Written by Slavonac From Canada
Amid a raging war, a young Mario Mandžukić faced many horrors that I would not wish upon another human being. From hiding behind an old mattress to shield himself from bullets flying by, to fleeing the country as a refugee, Mario truly witnessed it all.
These moments are what hardened and pushed those 23 men on the 2018 World Cup squad to the absolute pinnacle of football – a World Cup Final. And leading the pack was the man with a heart of gold, Mario Mandžukić. Although Mandžukić had a complicated character and usually came across as moody and intolerant, this was just on the surface. Mario did all he could for the team, no matter where he played. He won starting roles everywhere he went, even with players like Dzeko at Wolfsburg, Claudio Pizarro and Mario Gomez at Bayern, and Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres at Atletico Madrid. The best example of his driven attitude and bull-like determination was when Juventus signed him as a substitute to Dybala, Cuadrado and Morata, yet he fought himself into a starting spot…at left-wing!
From putting on an elite display in the 2012 Euros, to sinking the Serbs in 2013, and finally putting on his biggest show in 2018, Mario was always there at Croatia’s most important moments. Mandzo was truly THE unsung hero of the 2018 World Cup.
He left his mark on every single important goal Croatia scored in that tournament. The opener against Nigeria and the equalizer against Denmark, not only bringing Croatia back in the game on the scoresheet, but also from a mental standpoint. He once again brought the Vatreni back in the game against Russia, setting up Kramarić’s goal, displaying his undying drive to win. Most important of all, his history changing moment in the match against England, when he put Croatia into the World Cup Final and sent England home with nothing.
In the 105th minute, Pickford collided with Mandžukić and was heard yelling profanities at our leading man. Obviously bothered, Mandžukić took the next chance he could, to strike back…“Pivarić… it’s up to Perišić…MANDŽUKIĆ! Croatia hit the fronts! Mario Mandžukić pounced! And England are hurt!” Once Perišić headed that ball back, there was Super Mario with full anticipation, wide-eyed and ready to pounce, he came out between two defenders and stapled his name into Croatian history forever. Nearly knocking all of us unconscious, this goal was the one moment where no Croatian knew how to react. Do we scream, cry, run, jump or yell? Rewatching this still gives us all the chills, and who better could it have come from?
Mario left us with a final, touching message, before he hung up his boots for good, writing to his younger self, the little Mario that went through all those struggles.
“Dear little Mario, while wearing these shoes for the first time, you cannot even imagine what you will feel in the world of football,” he wrote.
“You will score goals on the most important stages, and you will win the biggest trophies with the biggest clubs.”
“Proudly represent your country, you will contribute to writing the history of Croatian sport.”
“You will be successful because you will have good people around you: teammates, coaches, fans and family members, agents and friends who will always be there for you.”
“You will be forever grateful to all of them! Above all, you will be successful because you will always give your all.”
“In the end, this is what you will be most proud of. You will sacrifice a lot, but you will know that it was worth it because of all the amazing moments.”
“You will recognize when it’s time to retire, to put these shoes in a closet and you will have no regrets. Football will always be part of your life, but you will be looking forward to a new chapter.”
“Have fun! Your big Mario”
“P.S. If you happen to play against England in the World Cup, be ready around the 109th minute.”
Mario Mandžukić was brash, had attitude and was under appreciated all of his career. But at the end of the day, he is a Croatian legend and we should all be thankful for the moments we were able to witness while #17 was playing in the Croatian checkers.
https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-reactions-luka-modric-and-mario-mandzukic-didnt-speak-for-three-years-20210906
Typical Croat politics
Messi and Ronaldo can score 3 goals in a game against mediocre teams and defenders but Mario always managed to score game winning goals against the best teams and defenders.
Does that make him a better striker than them? Yes. I’m afraid the Vatreni won’t have someone like him for years.
Oh ok
MANdzukic has not been replaced at all in three years, since his Vatreni retirement. Even Kovačić looks like a somewhat Modrić position placeholder.
@ Slavonac
Thank you for articulating why we love him so much.
I always thought his fire, stamina and aerial dominance would age well.
I guess his mentality was to retire once the beast was finally fed?
Peder Pep and Sranje Sari are on my shit list for life the way they through him to the curve.
Peder Pep for denying him the bundesliga scoring title was particularly egregious.
Be great for Mario to invest in the Slavonski Brod community and continue to cultivate the talent up there in Slavonia.
Why can’t Rebic be our lone striker?
Didn’t we try this already at the Euro….? And didn’t it not work?
Seriously someone tried to burn St Anthony church down??
WTF!!
Burning churches is common now.
Media rarely covers it.
It is? Where?
France, Canada, a few other countries
@maminjo. I live in one of those nations and never heard about anything. What other nations are dealing with this dilemma? What nation leads the way do you you know with this church burning phenomenon?
Good one Slavonac!
Was expecting more exclamation points but still good!
🙂
For all you goons on here, bust out your wallets and donate to our buds in LA to help rebuild St. Anthony’s!
https://gofund.me/7e367618
Thanks Armada. I will post this on the site Thursday. Awful, just awful. I’m glad the fire didn’t get out of control but the water damage is severe from the sprinkler system. Sucks.
I’m going to hand them the check next week..
Wish you left coast Hrvati the best in getting Sv. Ante up and running and better than ever ASAP!
Sheriff are no joke surprise team in champions league this year it seems beating shaktar today2-0.Dinamo knows first hand.
Slavonac
Always love your comments and I think you are best on this site when it comes to your input on the Croatian national team and soccer in Croatia. No one comes close. Great article.
I never appreciated Mario early in his career but later saw the impact he had for the national team. I hope someone will step up to take his place soon.
Thanks U Boj,
I’ve played a lot of soccer in my life and fortunately for me, I had the opportunity to play against some strong Nations ie England, Portugal, Russia…I was taught to respect every style/type of player (in my younger years I only really valued talent and skilled players) and then I had coaches that opened my eyes about what it means to be “EFFECTIVE” as a player. Not all players are skilled and talented, some like Mandzukic, Olic, Gattuso…even Chicharito….made a great career but learning positioning, anticipation and never slowing down their game as the games got tougher. It’s their inner self that drive’s them to compete and when they learn how to achieve their assignments on the field while also benefitting the team, these types of players usually bring a strong focus, a positive attitude, high work rate and a team first attitude.
There’s a lot more to a player than skill/talent although it helps to have those qualities. During the years I followed Mandzukic, I was NOT a believer at first…especially when he went from Wolfsburg to Bayern Munich. He was called upon because both Mario Gomez and Claudio Pizarro both had troubling injuries. Surprisingly, Mandzukic went on a tear and it was impossible to leave him out of the lineup. By that point in his career, I wasn’t sure if it was his coach utilizing him correctly, if it was just the fact that he got amazing service at Bayern, if it was a complete fluke…I was perplexed.
When Mandzukic got snubbed by Guardiola and was not in the starting lineup for the last 6 games of the season even though he was winning the league in scoring, I thought that would be a major set back for Mandzo and like Rebic and Perisic (at times), I was sure he would spiral, take his 2 good seasons under his belt and end up playing second fiddle somewhere else…BUT THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN!
Mandzukic went from Bayern to Atletico Madrid. He appeared in 43 games and scored 20 goals…thats a 0.46 goal scoring average/game…AMAZING!
It kept going at Juventus and even more-so, the fans adored him and they knew how to appreciate him (ALL DUE TO ALLEGRI educating people how important Mario was to Juve’s success)…there were massive banners all over the stadium of Mario…and that Mario probably couldn’t juggle a soccer ball 50 times! This is why I love the guy with all my heart! He’s grabbed my interest even though he wasn’t my style of player…but I’m 100% certain that most striker partners love his as well because he draws attention, makes space, fights like a mother-****er and is not selfish at all!
First jersey I ever bought was Mandzukic’s. Undoubtedly he’s up there with Suker, Modric & Rakitic for Goats
Mario Mandzukic retires: Ex-Bayern, Juventus star one of the game’s 10 most underappreciated strikers
https://www.espn.com/soccer/blog-the-toe-poke/story/4444167/mario-mandzukic-retires-ex-bayern-juventus-star-one-of-the-games-10-most-underappreciated-strikers
that article is how I feel about Mandzukic. He’s an unsung hero, a quiet fighter and a fierce competitor….and he’s never been the skilled type so most fans that love him, do so because they know he’s always about the team first!
Agreed @slavonac! Great piece Thank you.
Always had a soft spot for Mario. One of the first players I idolized in this sport. Enjoy retirement legenda 🙏
Hey Markus, thanks very much for editing and doing some additions, writing is not a strength for me but it really is for you.
Thank YOU for being persistent in wanting a Mandzo article done, and you delivered with some great ideas. I just fed off and edited it, you did the bulk of the work!
That goal from Mahir Mandzuka against England was awesome.
One last mandzo dig
Or maybe when he dies you can dig one out from mamas basement