Euro Cup 2012: Team Profile Croatia

There is less than 12 hours to begin the world’s one of the most exciting tournament euro Cup 2012 where all 16 qualified European giants will fight for the cup.

www.anantasports.com is bringing the profiles of all the participating team to its readers and here it is Croatia. Croatia is taking part in the tournaments under the guidance of Coach Slaven Bilic.

Slaven Bilic Side’s secured their position in Poland and Ukraine after securing second position After Greece in Qualifying Group D. Croatia qualified for the play-offs and swiftly made light of a 50,000 crowd in Istanbul as they landed in Turkey for the first leg. Just two minutes into the match the visitors scored, a quick free-kick catching the Turkish defence by surprise as Ivica Olic flicked the ball past Volkan Demirel after Vedran Corluka crossed well from the byline.

Coursing with confidence, Croatia stretched Turkey at every opportunity, duly adding a second 32 minutes in as Mario Mandzukic headed home from Darijo Srna's delivery. Soon after the break Srna whipped over another dangerous cross. Corluka nodded in. A fourth European Championship in five attempts was in touching distance - and they finished the job with little alarm as the second leg finished goalless.

The Croats have enjoyed an impressive history in the European Championship, albeit most of their success coming as part of Yugoslavia. However, two runners-up medals in the first three editions of the tournament were followed by mediocrity, as they had to wait until independence in 1991 to make an impact once more.

Croatia Football Team for Euro 2012

Since then, they have featured twice in the quarter-final stages, in 1996 and 2008, and continue to go from strength-to-strength, with Euro 2012 becoming their third consecutive European Championship appearance.

At their second major tournament - the 1998 World Cup in France - they nearly went all the way to the final, being narrowly knocked out by hosts France in a controversial match in the last four before beating the Netherlands 2-1 in the third-place play-off.

Coach: Slaven Bilic

A guitar-playing law graduate who is fluent in German, Italian, and English... Slaven Bilic is not your average football manager.

Since replacing Zlatko Kranjcar in 2006, the former West Ham and Everton defender has performed admirably in the Croatian hotseat. He slowly but surely changed the dynamics of the entire set-up, blooding in youth as soon as his first few games in charge of the Vatreni, and his fresh approach saw him rapidly become a fans' favourite at the helm.

And despite the occassional loss of form and failure to reach the World Cup two years ago, he oversaw Croatia's successful qualifying campaign for Euro 2008, which saw them denied a place in the last four via a penalty shootout against Turkey, who Bilic ironically disposed of in the play-offs this time around.

Croatia Coach Slaven Bilic

Captain Darijo Srna

The 30-year-old has skippered his side since the aftermath of Euro 2008, following the retirement of previous incumbent Niko Kovac, and he has matured into one of Croatia's most important figures, with his experience proving invaluable to the younger heads in the squad; his emotional breakdown after their Euro 2008 heartbreak only paid further testament.

An impressive all-rounder, Srna is adept defensively, where his workrate and leadership qualities have shone at the back, but it is his attacking instincts that continue to garner praise. His crossing ability is an extremely effective tool for Croatia

Croatia Captain Darijo Srna

Player to watch Luca Modric

Easily one of the best midfielders in the Premier League,Luka Modric might also be described as one of the best players in the world. Tottenham dug their heels in to stop Modric from moving to Chelsea last summer, and have been rewarded as he continues to lead them on an upward curve with a heady blend of creation and vision.

Spurs clinched his signature shortly before Euro 2008, where Modric's majestic midfield displays saw him chosen in Uefa's team of the tournament. He converted a penalty in Croatia's opening win against Austria, but dragged his spot-kick wide in the shoot-out loss to Turkey. The 26-year-old will be desperate to make amends this summer.

Croatia Player Luca Modric

How Croatia Qualify for Euro 2012:

Second to Greece in their group H, Croatia qualified for the play-offs with a play off win over Turkey in Istabul and draw against turkey in home.

GROUP F	GP	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1	Greece (Q)	10	7	3	0	9	24
2	Croatia (Q)	10	7	1	2	11	22
3	Israel	10	5	1	4	2	16
4	Latvia	10	3	2	5	-3	11
5	Georgia	10	2	4	4	-2	10
6	Malta	10	0	1	9	-17	1

sult	Score	Opposition
W	3-0	Latvia (a)
D	0-0	Greece (h)
W	2-1	Israel (a)
W	3-0	Malta (h)
L	1-0	Georgia (a)
W	2-1	Georgia (h)
W	3-1	Malta (a)
W	3-1	Israel (h)
L	2-0	Greece (a)
W	2-0	Latvia (h)
W	3-0	Turkey (a) PLAY-OFF
D	0-0	Turkey (h) PLAY-OFF

Jersy:

Brand: Nike
Home Jersey: Red and white checkers
Away Jersey: Blue with red and white checkers on left chest

Crotia Home and Away jersy

Euro 2012:Croatia Squad for

Coach: Slaven Bilic
Goalkeepers: Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Ivan Kelava (Dinamo Zagreb)

Defenders: Domogoj Vida (Dinamo Zagreb), Vedran Corluka (Bayer Leverkusen), Josip Simunic (Dinamo Zagreb), Gordon Schildenfeld (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ivan Strinic (Dnipro), Danijel Pranjic (Bayern Munich), Jurica Buljat (Maccabi Haifa)

Midfielders: Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Tomislav Dujmovic (Real Zaragoza), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kyiv), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla), Luka Modric (Tottenham), Ivan Perisic (Borussia Dortmund), Niko Kranjcar (Tottenham), Milan Badelj (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivo Ilicevic (Hamburg)

Forwards: Ivica Olic (Bayern Munich), Nikica Jelavic (Everton), Mario Mandzukic (Wolfsburg), Eduardo da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk)

Style of play: Croatia is a counter-attacking side, relying on Luka Modric to orchestrate the offence from his position in the centre of midfield of a defensive 4-4-2 formation. The game plan is to soak up the opposition's pressure and then quickly hit out on the counter-attack. Tomislav Dujmovic lines up in front of the back four, acting as the defensive enforcer in midfield. The two fullbacks (Vedran Corluka and Danijel Pranjic) move down the flanks, providing the attack with width and pace. Ivica Olic and Mario Mandzukic operate as the first line of defence, pressing their opponents in order to win the ball in the attacking third of the field. Bilic also uses a 4-5-1 formation, with Nikica Jelavic as the one striker.