Bilic gets players going with the right stuff

Paddy Agnewon how patriotic pride has been stirred up in Croatia's men in red and white

ON THE team bus on the way to Klagenfurt for their game against Germany last week, the Croatian players listened to a favourite CD, by way of psyching themselves up for what was clearly a very big game. Given Croatia went on to record an historic 2-1 win, coach Slaven Bilic may be tempted to repeat the music on the way to this evening's quarter-final clash with Turkey in Vienna.

The point about the favourite CD, though, is it features music by the popular Croat singer, Thompson, a man who in the past has been labelled a sympathiser to the Croat extreme right and even to the Ustascia, the war-time Croat fascists who made common cause with the Nazis.

The song that really gets the team going, apparently, is How Beautiful You Are, a song that implies the real beauty in question is Croatia itself.

Reports of the Croat team's musical taste have led one or two commentators to speculate that coach Bilic is himself inspired by some very right-wing sentiments. Bilic concedes the sense of patriotic pride is strong in his squad but denies the neo-Nazi tag, applied because of the Thompson music: "I don't see any harm in getting the players into the mood for a big game but I wasn't the one to pick How Beautiful You Are, it was our goalkeeper (Stipe) Pletikosa who put it on," he says.

In truth, Bilic hardly fits the neo-Nazi bill. At 39, he is not only the youngest coach at Euro 2008 but is also the only guitar-playing manager, complete with ear stud, at this tournament. He has gone on record as saying there are "five people in the world I would like to meet - Bill Clinton and U2".

Hardly standard fascist folk heroes. Underlining his enthusiasm for U2 is the fact he plays a red Gibson Explorer guitar, as often used by not only the Edge but also by guitar maestro Eric Clapton.

The plot thickens, though, when one discovers that Bilic's band, Rawbau, has recorded one of Thompson's songs, called Vatreno Ludilowhich might be loosely translated as Ardent Folly. A key passage in this magnum opus goes as follows: "When the Ardent Folly begins Let us burn down everything Then the red and white begin to flow in our veins"

The "red and white", of course, are the Croat national colours. Not surprisingly, Vatreno Ludilohas become a favourite amongst the Croat fans. A small minority of them accompany their rendition with a Fascist-style salute, prompting ever more speculation about the Croats and their source of inspiration.

In reality, such speculation is perhaps a little unfair. What looks like extreme right-wing views to some may in fact be little more than fierce patriotic pride for others. For make no mistake, this Croat team, arguably the biggest positive surprise of the tournament so far, are fired by a huge sense of national pride.

Ever since they gained their independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, Croatia have most effectively registered themselves on the international scene through the achievements of their football team. Ten years on from that France '98 World Cup which saw Croatia beaten in the semi-finals by eventual winners France, the Croats are ready to do it again.

Given that a majority of Croats feel bad that the country has not yet been admitted to the European Union (a possibility that seems ever more remote in the wake of the Lisbon referendum "no" vote by the Irish last week), success at Euro 2008 has taken on the role of spurious consolation prize.

We might not be good enough to sit down at the same political table as the major Western European powers but we sure can beat you all at football, England, Germany and others included, might be their motto.

Right now, the mood in the Croat camp is positively bubbly. From a football viewpoint, there is little doubt the Croats really fancy their chances against Turkey tonight.

From a personal viewpoint, many of them are making the most of the Euro 2008 shop window and it comes as no surprise to hear that the likes of left back Daniel Pranjic (Heerenveen), midfielder Ivan Rakitic (Schalke 04), striker Mladen Petric (Borussia Dortmund) and, no doubt, others are all busy looking for new club contracts.

Indeed there have been so many unconfirmed reports of deals being done Bilic was asked at a Wednesday news conference if such activity was not likely to prove an expensive distraction: "I don't see that as a problem. It's good for a player to hear that clubs are looking for him and that's an extra stimulus for him to do well here".

When it comes to stimulation, it would seem that the Croats are not lacking. It may well be that Turkey will be overwhelmed by Croat Ardent Follytonight.