Filed under: International, Soccer
Before you start posting that the song "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is originally by Bob Dylan, consider this first. What was Croatia coach Slaven Bilic listening to on the streets of Split, Croatia growing up? Dylan or "Use Your Illusion" bootlegs on cassette tapes?
As a fan of the U.S. National Team, a part of my heart pangs out wishing we had a coach like Bilic.If you watched Croatia during Euro 2008 this summer, there wasn't much to dislike about Bilic's Croatia team. Yes, it went out to Turkey in an all-time finish to the Turks, but that's hardly Bilic's fault. (Ok, maybe it was for tempting fate by celebrating in a pig pile with his team after Ivan Klasnic scored a goal in the 118th minute.)
Besides by in a metal band are writing an anthem for the Euro, Bilic had his team playing a positive brand of attacking soccer, with a verve and swagger as seen in a riot over Germany in the group stage. Maybe his act might borders the narrow line between stupid and clever, but it's hard to imagine his players don't give their all for him.
Plus, any time a coach smokes on the bench he gets a special little gold star next to his name. Suffice to say, his act likely wouldn't translate stateside nor would he want to deal with the morass surrounding the USSF.
In short, if you're not rooting for Croatia over England in the midweek World Cup 2010 qualifier, you probably own a couple Hollywood gossip mags with David Beckham on the cover. (And if that's the case, the case you've ever heard of Bilic is pretty slim in the first case.)
