Croatia manager Zlatko Dalic has brutally slammed FIFA after expressing his disappointment over the lack of recognition at the Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.
Dalic, who was appointed Croatia boss in 2017, defied expectations and led his country to the 2018 World Cup final in Russia before their defeat to France.
The 56-year-old Croatian remained in charge after the 2018 tournament and led Croatia to the final four of their 2022-23 Nations League campaign.
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Dalic’s men also defied expectations once again at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with Croatia beating the likes of Brazil en route to the semi-finals.
However, Croatia failed to reach back-to-back finals and were dumped out of the tournament in a 3-0 defeat to eventual World Cup winners Argentina.
According to Diario AS, Dalic ‘refused to vote’ at the Best FIFA Football Awards and believes that Croatia “deserve more respect” after what they achieved.
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“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,” he said.
“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.
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“In the 23 games we have played since Euro 2020, we have only lost twice.”
Real Madrid star Luka Modric was the only player from the Croatia national team to earn a nomination in the 14-man shortlist for Best FIFA Men’s Player.
Dalic believes that the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol were both overlooked for the award, which was ultimately won by Lionel Messi.
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“Look at the list of the 14 players nominated for The Best FIFA Men’s Player award,” he said.
“Apart from Luka Modric, 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 Kovacic? Where is Gvardiol? He was named in the best eleven in both the World Cup and the Bundesliga.
“And doesn’t Livakovic deserve to be one of the five finalists for Best Goalkeeper after everything he did in Qatar?”
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Dalic failed to make the shortlist for the Best FIFA Men’s Coach award, which was won by Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni after his county’s World Cup exploits.
Speaking on his omission from the five-man shortlist, he said: “None of the nominees has managed to qualify for the final four of the Nations League and win a medal at the World Cup.”
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Adnan Riaz