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Vedran Corluka's mother is afraid he mixes with the wrong people while it was tough for Eduardo when he arrived in Zagreb

This article is part of the Guardian's Euro 2012 Experts' Network, a co-operation between 16 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Poland and Ukraine. guardian.co.uk is running previews from two countries each day in the runup to the tournament kicking off on 8 June.

Vedran Corluka

The Tottenham defender, now on loan at Bayer Leverkusen, has a reputation for being a big hit with the ladies and his relationships with various celebrities – such as Iva Buzov, his one-time fiancée – are fodder for the Croatian tabloids. Not that Corluka seems to mind being in the public eye, though. Recently, his mother had nightmares about him being chased by the Croatian and Serbian mafia and emailed him saying: "Take care, my son. Don't go to music clubs, don't drink and beware of harlots!" What did Corluka do with the email? He published it on his Facebook account.

Niko Kranjcar

His transfer from Dinamo Zagreb to Hajduk Split caused outrage in 2005. Niko's father Zlatko (the then national team coach) is a Dinamo legend, and Niko was the youngest club captain, but he fell out with the management and was sold in the winter transfer window. Ten thousand people came to welcome the player in Split, while the Dinamo ultras, the Bad Blue Boys, lit 200 blue candles in front of his parents' home in Zagreb – a "symbol of dying honour", they said – and dressed a piglet in a Hajduk shirt with Kranjcar's name on it, indicating that he was fat.

Tomislav Dujmovic

The defensive midfielder played only for small yo-yo clubs in Croatia but flourished in Russia in his late 20s. He drives a small KIA car, speaks four languages, prefers going to the theatre than nightclubs and has a penchant for Russian literary classics. Now with Real Zaragoza on loan from Dynamo Moscow.

Luka Modric

The Spurs playmaker spent his early childhood in possibly the most remote place in Croatia – a tiny village called Modrici which is on top of a mountain. When the war broke out his family ended up as refugees in the coastal town of Zadar. They were housed in a hotel just around the corner from NK Zadar's stadium … and the rest is history.

Eduardo

The former Arsenal striker escaped poverty in his native Brazil and came to Dinamo Zagreb at the age of 16 only to find himself completely on his own. At first the club did not even bother to get him a place to live, so he slept in a room with no heating under the south stand of the Maksimir stadium.

Nikica Jelavic

The Everton striker's colourful uncle, also called Nikica Jelavic and nicknamed "The Boxer", is said to be "the uncrowned king of Zagreb". He has been linked to several high-profile incidents, one including a failed assassination attempt using a handheld rocket launcher in the city centre, when a passer-by was blown up in 1999. Each time he was cleared of all charges by the court. "He helped me a lot in my career because he loves me, and our relationship is strictly family," says Jelavic the footballer.

Slaven Bilic

The manager obtained a law degree early in his professional playing career, an extremely rare feat for a footballer – though the cynics would say it was easier for him because his father was the dean of the faculty. He also used to play guitar in the alternative rock band Rawbau and wrote a hit song for Croatia's Euro 2008 campaign, the worryingly named 'Vatreno Ludilo' (Blazing Madness).

Aleksandar Holiga is the editor-in-chief of FourFourTwo Croatia

Click here to read the profile of Darijo Srna

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