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No Jokes As Bilic Eyes Germany Clash

Croatia coach Slaven Bilic showed he was in no mood for flippant banter during yesterday's press conference as his team prepare for their EURO 2008 clash with Germany…

Bilic, an enthusiastic musician, was asked by one of the reporters at the pre-match media junket in Klagenfurt to compare the German team to a style of music.

But the former Croatia defender was incensed by the light-hearted request, insisting it was neither the time nor the place for such frivolous indulgences.

"This is not the opera, this is a football match," he barked. "I know we're in Austria but please don't ask me these questions.

"This is for kids magazines or metalheads, not for the day before a match and plus I already answered it yesterday from one of your Bulgarian colleagues."

Souvenir

Undoubtedly the most anticipated fixture of Group B, tonight’s clash has evoked memories of the 1998 World Cup, when Croatia produced one of their finest ever football moments by defeating Germany 3-0 in the quarterfinals.

Bilic was playing in that match in France a decade ago and remembers it very fondly, but he insisted past achievements will count for nothing at the Worthersee Stadion.

"I certainly like to think back to that match as all Croatians do because it is one of our great victories, maybe even our greatest victory," he said.

"But I don't think that means much now because it won't give us an extra corner kick or anything. But it's a nice souvenir."

No Point

When asked if he would show a video of the match to his players as inspiration, Bilic said: "We won't do that, we mentioned it a few times because some of my players were children then and they sometimes ask us what it was like back then and how it felt.

"But there's not much point in showing how (Robert) Jarni scored and how he beat (Andreas) Koepke the German goalkeeper because these players won't play."

Croatia captain Niko Kovac agreed with his coach, saying: "That's all in the past, we all watched it on television if we weren't there but we live in the present and everything has changed over the last 10 years," he said.

"Football has grown much faster, we are us and the side that played in '98 were other players.

"But we're optimists and we believe we have a realistic chance of qualifying for the quarterfinals."

Contenders

Croatia came into the EURO finals as dark horses for the title, having caught the continent’s attention with their home and away victories against England during the qualifying stages.

But Bilic agreed that a win over Germany would catapult them to the unfamiliar plane of genuine contenders.

"Definitely," he said. "Any team that beats Germany can hope to beat anybody but this championships has shown, even though there's been only one draw, that the teams are more or less even.

"Even with the outcome of matches such as Spain-Russia and Netherlands-Italy all the sides are well prepared and motivated.

"Sometimes it's a decision taken in five seconds that makes the difference, remember (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic's goal.

"The Russians hit the post, although the 4-1 (Spain) win was justified but still it could have been different, so with each new match and new start you have to be fully concentrated, focused and courageous, and of course you need that little portion of luck."

Goal.com - Euro 2008 - No Jokes As Bilic Eyes Germany Clash