FRANCE 98 – Germany-Yugoslavia – D. Stojkovic: “We could have had a better result if Bierhoff wasn't the best header of a ball in the world”

Germany-Yugoslavia – D. Stojkovic: “We could have had a better result if Bierhoff wasn’t the best header of a ball in the world”

21.06.98 19h03 CET

Dragan STOJKOVIC – captain (10)

“The Germans have once again proved that they are German, they never give up. But I do feel that they had more luck than anything else. I think that the referee should have awarded us at least one penalty. The most important thing is that we have shown to the world that we are a force to be reckoned with, and in the future, YUGOSLAVIA are a team to look out for. Now we must continue to show off our qualities. Our victory against IRAN was not particularly glorious, because we didn’t take the match seriously. However, today I think we showed our true worth against great opponents. We could have had a better result if BIERHOFF (20) wasn’t the best header of a ball in the world, but we must now go on from here”.

Slavisa JOKANOVIC (4)

“I am saddened by the result, as we had the opportunity to come away with a win but we couldn’t take it. We were unlucky with the first German goal. As for the second, you can’t complain about a goal like that. BIERHOFF (20) catapulted the ball into the back of the net and there was nothing we could do. I think that we paid dearly for the wrong substitutions made by our coach. Instead of defending our advantage in the last ten minutes, players who added nothing to our game were brought on. If we’d had the same style of game against IRAN, we would have won easily”.

Perica OGNJENOVIC (21)

“I’m disappointed. We were very unlucky. For three quarters of the game, we dominated the Germans. Unfortunately, we conceded two goals through carelessness and bad luck. There must be a jinx on us when we play against GERMANY. This is not the first time that it’s happened. Nevertheless, we showed our true worth in this game, after our poor performance against IRAN. Now we know we are good enough to play on an equal footing with the best teams, and even to dominate them”.

Dejan STANKOVIC (20)

“With the first goal, I’m not sure I touched the ball… We played well for sixty-five minutes, but to win you have to do so for ninety minutes. BIERHOFF (20) is always fantastic. GERMANY are a great team, able to turn things around and score two goals at the end of a match. Despite the result I am still pleased because we have rediscovered our game and our strength. We will need to beat the UNITED STATES to make sure of qualifying”.

Vladimir JUKOVIC (7)

“Of course it’s always very hard to be caught out and see your opponents get back into the game, especially when you’re 2-0 up. We were unlucky. If this draw is a pity, at least we’ve learned that to win you have to be motivated right till the end. First place in the group is still possible, even though our goal-average isn’t great at the moment when compared with GERMANY’s”.