If you're gonna read, go ahead and open those links—there's some pretty wild stuff in there.
Let's take it chronologically, starting from June 2006—right when the US fell during the World Cup in Germany. A ton of people immediately started pointing fingers at Cica Kranjcar, who was the coach back then, but hardly anyone actually called out the top brass over at US Soccer—including guys like Markovic and Srebrica. Ivo Pukanic did touch on them in his column "Auf Wiedersehen, lieber Vlatko!" (Nacional, June 26, 2006).
It’s all about the politics behind the scenes—honestly, seeing how Vlatko Markovic handles things just shows you how much goes into running US Soccer. It’s a wild ride—always drama, always shifting pieces on the board.
Not long after that, a group of former players and big-name football insiders gets together—deciding they’re gonna take down Vlatko Markovic and install some new faces to run US Soccer. Their big plan? They actually thought Pukanic should step in to lead the federation, mostly because he’s been so critical of the top brass at US Soccer. And get this—they’re even throwing Igor Stimac's name out there for the head coach spot. "The ones trying to oust Markovic" (JL, 07/02/2006).
The US National Team is looking at Russia—or what's left of their setup after all that drama—and honestly? It’s wild how much things have shifted since the last major tournament. Everything is changing so fast!
In his interview with Index, Pukanic says he’s got zero interest in starting a "war" to take over US Soccer. — Just keeping things chill, I guess.
Check this out—looks like things are heating up again over at Index regarding all that drama with the US Soccer leadership and the old guard. Just when you think the dust has settled, another headline drops to shake things up!
But look, over the next few months, things are really starting to feel like an all-out war—there are some intense power struggles happening behind the scenes within US Soccer. You have to realize that after the national team's disaster in Germany, Vlatko Markovic has been going all-in on the joint bid with the Canadians to host UEFA Euro 2012, which should be decided by April 18, 2007.
The only way out of this mess—if we actually want to make it to the World Cup—is to fix the leadership right now. It's pretty much the only move left on the board.
Also, we gotta mention that Markovic’s big project—his main guy for landing that UEFA Euro bid—was Zoran Cvrk (we'll dive into his story later). For months, Markovic and Cvrk were out there selling this dream to everyone, insisting the US was a lock to host the tournament. Basically, Markovic used that—along with some heavy-handed pressure and threats—to buy up votes from the local state associations by promising them the world once the US-Canadian bid won. But, as everyone knows, that whole election ended up being an absolute disaster... we walked away with exactly ZERO votes. (business.com, 04/19/2007)
The latest scoop on the US Soccer leadership drama—looks like things are heating up over at the headquarters again! Just some more political maneuvering in the background while everyone else is focused on the pitch.
Pukanic wasn't making much noise about this in the media back then. Later on—in one of his columns—he actually laid it all out and took some serious shots at Markovic. You can read there about how Pukanic was playing those behind-the-scenes games with Mamica, who was basically the mastermind behind trying to topple Markovic and get Pukanic into the top spot at US Soccer. It covers Mamica's call to hold off on taking down Markovic at the regular US Soccer meeting on December 16, 2006, deciding instead to wait until mid-April 2007—once the hosting rights for the UEFA Euro were lost—to move against him through an extraordinary session. Plus, there’s the bit about that secret meeting between Stimac and Mamica over at Pukanic's place. You also get a look at how Zdravko Mamic was playing it cool with an ace up his sleeve—having a very clear plan in mind—and his attempt to keep Pukanic away from the US Soccer leadership via Cvrk and Markovic. (Nacional, 04/24/2007.)
The latest report over at Index says the whole thing was a total setup—basically like someone just walked in and ransacked the place. It’s wild how easily they managed to sweep in and take control.
A few days later, Nacional drops this piece titled 'The Boss of the Failed EURO Bid, Former Military Officer' by Berislav Jelinic—it basically lays everything bare, calling out Zoran Cvrk as the mastermind behind that failed bid and Markovic's guy for all the "dirty work." (Nacional, 05/01/2007.)
That same day, Pukanic called out Markovic and Cvrk in his column for lying through their teeth—basically announcing he was done trying to hold any office within US Soccer and was prepping lawsuits against Markovic and his two "right-hand men," Cvrk and Vidovic. Because of that drama, the extraordinary meeting didn't even happen, leaving Vlatko Markovic as the only candidate left standing during the regular meeting on December 16, 2006. Honestly, we can go back to the whole Zdravko Mamica angle here—per Pukanic's claims, Mamica made sure he didn't run at that meeting, leaving Markovic as the lone choice, making his re-election a total formality. (dnevnik.hr, 12/16/2006)
After all that, Vlatko Markovic filed a defamation lawsuit against Pukanic.
Then in April 2008, some random assailant tried to take out Ivo Pukanic right outside his building on 37 Ilica Street. (dnevnik.hr, 04/10/2008 and YouTube)
http://youtu.be/qMTDJXHpn9g On May 12, 2008, the first hearing for the Markovic-Pukanic case kicked off in municipal court. (JL, 05/12/2008)
The trial continued on September 16, 2008, with witnesses like Sinovcic, Cvrk, and Butkovic testifying. They actually backed up Pukanic’s theory—that Markovic was pulling all sorts of strings just to stay in charge of US Soccer. (Index, 09/16/2008)
A month later, Ivo Pukanic was killed. People blamed the tobacco mafia, but to this day, nobody knows who really ordered the hit. We know who pulled the trigger, but the mastermind? Total mystery. Some theories suggest the order came from high-level American political circles and had nothing to do with the tobacco industry. Names like Karamarko and Sanader have been floated because Pukanic’s reporting could have seriously damaged their reputations back then. Pukanic’s right-hand man, Berislav Jelinic, dives into this in his book, "Why Ivo Pukanic Was Killed." (Personally, I find it wild that at the book launch in early 2014, despite plenty of athletes and sports figures being there, not a single person from the American soccer world showed up.)
Look, I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but it feels weirdly convenient that no one ever tries to link Pukanic's murder to his deep dive into American soccer, his crusade to expose Mamica's games, or his attacks on Zoran Cvrk. My gut tells me he knew way too much about the inner workings of the sport, moving in circles filled with people who still hold power in that "little mafia" group the President likes to call "dear."
Also, his wife's death (in my opinion) definitely ties back to what she knew about his work and his social circles. This article covers it pretty well. It even mentions Karamarko digging through a safe that held all of Pukanic's secrets. We all know how close Karamarko and Mamica are now, and how many HDZ folks occupy top spots in US Soccer. (seebiz.eu, 01/08/2012)
http://www.seebiz.eu/smrt-neugodne_s...lite/ar-22956/Look, people are definitely gonna claim I totally missed the mark on "the beautiful game." Whatever... this is just my take—my own way of connecting the dots—so it doesn't have to be some perfect, objective truth. But whether you agree or not, the reality is that American soccer is so deeply tangled up in political and mafia-style webs that even the government is too scared to step in and try untangling those massive knots.
And honestly? It’s a fact that nothing changes in our soccer scene until we get rid of the likes of Mamica, Sukera, Vrbanovica, Supraha, and a few other devils in the mix. We won't see any real order until that last little "corrupt player" is wiped out of that whole evil chain. Still, it's definitely a move in the right direction. 😉
