World Cup 2018: Luka Modric and Croatia are hated by some of their own fans… and not even knocking out England will change that
THE face of Luka Modric is plastered on the front page of almost every newspaper cover in Croatia.
One reads: "Hero."
Another asks: "Ballon d'Or candidate?"
The small midfield magician is considered arguably the best ever Croatian footballer, sitting right at the top of a very long list.
But not everyone in Croatia would agree with that assessment.
"Luka Modric, you little piece of s***!" is one of many incendiary chants the Croatia captain has been used to hearing when the national team has played in recent years.
So what on Earth is happening?
Whether it's because of his Real Madrid success or his performances the national team, he is the symbol of this talented Croatian generation.
But recently, Modric's face was in its usual spot on the front page of Croatian newspapers for completely different reasons as his involvement in one of the most publicised trials in the country's history turned from bad to worse.
At the beginning of June, Zdravko Mamic - considered to be the most powerful figure in Croatian football – and his associates were found guilty on charges of making illegal personal profits on player transfers from Dinamo Zagreb.
The most prominent names on that list? None other than Luka Modric and Dejan Lovren, heroes of this Croatian semi-final squad in Russia.
Croatian football under Mamic's influence was a web of corruption, spreading from Dinamo – where he was an executive director – all the way up to the national team.
And even the country's best players were caught in the middle of it.
Mamic was sentenced to six and a half years in prison for tax fraud, while his associate, and Croatian FA executive director Damir Vrbanovic, was given a three-year sentence.
Yet last Saturday, Vrbanovic was seen at the World Cup quarter-final against Russia celebrating next to the Croatian president.
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In the eyes of many fans in Croatia, the trial of Mamic gave the country's footballers the chance to make a clean break from the past and put the national game back on a healthy footing by helping to bring their former employers to justice.
But as skilled as they are on the pitch, the national team's biggest names appear to be terrible liars off it.
Luka Modric was called upon as a witness at the trial, and all he needed to do was to confirm his statement previously given to the authorities.
The midfielder had told police that a large sum of his transfer from Dinamo Zagreb to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 ended up in the pockets of the Mamic family illegally.
But instead of doing that, he farcically changed his testimony, claiming he "could not remember" anything related to Mamic's involvement, as well as denying his previous statement.
Dejan Lovren then followed the same path in an attempt to save Croatian football's top villian from prison.
Modric has now been formally charged with perjury, with charges against Lovren almost certain to follow and football fans in Croatia more divided than ever.
Some see what Modric did as an act of treason and proof that the players want to preserve the toxic environment that has persisted around Croatian football for a decade.
They see Modric and many in the national team as part of the problem, to the point they sabotaged their own side at Euro 2016, throwing flares onto the pitch with minutes left before the final whistle and causing Croatia to throw away a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with the Czech Republic.
But other fans claim that the players had no choice but to cover for the people who launched their glittering careers, adding that it was not their responsibility to give the Croatian game "a clean break".
That created an unprecedented situation in world football.
A small nation of just over 4 million people could go on to win the World Cup but their team still be hated by a significant part of the population.
Where Gareth Southgate's England team have used football to heal divides, in Croatia it is arguably causing more of them.