IT DIDN’T GO OLIĆ’S WAY
As expected, Inter Milan manager José Mourinho bunkered down and ‘parked the bus in front of the net’ after Diego Milto opened up the scoring in the 34′. Even though Bayern Munich controlled possession for 70% of the match, Ivica Olić and the rest of his offense couldn’t break the Inter defense. Olić had one good look at goal early in the first half but botched the opportunity as he hit wide. Referee Howard Webb missed an obvious handball in the box when Maicon handled the ball, not once but twice, on the same play in the first 15 minutes of the match. Danijel Pranjić remained on the bench as an unused sub but he surely would have done better than Altintop.
Olić was shut down, Robben was shut down and the presence of Franck Ribery was deeply missed. But in the end, the best team won. Inter Milan arguably defeated the best two clubs in the world: Barcelona and Chelsea and deserve the Champions League title. What Olić and Arjen Robben did for Bayern Munich on their way to the Champions League Final was magical and will not be forgotten.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM CSR caught the game at Alpine Village amongst Germans, Italians and dozens of pitchers of Hefeweizen. It was a great place to watch the game as the atmosphere was festive and energetic. Feel free to join us at Alpine Village next month for World Cup games.
CSR’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL ADVENTURE
On a side note:
How on the level do you think soccer is? Do any of you think that the Vatreni have ever taken a dive and lost to fix a game? Do you think the Hrvatska Prva Liga is rigged? What about the Champions League and the Up coming World Cup?
Check out these two books:
The Fix: Soccer and Organized Crime by Declan Hill
The Fix Is In: The Showbiz Manipulations of the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and NASCAR
By Brian Tuohy
These books are mind blowing!
What do you guys think?
Big news for Modric!
http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ap-tottenham-modric
i feel the same – there is no guarentee on a foriegn coach. Everyone mentioned Guus Hiddink but the guy missed this tournament with a strong side. Last campaign they could barely score against Andorra and we saved them.
Vogts is a joke in Scotland. He was hated and mocked on TV. He is a poor example to use. Scolari was also an embarrassment at Chelsea. At Portugal and Brazil he had very good players and so has Capello at England.
For Bilic things are a little harder. I don't believe he is great at all. I said same things as you back when we didn't qualify. BUT for now i know he's the coach and am buying into his current system and plan.
Trust me, the Estonia match won't happen in future. its a one off. If Bilic didn't work out there is something more honest about this then appointing a coach for stupid money that doesn't work out. Especially for a country like Croatia that has national pride to get shafted by a money motivated coach would not be a good thing at all.
Who knows the mindset of a foriegn coach who would take the job and if they only come for the wage that is never a good thing. We debate things like Dario Cvitanich and Gregory Sertic on here, but is it not the same thing if a coach comes just to pick up cash or for a career move. If you can do it with a Croat, that's best.
I mean Scolari has no affiliation with Croatia at all. He would not be able to talk to the players as would not know the language so how will this instill discipline. Also he'd prob not base himself in Croatia.
My man was Ottmar Hitzfeld or Co Adrianse. Real coaches. Not jokers like Scolari or Vogts that are money motivated. Time has gone now and Bilic is starting to find answers to our problems so lets just see how it goes. That possible role he's given Modric in the side now could allow him to govern the whole midfield. I was waiting for Modric to become a Nedved all action midfielder and this role may just be what he needs to get the very best out of him as a box to box player.
Ivan Strinic, Tomislav Dujmovic, Pletikosa return are all good things for Croatia's future. I am just seeing where this develops. I still feel Bilic needs to improve the squad as i'm not sure how much Eduardo can be counted on. And we're bound to have one or two bad injuries like we currently have to a very key man in Niko Kranjcar so we do need to try and improve the general squad so we don't feel so harmed by losing such guys.
Scotland's soccer federation has 10 times the amount of money we have. so they can pay whatever they want. Their corporate sponors are huge compared to what we have.
The Uzbekis had one person funding everything….
So, until a croatian tycoon wants pay money for a coach, we will be stuck paying a minimum salary for national team coaches.
again, there is no guarentee a foreign coach would be the answer. The players might embrace him or they might tune him out. there is no certainty.
I agree, Bilic has faults, but guess what, he aint going anywhere.
Euro 08 was out once-in-a-decade chance and we did not get it done. From Bilic to the players not getting it done on the field against Turkey.
We have a good team now, but not a team that can win a euro or a world cup. We will make it into euro 2012 and that will be an accomplishment. We still have questions who will score goals and who can defend, hardly the mark of a championship team.
The Uzbeks and Azerbijan can find money to pay a decent coach but we can't. Please who are you kidding here. Dinamo you just made my case why we need a strong coach and you made my case why there is a lack of discipline on our squad. The inmates run the asylum. Will a foreign coach change this; absolutely, because this coach would already have past success under his belt and it would be understood that he was there to clean things up.
You are correct that we have a strong young team, with the right guidance, we can accomplish great things. Winning a Euro, why not? Why set the bar so low? Time to push these guys, and think like champions. We are ranked 10th in the world, we have a lot of young good talent coming up through the ranks, and we would have made it to the semis, if Bilic didn't mess things up in the last Euro. Why not set the goal high, and think like champions not losers. Time to stop settling for mediocrity, and push for excellence while we have this talented generation.
The fact is Bilic will lead the team into the qualifying campaign for Euro 2012. He will ultimately be judged based on his success or failure in the qualifying campaign. So, having said that, why don't we all re-visit this discussion after the qualifiers are finished?
Vogts and Scolari will take any national team job that pays them more than 1 million. The HNS does not have that much money to pay a foreign coach.
i think these are very general comments. A foriegn coach will impose discipline and won't be involved in politics of HNS. So what you're saying is the coach will go against his employers. I think you'll find he'll resign if he doesn't like or can't fit in with the Savez. What do you think would have happened Reja or Poklepovic if they fought Svasgusa and Kerum over the decision to remove Buljat, Vejic, Seric from the squad. Also Kruno Jurcic and Mamic also have had disagreements when Mamic comes in the changing rooms and takes over. This is partly why Jurcic is gone and no longer being described by Mamic as a pocket version of himself. If you kick back against the environment which your in you're heading out the door. The system has the change before you get the coach who won't experience these political problems.
Also Scolari, Vogts are examples of same old faces who always get jobs and are purely in it for the money. Plus that is no ordinary Uzbek team. Buduyunkor or whatever there name is are extremely rich. Wheres the fun in winning with a foriegn coach anyway. I think really foriegn coaches should be banned as its not a representation of your country and it means a team can BUY success. That is basically what England have done, Portugal done and Russia. Its really embarrassing that a country of the wealth of England needs a foriegn coach to sort out its problems. I wouldn't be surprised if having a foriegn coach is thrown out eventually.
Also there is examples of so called authoritarian coaches getting it wrong. Take Hiddink, what sort of discipline did he instill in the Russian side when they allow themselves to be beaten by Slovenian despite all their star names. Also Javier Clemente a so called disciplinarian had a very bad stint as coach of Serbia and they go back to a Serb and they qualify. Scotland did the same. They go back to Scotish coach and then beat France TWICE. A home coach can pull things out of team that a foriegn coach can't.
I also think there is no magic formula with this Croatian team. This Croatian team needs to grow up together. Its not going to have a short term answer. The defence is extremely inexperienced and fresh out of HNL1. I mean your not seriously expected us to win a Euro are you. I'm satisfied if they qualify and keep rejuvenating the team for the future at the moment.
I do think considering Olic, Petric, Klasnic, Simunic are on their last tournament though that this needs to be a good campaign as you have to take full advantage of good players when you have them.
A foreign coach will impose discipline! He will not tolerate the partying and will make rational decisions not based on the politics of the savez. Tactics will be right on, not some crazy unorthodox move. Would a foreign coach know about the players you mentioned in your post? Of course he would it's called scouting. Vogts proved when you give him talent he can get results. The problem with Scotland is they have no talent. Vogts isn't the joke it's the soccer talent in Scotland.
As for acclimatizing Capello had no trouble in England, I doubt any other coach would either. Finally, qualifications have not even started so any new coach would have plenty of time to do that. On a side note Bilic is a BIG DISTRACTION. Qualifying hasn't even started and already I'm reading about him wanting to walk to Glasgow to take over Celtic or Ranger. My opinion keep walking and never come back. Scolari is unemployed right now; if the Uzbeks can afford him I think we can too! Either way Bilic must go and like I said before take Markovic too!
Man I'm clearly up against the Bilic Booster club. Specifics, there is no discipline on the team for one. Look at how those WC qualifies ended with those guys partying before the final game. It was all over the Croatian press. Him jumping into a pile of players during the Turkey game is another example as well as his players not listening to him to lay back or him not instructing it on the field. Either way lack of discipline and tactical blunders. His tactics against England were totally incompetent in the 5-1 loss. Three strikers with a depleted line up at Wembley. What was he thinking? Third, he didn't manage to beat Ukraine once. Tactics were wrong and he didn't get the results despite having a superior team. Finally, he has tendencies of being disorganized and making totally unorthodox tactical decisions which prevents the team from obtaining results. A recent example, he brings no strikers to Estonia, he plays Rakitic as a striker, schedules three friendlies so close together and calls up players who have had long seasons, which he had no intention of playing, leaving himself shorthanded. Why call up players if you just want to rest them. Take a look at some other players if you have the chance. This Estonia fiasco is just the latest example of this guy being in over his head. It's obvious that he can't do the job competently. The reason his record is decent is that he has a very talented team. So the talent of the team hides his incompetence when he plays weaker opposition. However, when we are facing and equally or superior team in terms of talent, Bilic totally gets exposed as a poor manager. Capello was the first manager to expose Bilic's lack of managerial talent, and the Ukrainian manager did the same. I keep reading that decent club teams are offering him jobs. Bilic do us all a favour and take the job and leave so we can get someone in there who can do the job correctly. This game of is he staying, or is he going is getting old and becoming a distraction. Trust me, he takes a club position and he keeps making odd managerial moves like he does with us, he will be out of coaching faster than he started. Fans from club teams will not have the patience to deal with his incompetence like the Croatian fans do. That's probably why he won't leave. As for the topic of getting a decent coach and this idea that we can't afford one is nonsense. Let me put it to you like this, if Azerbaijan can afford a coach like Berti Vogts and Uzbekistan can afford Scolari both guys are very capable managers then I think we can figure out something too. It's time to stop making excuses and hire someone who can do the job and that's the real Ziva Istina!
Vogts is a subject of comedy on our isle for the work he did with Scotland. That's why he's with Azerbaijan.
We don't need a foriegn coach at moment. I think its a benefit to have a coach who understands the problems in the squad and knows what Croatian players are out there.
Would a foriegn coach been able to turn to Strinic and Vida as the answers. A foriegn coach may need time to aclimitize and they would only come for monetary reasons which is never good when you need loyalty.
I was against Bilic, but i just want to see how this current idea of his done. Forget Estonia. Do you really think he'll call no strikers when its a real match. Cmon man wake up… He in fact called SIX strikers for this squad, but as i say 2 pulled out. another who should have come from under 21 – kalinic was injured. What can you do?
He could have called Jelavic, Petric, Mandzo or Bilic to play but the clubs would have been upset.
Even despite whatever partying there was – they won that match as i remember. That was a Modricless side and was a bit of a mess.
The only thing that interests me is the players. If Bilic calls the right players which he has done then we're okay.
Pletikosa
Srna, Corluka, Simunic, Strinic
Dujmovic, Rakitic
Modric
Kranjcar, Eduardo
Olic
Subs
Klasnic, M Bilic, Petric
Pranjic, Vukojevic, Gabric
Vida, Lovren, Knezevic
Subasic, Runje
This could work very well and forget foriegn coach as i want to see this team together. Could be very exciting. I'd rather we go with this plan rather than start again at the moment
Jerseys hardly the most pressing issue in the world.
I'll tell you what the players think. They think i wanna go on holiday having not had a break in a year.. Do you think they care or should care about Estonia match, they played 2 other friendlies in which strikers were on pitch so why is Estonia significant and they aren't.
You can't ask clubs to let players play 3 times in 8 days for meaningless friendlies. No country in the world will do that. Nobody played games in a short space of time like Croatia did just now. Its understandable that Jelavic, Mate and Mandzo were told to rest up. Mandzo is also playing on a injury. how is it a party.
Its all about players and selections that are made. It sounds like your up for appointing foriegn for the sake of it. Any names in mind. How about Javier Clemente lol..
I was all for change end of WC qualifiers, but not now. No need for it. I can see Bilic making positive alterations..
Less general talking and lets have more specifics. If all we're going on is the Turkey match then lets forget that rubbish. it was ages ago. Bilic was slow in the World Cup qualifiers in his decision. Now lets see if he improves. How does he go from bad coach to good coach in short space of time as most the good changes in national team is his doing as well. From Eduardo, bringing Klasnic back, switch to 4-4-2.
If Bilic did nothing i'd have wanted him out, but he has done things. i can see what he's doing and it is the best thing he can do. The defence is not secure for example in a 4-4-2 system so he has invented a system to protect them which might just help them without taking away the sides attacking style. If it works then he's done well.
your entitled to your opinion though so i get what your saying too.
Man are you guys all on the Bilic booster club or what. He had no strikers for the match. It's called poor planning and terrible management. He can't field a proper team against Estonia. What on earth do you think is going to happen in the future. I wonder what his players must be thinking after seeing that line up with not one striker. Man our coach is an idiot. There is no discipline on the squad. The players think it's a party. We all know this to be a fact. This wait and see stuff is nonsense. It's time to stop burying our collective heads in the sand. I've seen enough from this guy. It's time for a change!
By the way, Markovic can go too and he can take his ugly Nike jerseys with him. The guy is so old he still has his boarding pass from Noah's Ark. How that jersey ever got approved is incredible. Those jerseys are a national embarrassment.
re Klasnic
Bilic and Klasnic already agreed he would not be called. Firstly he's trying to sort out his future plus he was tied to a match with St Pauli and also we already know what Klasnic can do. Klasnic should be back for qualifiers. Bilic should really have made the same agreement with Petric and Olic.
Bilic needed to call a completely new striker if we was going to have any for the Estonia game i.e Gavranovic, Cesarec, Lakic etc. But even with those guys we need the paperwork for Gavranovic still. Cesarec is sorting out his future as well. So i can understand Bilic's difficulties.
rE: Slaven
what i'm saying is Bilic already named his squad and then cos 3 of them dropped out i.e Olic, Kalinic and Eduardo and he already agreed not to use the M Bilic, Jelavic, Petric and Mandzo for the third game that's why he had no strikers. He also prob couldn't call someone last minute as players have already gone on holidays at this time of year, so he prob could get in a last minute call up. That's why he had no strikers. It was not his intention to play Rakitic up front alone. it just happened that way due to Olic, Kalinic droppin out and Dudu being injured. If they hadn't have dropped out he could have used the strikers over the 3 games more sparingly.
Pardon me, I guess Kalinic got injured in the U-21 game a few days before.
That's a stretch about the strikers and how it just happened by chance. Dudu, Kalinic and Klasnic are just a few strikers who are sitting on their clubs bench chomping at the bit to play a match. Bilic is investing in the future by giving the younger players some exposure and testing them.
Also hands up anyone who thought Bilic would adapt to this new formation which seems to have helped the defence and hands up who thought Strinic should be new left back before Bilic actually chose it. I certainly didn't and anyone else who said they'd had that idea i imagine must be lieing.
Sorry – brain meltdown – had to rewrite it
Bilic did have strikers but he obviously made an agreement with the clubs that he would not make Jelavic, M Bilic, Mandzo or Petric play the third match. Mandzo was playing on a injury anyway. He didn't intend this to happen, it just sort of happened… Also Olic and Eduardo were supposed to be play but they both pulled out.. So clearly it was his intention to use strikers in the Estonia game but his plan went a bit wrong.
Why the Estonia game was positive was firstly ball retention even for defensive players was reasonable as that is basically Croatia's game and its important everyone learns how to play it. Secondly we got to see Vida – looks sound enough. Lovren looks sound enough. But we also saw that Badelj and Pokrivac struggled. They struggled with simple things. So it means that you prob can't turn to those guys when qualifiers start unless they improve. That's a lesson learnt.
I would criticise Bilic in these friendlies for selecting Pranjic, Olic, Petric and Eduardo for games where they either weren't fit enough to attend or were not motivated to play. But i must be some kind of moron to get over excited about the Estonia match. It was a meaningless game where we gave a few guys a run out. Some did well others did not so well and we know from it who to count on and who drop down the pecking order. Its all good. You got to learn to move on from Turkey and England matches. If it was the same line up fair enough, but its not. He's changed things so lets see how it does.
Also hands up anyway who though Bilic who adapt to this new formation which seems to have helped the defence and hands up who thought Strinic should be new left back before Bilic actually chose it. I certainly didn't and anyway else who said they'd had that idea i imagine must be lieing.
Turkey was lucky and that was their last flash in the pan. The NT left their balls in their purses by the bench when it came time for the PKs. I could have scored for fuck sakes. How do you miss a fucking PK when you play soccer professionally? But I do agree that the team lacked discipline for the last 2 tournaments. They didn't play like the golden generation vatreni-who seemed to have more pride, skill and hustle. If only the stupid ref allowed the sub to be changed, we may have beat Germany and Spain. For such a simple sport it's amazing how many games were thrown from bad officiating.
Bilic sent his "C" side against Estonia. So what? Let the young guys get some experience. Maybe there's a reason he didn't send any strikers. Maybe he wants to get the new defenders and midfielders to be more agressive? Who knows?
Just compare the last 2 Austria games and you'll see Bilic has made some changes for the better. The only way to truly compare performance is to compare the NT to different games with the same opponent. I'm sure most of the Austrian team for both games were the same players.
As for Modric's replacement, if you have any ideas go for it. I've seen Kalinic play and he can thread passes and score.
As for Mourinho, big deal. He plays zone defence and he doesn't play the midfield. Bring everyone back to defend and cherry pick the strikers. I dreaded watching that final game. Boring modern Italian style soccer. Watching the Italians in the last WC was dreadful too. He better be careful at Real Madrid. Those fans demand more finesse style of play. With Van Gaal's random tactics, he didn't deserve it anyways. No Pranjic and subbing out Olic..does he have a memory problem?
Seriously, the only thing we learned from the Estonia game is Bilic has no clue how to run a team. How he gets offers for jobs around Europe is shocking. He has no discipline over his squad and has no clue how to employ proper tactics. He is so incompetant that he doesn't even know how to select a proper team. How do you go to a game and not bring any strikers? A minor league coach knows not to do that and this guy coaches our national team. Wow! Is my only comment. It's not like we don't have young guys who he could experiment with. What does he do? He starts Rakitic a midfielder, at lone striker. Incredible. With Bilic anything is possible. I read in one of the posts that someone was thinking of putting Kalanic as an attacking midfielder. I wouldn't be surprised that it was Bilic testing the waters for one of his new insane moves on this forum under a pseudonym.
To be honest that celebration was a combination of things. Klasnic coming back for Kidney illness to score such a important goal was naturally over jubilant.
Rakitic made an honest and naive error, but Petric and Klasnic also should not have gone sprinting through like they were on for a second as that encourage him to play the pass. As Niko Kovac said end of game you simply do not do those type of things. I think Bilic was trying to get Jerko Leko on most likely for Rakitic to kill time but the ref didn't let him. I think Bilic had a plan but the ref worked against him.
I think the one mistake Bilic made against Turkey was not starting Klasnic alongside Olic. Kranjcar looked tired throughout that tournament.
Estonia match is irrelevant. When you see the negative its not such a bad thing either. We learned from that game too.
As for the WC qualifiers what Bilic tried back then failed. Now he's trying something new which looks better, so lets just see where this goes. At least there is no golden oldies in this team like last campaign such as Kovac's and Juric. This team should be quicker, mobile and have more penetration.
Yes, the jerseys are bad….
The Estonia game….i dont care, the game meant nothing. We are not going to the WC and half the team did not want to play that game.
How do you know he was not telling them to kill the game against Turkey. My point is that these guys are professional and should have already known that. But, in fact, he did tell them to kill the game, but the players choked on the field. I asked one of the players on the field what happend and he rolled his eyes at me in disbelief.
Does Bilic get the praise for beating Germany earlier in that tounrey…no the players were the ones who did the job on the pitch.
I am not here to say Bilic is a great coach…he is not, but I totally disagree with the opinion he was to blame for the meltdown against Turkey. I was at the game, as soon as the goal was scored, the croatian bench handed in the paperwork to the UEFA delagte to make the sub. The delagte was slow informing the 4th official. The 4th official tried to contact the ref, but the ref could not hear anything in his fricken headset and the rest is history. For Turkey, it was the perfect storm and they got lucky…Even if we did make that subs, anything could have happend. Once the turks had the free kick our guys had time to get back, but they loafed…again, I just dont see how that is Bilic's fault. He is to blame for the line up against England, that is a fair criticism, but the turkey loss is not, in my opinion.
Dude he ran onto the field and jumped into the pile of players. You don't think he could have said something to the team at that time like, calm down, stay focused, no free kicks, kill the game, everyone back the game is not over. Believe me he had the chance, but he didn't do it. He also didn't get his substitution in because of his childish antics which would have calmed things down , killed the clock, and gave them a chance to reorganize because he was jumping around like an idiot before the game was over. Let's face it that game was a major coaching meltdown.
I totally disagree with you that a coach has no impact once the game starts. If that were the case why doesn't the coach just sit in the bleachers then instead of being on the touchlines. He obviously can make an impact and direct his players and defence.
Finally your comment Croatia can't play defence they don't know how. My question is why can't they play defence? Why is that so hard for a Croatian team to do? Defence is coachable. Why is that aspect of the game always neglected? The answer to this question is obvious; poor coaching and lack of discipline. Which always holds Croatian teams back and that's the sad truth.
Finally, back to Bilic just to once again show this guys incompetence, he takes the team to play Estonia and doesn't bring any strikers, not one. Who does that besides this guy? Rakitic a midfielder was playing up as the lone striker. Its hilarious if it wasn't so sad. Get a coach with some brains who can impose some discipline and watch Croatia take off. I think we need to hire a foreign coach to be honest. One who isn't involved with all this political nonsense that goes on with our Savez. I think they can scrape together some Kunas that they got from Nike to wear those hideous jerseys (That's another story in itself) and hire a good coach. Bilic in my opinion has to go!
Last point about the Jerseys, is how on earth do we keep getting stuck with such hideous kits just blows my mind. Those jerseys are an embarrassment. The person who designed that shirt and the person who approved it should both be fired.
I never said Cro could win playing defense; they dont know how.
You cant compare Mourinho and Bilic. Different class in coaches.
I have seen Mourinho celebrate many times after a late goal, you are wong on that.
I totally disagree with your opening statement…..In those critical moments of a game the players look to the coach for leadership……..No they don't. You honestly think these players are paying attention to their coaches at that time. You cant coach during a game, pre-geame, practice, halftime, but not during the game.
You sound like someone who never played the game….
The beauty of big time soccer (professional, WC, etc..); you send them on and for 45 minutes and there is not much you can do (sans substitute) except yell from the side lines (which is hard to hear in a 50,000 seat stadium). No time outs, no huddles, no guys reviewing video feeds from the sky boxes and faxing down pictures of formations (american football), no plays on your wrist band. You put 11 guys out there, more or less tell them to play a 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 or whatever and let them work their magic. It’s a simple game in the end. Once the game starts, there is not much a coach is able to do until he makes a substitution. EVEN if the coach is phenomenal…..his players are oftentimes operating on autopilot (hence the importance of training). Best athletes perform on a subconscious level. The zone, right?
Your comments on Capello are accurate, but lets remember he had the benefit of almost a fit team compared to Steve McClaren. If England had their full team, I doubt we would have beat them in 07 in Wembley. But, Capello is head and shoulders above Bilic. I am not questioning that. You get what you pay for and the savez cant afford to pay anyone above what Bilic is making now. So, you wont get any coach with Capello or Mourinho stature coaching Croatia.
I completely disagree with you. That loss was completely Bilic's fault! In those critical moments of a game the players look to the coach for leadership and in that moment they found none. Look at how Mourinho reacted when Barca in the second leg scored to bring them within one goal with a few minutes left. He wasn't screaming at the missed offside call but trying to calm his players down to urge them to maintain focus and hold on. You can clearly see it on TV. had he argued the call his team would have lost focus and maybe conceded another. That's the difference between a good coach and a bad one. Mourinho celebrates when the game is over, not when the game is still going on, no matter how much time is left. According to you, the players all know what to do, they all play on Big Clubs so they don't even need a coach. One wonder why those players did the wrong thing then? That assertion of yours is ridicules. Good coaching can overcome more talented teams. Do you think Inter was the most talented team in the Champions League? Absolutely not! However, their great coaching enabled them to beat other teams like Barca that were more talented. What makes a good coach? Tactics, Motivation and Discipline. According to you, England was going to beat us in our last match up with them, so why bother even trying to play. Wow, I would love to hear that speech in the locker room as I'm heading out to play an important match. Maybe you should apply for the Croatian coaching job. If you are a coach at least give your team a chance to get a result by using the right tactics; bunker it down if you have too. Discipline wins games and that is the coaches job. As we can all see there is no discipline on the Croatian squad which is why we always tend to self destruct. To Baric's defence he made it to the WC with half the talent that Bilic's team has right now and had at that Euro and we all know this to be a fact. I never once saw Baric try something insane like attack France or England with three strikers with a depleted squad. In all his games that he coached the tactics were right on for the personnel he had. His tactics always gave our team a chance to get a result. But back to my previous point, Croatian teams lack DISCIPLINE which is why they can't defend when it matters, which is also why they implode when it counts. This is why it's so unfathomable for you to contemplate that a Croatian team could win a game by playing defence, because you know like I do, they don't have the coach to impose the discipline necessary to do it. Look what happened to England when they were managed by a more incompetent coach, than Bilic and tried experimenting with 3 backs in the biggest game of the qualifying campaign; they fell apart and didn't qualify when we beat them 3-2. Capello steps in bring some discipline to the team all of a sudden they are a power house. Same players different coach and look at the difference. The coach matters and that as they say that is the Ziva Istina!
Capello absolutely exposed Bilic and the entire team. I don't think Bilic or any other coach would have ahad a better result. You play with the players you have. Go back and look at our team for that game. No way were we going to win.
As for bunkering down….this team can not play that way and they are not built to play that way. Should have Bilic used that approach in that game, yes…But, he did not. He got schooled and the whole team got schooled. But, look at who we lined up against that day. We had no chance.
As for Otto Baric and his comments….Well, Bilic did a lot more with the cro national team than Baric ever did. Do you remember how we played with baric as coach. We were not attractive at all. He did what every other coach has done, he got us into the main tounrey and then did nothing. Bilic at least got us into a 2nd round of a tourney, something Baric never did. Baric is a washed up coach looking to stay relevant with his comments. Everyone is an expert after the game.
Bilic celebrating and the entire team celebrating Klasnic's goal did not cost us that match.
Are you really telling that a professional player needs to be told to stay back with 90 seconds left in the game in the knockout stage of the Euros. These guys play at some of the biggest clubs in the world and have played since they could walk. You don't need coaching for that.
You just said it yourself…his players were not disciplined enough to follow his instructions if he instructed them to do that at all. He was too busy celebrating and didnt get the substitution in on time. Bottom line your players don't listen to you and don't follow the game plan then something is wrong with the coach not the players because its his job to maintain discipline. Total lack of discipline on the Croatian team. The truth hurts. Otto Baric is right Bilic is over rated. How he kept his job after that dreadful qualifying campaign ill never know. He tried to attack england with 3 strikers at wembley with a depleted squad and lost 5-1…incredible. A child could see that that was not going to work. We went through a war you would think he would know something about bunkering down. Capello totally exposed Bilic. Everyone knows this and thats the Ziva Istina!
Again…how is that Bilic's fault. These guys have played the game, it was on them for all those mistakes. They were not pushing forward, it was two guys. You could see that by the huge gap in the midfield. Everyone else was playing back, while a few were up top.
What would have Mourinho done???? He would have been celebrating even more. Mourinho is one of the best coaches in the world; you can compare him to Bilic. The savez pays next to nothing for a coach and Bilic is the best we have. Don't think for a second we would be able to land a high profile coach with past accomplishments. You pay for what you get.
The paperwork for the substitution was with the UEFA delegate, but he was slow to have the 4th official signal the change. Could have, would have, should have….
at the end of the day we did not deserve to advance. took us 119 minutes to score a goal against a Turksih team playing 4 or 5 subs.
Bilic should have made his substitution and told his players to sit on the ball. The problem was they tried to attack instead of defending in the final seconds, which caused the offside, which led to the free kick, which led to the goal. Bilic lost control of the game in the final seconds and was punished. Do you honestly believe that would ever have happened with a jose mourinho coached team? The answer and we all know it is never!
One wonders if parking the bus was such a sure bet why he didnt do it then. I guess he wanted to play attractive soccer and lost the game he should have won.
It had nothing to do with the celebration….They could have celebrated for 10 minutes, the stoppage time would have been the same. Who in the right mind would not celebrate something like that, these guys are not robots.
Once the play resumed, there is nothing Bilic could have done. Any instructions he shouted were not heard. I don't even blame the players for it. This is sport and things like that happen. You could replay that scenerio 100 times and all 100 times we would have won. The Turks got lucky and the rest is history.
@ ziva
yes, the blame for the turkey loss lies with the players. but both the players and bilic should've spent less time celebrating klasnic's goal, and more time organizing their defense of the last 30 seconds of the game. it's not like it was a mystery how much time was left.
it was a disgraceful way to blow a sure win, and it was made worse by our guys crapping their pants in the PKs (also not bilic's fault).
Blaming Bilic for the Turkey loss is insane….We scored in the last minute….you dont think Bilic was telling his guys to play D. It was a fluke on the Turkish goal, a fricken fluke. If you want to blame anyone, blame Rakitic for losing the ball seconds earlier when all he had to do was keep it. These guys are professional players and dont need to be told every minute detail. The Turkey loss was not on Bilic and anyone who thinks so must have never played soccer.
As for Inter….I agree, they did not play classic bunker. They started the game with 3 forwards and kept the third forward on the field after the first half. Most coaches would have made the sub at halftime and replaced Pandev with a midfielder, but Mourinho kept him on and subbed him later.
If all Mourinho does is defend then why was the score 2-0 for Inter at the end of the game? Clearly his team must have attacked to score two goals. If you look at the game against Barca; Inter beat them 3-1 at the San Siro. He defended in the second leg because the spanish are good actors and got one of his players sent off. Real sportsman there. I guess this is the attractive soccer that you guys rave about. You look at the finals Inter had way more of the chances than Bayern if your going to be honest about it. All of this parking the bus stuff is just sour grapes and it quite frankly makes no sense. You can't park a bus without a lead and you can't have a lead if you don't attack. Inter did both extremely well. If you look at the stats Inter was the most offensive team in serie A. So it obvious that the team doesn't just sit back but attacks. As a result, this bunker mythology that you guys are trying to establish here by saying his team doesn't attack is just plain false. The fact of the matter is you have to defend well to win and Mourinho's teams do that well. It's called great coaching. Bilic could learn a thing or two about tactics watching the Special One. All this crap about it doesnt matter whether you win or lose is just bs. It's totally a bogus argument …Ya im so happy we played well and we passed the ball real pretty and lost the game. I'm really the champion even though I lost the game is just classic loser talk. People who think like that will never be champions. You do what it takes to get the W. In the end thats all that matters.
Im sure we were all thrilled when we lost to turkey despite dominating the match at the last Euro. I know I went home happy that day. Had Bilic instructed his guys to play a little defence that result would have been different and we would have been happpy just like the Special One was in Spain.
Where do we pick up our philosophy degrees?
Where can we pick up our philosophy degrees?
"It is a law of human nature that in victory even the coward may boast of his prowess, while defeat injures the reputation even of the brave. "
~Sallust
Yes, it would look like the Simpsons soccer episode. Hopefully, soccer doesnt go down that route.
Portugal is in trouble. I expect them to be out in group stage. It will be interesting if Real Madrid will play bunker against Barca when Morinho jumps on board.
It would look exactly like that Simpsons episode when Mexico takes on Portugal in Springfield.
Speaking of Portugal, if any of you thought Croatia had it bad scheduling friendlies, Portugal played Cape Verde to a scoreless draw today.
And yes, Ronaldo, Nani and Deco all played. What the hell can their fans be thinking right now? At least we're back on the rise.
What if Bayern played Bunker as well? What if they just kicked the ball around and waited for Inter to come out of their bunker? What if Inter never came out? How would that look?
It would look like a boxing match with both fighters just exchanging jabs all fight.
I have no respect for teams that play this style. I'm sorry.
Imagine Brazil playing a bunker against Argentina. The media would crucify them. For me its not all about winning. Again, just my thoughts.
@ Denis,
I have to disagree with you regarding Barcelona still being thought of as Champions.
Inter defeated the best two clubs in Europe this season (Chelsea and Barcelona) THREE TIMES. They took care of Chelsea home and away and then came back to win 3-1 against Barca at home after going down one goal.
That's tough to do. They turned it on when they had to. Yes this bunkering in the past two matches is ridiculous but they hold and hold and hold and then catch you on a counter.
Opposing coaches should formulate a plan for Mourinho, not complain when he does it to them. They all know its coming.
Ribery would have made a difference, as Inter wouldnt have the luxury of throwing two defenders at Robben. However, after Inter scored that first goal and parked that Inter tour bus in front of the goal, the game was out of reach. I called 2-0 Inter at halftime.
I am disappointed that the club champion of the world won by parking the bus in front of their own. You cant call them champions. Im sorry but I dont have respect for teams that win in this fashion.
I remember after the world cup, all the Italians were wondering why no one respected their world cup victory and champions of the world tag. hmm…
"I'd like to see one person – just one – who would own up to having been a coward. "
~Edith Piaf
Imagine Italians saying, "ya we played like pussies, but in the end we won… winning is everything"..
I'm like the Brazilians, winning isnt everything…. its "how you win"…
Just like in chess, I dont want to win by taking your queen on a fuck up… I want to win… knowing that I beat you… because I am better than you..
For me, Barcelona are still champions.
Altentop over Pranjic?
Those scurvy-ridden pirate coloniasts can beat Mexico by a smaller margin than than 1-5? Something has to give.
Too much back-passing by Bayern and too little strategy.
and mourinho is goin to madrid
Never bet against the Special One when he is driving the bus! Even a child could see that Inter Milan was going to ride off with the silverware.