Livakovic, a chat with Modric and a hero's cape against Brazil: "What are you doing at Dinamo? Don't sports directors have eyes?"

• Chronicle Modric's Croatia, the only 'Brazilian' in Qatar, leads Brazil to collapse and makes Neymar cry

• Picture This is the World Cup

- I don't see your progress in the selection.

Is

?

- Can be do not know...

- I think it may be because you don't transmit security and that spreads to the team.

Everyone makes mistakes, name me one person who doesn't.

Why can't you commit one?

I think the problem is that you are afraid and that in the end only makes things worse.

- I understand, I know.

-

.

You know that, right?

During the

,

(Zadar, 1995) lost the starting position in goal for

.

The young goalkeeper, undisputed at

, the dominator of his country's championship, had to leave the national team's nets in the hands of

.

It was autumn 2021 and twelve months after the

the future under the Croatian sticks was not clear.

For this reason, during a concentration of the selection,

in the hotel where the Balkan team was staying.

A conversation that can be seen in the documentary

'

' and that had a positive effect, because the goalkeeper regained his position a few months later and did not release it until Qatar.

Back in the Arab country, he saved penalties from Japan's

in the round of 16 and did the same with

' shot before seeing how

's shot crashed into his right post.

He has been the hero of Croatia and the executioner of Brazil with a performance for the history of the

.

With the detainee in the quarterfinals, Livakovic accumulates four saved penalties and draws with the German

(Spain 1982), with the Argentine

(Italy 1990) and with his compatriot

, who rejected four in the last

, three in the round of 16 and one in the quarterfinals on the way to a legendary final for the Balkans.

History repeats itself.

From Subasic to Livakovic, the heroes of Croatia

The

is copying the chronology of the

.

Four years ago, the team led by Luka Modric beat Denmark on penalties in the round of 16 and in the quarterfinal against Russia.

All with a hero:

.

And now, in Qatar, they have been better than

from eleven meters, although with other wings: those of Livakovic.

"

, we always give our best. Let's see how far we can go", valued the goalkeeper.

The goalkeeper born in Zadar, the same city that saw Modric reach the world, landed in the tournament as one of the footballers with the least

in the Croatian team.

Far away were

, Kovacic's 40 or Brozovic's 35.

, which in the Balkan starting team is only higher than the 3.5 of the veteran center-back Lovren and the 6.5 of the Juranovic winger.

He was not a star.

It wasn't supposed to be.

But against

and the entire offensive arsenal of Brazil, the goalkeeper became a giant with

before reaching penalties.

He already has 19 in this World Cup, four less than the Polish Szczesny, the best in this section.

"He has an aura that few have"

"

. Don't sports directors have eyes?"

, now the coach of

, but Livakovic's coach in Zagreb between 2020 and 2022, responds to

. "His case is like Gvardiol's. We're not surprised. He's a treasure and a specialist in penalties for a long time".

Before the World Cup, Livakovic

that had been taken in his career.

"He has a magnet, an aura that few have. But he has had it for many years, I really don't understand why he continues playing in Zagreb," adds Jovicevic.

On a personal level, Livakovic is "

, but has "a lot of personality during games."

"

and appears in the most important moments. He has something. I always ask the goalkeepers to stop me with 0-0, when I'm suffering, not with a 3-0 in favor," says Jovicevic.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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• Croatian Soccer Team

• Brazil Soccer Team