2002/03 Croatia Home Player Issue Football Shirt (L)

Condition: 8/10 Excellent. A few small faint line pulls on the chest

Size: Adult's Large

Chest Measurement: 42-44 Inches / 107-112 CM

Manufacturer: Nike

Colour: Red & white chequered, blue trim

Material: Polyester

Seasons: 2002/2003 & 2003/2004

Player: N/A

Patches: N/A

Official Nike Croatia home football shirt from the 2002/03 international season.

This is Nike's superior 'player issue' version of the jersey, as worn by the players. It features an inner mesh t-shirt sewn to the outer garment, and mesh material on the trim to the sides of the jersey.

Condition of this original football jersey is 8/10 - Excellent. A few small faint line pulls on the chest (see photos).

Croatia opened their 2002 World Cup campaign with a narrow loss to Mexico before producing a surprise 2–1 victory over Euro 2000 finalists Italy in the next fixture, giving life to hopes of passing through to the knockout stage. However, they lost their final group fixture to Ecuador and were knocked out. Jozić then resigned, and was replaced in July 2002 by Croatian-Austrian Otto Barić, the team's first manager born outside the Balkans.

During Barić's tenure, almost all of the remaining Golden Generation players were gradually phased out and replaced by younger players over the course of the Euro 2004 qualifiers, with the team managing to reach the tournament finals with a playoff 2-1 aggregate win against Slovenia, with Dado Pršo's crucial goal in the second leg. 

At the finals tournament in Portugal, Croatia drew 0–0 with Switzerland and 2–2 with reigning champions France only to lose to England 2–4 and suffer another elimination in the group stage. Barić's two-year contract ended in June 2004 and was not renewed.