Croatian connection has Tottenhams Harry Redknapp confident ahead of Wigan test
21 Nov 2009 - 17:19:20
Redknapp is in raptures when he talks about his Croatian trio of Luca Modric, Vedran Corluka and Niko Kranjcar, and according to the latter, the admiration is mutual.
Redknapp loves the uncomplicated character of Croatian players hard-working, low-maintenance, well-rounded individuals.
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In return, Kranjcar has nothing but praise for his manager and says Redknapp was the reason he chose to play in English football. Initially the midfielder joined Redknapp at Portsmouth and eventually followed him to Tottenham.
Slaven Bilic, his national coach, played at West Ham under Redknapp, who then signed Croatian legend Robert Prosinecki when he went to Portsmouth.
'I was impressed with the team he was gathering at Portsmouth. It was a project that I wanted to join and when I asked Bilic and Prosinecki they only had positive things to say about him,' says the 25-year-old.
'I really wanted to join Portsmouth and after knowing him, the players in the squad and Tottenham's ambition, I wanted to follow him here as well.'
By a quirk of fate, it was a broken leg sustained by his mate Modric, Tottenham's playmaker, that expedited Kranjcar's transfer in August, Redknapp snapping him up for a bargain fee of £2m. It is a sign of Tottenham's strength that the gifted player has yet to command a regular place in the side, a situation unlikely to be helped when Modric, who returned to training this week, is fully fit again.
Modric has been missed by both club and country, who did not even make the play-offs for the World Cup finals, but Kranjcar is upbeat. Tottenham have made their best start to a season since the Premier League was formed and have high hopes of a top four finish.
'The moment that we knew we weren't going to the World Cup was the hardest, but club football puts your mind right,' he says. 'It's another goal. It would be massive to get to the Champions League with a team that has never been there before. Hopefully we can achieve it this season.
And if they do, the Balkan boys will have played their part.
'What singles Croatian players out in my opinion is the passion for playing football,' says Kranjcar. 'We have a big work ethic. It's in the genes. For a country with only four million people, a lot of Croatians are world or Olympic champions. Sport is number one for us the joy, the excitement.'
