This article is part of the Guardian's World Cup 2014 Experts' Network, a co-operation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.
Mario Mandzukic
Mandzukic apparently never wanted to do anything other than play football. When he was choosing which high school to go to, his father Mato later revealed, Mario went for whichever was closest to his home. The idea was not to waste too much precious time on going there and back, instead spending it on the nearby playground where he used to kick the ball for hours every day. The type of education he received in that school was very specific: apart from being a professional footballer, Mandzukic is also a ceramic tiler. It seems that he hasn't changed much. Whenever asked about his hobbies, Mario claims he has none. "My private life would bore you," he once said. "I feel best spending time at home with my family and girlfriend." He's also been very successful at keeping his partner, Ivana, away from the media. They never appear in public together, but hers is one of two names written on the boots he wears on the pitch. Oddly enough, the other is the name of his dog. 'My pug Leni makes me happy' – was his only comment about it.
Robert Kovac – assistant manager
Many footballers date and marry models, but it's usually one of the biggest stars in the team who has the most famous WAG. In Croatia's case – it's the assistant manager. Anica Kovac was the first runner-up in the Miss World 1995 beauty pageant and she married Robert Kovac six years later. They have three children. But Robert – who is not only the assistant, but also the younger brother of the Croatia manager Niko – can also say he married a hometown sweetheart. Both him and his wife Anica were born and raised in a little place called Berlin, Germany.
Stipe Pletikosa
Croatia's No. 1 is a devoted Catholic and has a routine before each game: he leans on the woodwork and says a prayer which he believes protects him from getting injured and helps him focus. He also always wears a T-shirt with a with the Virgin Mary underneath his goalkeeper jersey.
Dejan Lovren
Defender Dejan Lovren runs his own fashion label called 'Russell Brown' and has already attracted some big-name endorsements for his streetwear line. They are not only his fellow countrymen Luka Modric and Mario Mandzukic, but also Karim Benzema and Franck Ribéry – and those Frenchmen are believed to know a thing or two about style. Lovren's Southampton team-mates were puzzled when they found out what he does in his spare time. "They were asking me where I bought it [the clothes] from,'"he said in a recent interview. "When I said I didn't buy it, that it was made by me, they were shocked."
Eduardo da Silva
If Eduardo takes to the pitch for Croatia in the tournament opener, he'll do something unique: get his World Cup debut in the country of his birth, playing against that country's team. The Brazilian-born forward came to Croatia when he was 16 and made his name at Dinamo Zagreb before his move to Arsenal. Although he is the second highest goal-scorer in the national team's history, he is yet to play at a World Cup.
Darijo Srna
When his Shakhtar Donetsk side played the Uefa Cup final in 2009, Srna hired a charter plane to bring 125 of his 'closest' friends and family members from Croatia to the game. In Ukraine, he often buys match tickets for orphaned children and finances their travel to the stadium. On one occasion, he paid for no less than 920 of them. Srna's father was orphaned as a child in the second world war.
Aleksandar Holiga writes for Croatian website T-portal
