Slaven Bilic insists Croatia are MORE talented now than France ’98 heroes but will struggle to make World Cup semi-final unless Luka Modric and Co ‘play the football of their lives’
Ex-boss believes Luka Modric is the best midfielder on the planet but says nations big hitters must 'play the football of their lives' to go further than semis
SLAVEN BILIC was a key player when Croatia enjoyed their best ever World Cup.
But the former defender believes his country’s current crop are even MORE talented than the famous France ‘98 semi-finalists.
Bilic makes his claim because of stars including Ivan Rakitic, Mario Mandzukic and, especially, captain Luka Modric, who he rates as the best midfielder in the world.
Yet he still insists that at least two of their big hitters must “play the football of their lives” if they are to get anywhere near emulating the heroes of 20 years ago.
Bilic, who also managed Croatia for six years, told SunSport: “On paper we are now better than ‘98.
“In ‘98, the only players who played for a big, big club were our captain Zvonimir Boban, who was at AC Milan, and Davor Suker, who was at Real Madrid.
“But now it is unbelievable. Three of our players played in the Champions League final - Modric and Mateo Kovacic for Real Madrid and Dejan Lovren for Liverpool.
“Then we have Mandzukic, who played in the quarter-final for Juventus and scored two goals in the Bernabeu, and Rakitic is one of the most important players at Barcelona.
“So in every position we have those kind of players, whereas in ‘98 not many of us played in the Champions League.
“But we had Suker, who scored six goals, and our goalkeeper, Drazen Ladic, made game-changing saves in almost half of our matches.
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“So from my experience in tournaments, a couple of players in key positions have to play the football of their lives.”
Bilic is hoping one of those will be Modric, who, at 32, could be playing in his last World Cup.
The ex-West Ham chief knows the Real ace better than most, having bossed him when he was in charge of Croatia Under-21s and then again when he managed the senior side.
And Bilic admits he knew Modric was a star in the making just by looking in his eyes after their first match together.
He recalled: "When I took over the U21s, it was after Euro 2004 and he was only 19. We lost our first game, a home friendly against Israel, and I saw in his eyes after the game that he felt a bit guilty, like he had let me down.
“I will never forget it. He was actually good in that game, but I saw that he was a little bit ashamed to look me in the eye. That is special. You don’t see that every day.
“When we were with the main team, before our first game at Euro 2008, I remember I told him that he was now up there with Xavi and Iniesta, that they are not better than him. I really meant it and he proved me right. For me, he is the best midfielder in the world. He is certainly the most complete.
“He is making every player around him better. He is the one capable of taking the whole team 30 yards forward just with passing the ball.
“I am sure he is going to have a great World Cup - but we are still depending on Luka more than we should. If he got injured, that would be a massive blow for us.”
Modric has had off-the-pitch issues to deal with in the run up to the World Cup after he was charged with perjury for allegedly making false statements at the tax fraud trial of ex-Dinamo Zagreb chief Zdravko Mamic.
Yet Bilic insisted: “It doesn’t affect him. Of course it’s not easy and it’s not nice when people are talking about you in that way.
“But he is very strong in his head and he knows he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Bilic is himself in Russia working as a pundit for ITV, having been a huge hit doing the same role at Euro 2016.
He said: “I knew I could do the job but I didn’t expect to be quite so popular. I say it how i see it. But what helps me is that I am a manager so those managers that we are commenting on, I know the job they are doing.
“I am sometimes trying to protect the manager. Not to say they did a great job if they didn’t, but sometimes what happens is nothing to do with their planning - it doesn’t always have to be their fault.”
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Bilic has been out of management since he was sacked by West Ham in November.
But he feels refreshed after seven months off and is now ready to get back in the dugout.
Bilic added: “You don’t want a break when you are in a job and you don’t feel like you need it.
“But once you are out of that wheel which is spinning like crazy, you realise how important a break really is.
“I have rested, travelled, watched games. You have time to work on your ideas, planning. I feel good now and of course I am planning to go back but I will not just jump into anything.
“It’s not about the country, it’s more about the club and if I have a good feeling about it.”