The past ten days have most certainly been among the best in Zlatko Kranjčar’s coaching career. In the qualifiers for the World Championship in Germany, he first led his team to easily beat the Hungarians and then surprised the public by beating Sweden in Goteborg. And with that, the national team that played poorly in Portugal and dropped out of the first round of play is now the best team in this part of the qualifiers, and Kranjčar and his players are receiving compliments from distinguished coaches such as Ivica Osim.

CAREER Zlatko Kranjčar played on the Dinamo starting line between 1973 and 1983, playing 556 games and scoring 276 goals. With Dinamo he won the championship and two cups, and with Rapid, where he played from 1983 to 1990, he was Austrian champion three times, cup champion twice and he played in the final of the Cup Winner’s Cup. He was declared the best player of the Austrian League, and he played 11 games for the Yugoslav national team, scoring 3 goals and played two games for Croatia. He has coached several small teams without great success: Wienefeld, Klagenfurt and Vost Linz in Austria; Segesta, Osijek, Rijeka, Slaven Belupo, Marsonija and Samobor in Croatia; Mura in Slovenia and Port Said in Egypt. However, he was successful with Croatia (two championships and two cups) and Zagreb (championship 2002).The coach also has to be satisfied, as his experiment of putting his son Niko Kranjčar in the starting line worked. Though young Kranjčar is not in the best of shape, he played both games solidly, therefore justifying his father’s decision. Considering that Croatia won both games, Zlatko Kranjčar cannot be accused of nepotism. While he spoke of his son, he gave off a strong impression that this will be the player to watch out for on the team. Such optimism has not even been shared by reporters such as Tomislav Židak, who for years has been comparing him to the Brazilian player in Milan, Kako. In any case, if Niko Kranjčar becomes a world class player, he will have his own father to thank, who pushed him forwards when everyone was suspicious. Zlatko Kranjčar is not overly burdened by dilemmas, and for the time being he is certainly that he is leading the team well, and part of this process was to put his son on the starting line.

NACIONAL: You seemed to take your victory in Goteborg very emotionally, as though it was much more than a qualifier.
The win in Sweden for me was a confirmation of the potential of this team, whose goal is to place in the World Championships in Germany. Of course, I took the win emotionally, as it showed that we are off to a good start, but this is only the beginning and we still have eight more games to play. Only in Germany will we be able to say that we proved ourselves.

NACIONAL: How much is this Croatian team realistically worth in European football today?
I don’t see the quality of Croatian football as questionable, which is also evident in the fact that for years we have been near the top of the FIFA and UEFA national team rankings. The problem is that we are a nation of constant doubts, and my personal and professional approach includes trust in the people I work with and in my methods. I am not a skeptic, I am a man of optimism and self-confidence. That is why one of my main tasks is to convince the players that we are able to reach our goals if we believe in them. We are not a football power, but we are among the 20-25 best in the world, and we can regularly compete in the European and World Championships.

NACIONAL: Your predecessors differed from you in terms of mentality and how they based their concept of the game. Miroslav Blažević forced an open style, while Mirko Jozić and Otto Baric played a cautious game. What is your concept?
My concept is to “score more goals than the opponent”. In order to do that, we need to create a game in which we will be the dominant team on the field, and not to be put in an inferior position and hand over the initiative to the opponent. I react to the game like a fan, and they love an offensive game. And I chose these specific players because I wanted people who are able to carry out my concept, which is “offense is the best defense”.

NACIONAL: I know that coaches do not like to single out individuals, however, there have to be several players that are key to the team’s game.
We have an excellent defense lead by Igor Tudor, who is helped by Josip Šimunić and Robert Kovač. It’s important that these three men are in their playing prime and I am expecting maximum results from him. Then we have Dario Srna, Marko Babić, Jurica Vranješ, the experienced Niko Kovač, while Niko Kranjčar deserves a similar position that Zinedane Zidane has in France. He represents the future of our football and a lot will have to revolve around him. We have excellent young players in offense such as Ivan Klasnić and Ivica Olić. I also have great faith in young players like Goran Ljubojević and Danijel Pranjić, who in 4-6 years time will evolve into world class players.

NACIONAL: Had you not won in these games, you likely would have been most harshly criticized for putting your son in the starting line. Did you fear such an outcome?
No. There are risks in everyday like, and risks are always present in football. I believe in what I do and the moves I make. Had we lost, there would have likely been more criticism directed at me than at Niko, as the responsibility for the team lies with me. Otherwise, Niko deserved a spot on the national team even before I arrived, which was evident as he was on the candidate’s list. All the experts and media have proclaimed him to be the future leader of Croatian football, and it was only a question of time as to when he would be on the national team. This pleasant task was left to me, and based on my own experience, I know how much a trainer’s faith means to a young player. I put him on the starting line and now it is clear that he played well, and we won. It wasn’t only Niko that I gave a chance to, as my son, but other young players as well who have played very few minutes: Srna, Babić, Vranješ and Klasnić. I think that our results show that I chose the right concept.

NACIONAL: What are the main characteristics of Niko Kranjčar?
Here I speak as a coach, and in the end, Niko’s game has been analyzed by many experts. He has an exceptional feel for the game and an ability to play well with teammates and distribute the ball. Individually, he is always capable of creating an extra player and he is dangerous for the opposite goal. When I assess him as a parent, I know that he has positive characteristics, as he was capable of being team captain of Dinamo, and one day he will certainly be the national team captain.

NACIONAL: When did you realize that your son had what it takes to become a good player?
He chose football as his profession at the age of 9, when he began training in Rapid in Vienna where we were living at the time. Even then his talent was visible. When we returned to Croatia in 1991, Niko came to Dinamo and all the coaches said he was talented, Zvezdan Cvetković, Džemal Mustedanagić and others. These experts directed him, and at the age of 16.5, he was put on the Dinamo starting line. Personally, I was never involved in whether or not Niko would play football, but I did notice that his coaches praised him. When I began playing, my parents did not meddle in what I was doing, and now I am using the same formula on my own son. The name Kranjčar has an advantage, as many people respect what it means in football, but at times it is also a burden. That is why I never compare Niko to myself as a player, as he is his own person, with his own ideas and qualities. I am very proud of Niko.

NACIONAL: How would a player like you were in the 1980s fare in today’s football?
I believe that my entire generation would also today be in the very top of European football. We had a great predisposition and there is no reason to think that we wouldn’t be equally successful today. And we sure would have been a lot happier, as the contracts today are worth many times what they were in my day.

NACIONAL: You are probably the only coach to be fired every time you won a championship, twice with Croatia and in 2002 with Zagreb.
First of all, let it be known that even though the club was called Croatia, we were all Dinamo. Dinamo was organized at the European level, however, after we won the championship and the cup the first time, I had to go because the administration lead by Tomislav Horvantinčić though that I was not capable of realizing the team’s European ambitions. They brought in Otto Baric, and as you know, they did not succeed in placement in Europe. In my second go in 1998, I also took the team to win the double crown, and we entered into the Premier’s League after beating Celtic. It turned out that the Premier’s League was again fatal and I had to go. At that time, I thought, “Why did you place in the Premier’s League, if you played only in the domestic league, you would still be coach?”

Zagreb is a different story. We took many excellent young players who were ambitious and wanted to win. Financially, the club had good coverage thanks to Miro Mačinković and Drago Marić and we succeeded in beating Dinamo and Hajduk. We did what Rijeka and Osijek should have done earlier, and I consider that title to be the greatest success in my career. It’s easy to be champion with Dinamo, but try it with Zagreb or one of the smaller clubs. I left the club because I was insulted that after winning the title, they waited ten days to even discuss prolonging my contract. Perhaps I reacted too hastily, but I simply said my thanks and left.

NACIONAL: Aren’t these cases proof that as a coach you came across occasional condescension?
I already said that we are a people of constant doubt. I personally do not think that way and when I decide on a player, I will always stand behind him and give my full support. I have a vision and I will do all I can to make that happen. When I was selected as team coach, I said that we would go to the World Championships, while Srećko Katanec did not want to give that kind of a promise. I believe in the young men I coach and the program I created, and our first results tell us we’re on the right path.

NACIONAL: According to some, good coaches are former goal tenders and defensive players, while offensive players are not. I assume that you do not agree with that theory?
I actually do agree. The entire point is that the goal tender is the only team member to see what is going on in the field. They direct the defense, watch the midfield, influence the players moves and I am not surprised that some have achieved exceptional coaching careers. When you play offense, you are constantly in the game and you resolve things in a small space, which means that you are primarily concentrated on your own role in the field. That is why my assistants are former goal tenders, Tomislav Ivković, Vatroslav Mihačić and Marijan Vlak. There is reason behind that, and I agree with this theory.

NACIONAL: Do you agree with claims by critics that the completely open market today is eroding football and suits only the ten richest clubs in the world, while destroying the development of other teams, and even other leagues?
To one extent yes, but today it is impossible to close the border. The hardest hit are the national teams, as the young players do not get a chance to play, which is a direct blow to the national teams. A typical example is Germany where 5-6 foreigners play in the clubs and this does not permit the development of young players. In the last while, the only new players to appear were Lahn and Scwartseiger in Bayern, but now he is more or less on the bench. For the clubs, this is great, because they buy the 10 best foreigners that ensure top results and excellent profits, so who cares about the young players. For our national team, it is excellent that our players can go play in the top European clubs, we only need to economically strengthen our domestic teams in order to keep the players until they are at least 23. This way they are going at 18 or 19, and then it is normal that they disappear off the scene.

NACIONAL: Which coaches do you respect the most?
Fabio Capella, Marcello Lipi and Jose Mourhina. Though some criticize the Croatian coaches, I believe that they are good, such as Tomislav Ivić, Ćiro Blažević, Otto Barić, Vlatko Marković or Mirko Jozić.

NACIONAL: What is your opinion of Blažević, who pushed you forward as a player and then threw you off the starting line? Until recently, he was one of the few people to publicly praise your selection as national team coach.
Ćiro Blažević was my coach for three years, and he left a deep mark on the entire generation of Dinamo. He knows very well how to put things together, he is an excellent coach, and an excellent motivator. He knew how to raise and drop certain players, and I happened to be the one he did that to. I came home from the military and scored 13 goals that year, which in part was thanks to the permanent tension he kept me under. Everything he achieved after that with the national team proves that he is an excellent coach.

NACIONAL: Did Franjo Tudjman influence the appearance of Croatia while you were coach?
Perhaps it looked that way from the outside, but I think that there was absolutely no influence by the president within the team. Tudjman did not meddle in the running of Dinamo, even though he loved our club. But he loved all of Croatian football, as well as the Croatian people, and we know all he did for our country. I never had the impression that he wanted to set something up through Zlatko Canjuga, and I was free to lead the team as I saw fit.

NACIONAL: In Yugoslavia, Dinamo was a Croatian symbol, and in the 1990s, due to Tudjman’s support, the team was frequently criticised as being the Croatian version of Crvena Zvezda. How did you take that criticism?
Dinamo is a Croatian and Zagreb club, and everywhere in the world, teams from capital cities have a greater economic power. I am very insulted by any comparisons to Zvezda, as they are tasteless. Both Dinamo and Hajduk carried the national charge in the time we fought against Belgrade and the regime. I know the history of Croatia very well and I know that Croats were not exactly in love with Yugoslavia. Considering that we were not permitted to strike against the state, we used sport and victories to show our tensions against Yugoslavia.

NACIONAL: Two years ago, you stated that your political favorite was Ivić Pašalić. Do you still feel the same way?
I supported Pašalić as we had several positive contacts, but that does not mean that I am against Ivo Sanader. I have no intentions are meddling in intra-party conflicts, all I want from politics is that they ensure a good life for all our citizens. I am still a HDZer and I am happy that our party is back in power, and Sanader did a good job of restructuring the party. For me, Sanader is not a HDZer, but a Croat who is doing a very good job of running this country. I also have to admit that things were not bad under Račan’s government, but I am pleased that HDZ is back in power. In the end, all that is important is that Croatia moves forward.