by ZAGREB, Croatia (Reuters) - Croatia's veteran midfielder Robert
Prosinecki said reaching the knock-out phase of the World Cup would be
an achievement and cautioned the football-crazy nation against excessive
euphoria.
"Going into the second round would be a success. And if we manage that
everything is possible," the 33-year old, who plays for Portsmouth, told
Croatian weekly Globus.
"Our victories are always taken for granted. Remember that Mexico has
seven million registered footballers, more than Croatia's entire
population".
He added however: "I really wish the nation would stop treating every
match as "historic". These are just football games, man."
Prosinecki, whose career includes stints at Red Star Belgrade, Real
Madrid and Barcelona, said he was working with a personal coach to raise
his form for the World Cup, where he is expected to lead Croatia against
group rivals Italy, Mexico and Ecuador. In the 1998 World Cup Croatia
finished third.