February 22, 2023 - Aging like a fine wine, maestro Luka Modrić continues to impress in the Champions League at 37 years old. 

It was an epic duel at Anfield on Tuesday night as part of the Champions League round of 16. Liverpool hosted Real Madrid in the first leg of this last-16 tie, and by the 67th minute, it was already 2:5 for Real Madrid. 

Liverpool was up 2:0 in the first 15 minutes with goals from Nunez and Salah, but the current European champion woke up five minutes later, and two goals from Vinicius in the 21st and 36th minutes leveled the result. Luka Modrić masterfully assisted for the Real Madrid lead at 2:3 in the 47th minute and intercepted the ball from Liverpool in Madrid's half to launch the play that resulted in Madrid's 5th and final goal, scored by Karim Benzema.

Modrić's world-class performance lasted until the 87th minute when he was subbed off for Toni Kroos. The 37-year-old Croat received a standing ovation from the whole of Anfield, proving once again that his Champions League masterclass knows no age. 

Real Madrid became the first club in history to score five goals against Liverpool in a European match at Anfield.

"This is how Real Madrid wins," wrote Luka Modrić on Twitter and Instagram after Real Madrid's fantastic performance. The Croatia captain also received praise from all sides for his outstanding play.

"It was the usual Modrić, the best one can see, constant, in rhythm, with good control of the ball. I think he was key in the moments when we had difficulties," said coach Carlo Ancelotti.

"These are tournaments for players like Modric, Kroos, and Karim, where experience makes the difference. When you're down 2:0, the experience of these players is key to helping the younger players stay focused," added the Italian expert.

Spanish sports daily Marca was also full of praise.

"He is a leader and life insurance on big nights. It's crazy to rule Anfield at 37."

"The fact that Liverpool fans applauded Luka and Karim only proves that people here know how to appreciate these guys who play great," said Real Madrid's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

The 37-year-old Croatia captain wants to end his career at Real Madrid, and according to Ancelotti, he deserves a contract extension, which expires on June 30.

"Modrić has a career in which he has shown it and shows that he deserves it. He didn't do well in January but returned to his best level and will continue to grow. I am sure of this because he is physically excellent and also wants to play for Real Madrid," Ancelotti said.

Modrić said at the same press conference that he wants to earn a new contract and not be given or offered one because of past merits and achievements. However, the club and the player still haven't discussed his contract renewal. 

The Croatia national team captain won 22 trophies with Real Madrid, and this season made 31 appearances for the club. Real Madrid is defending the Champions League title this season.

To follow the latest sports news in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

January 7, 2021 - Petrinja earthquake victim and Liverpool supporter Bruno Lončarević is in the international spotlight for recovering one special memento from his damaged apartment. A 'This is Anfield' sign.

Index.hr reports that the story of Bruno Lončarević, a radiologist from Petrinja and a faithful Liverpool fan, whose family was left homeless in the earthquake, has spread far beyond Croatian borders.

It was not only broadcast by Liverpool fan media but also by the masses like the Daily Star. Liverpool fans' associations from the Balkans and around the world joined a fundraising campaign - and the news even reached former Liverpool player Dejan Lovren.

Liverpool fans rally round struggling Covid-19 doctor after Croatian earthquake | #LFChttps://t.co/VLONG7gFAB

— Daily Star Sport (@DailyStar_Sport) January 6, 2021

"After the earthquake, all I could think about was how I was going to get into the apartment, take some clothes and this sign that was in a special place in the apartment," Lončarević said for RTL.

Thus, the official association of Croatian Liverpool fans launched a fundraising campaign and opened an account to raise money for Bruno.

"Everything just needs to be resolved from the accounting side," said Antonio Krizmanić from the Official Liverpool Supporters Club Croatia fan association. He and Edin Tanević, another Liverpool fan, are leading the initiative.

"Edin, with the help of Nike Fleiss, legally received a video from RTL, which we subtitled in English, and tomorrow we will send it to e-mails, social networks, and directly to the club. 

We did not want to send it until everything was ready to receive donations from abroad, but two groups from the Balkans, Italy, and Turkey, joined the action. We are in contact with the club via intranet, which connects all fan associations worldwide. We asked them for a signed jersey that we would put up for auction, but they already had a lot of such requests due to the pandemic, so they said they had to consider the request," Krizmanić said.

"His family's house was destroyed by the first earthquake. He was just preparing his Petrinja apartment for renovation, for which he had just taken out a loan, and then it was destroyed by an earthquake the next day. By the end of the week, he and his family were accommodated in an apartment in Zagreb. Still, they had already received a lot of offers for the future and accepted one from their close family friend, so they will live in their apartment in Zagreb for free for the next year," he explained.

The association has already contacted former Croatian Liverpool players Igor Bišćan and Dejan Lovren, who, immediately after the earthquake joined in to help the victims. Lovren even offered his hotel in Novalja to affected families. 

"He reportedly heard the story while serving lunch in Novalja. He knows about Bruno's situation, but he has a lot of calls currently," said Krizmanić, adding that Bruno is shy about the media attention.

"He's a really good guy; I'd say too modest. He didn't want this to go that far, but look, buddy, it's Liverpool."

For more on the Petrinja earthquake and to see how you can donate money, food, humanitarian, sanitary, and material aid, follow our dedicated section.

Friday 11 September 2020 - “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” as Liverpool FC take Croatian National Football Shirt design for the next Premier League

You might have thought that the UK Premier League champions were all but finished with Croatian football. This summer they let go Dejan Lovren from their ranks, shipping the Croat off to FC Zenit Saint Petersburg for a price widely thought to be €12 million. However, your thoughts may well have been wrong.

Recent images reveal that their ties with Croatia are not so nearly over, as Liverpool FC take Croatian National Football Shirt design for the next season.

Could it be an acknowledging nod of respect? Could they be trying to steal some luck in order to keep the most-cherished title in English football? Could it be a coincidence?

The latter is less likely when you consider that the sponsor for each shirt is one and the same - Nike. Whatever the reason, Croatian football fans – and, indeed, some Liverpool FC fans – were quick to spot the similarity. Comments were soon made by both on Liverpool FC's social media.

“We might as well have played with a Croatian away kit.” wrote one Liverpool fan, early in the comments. At the time of writing, his observation was 'liked' by almost 200 Liverpool FC supporters. Football fans from all over the world are familiar with the Croatian away shirt, having seen it repeatedly at the last World Cup.

“So we've got the same goalkeepers top as England and now we've also got Croatia's away shirt.” wrote another fan. Others also made a link between the departed Lovren and the fact that Nike sponsors and manufactures the shirts for both teams teams.

Further new acquisitions for Liverpool FC this summer include Greek left back Konstantinos Tsimikas, bought for a similar price for which they allowed Lovren to go. The team also has no less than seven young players arriving back at the club, following loan spells which were considered key to their development. Liverpool Under 23 players Curtis Jones is also expected to take the leap into the first team in the approaching season. Will this be enough to fend off the super-spending Manchester City, Chelsea, and Manchester United for yet another year?

At least one Croatian fan spotted the similarity too. Dino, who commented on Liverpool FC's Facebook post, was not in the mood for poetry or jokes.

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Barcelona hosts Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday. It is the battle of the Croatians, as Ivan Rakitić and Dejan Lovren meet, reports Gol.hr on April 30, 2019. 

Unlike Tottenham and Ajax, who, contrary to all expectations, advanced to the Champions League semi-final, Barcelona and Liverpool, the more likely clubs in this stage of the competition, are two 'heavyweight clubs that have won 10 European titles overall. 

Interestingly, both Barcelona and Liverpool have five titles, and both clubs have been defeated three times in the final.

Barcelona’s last final was in 2015 when they won the Champions League title, while Liverpool lost to Real Madrid last summer and has been waiting to wear the European crown since 2005. 

Regardless of the semi-final outcome, Croatian football has yet another reason to be proud, as one Croatian will be in the Champions League final on June 1st at Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid - Dejan Lovren or Ivan Rakitić.

After an injury, Lovren should finally be ready for the match tonight, but whether he will play in Liverpool’s starting lineup is questionable. Rakitić, one the other hand, is one of Barcelona's biggest hopes.

Barcelona already claimed the La Liga title on Saturday and can focus all of their attention to the Champions League, while Liverpool continues to run an exhausting battle on the two fronts, the Premier League and the Champions League. Two rounds before the end of the championship, Manchester City is one point ahead of Liverpool. The ‘Reds’, however, are hoping to clinch the Premier League title; one they have been waiting for since 1990.

"The fact that we are in the semifinal of the Champions League, and just before winning the Championship, makes us happy and hungry for new victories. You can always play better and get to these games in a better way, but we will play with a real desire to go to the final,” Rakitić said.

"I believe we have learned something from the previous seasons and we will now try to end this season perfectly,” he added.

"The most important thing now is to prepare well and play our game as usual. Our idea is not to score a single goal, but we cannot think of the return game now. We have to go for the victory but play calm. Liverpool can be dangerous, so we will have to be 100% concentrated,” Rakitić said.

And what will it be like playing against Lovren?

"I have great respect for him. All teams that are led by coach Jurgen Klopp have always been arranged well and he has drawn the best out of the players. I hope we stop them as soon as possible and then impose our own rhythm of the game. I also hope to score as soon as possible. The defense, however, is strong and they do not make it easy to score goals,” concluded Rakitić.

Barcelona and Liverpool will meet at 21:00 tonight.

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

Liverpool’s Anfield stadium welcomed current and former club teammates from Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter and Liverpool ahead of Croatia’s friendly match against Brazil. 

AS Roma and Liverpool met in the second semifinal of the Champions League last night in Rome, which saw Croatian representative and Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren advance to the final. 

Tickets are officially on sale for the Croatia and Brazil friendly at Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium. 

Dejan Lovren, the Croatian national and 28-year-old Liverpool stopper, was sharply criticized for his performance against Tottenham in London last weekend.

What a night.

Hajduk supporters are still buzzing after last night’s incredible atmosphere and match at Poljud Stadium in Split.