It was by some margin the biggest party in Croatian history.
Croatia had just lost the World Cup final to France 4-2.
So, the day after that final in Moscow, half a million people took to the streets of the
capital Zagreb to celebrate the return of the national team.
Eventually, the team's bus pushed through the ecstatic crowds and reached Ban Jelacic
square where the triumphant squad took to the stage and were greeted as heroes.
In the middle stood Luka Modric, the winner of the Golden Ball.
Modric had an exceptional World Cup and was the beating heart of a team that no one, not
least Croatians themselves, believed would reach the final.
Croatia's 2018 World Cup final was a remarkable achievement for a country of just four million
people that had fought a war of independence less than three decades before.
But even more remarkable was the outpouring of love directed towards the players and especially
to Luka Modric.
Just a few weeks before the team was due to leave for Russia the national team was widely
disliked in Croatia, the Croatian federation was despised whilst Modric had been mocked
and had become something of a pantomime villain.
The reason for the public's disdain came down to a huge corruption scandal, a court case
and the name of one infamous figure: Zdravko Mamic.
Zdravko Mamic was the kingmaker of Croatian football.
For years he effectively controlled Croatia's biggest club Dinamo Zagreb and was the club's
executive director 13 years until his resignation in 2016.
He was also deeply influential within the Croatian Football Federation where he also
held a top position.
His influence spread to the Croatia to the judiciary and even politics.
Croatia's president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic – whose presence at Croatia games in Russia
gave her international fame – admitted that Mamic had helped sponsor some of her election
campaign.
During that time Dinamo won the league 11 seasons in a row as the top talent in the
country was hoovered up by the club.
There was even a feeder club, Lokomotiva, who were allowed to compete in Croatia's top
division despite it being against the rules.
It was widely seen that the club could get around the rules because of Mamic.
Players were then sold to some of the biggest teams in the world for huge sums of money.
Two in particular would come back to haunt Mamic.
Luka Modric's move to Tottenham and Dejan Lovern's move to Lyon.
Here's how it would work: Mamic would use his position at Dinamo to sign personal contracts
with up and coming players early on in their careers.
Clauses were inserted in to players’ contracts that had all sorts of strange arrangements,
including cuts of any signing on fee for Mamic and even provisions for a percentage on all
future earnings, until the end of a player's career.
Mamic, with his son working as an agent, managed to keep this system going for years.
But his web of corruption started to unravel in 2009 when the former Croatian international
Eduardo da Silva sued him and exposed his sharp practices, namely signing young players
to unfair and ruinous contracts.
Eduardo had claimed that he was too young to have made that kind of decision and that
Mamic had taken advantage of him.
Despite Mamic's influence in Croatia's judiciary, Eduardo won the case.
Although it wouldn't be until 2015 when he was finally arrested and put on trial for
tax offences connected to this skimming of player's contracts.
The trial was moved from Zagreb, where it was alleged he was connected to several judges,
to the city of Osijek.
At the centre of the trial was Luka Modric who gave evidence last year.
It turned out that, of the roughly £10 million Modric was due from a signing on fee paid
for by Tottenham Hotspur, the player got just £1.7 million.
The other 80 per cent went to Mamic.
But Modric later changed his statement to the police.
When presented with his statement in court he said: “That…
That I’ve never said… that it… that… that it was drawn up afterwards.
I told you then that I couldn’t remember when it had been done.”
The whole thing aired on TV and Modric was widely mocked and disparaged for it with a
thousand internet memes.
In March he was charged with perjury.
He still faces a five year prison sentence.
Lovren is also being investigated but has not been charged.
Mamic was found guilty and sentenced to six and a half years years.
But Mamic is not sitting in a Croatian jail cell at the moment.
He absconded before he could be put into jail.
He is currently on the run in neighbouring Bosnia, where his father was born.
Damir Vrbanovic, the Croatian federation's executive director was also sentenced to three
years in prison for his role, but he didn't go to jail either.
He could be seen during the World Cup sitting next to Croatia's president at Russian stadiums,
in the VIP area.
Modric, who just won his fourth Champions League title with Real Madrid and can lay
claim to being Croatia's greatest ever player, became a public hate figure for appearing
to stick by Mamic.
When the World Cup began, some of Croatia fans even wore shirts with one of Modric's
now much derided answers from that trial printed on the back: “I don't remember.”
But then Croatia started to win.
With Modric playing some of the best football of his career, Croatia got through a tough
group stage and impressed by thrashing Argentina.
With each stage, and with each victory, more and more people returned to support the national
team and especially Modric.
By the time they had beaten Russia on penalties in the quarter finals, tens of thousands of
people were celebrating with flares and smoke bombs in Ban Jelacic square.
By the time the final came around, people were proudly wearing their Modric shirts once
again.
Modric's reputation has no doubt been rehabilitated by the World Cup.
Mamic, however, is still on the run, and unlikely to return.
When he absconded to Bosnia (where he is a dual citizen and therefore can not be extradited)
he held a press conference to explain why he fled.
“I am not a coward – but not a masochist, either,” he said.
He also vowed to fight the conviction, albeit from afar.
But Modric isn't out of the woods yet.
His perjury trial is yet to come and could tale place later this year although no date
has been set.
Many have called for him to be pardoned, although many more want justice to prevail regardless
of who he is.
No one believes he will face any jail time.
But as the glow on the World Cup final fades, it will become more apparent that even with
Zdravko Mamic gone, the system he helped to build will still largely be in place.
, Croatians were on top of the world.
And no one can take that away from them.