THE BEST AWARDS
Why did Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic refuse to vote in The Best FIFA Football Awards?
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modrić, who finished fourth behind Lionel Messi in the Best Men’s Player Award, was the only Croatian nominated.
Zlatko Dalić hasn’t exactly bitten his tongue when it comes to giving his view on the latest edition of The Best FIFA Football Awards. The Croatian coach issued a statement via his national federation laying into FIFA and its nominees for The Best Player, Coach and Goalkeeper Awards. Dalić, who refused to vote, was fiercely critical of the lack of recognition for his country, who finished third at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, reached the final in the 2018 tournament and have also qualified for upcoming Nations League final four.
Two defeats in 23 games for Croatia
“I am disappointed with FIFA’s attitude towards the Croatian team. I believe that, based on everything we have achieved, we deserve more respect from the governing body of world football than what we have received. We are the only team that has been in the top four in the World Cup and the Nations League. We made headlines worldwide, beating Brazil, the best team in the world, and, along with France, we are the only team that has won two medals in the last two World Cups. This year, we beat France in Paris, Denmark in Copenhagen, and we also eliminated Brazil and Belgium from the World Cup. In the 23 games we have played since Euro 2020, we have only lost twice”, Dalić explained, listing achievements to back up his argument.
Luka Modrić was the only Croatia player nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. For Dalić, the Real Madrid midfielder was the exception that confirmed the rule: FIFA ‘ignored’ Croatia.
Real Madrid target Joško Gvardiol ‘ignored’ at The Best FIFA Football Awards
“Look at the list of the 14 players nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. Apart from Luka Modrić, where are the other Croatian players? I don’t want to say any of the others don’t deserve it because I have tremendous respect for each player or coach that has been dominated. But is there really no room for Mateo Kovacić? Where is Gvardiol? He was named in the best eleven in both the World Cup and the Bundesliga. And doesn’t Livaković deserve to be one of the five finalists for Best Goalkeeper after everything he did in Qatar?” he added, clearly unhappy with FIFA’s nominations for the players’ awards, which were won by Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martínez, both of whom played for the Argentina team that defeated Croatia in the semi-finals.
He also made the case for himself in the Best Coach category, claiming that his achievements outdid the other nominated coaches, who he nevertheless respects. “None of the nominees has managed to qualify for the final four of the Nations League and win a medal at the World Cup”.
Dalić unhappy with referees at Qatar 2022 World Cup
Dalić also took aim at events that took place in Qatar, from the individual awards that were handed out to the quality of the refereeing in the tournament, especially in Croatia’s semi-final against Argentina. “Let’s remember that, taking into account statistics and overall performances, Livaković and Gvardiol deserved to be recognised as the best goalkeeper and the best young player at the World Cup. I feel like we didn’t get the respect we deserved. Both the schedule we had and the quality of refereeing, especially in the semi-final, made me feel that the Croatian team was being disrespected. I firmly believe that both our performance on the pitch and our conduct off it means that we should be shown the same respect as we show our opponents in every game.”
Croatia success “a wonderful message” for soccer
As well as the question of respect, Dalić believes that if another team like England, Brazil, Spain, Germany or Italy had achieved what Croatia had achieved, they would be on the list of nominees for each award. “If English, Brazilian, Spanish, German or Italian players or coaches had achieved these results, they would be on every shortlist for every award. We want more respect for ourselves, our team, our players... With two medals, we more than deserve it. FIFA should promote the fact that a small country like Croatia can play against the biggest nations in the world. It would be the most wonderful message possible for the entire world of soccer,” he said.
Dalić wrapped up his statement by using his disappointment as justification for not voting in The Best Awards. “Taking all of that into consideration, I have decided not to vote in this year’s awards. Still, I want to congratulate all the winners on their well-deserved awards. I especially want to congratulate Luka on an excellent fourth-place finish, although for me he is always number one”, he stated.