Johannesburg - Bora Milutinovic, also called the Miracle
Worker, has the distinction of coaching five different teams at the
World Cup finals.
He took four of them past the first round (Mexico, 1986; Costa
Rica, 1990; the United States, 1994 and Nigeria, 1998) and failed
only with China in 2002.
In April, he was appointed coach of Iraq and given a short-term
contract with the task of coaching the side at the Confederations Cup
in South Africa.
Before playing his first game, the Serbian-Mexican said that it
was a tough job. 'Perhaps this is the biggest challenge I have faced
in my career.'
He added that he had no hesitation in taking the job though. 'When
I was invited to come to Iraq I was very happy because of the people
in Iraq. I have been to Baghdad for several days and I could see how
football crazy they were and I wanted to keep them happy.'
He said that he could see that his players also had a very strong
bond with their country. 'I admire them for that. I realized that
despite all the difficulties in Iraq, they were determined to bring
some joy to the people by playing well.'
Milutinovic's task with the Iraqi side effectively ended Saturday
evening when the team was knocked out of the competition.
Going into their final game the Asian champions needed to beat New
Zealand in Johannesburg's Ellis Park and hope that South Africa lose
to Spain in the other group game that was being played in
Bloemfontein at the same time.
But even though Spain managed to beat South Africa 2-0, Iraq
failed to score against the All White's and finished third in Group B
with two points from their three matches.
For Milutinovic the Confederations Cup campaign was a success
though. 'This is my biggest miracle, really,' he told the German
Press Agency dpa.
'The team did a great job, it is impossible for me to be
disappointed with that. I only had a few weeks with them and we had
to go to another country to prepare for the tournament.
'They make the best effort, they do everything they had to do, I
will not look for any excuses. Against New Zealand they did not
score, that was the only thing.'
The 64-year-old, who together with his two brothers played for
Partizan Belgrade before moving to AS Monaco, said that he was not
surprised that his players seemed very tired at the end of the game
against New Zealand.
'When you play three tough games in seven days, you will be tired.
It is impossible not to be tired. Really, they made an incredible
job. I am so proud of them.'
He said that he could understand that the players were
disappointed, even though he told them they had no reason to be
disappointed.
'I told them congratulations, they make a beautiful job. They make
everything possible, but for them it is not easy. But I can't do
anything else, my contract is finished.'
Milutinovic said he was now looking forward to enjoying South
Africa in a different way and watching some of the other teams.
Surprisingly, Milutinovic has not only coached many more national
teams than clubs in his career, he has also had much more success
with national teams than with the clubs he has coached.
Asked if he would be back to South Africa next year, possibly
coaching one of the countries at the World Cup finals, he said that
he had no plans at the moment. 'But in football you can never say
what will happen. Everything changes so fast.'
USA
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