Željko Petrović is a well-known name in Croatia, so he was an interesting interviewee for the local media ahead of tonight's match between the "fiery" and Montenegro.
The Montenegrin coach and former right-back of Buducnost wore the Dinamo jersey in the early 1990s, and before our national team's clash with one of the strongest in the world in the World Cup qualifiers, he has no doubt who the favorite is.
"Croatia, and absolutely - I have nothing to add or subtract from that," Petrović told Večernji List.
The match will be played at "Maksimir" starting at 20.45:XNUMX PM, and the journalist's question was whether Montenegro could be a dangerous opponent for Croatia.
"Sometimes it can, sometimes it can't. It's a young team, which is missing one or two players in every cycle, and that's a lot for such a selection," Petrović explained clearly.
Montenegro is led from the bench by Croatian and world football legend Robert Prosinecki, and after poor results, public pressure is evident.
"Prosinecki's contract was extended before the qualifiers. He played with Dejan Savićević for a long time, they know each other well and that is a phenomenal comfort zone for any coach. I met Robi several times in Montenegro. He does the best he can, and we are all aware of the risks of our job, that 'something' can always come your way. You know what I say; My suitcase is always somewhere near my door," said Petrović with a smile.
He spoke with choice words about Zlatko Dalić, the Croatian coach, who as a player briefly wore the Buducnost jersey, sharing the locker room with Petrović...
"He was welcomed here like everyone else in Montenegro, as if he were from here, from our 'neighborhood'. And not only him - I remember how much I cried when the late Stanko Špaco Poklepović left Buducnost," recalled Petrović.
Dalić ended up becoming a much better coach than he was a player.
"That's more important for Croatia. And you can see from his behavior how much he's worth. I watched the press conference at the beginning of the gathering - I don't know why all the destruction, why he didn't invite this or that? Well, he's been masterful at that from the beginning, a gentleman who cares about unity in the national team," Petrović pointed out and especially emphasized.
"Everything is very clear here - if there were no rules introduced by Dalić, if they didn't have that unity - where Modrić was the leader - Croatia would not have achieved such a result. That is one hundred percent true," said Petrović, who is currently leading Al-Dhafra from the United Arab Emirates from the bench.
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