Croatia – D. Suker: “We deserve to be in the final”

Davor SUKER (9)

– How much of a role has Miroslav BLAZEVIC played in CROATIA’S success?

“Throughout his career, Miroslav BLAZEVIC, our national team coach, has proven his exceptional talent. With all his achievements, he has succeeded in bringing the players, the fans, and the media together. Because of his psychological approach to the game, he has been able to motivate us like no other coach has. Thanks to him we’ve come this far. He has also been able to be flexible with us throughout our 50-day stay here. He’s been everything but a dictator.”

– In your opinion, how good are CROATIA’S chances against FRANCE?

“I think we have an advantage over FRANCE because two of their matches have gone into extra time, and so they’ve spent more energy. We deserve to be in the final, even if that means beating FRANCE, a very good team. We have a 50/50 chance of doing it! Playing in the World Cup is the best thing that could happen to me. Now we have to write the final chapter of our success! If Marcel DESAILLY (FRANCE – 8) marks me, I can assure you that our captain, and my roommate, BOBAN, has thoroughly advised me on how to play against and get away from him (BOBAN and DESAILLY play together at AC Milan).”

– You still have a chance of ending the competition as the top scorer: is that still a goal for you?

“I’m not concentrating on being the top scorer, my objective is to play in the final. Against GERMANY, David beat Goliath. So asking me if I’m happy to be in the semi-finals is a dumb question: a player at this level is not happy just participating, he’s here to win! I’m happy that a Spanish referee has been chosen for this match. I know him well and I think he’ll do his best to be fair.”