimir Soldo, Igor Tudor, Bruno Belin, Ivan Jazbinšek, Niko Kranjčar, Goran Vlaović, Niko Kovac, Franjo Wölfl, Dario Šimić, Ernest Dubac, Zlatko Vujovic, Zoran Vujovic, Ilija Pantelić, Dejan Lovren.

Squad Explanation
-- This team was created in November, 2014.  I edited after the 2018 World Cup Finals when Croatia reached the Final.  Then, in 2021, I did a review of the team.  I did not like some of my previous edition.  So I completely redid the entire team.  This version of the team was actually created in August, 2021. I reorganised the paragraphs and added some more information in March, 2020 after I separated the former Yugoslavia into two teams: Yugoslavia and Yugoslavia After the Breakup.

-- Because ethnicity is a sensitive issue in the region, I use various criteria for eligibility.  All the players from Yugoslavia era were selected through ethnicity and birth place. The players after the collapse of Yugoslavia were based upon the national team they chose. 

-- Vladimir Beara, Bernard Vukas, Luka Modric, Davor Suker and Branco Zebec are automatic selections.  No explanation is needed.  Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki, Zlatko Čajkovski and Robert Jarni almost belonged to this list.

-- Four members of this all-time team went to the World Cup Finals in 1998 where Croatia reached the semifinal. They were Robert Jarni, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and Davor Suker.  Alen Boksic missed the Finals because of an injury.  My original team had six members.

-- Croatia reached the Final of the World Cup in 2018. After the World Cup Finals, I updated the team. Luka Modric was already on the team before the World Cup.  Danijel Subašić, Ivan Perišić and Ivan Rakitic were added to the team after the Final.  Mario Mandžukić, Marcelo Brozović, Domagoj Vida and Vedran Ćorluka made honorable mention.  The code of the team also repeated their successes by reaching the 2022 World Cup Finals.  Dominik Livaković was added to the honorable mention list.

-- Seven players were on my Yugoslavia All-Time Teamn (players from the Yugoslavia era).  They were Ivica Horvat, Vladimir Beara, Robert Jarni, Branco Zebec, Zlatko Čajkovski, Bernard Vukas, and Stjepan Bobek.  I also did a Yugoslavia after breakup, I have the following players: Luka Modric, Davor Suker, Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki, Robert Jarni, Danijel Subašić, Darijo Srna, Ivan Rakitic, Robert Kovac, Ivan Perisic and Alen Bokšić.

Zlatko Čajkovski

-- Goal.com named their All-Time Best XI for Croatia.  Their Bext XI included Stipe Pletikosa, Darijo Srna, Dario Simic, Robert Kovac, Robert Jarni, Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Robert Prosinečki, Zvonimir Boban, Mario Mandzukic and Davor Suker.  Their name only consisted Croatian players after the breakup of Yugoslavia.

-- IFFHS's All-Time Dream team for Croatia consisted of both players from before or after the brerakup of Yugoslavia.  Their team was as followed: Vladimir Beara, Darijo Srna, Ivica Horvat, Velimir Zajec, Robert Jarni, Luka Modrić, Robert Prosinečki, Zvonimir Boban, Stjepan Bobek, Davor Šuker and Bernard Vukas.

-- Vecernji still created a ranking of the Top 30 greatest Croatian players of all-time in 2020.  They also only listed players after independence. The article was here.  

Goalkeepers

-- Vladimir Beara, a goalkeeper of Serbian ethnicity, was born in what is now known as Croatia. Due to the sensitive nature of the ethnic dynamics in the region, he is chosen for both all time teams for Serbia and Croatia.  He was the obvious choice goalkeeper for this team.  Then, I selected Franjo Glaser, a star before and after the War.  Danijel Subašić was chosen as the third goalkeeper after the World Cup Finals in 2018.  Dražen Ladić of World Cup 1998 was normally listed as one of the top three. Stipe Pletikosa who earned 114 caps for Croatia was also a serious candidate.  He performed well for Croatia, but he did not have a great run in a big tournament. I also came across Tomislav Ivković, Zlatko Škorić and Zvonko Monsider.

-- Tomislav Ivković made famous for saving Diego Maradona's penalty during the penalty shootout in the knockout phrase of the 1990 World Cup Finals.  Earlier in the year, he saved another Maradona's penalty in the UEFA Cup when Napoli played against Sporting CP.

-- Ivan Ćurković was a Croat born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.  From 1989 until 2006, he was president of FK Partizan. He was the president of the Serbian Olympic Committee until February 2009.  In 2009, he became the vice-president of the Serbian Football Association.  He was probably absorbed into the Serbian society.  Because ethnicity is a sensitive issue in the region, I decided to stick with birthplace and ethnicity for eligibility.  I ruled him ineligible for this team.  However, I selected him for Bosnia and Herzegovina because of his birth right.

-- Dominik Livaković was added to honorable mention after the 2022 World Cup Finals.  He was one of the best goalkeepers in Qatar.

Defenders

-- According to a poll by "Vecernji" daily in Croatia, Ivan Buljan was voted as 17th greatest Croatian footballer of the 20th Century.  He was second highest among defenders after Branko Zebec. He was the Yugoslavia Player of the Year in 1975.  

-- Central defender Dragan Holcer's father was Slovenian.  However, his name was frequently mentioned as one of Croatia's greatest defenders even through I thought that he was a Slovenian.  His father was Slovenian and his mother was Austrian-Italian descent. He was born in a concentration camp in Germany. He was one of Hajduk Split's greatest player. I selected him even through his ethnicity was a question mark for me.  Since his father was Slovenian, he was also chosen for Slovenia All-Time team as well.

-- The Kovac brothers were well-known players because they played in the Bundesliga.  I was choosing between Robert Kovac, Niko Kovac and Igor Tudor for the last centerback spot. Tudor spent 9 seasons with Juventus. He was a part of the mighty defensive unit of Juventus from 1998 to 2007.  However, both Kovac's played more than 80 times for Croatia while Tudor had only 55 caps.  Niko was a long time captain of the national team, but Robert was a better player. Robert was not a leader like his brother in the locker room of Croatia, but he lasted for ten years at the highest level of club football, proving himself in Bayern and Juventus while Niko did not establish himself with Bayern Munich.  His peak was with HSV Hamburger and Hertha Berlin.  Ernest Dubac, Igor Štimac and Zvonimir Soldo were also on the player pool.

Robert Kovac

-- Siniša Mihajlović was born in Croatia, but his father was a Serb.  He also chose to represent FR Yugoslavia, which was considered to be the national team of Serbia and Montenegro.  He was ineligible.

-- Joško Gvardiol might have a great World Cup in 2022.  At the age of 20, he still has a long way before making honorable mention.

-- Vedran Ćorluka had a limited role in the World Cup Finals in Russia, but he deserved the honorable mention for his 12 year career with the national team.  

-- Darijo Srna was the most underrated fullback of his generation.  He accomplished a lot with FC Shakhtar Donetsk, but if he played his club football in Western Europe, he would be a household names.  He is the most capped player in the history of Croatia with over 130 caps.  Dario Šimić was the first Croatian to reach a 100 cap, but I had to leave him off the team.  

-- On the left side, Branko Zebec and Robert Jarni kept Tomislav Crnković who was a legend in his time out of the team.  

-- This team was all stocked up with great defensive midfielder.  Zlatko Čajkovski was probably one of the best ever from Croatia. Branko Zebec was almost liked a utility player.  He also played as a Center-half.  Not many people noticed that Luka Modric had a great defensive game because he was so good as an offensive player. Ivan Rakitić established himself at a big club while helping Croatia to the World Cup Final.  He could go both way.

Midfielders/Wingers

 -- Zlatko Čajkovski was an automatic selection.  Meanwhile, two of my most trusted internet bloggers rated Ante Zanetic very high. He was also listed on the annual "Best XI "award by "World Soccer" in 1960.  He was the first Croatian to receive that honor.  He was the first Croatian to receive that honour.  That year, Yugoslavia won the Olympic Gold medal and finished second in Euro 1960. I had also given thought on Željko Perušić who played with Zanetic. 

-- I really did not know how to rate the remaining midfielders.  Velimir Zajec, Aljoša Asanović, Ivan Gudelj, Ivica Šurjak, Gustav Lechner, Marcelo Brozović and  Željko Perušić were on par with each other. 

-- Marcelo Brozovic was an unsung hero for Croatia at the 2018 World Cup Finals, but his exposure outside of the World Cup Finals was limited. He was great with Inter Milan, but Serie A was at its weakest point in history.  He was up against Ante Zanetic and Zlatko Čajkovski.  After the 2022 World Cup Finals, he became a very serious candidate.

 -- Luka Modric should now be considered Croatia's greatest ever player.  He was the best player at the World Cup Finals in 2018 as well as winning 4 Champions' League with Real Madrid.  I think he is the greatest from the former Yugoslavia.  No one from there had ever achieved so much in football.

-- Zlatko and Zoran Vujovic were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but listed as Croats.  

-- Zvonimir Boban was probably the second best player from Croatia in the post-Yugoslavia era.  He was the star of AC Milan, the best club side at his time.  It was not easy to stand out in a strong team before the EU era when football clubs had a quota for using foreign players. 

Zvonimir Boban 

-- Robert Prosinecki was as talenetd as Zvonimir Boban and Luka Modric. His injury situation while he was with both Real Madrid and Barcelona affected my opinion of him.  He ended up journeying across Europe throughout his career in the mid-1990's. However, he was one of the standout players at the 1998 World Cup Finals.   

-- I had too many players who could play on the left wing, which made the team imbalance. Josip Skoblar, Bernard Vukas and Branco Zebec could play wide on the left, but I still had a space for Ivan Perišić.  He was probably Croatia's second best player in the 2018 World Cup Finals Russia and he followed that by again reaching the semifinal of the 2022 World Cup Finals.  He has not been recognized for his prior performance in big tournaments.  For tactical purposes, the team also needed a right winger, but I could not find a suitable candidate.  Perišić was two footed.  He was also known to attack on the right.  

--  In 2012, Josip Skoblar was named the second best foreigner in the history of the first French league.  He was the European Golden Shoe winner in 1971.  He played as a left wing while in Yugoslavia, but moved to the center in France.  He might have been a better player than Ivan Perišić.  Liked Ivan Perišić, he had a big role in leading his team (Yugoslavia) to reach the semifinal of a World Cup Finals.  In the end, I continued to go with Perisic.  

Forwards

-- Bernard Vukas was chosen by the Croatian Football Federation in 2000 as the greatest Croatian player of the century.  He starred for the Rest of the World team against England in 1953. He assisted two of the goals in a 4-4 draw. The result was considered astonishing as England never lost to a continental side at home and they nearly did.  Less than a month later, England was destroyed by Hungary in the Match of the Century. 

-- Alan Boksic was among the greatest of the Golden Generation. He  came fourth in the 1993 Ballon d'Or.  He was French Ligue Foreign Player of the Year and Croatia Player of the Year for the same year.  In his prime, he was as good as Davor Šuker.  Šuker went to the World Cup Finals and became the top scorer while Bokšić stayed home. He could have been the star of the 1998 World Cup Finals.  Davor Suker, of course, was the hero of the 1998 World Cup Finals, where he was the top scorer.  

-- Mario Mandžukić earned many respects in the modern era. However, Bernard Vukas, Davor Suker, Frane Matošić, Alen Boksic and Stjepan Bobek were ahead of him.  Ico Hitrec, Ivica Olić and Franjo Wölfl also deserved a mention. 

-- I was deciding between Dražan Jerković, Jurica Jerković and Franjo Wölfl for the last spot.  Niko Kovac was also considered. Ideally, I should select a right wing for the last spot.  With Luka Modric, Zvonimir Boban and Robert Prosinecki, I had to leave out Jurica Jerković.  He also played on the left. I don't know much about Franjo Wölfl. Dražan Jerković was the co-winner of the Golden Boot at the 1962 World Cup Finals, where Yugoslavia finished 4th.   Yugoslavia also reached the Final of Euro 1962. He was voted as the 13th player on "Vecernji Player of the Century" poll.  So he earned the last spot.

World Cup 2018

Starting lineup 

Formation: 4-3-3
Luka Modric is the greatest player from Croatia.  I started Davor Suker over Alen Bokšić because I rewarded Suker a starting position as a World Cup hero.