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Croatia: We can score on France
Semifinalists see weaknesses in French defense
Posted: Monday July 06, 1998 12:02 PM
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Mario Stanic (13) has provided Croatia with some imressive speed on the wing |
VITTEL, France (AP) --
Croatia's
coach said Monday he sees weaknesses in France's game that his fired-up
surprise team can exploit to get a shot at winning the World Cup.
Miroslav Blazevic delighted in proving doubters wrong when Croatia
humiliated Germany 3-0 in
the quarterfinals and set off national euphoria in the small, young
country. Now he says that semifinal opponent France, considered a
stronger team and backed by home fans, is beatable, too. The two teams meet
Wednesday at St. Denis. Blazevic stunned French reporters at a news
conference when he declared France's defense "not that strong" even though
it has conceded only one goal in the tournament. The reason, he
said, is that back defenders Bixente Lizarazu and Lilian Thuram leave
France exposed on their frequent forays up the field. And having
watched the French struggle to down Italy on penalty
kicks in their quarterfinal, the wily 63-year-old coach contended that
their attack lacks punch. "Luckily for us, they haven't had much
success in finishing," Blazevic said. "And when Thuram and Lizarazu leave
the flanks open, the defense is vulnerable." "I am too ambitious to say
we have achieved everything we can," he said Sunday after his triumphant
squad returned to its training camp in this idyllic spa town. Team
captain Zvonimir Boban, who is adding World Cup glory to his club
achievements at AC Milan, was more circumspect. "We feel very proud,
but we don't want to start dreaming," he said Monday. "We have great
confidence. Our people are in a trance, and this is great also for us."
Croatia's dream throughout its World Cup debut has been to snare the
world's respect for the Adriatic nation of 4 million people, which won
independence from Serb-dominated Yugoslavia
in a 1991 war driven by fierce Balkan nationalism. The Croats have
already made World Cup history as the only team in the modern area to reach
the semifinals on its first try. But now that the sky's the limit,
some Croatian fans are running out of money in France because they hadn't
budgeted for such a stunning success. The players, most of whom earn
money with clubs in Western Europe, are chipping in out of their own
pockets to help the supporters stay on, team spokesman Darko Tironi said.
It's all part of a national mission for men like Boban, who was a
world champion already in 1987 with Yugoslavia's youth team. "I felt
respect for the Yugoslav jersey, but I feel love for the Croatian one," he
said.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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