Germany coach Joachim Löw said that Croatia deserved their 2-1 victory in Klagenfurt but expressed confidence in his team’s powers of recovery. It was an opinion shared by opposite number Slaven Bilić, for whom the Mannschaft remained strong UEFA EURO 2008™ contenders, although the Croatia coach was more concerned with his own side’s superlative display.

Slaven Bilić, Croatia coach
It was a great match and I would like to extend special congratulation to my players, not only for battling hard but also for playing excellent football. There is no other way to beat Germany than to play well. They are a great team and are still one of the title favourites. You cannot allow them to control any part of the pitch and that’s how we tried to play against them. For me, this victory is a bigger achievement than beating England at Wembley. I keep getting questions about similarities between this team and the team I played in in 1998. All I can say is that we are Croatians, we play for our fans but we are not the only team who play like this. It was the same in 1998 and it’s the same now. We are always emotional, we cannot change that. Even if we wanted to, we don’t want to. There are coaches who stay in the dugout and those like me who are more active. I like to take part by giving advice and by being as close as possible to the pitch. Every team here, apart from Switzerland because they have been eliminated, can win the title. The difference in modern football is very small. As for Luka Modrić, he was already a star before this tournament. I keep telling him that he is the best player in Europe but he’s not the only great player in our team. My team prove to me day in, day out, in training and out on the pitch that they are world class.

Joachim Löw, Germany coach
It goes without saying that we are all a bit disappointed after losing this match, and looking back at the game through the rear-view mirror I think we deserved to lose – as a team we weren’t precise enough or fast enough to really trouble Croatia. We were unable to make our combinations or have a fluid game. The Croatians dropped back after the first goal and we were unable to penetrate their defence, which is why we have to accept our defeat. I’m not surprised that they tried to knock my players out of their rhythm, we were expecting this. I told them beforehand that Croatia would probably put an extra man in midfield and that’s what they did. I think that, unfortunately, we played straight into their hands by playing a lot of long balls and crosses. Over the last few years we’ve had a number of defeats – we’ve not only been winning games. The team have managed to get over these setbacks and I’m confident we will be able to do so again. It is clear that, had we won, we would have been much closer to the quarter-finals but I’m sure we will be able to perform better on Monday against Austria.

Croatia coach Slaven Bilić is seldom slow to show his emotions and they were apparent for all to see during his side’s 2-1 victory against Germany in Klagenfurt. Bilić, a man who epitomises the word animated, was the liveliest and most agitated figure at the Wörthersee Stadion, and his exertions would have been worth watching alone, had this Group B match not been such an exciting affair.

Unconventional
Bilić, even without having the scalps of England in qualifying and now Germany here on his CV, is quite some character. At the age of 39, he is the youngest coach at UEFA EURO 2008™ and the least conventional. Surely no coach has ever patrolled the sidelines sporting a diamond earring, with a law degree to his name and a penchant for playing guitar-based heavy metal music. His Klagenfurt counterpart, the immaculately groomed Germany coach Joachim Löw, seemed somewhat dour by comparison. Both men once played for Bundesliga side Karlsruher SC in Germany, but there the similarities end.

Standing guard
The former Croatia Under-21 coach, who took charge of the senior side in July 2006 and has now taken them to the quarter-finals with this victory, was an entertaining sideshow during the Germany encounter. While Löw sought refuge in the dugout from time to time, Bilić prowled every square metre of the technical area throughout, despite the near-incessant rain. Even when crouching down, hands on his knees, he was soon up again, gesticulating to his players like a man possessed. His sense of frustration at not being out there playing was tangible as he appealed for virtually every free-kick and throw-in.

Hugs of celebration
When Darijo Srna prodded home the opener in the 24th minute, Bilić could no longer contain himself, charging on to the field of play before remembering his place and jumping back to the correct side of the touchline, deep into the arms of one of his backroom staff. He kept himself largely in check for Croatia’s second goal, by Ivica Olić in the 62nd minute, but his nerves were apparent when Lukas Podolski pulled one back in the 79th minute. At the final whistle, however, he was back on the pitch again, lost in more hugs of joyous celebration. Ten years on from playing in the team when Croatia first beat Germany, a 3-0 victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, Bilić was the architect of their second triumph, and the taste of victory was no less sweet.

Musical theme
At the pre-match press conference, Bilić was, not for the first time, asked to compare opponents Germany to a piece of music, but he was in no mood to answer. He said the question was more suited to a children’s magazine, though the songs bouncing off the walls in the Croatia dressing room after defeating Germany must have sounded like a rhapsodic symphony to Bilić, who had composed his finest masterpiece.