An auction house using the The Saleroom platform has made an offer for the sale of one of the bronze medals which the Croatia national football team won at the 1998 World Cup in France, reports Večernji List on November 20, 2018.
“World Cup 1998 France. Winner medal Croatia - Official winner medal of the Croatia team for coming third at the World Cup in France 1998. Coupe du monde de la FIFA France 1998. Bronze on original tricolor silk ribbon. Manufacturer Bertoni. 5 cm. There were only 30 copies of this medal. Absolutely rare, extra fine,” says the description of the medal.
There are only 30 such medals, and it is not known who of the bronze generation national team members has decided to offer his medal for sale.
The auction house guarantees the authenticity of the offered medals.
The starting price for the medal is 7,500 euro, and the auction will be held on December 7 and 8.
Miroslav Ćiro Blažević, who was the manager of the national team in 1998, commented on the sale. “I do not believe that one of my players would sell it because they are all well-off. Maybe it has been stolen, but you never know. I have not heard about this news before, but it is certain that the seller will not remain anonymous, such things always leak in the end,” said Blažević, adding that he recently had a burglary in his apartment, but that the thieves did not steal his medal. “To be honest, everything has its price so I would sell it for good money,” he added.
Athletes sometimes donate their medals for various charity events, but they are very rarely offer for sale at auctions.
“I have donated a lot of my stuff for charity drives so far, but I would never give my medal,” said Blažević.
Players at the 1998 World Cup team were: Dražen Ladić, Petar Krpan, Anthony Šerić, Igor Štimac, Goran Jurić, Slaven Bilić, Aljoša Asanović, Robert Prosinečki, Davor Šuker, Zvonimir Boban, Silvio Marić, Marijan Mrmić, Mario Stanić, Zvonimir Soldo, Igor Tudor, Ardian Kozniku, Robert Jarni, Zoran Mamić, Goran Vlaović, Dario Šimić, Krunoslav Jurčić, Vladimir Vasilj
Miroslav Blažević was the manager, and he was assisted by Branko Ivanković, Ivan Katalinić, Marijan Vlak, Luka Radman, Mladen Čepulić, Boris Nemec, Tomislav Vrbnjak, Bojan Radanović, Željko Mesić, Mladen Pilčić, Zorislav Srebrić, and Darko Tironi.
For more on Croatia’s national football federation, click here.
