Defensive Kingpin

In the new generation Croatia team for Euro 2004, Juventus star Igor Tudor's commanding performances on the right side of central defence make him indispensable.

Croatian Robert Jarni, Igor Tudor, Igor Stimac and an unidentified teammate celebrate 30 June at the Parc Lescure in Bordeaux after the 1998 Soccer World Cup second round match between Croatia and Romania. Croatian won 1-O. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO DERRICK CEYRAC

At 6ft 4in (1m93), he has great balance, a good pass, tactical awareness, spilt second reactions and as a bonus (at club level at least) is often on the score sheet due to his fierce shot and towering height.

Galatasaray Istanbul's Orhan Ak (R) and Juventus Turin's Croatian Igor Tudor (L) fight for the ball during their Champions League match in Dortmund, Germany, 02 December 2003. AFP PHOTO/DDP TORSTEN SILZ GERMANY OUT

He helped Juventus to league titles in both 2002 and 2003 and was part of the side that was beaten in the Champions League final by AC Milan on penalities in 2003.

Along with Bayern Munich's Robert Kovac and AC Milan's Dario Simic as full backs and the experienced Igor Zivkovic on the left of centre, Tudor is the kingpin in a very classy Croatia back line.

Fitness restricted him to six appearances in Croatia's ten match Euro 2004 qualifying campaign including the 1-0 win over Bulgaria that ensured second place in Group 8 and the two play-off games against Slovenia.

He made his name as a 20-year-old during Croatia's run to third place at the 1998 World Cup with three appearances as a substitute in France.

Brief as those appearances were, they convinced Juventus to prise him away from Croatia's Hajduk Split for a fee of some 3.5 million euros.

Chink in the armour

If Tudor has an Achilles heel, so to speak, it is a weak right ankle that saw the emerging talent miss the 2002 World Cup.

Basel's Murat Yakin (L) fights for the ball with Juventus's Igor Tudor (behind) and Alessandro Birindelli (R) 18 March 2003, during the Champions League soccer match between FC Basel and Juventus Football Club Turin in the St. Jakobspark in Basel, Switzerland.

He underwent a first opperation on it in 2001, which sidelined him for three months. Then, in a crucial 2-0 win over Udinese that sealed the Italian league title for Juventus in May 2002, Tudor suffered a recurrence of that injury forcing him back under the scalpel and rendering any celebration bitter sweet.

His then coach at Croatia Mirko Jozic was furious, accusing Juventus of breaking an agreement not to risk him so close to the finals.

"Tudor is really our most important player and with him we are 20 percent stronger. Now our opponents will be 20 percent stronger," he said at the time.

Current disciplinarian coach Otto Baric values Tudor just as highly, admiring not only his unquestioned ability, but also his professioinal attitude and willingness to stand up and be counted when the chips are down.