March 27, 2021 - Croatia has a new record holder for the most national team caps in history. TCN's Daniela Rogulj and Jose Alfonso Cussianovich look at the Croatia moments that defined Luka Modrić. 

Luka Modrić began his national team career on March 1, 2006. Fifteen years later, he leads the Vatreni at the opening of another qualification cycle, this time for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. 

During this March qualification campaign, the Vatreni captain entered Croatian football history for appearances in the national team jersey. After equaling the legendary former Croatia captain Darijo Srna's national team caps on Wednesday, Luka Modrić is now the record holder with 135 national team appearances. 

Only Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos have more appearances of active players from European national teams. 

As in previous anniversaries, Luka could not celebrate his achievement on Wednesday after Croatia's loss to Slovenia in Ljubljana. You might recall that in his 50th match for the national team, Croatia lost 2-0 to Greece during the Euro 2012 qualifiers, and to mark his 100th capp, Croatia played 1-1 with Finland in Rijeka, a shocker that seriously hurt their chances of going to the World Cup in Russia at all. As if the result wasn't bad enough, the dismissal of coach Ante Čačić overshadowed what should have been a monumental moment for the Croatian footballer. 

We hope that Luka becomes the most-capped Croatia player with a win against Cyprus tonight. 

Croatia national team debut

On March 1, 2006, Luka Modrić debuted for the Croatia national football team. He was included in the team by the then coach Zlatko Kranjčar, who died in Zagreb on Luka's 15th-anniversary with Croatia, on March 1, 2021, at the age of 65.

As part of preparations for the World Cup in Germany, Kranjčar gave Modrić a chance in a friendly match against Argentina at St Jakob Park in Basel. Croatia celebrated 3-2. That match is also special because Lionel Messi scored his first goal for Argentina. 

Croatia took the lead in the third minute with a goal by Ivan Klasnić, but Argentina turned it around with two quick goals by Carlos Tevez (4) and Lionel Messi (6). Darijo Srna equalized in the 52nd minute, and Dario Šimić brought Croatia to victory in the 90th minute. Modrić played until the 84th minute. 

"The Dinamo Zagreb starlet was making his first senior appearance in the absence of the injured Robert Kovac and rewarded coach Kranjcar's faith in him with a fine display in the centre of midfield alongside Niko Kranjcar and Niko Kovac. Indeed Modric's performance prompted Kranjcar to muse that his team had not only won a game that night but also "won a player," FIFA wrote about Luka after the match. 

Euros 2008

After two appearances at the 2006 World Cup against Japan and Australia and a stellar run with club Dinamo Zagreb, Luka was given the confidence of new Croatia coach Slaven Bilić. Luka scored his first international goal one month after the 2006 World Cup in a friendly against Italy. 

A regular for Croatia in the games that followed and a standout player during Croatia's Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, the expectations of the Croatian midfielder were high -  and rightfully so. The promising midfielder continued to impress at the 2008 Euros and began writing history even then. Modrić not only scored Croatia's first goal of the tournament, but it was the quickest penalty ever called and scored in Euros history. 

Luka's magnificent performance throughout the tournament earned him UEFA Man of the Match in their following game against Germany. While Croatia's European campaign ended after losing the quarter-final penalty shootout to Turkey (and Luka missed), he was the second-ever Croatian to be included in the UEFA Team of the Tournament after Davor Šuker. 

Croatia captain band 

After veteran defender Darijo Srna retired from international football with an emotional letter following the 2016 Euros, Luka Modrić was named his successor by then-coach Ante Čačić.

"The new captain will be Luka Modrić, and our two vice-captains are Vedran Corluka and Ivan Rakitić," Čačić said at a press conference before Croatia kicked off their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign against Turkey on September 5, 2016.

Modrić captained Croatia only twice before then, the first time in an away draw against Azerbaijan.

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"It's a nice feeling, I'm proud. Thank you to the coach for the trust, and I hope to justify it," said the new captain. 

"Modrić is our captain, the best midfielder in the world; he is the pride of the Croatia family, a man who presents our homeland at the highest level, with great enthusiasm," Ante Čačić gushed about Luka one year later. 

Little did Luka know that he would be wearing the captain band during Croatia's historic 2018 World Cup final. He is just a few games away from captaining his country in 40 total games. 

2018 World Cup in Russia

There are many things a Croat can’t forget, and the summer of 2018 is certainly one of them. No one thought the national team’s campaign in 1998 could be ever be surpassed, and no football fan expected Croatia to achieve what they did almost three years ago. Although it was definitely an outstanding team effort with Zlatko Dalić’s magic as a strategist, their captain’s inspirational performances will always be remembered.

Luka’s campaign transcended beyond an undoubted footballing demonstration, scoring one of the Croatia team's best goals in international tournaments against a powerful Argentina led by Lionel Messi. Likewise, he perfectly fulfilled the role of a midfielder in defensive and creative functions. The admiration for him also came for his energy and fighting spirit on the pitch, not only commanding the team as captain for the first time in a World Cup but running even when the team came from playing three games that went into extra time. He thus raised his teammates' spirits even when they found themselves below the scoreboard on various occasions, such as against Denmark, Russia, or England.

Croatia surpassed the magical generation of Šuker and Boban, reaching the World Cup final for the first time and facing the impressive France squad in Moscow. The 32-year old captain once again gave a stunning display of sacrifice and talent, but it wasn’t enough as France was crowned champion with a 4-2 win against Croatia. No one underestimated Modrić’s performance, and he went on to receive the World Cup Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. He was included in the tournament's ideal team, and his goal against Argentina was selected as one of the top ten at the World Cup.

Luka Modric wins FIFA's ‘‘The Best’’, and the France Football ‘‘Ballon d’Or’’

2018 was surely a special year for Luka Modrić. Not only did he win his third-consecutive Champions League with Real Madrid (and fourth overall), but leading Croatia that summer to the World Cup final in Moscow earned him international praise and several awards, including the prestigious ‘‘The Best’’, awarded by FIFA to the best player of the year. Luka received the award in September, as he reached 29% of the votes over Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah. He was also included that night in the FIFA FIFPro World11.

And that wasn’t all, as France Football awarded him the Ballon d’Or that same year in December, the most prestigious individual recognition a professional footballer can receive, for all his club achievements and individual performances with the ‘Vatreni’ throughout the year. Luka again put his beloved country in the spotlight, winning the desired trophy over great footballers.

Recall, for ten years (2008-2018), the Ballon d’Or had only been awarded to either Lionel Messi (5) or Cristiano Ronaldo (5). Make sure your children or grandchildren know that it was a Croatian footballer to break the streak of two of the best footballers in history!

Croatia and his beloved Zadar later received Luka as a hero.

"Playing like that at the age of 36 shows how serious and responsible he is, a true professional, to keep such a high level of play in those years. For the benefit of Croatian football, I hope that he will remain at that level until Qatar," said coach Zlatko Dalić about Modrić earlier this week. 

And we do too. 

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March the 27th, 2021 - Mass Zagreb citizen vaccination against the novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is set to take place just after Easter.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, following Easter, a large mass Zagreb citizen vaccination point will be organised here in the Croatian capital. This was confirmed by Dr. Zvonimir Sostar, the director of Zagreb's Dr. Andrija Stampar Institute.

"We're preparing for a large vaccination point to be placed at the Zagreb Fair (Zagrebacki Velesajam), and the desire is for it to be on World Health Day on April the 7th, 2021. Zagreb will do everything it can to carry out the vaccination process according to the current plan,'' explained Dr. Zvonimir Sostar for Vecernji list.

Vaccine delivery dynamics, which have been causing tremendous problems recently, are key to realising that plan. At this large vaccination point, Zagreb could vaccinate about 6,000 citizens a day, which, with six days of vaccination, would be approximately 36,000 vaccinated people per week. In one month, that would be between 150,000 and 200,000 vaccinated people from just this one location.

Despite the plans, vaccine deliveries continue to be uncertain. For the third week in a row now, a planned shipment of Moderna still hasn't arrived, which is a vaccine that has otherwise been delivered regularly so far.

Just over 100,000 people have been vaccinated in Zagreb, and in the first phase, these were the users of homes for the elderly, the staff working at said care homes and healthcare employees. In the second phase, the elderly and chronically ill patients were vaccinated in health centres - of which about 70 percent were vaccinated at health centre ''mini-points'', where teams were vaccinated outside of normal working hours. About 6,000 of Croatia's healthcare workers were vaccinated at the Dr. Stampar Institute, where about two hundred citizens are being vaccinated every day.

As of this week, outpatient clinics in Zagreb are no longer receiving the same number of vaccine doses as they were previously. Those with more patients over the age of 65 and chronic unwell patients, regardless of their age, have now received 32 doses (20 doses of AstraZeneca and 12 doses of Pfizer each), and those with fewer patients in these categories received twelve doses of vaccine each.

So far, each clinic has received 112 coronavirus vaccine doses in four weeks, between 26 and 32 doses per week, depending on the amount of AstraZeneca doses received.

For current information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres across the country, bookmark this page.

March the 27th, 2021 - The main man of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), Luka Burilovic, has stated his desire to have Croatian exporters seen as priority when it comes to getting vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, highly positioned people from the Croatian Chamber of Commerce (HGK), the Croatian Chamber of Trades and Crafts (HOK) and Croatian Exporters (HIZ) have asked the National Civil Protection Headquarters to put enterprises and their employees, such as Croatian exporters, engaged in international business on the priority vaccination list.

It is increasingly certain, as they pointed out in their statement, that most countries will prescribe a mandatory vaccination measure as a condition for strengthening exports, ie participation in international activities such as various types of conferences, fairs and forums.

Therefore, the leaders of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, HOK and HIZ have jointly sent a letter to the National Civil Protection Headquarters to make Croatian exporters as vaccination priorities.

"Going abroad is necessary for export activities, as well as for maintaining existing relations and negotiating new ones, and this is crucial for the entire economy. The organisers of international fairs are increasingly asking for certificates of vaccination from all participants, which is an additional reason for their urgent inclusion in the vaccination protocol,'' said the President of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce, Luka Burilovic.

The president of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce says that the daily migrations of workers to neighbouring countries should be taken into account, especially in areas of the country like Medjimurje, Varazdin and Krapina-Zagorje counties.

"For all of them, employers have to bear the costs of PCR tests, which creates a significant financial cost for them and additionally burdens their business," warned Burilovic.

For current information on coronavirus specific to Croatia, including border and travel rules, as well as testing centres across the country, bookmark this page.

March the 27th, 2021 - Croatian bus company business is already under a lot of strain due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and generally less demand, but without a contract on public services, operations will only become more problematic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Darko Bicak writes, although the Law on Road Transport, which is known to the public for its current regulation of the taxi market, also regulated the market of bus carriers operating within public intercity transport. However, at least to date, this particular regulation pertaining to Croatian bus company business operations hasn't been implemented in practice.

Namely, as was warned of recently from the Coordination of Public Line Passenger Transport at the Croatian Employers' Association, public service contracts for these carriers have not yet been concluded despite the fact that this is a legal obligation. The aforementioned association warned that this endangers more than seven thousand jobs and transport for more than 200 thousand passengers across Croatia.

Hrvoje Mestrovic, the president of this particular coordination, pointed out that without public service contracts, Croatian bus company business operations will continue being placed under tremendous strain.

"These carriers perform 80 percent of county transport, and the continued absence of a resolution for the conditions of bus carriers and the co-financing of unprofitable lines through public service contracts as the only possible way to co-finance public regular transport, endangers the social rights of people in smaller, rural parts of the country," warned Mestrovic.

He added that they are asking for these contracts to be signed for a period of seven years so that transport companies can borrow, pay debts and invest in good time.

"The state has already secured part of the funds through the budget for the transportation of high school students to help the residents of the country's islands, and an additional 107 million kuna is planned to be spent on that. This would ensure, with the additional possible co-financing of the municipalities and counties themselves, that the complete public line transport is maintained so that the lines don't end up being totally shut down,'' explained Mestrovic.

Bus carriers estimate that the total cost of this type of transport, which in 80 percent of cases is performed by private enterprises, stands at around 690 million kuna in total. As these are mostly unprofitable lines that are more important for the regional development of the country than for earnings, subsidies of an estimated 427 million kuna per year are necessary.

Carriers claim that a large part of that amount is currently being spent on transport, but that the system is unregulated and remains chaotic.

The Croatian Employers' Association's Damir Zoric, pointed out that bus companies have been brought to the brink of uncertainty because they cannot plan their business precisely because they were guided by the provisions of the applicable law which still isn't being regulated properly.

For current coronavirus specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres across the country, bookmark this page.

March the 27th, 2021 - Croatian businesses are set to get another very welcome cash injection of 200 million euros, but for the first time in the pandemic, HBOR will be the one which also needs to fulfill certain requirements.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Brnic writes, another 200 million euros will be available to Croatian businesses for favourable loans to provide liquidity in these continued difficult business conditions due to the coronavirus pandemic, which the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development (HBOR) will receive through a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

At a recently held session, the Croatian Government gave approval to Finance Minister Zdravko Maric to conclude an agreement with the IBRD on this arrangement, and the state will be a joint guarantor for HBOR's loan, which will be agreed for a repayment period of 30 years.

The project intends to use the largest part of the money for business loans for working capital, while another part of it, up to a maximum of 30 percent, would be directed to help in the financial restructuring of Croatian companies.

The loans would be intended for small and medium-sized Croatian businesses, in majority private ownership, primarily to exporters, with the inclusion of the so-called quasi-exporters, ie enterprises from the service sector of tourism and logistics, on whose business the ongoing coronavirus crisis left a negative mark, but they still managed to maintain financial sustainability.

Croatian businesses with poor access to capital and in less developed regions will have an advantage in accessing these loans, as will companies in which women are the owners or managers. The focus will also be primarily placed on younger companies, which have been on the market for less than five years.

The development bank says it will approve loans to Croatian businesses after a contract with the IBRD is concluded soon, and the conditions under which companies will have access are equal to those of standard working capital loan programmes.

What is specific when it comes to this particular new arrangement is the provision that out of 200 million euros, 120 million euros will be immediately available to Croatian businesses, while the remaining 80 million euros will be disbursed and disbursed by HBOR only after it meets certain additional conditions prescribed by the IBRD, which are related to strengthening the institutional capacity of HBOR as a development bank.

What the definition of HBOR's institutional strengthening encompasses will be made public after the IBRD announces the conclusion of its arrangement with HBOR.

However, this is, as was laid out in the government decision, the first time that such conditions are being incorporated into the Financial Intermediation Project for the institutional strengthening of HBOR, and the financing of activities to meet these conditions, as stated in the decision, is provided from EU structural funds and the European Commission's Directorate-General for Structural Reform Support, as well as from HBOR's own resources.

Finance Minister Zdravko Maric stated that he expects that this credit line to help Croatian businesses which have continued to be burdened with liquidity problems and it will also have a positive impact on commercial banks and encourage their stronger lending activity in monitoring the domestic economy, adding that he expects an additional 80 million euros to come in.

In using the funds set out by this credit arrangement, the Croatian Bank for Reconstruction and Development will be able, with the exception of doing so through models of co-financing with commercial banks and lending through them, to approve loans directly, but only for Croatian businesses operating in less developed regions, a maximum of 25 percent of the loan amount, according to market principles.

For current coronavirus information specific to Croatia, including travel and border rules, as well as testing centres across the country, bookmark this page.

ZAGREB, 26 March, 2021 - A HRK 12.5 million EU grant agreement for the construction of a composting plant in the southern town of Metković was signed on Friday by Economy and Sustainable Development Minister Tomislav Ćorić and the director of the local Čistoća waste management company, Tomislav Jakić.

The project, which will be implemented as part of the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014-2020, is worth more than HRK 24 million, of which 50% is co-financed by the EU.

Ćorić said that the composting plant would serve Metković as well as Opuzen and neighbouring communities.

The plant's annual capacity is 5,000 tonnes and it guarantees that biodegradable waste in the River Neretva valley will be managed in the best way possible, said the minister.

Dubrovnik-Neretva County head Nikola Dobroslavić said that Metković was the most advanced local government unit in terms of waste management.

For more about ecology in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

March 26, 2021 - The World Rally Championship, Croatia Rally, and the Croatian Red Cross join forces to renovate Sisak's hospital, which was badly damaged after the earthquake.

As Tportal.hr reports, the Organizing Committee of the Croatia Rally, with the support of the World Rally Championship (WRC) and the Croatian Red Cross as the project leader, is launching an international humanitarian action ‘‘Together for a common goal’’ to help the General Hospital ‘Dr. Ivo Pedišić’ in Sisak.

The mentioned action will last from March 25 to April 30, and all funds collected by donations to the bank account HR2023600001502892305 in that period will be spent on the renovation of the Sisak hospital building.

Croatia Rally, which is included in the calendar of the World Rally Championship (WRC) for 2021, and which will host one of the world's most attractive sports events in Zagreb from April 22 to 25, is launching an initiative, with the help of citizens, to raise the financial resources needed for the successful reconstruction of the main health institution of the Sisak-Moslavina County destroyed in the earthquake of last December.

The organizers of this international humanitarian action decided to use the arrival of the world event in Croatia, which attracts the great interest of spectators every year, to help the local community, and support for this praiseworthy action comes from rally drivers Thierry Neuville, Sebastien Ogier, and Teemu Suninen. The popularity of the WRC is evidenced by the fact that, in recent years, WRC races have been watched on TV screens by about 836 million viewers, and 13 races have attracted more than 4 million viewers.

Photo: PIXSELL

‘‘From the very beginning of organizing and bringing the WRC to Croatia, we have been trying to use all ways to give our actions an additional contribution to our community. That is why our vision of the race from the very beginning goes beyond the framework of sports competition. In addition to the promotion of our country and the rich tourist offer, we are convinced that we can encourage citizens to show their big heart again and to help those who are in dire need. We will also promote the action outside Croatia and we believe in the support of many spectators around the world, and many drivers arriving in Croatia have already promised their contribution’’, said the president of the Organizing Committee of Croatia Rally, Daniel Šaškin.

The holder of the humanitarian action 'Together for a common goal' is the Croatian Red Cross, which continuously invests exceptional efforts and helps the affected areas.

Photo: PIXSELL

‘‘The World Rally Championship race is being organized on the territory of the Republic of Croatia for the first time. It is great recognition for our country, but also for motorsports. We are especially proud that the race has a humanitarian character and that the Croatian Red Cross was chosen as a partner in the implementation of the donation. We welcome the idea of ​​the organizers that the collected donations help to normalize life in the earthquake-affected area, primarily the Sisak hospital. The renovation of the hospital will raise the quality of life in the entire Sisak-Moslavina County. We are happy that even after the race and the announcement of the best drivers in Banovina, there will be a lasting trace of the humanity of the World Rally Championship motorists’’, said Robert Markt, Executive President of the Croatian Red Cross.

The director of the Sisak General Hospital expressed his gratitude and pointed out that he would invest the donated funds in the renovation of the General Hospital building so that it could serve its citizens as soon as possible.

‘‘In the devastating earthquake on December 29, 2020, OB ‘Dr. Ivo Pedišić’ in Sisak suffered great damage. Hospital buildings, medical equipment, inventory, and supplies of medicines were damaged. As time passes, we try to organize and provide the highest possible level of health care to all residents of Sisak-Moslavina County. It will certainly take a lot of effort, time, and resources for the hospital to start working at full capacity again. Therefore, we are grateful to the Organizing Committee of the Croatia Rally with the support of the World Rally Championship (WRC) and the Croatian Red Cross for the donation that will help rebuild and rehabilitate the hospital but also to continue to develop the hospital’’, said the director of the hospital, M.Sc. Tomislav Dujmenović, MD

All information about the humanitarian action can be found on the website of the Croatian Red Cross, and details about the sports spectacle that arrives in Croatia in April can be found on the official rally-croatia.com website and on their official social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.

You can participate in the humanitarian action by donating to the following bank account:

ZAGREBAČKA BANKA D.D. / HR2023600001502892305 / USER: CROATIAN RED CROSS / Reference number: 773; Swift: 773 / Description of payment: Croatia rally for Sisak hospital

To see the original article click here.

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ZAGREB, 26 March, 2021 - The main Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) indices closed mixed on Friday, amid modest trading.

After falling for two days, the Crobex index rebounded slightly, rising by 0.09% to 1,848.06 points. The Crobex10, on the other hand, finished in the red for the third trading day, decreasing by 0.06% to 1,154.63 points.

Turnover at the close of the trading session was HRK 5.97 million, roughly the same as on Thursday.

The bulk of the turnover was generated by the stock of the Podravka food company, turning over HRK 3.4 million. The price of its share closed down 1.53% at HRK 516.

No other stock passed the turnover mark of one million kuna.

A total of 37 stocks traded today, with 14 of them recording share price increases, 10 registering price decreases and 10 remaining stable in price.

(€1 = HRK 7.570196)

For more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.