Slaven Bilic played in defence when Croatia earned their most famous victory over the Germans in the 1998 World Cup quarter-finals. This time, he had to stand and watch in a smart gray suit. But the coach who masterminded Thursday’s 2-1 triumph mentally kicked every ball and jumped for every header as his team grabbed a two-goal lead. If he’d been allowed, he might even have gone between the posts to try to stop Germany’s late reply. Although it was the players who scored the two goals and restricted the Germans to one, it was Bilic’s victory. Bilic sent his team out to stop the German midfielders supplying passes to their strikers. Whenever Michael Ballack or Torsten Frings had the ball at their feet, two Croats would spring from nowhere to slide in with tackles. He would roar his encouragement whenever that happened, but shout wildly at the culprits whenever it didn’t. It was a masterpiece of defensive soccer. Already out of his seat from the kick-off, Bilic paced around the front right corner of his technical area, the steady rain glistening on his jacket. Hands on hips, he would twirl around to illustrate his frustration when something went against his team. Then he would wave his right hand as if conducting a symphony orchestra. Despite Podolski’s late reply, Croatia hung on. When the final whistle sounded, Bilic and his team officials raced onto the field, diving on top of each other and waving to the fans in celebration as if they had won the title. That may only be 17 days away.
