Zagreb –
Coach Croatian national team Zlatko Dalic absent in the election Best FIFA Player 2022. Dalic is annoyed because his players are often underestimated.
Dalic as coach of Croatia should have the right to vote at the 2022 FIFA Football Award. But Dalic chose not to exercise his right.
Only captain Vatreni Luke Modric who voted for Karim Benzema, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Investigate a calibaration, Dalic turned out to be annoyed with FIFA, which did not appreciate the achievements of Croatian players over the past year.
Because, apart from Modric, no other Croatian player has been nominated or even been selected as a member of the 2023 FIFA Best Team. Even though names like Mateo Kovacic, Josko Gvardiol, Ivan Perisic, or Dominik Livakovic played well at the last World Cup.
Croatia was even able to finish in third place, continuing the runner-up achievement at the 2018 World Cup. An achievement that even the big teams like Brazil, Spain, Germany or even Argentina could not achieve.
Croatia’s achievement was also enhanced by advancing to the 2023 UEFA Nations League Semi-Finals.
“I am disappointed with FIFA’s attitude towards the Croatian national team because I have always emphasized again, that we deserve more respect from the world’s largest football organization, for our achievements as a national team in recent times. We are the only team in the top four of the World Cup still appearing in UEFA Nations League,” said Dalic on the official website of the Croatian Football Federation.
“We were also able to beat the two best teams in the world, Brazil and France. Then we became the only team that has two medals in the last two editions of the World Cup. We beat France in Paris and Denmark in Copenhagen, we eliminated Brazil and Belgium from the 2022 World Cup . We have lost only two of the last 23 matches since Euro 2020,” Dalic added.
“I want us to be respected more for the national team, for the players and also for myself, because we deserve more after these two medals. FIFA should reveal the fact that a small country like Croatia can serve big countries, because that is a message for world of football.”
“I have therefore decided not to take part in this election, but I would like to congratulate all the winners who deserved it, in particular Luka who finished an incredible fourth – even though he has always been number one for me.”
(mrp/aff)
