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| Vahid Halilhodzic looks for redemption at Africa Cup of Nations | Vahid Halilhodzic looks for redemption at Africa Cup of Nations |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Vahid Halilhodzic remained in the dugout long after the final whistle, trickles of sweat pouring down his face, staring into space. Algeria had played well, but still lost to Tunisia in their opening game of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after a stunning late winner by Youssef Msakni reduced the Fennec Foxes' chances of reaching the knockout stages. | Vahid Halilhodzic remained in the dugout long after the final whistle, trickles of sweat pouring down his face, staring into space. Algeria had played well, but still lost to Tunisia in their opening game of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations after a stunning late winner by Youssef Msakni reduced the Fennec Foxes' chances of reaching the knockout stages. |
| But, more than anything, that late goal brought back some bad memories for the 60-year-old Bosnian. Three years ago, Halilhodzic had a similar experience. At the time he was coaching Ivory Coast – taking one of the best generations of African footballers to the World Cup and losing only one out of 24 games before an Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Algeria. | But, more than anything, that late goal brought back some bad memories for the 60-year-old Bosnian. Three years ago, Halilhodzic had a similar experience. At the time he was coaching Ivory Coast – taking one of the best generations of African footballers to the World Cup and losing only one out of 24 games before an Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final against Algeria. |
| In that match, his Ivory Coast team went 2-1 up in the 89th minute through Kader Keita, but then everything crumbled in just 60 seconds. The Algerians equalised in the next minute and scored a winner in extra-time, knocking Ivory Coast out of the competition. Halilhodzic, harshly, paid with his job and was replaced by Sven-Goran Eriksson. | |
| "It was very hard for me to digest all that. It still is," Halilhodzic says in an exclusive interview. "We played very good, had flawless results, had some problems, like every team, but great atmosphere. However, some bizarre things happened and that destroyed us. The terrorist attack [on the Togo team] emotionally affected the team, some of the players begged to leave Angola, terrified of losing their lives." | "It was very hard for me to digest all that. It still is," Halilhodzic says in an exclusive interview. "We played very good, had flawless results, had some problems, like every team, but great atmosphere. However, some bizarre things happened and that destroyed us. The terrorist attack [on the Togo team] emotionally affected the team, some of the players begged to leave Angola, terrified of losing their lives." |
| The upcoming 2010 World Cup was supposed to be the peak of his coaching career. The Bosnian has not had a straightforward career path. After a fruitful career as a player in his native Velez Mostar and then Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain, Halilhodzic became a sort of a legend in his homeland. The start of his coaching career, however, coincided with the war breaking out in the Balkans and he has admitted that "it made animals out of people. I saw my neighbours become thirsty for blood all of a sudden". | The upcoming 2010 World Cup was supposed to be the peak of his coaching career. The Bosnian has not had a straightforward career path. After a fruitful career as a player in his native Velez Mostar and then Nantes and Paris Saint-Germain, Halilhodzic became a sort of a legend in his homeland. The start of his coaching career, however, coincided with the war breaking out in the Balkans and he has admitted that "it made animals out of people. I saw my neighbours become thirsty for blood all of a sudden". |
| So he left Mostar and his burned-down house, starting a new chapter of his life from scratch. He decided to try coaching ("Football is the only thing I knew, I couldn't do anything else"), and went from club to club, sleeping in his car. | So he left Mostar and his burned-down house, starting a new chapter of his life from scratch. He decided to try coaching ("Football is the only thing I knew, I couldn't do anything else"), and went from club to club, sleeping in his car. |
| "I wanted to see how other people do it. I visited many clubs, watched various coaches, and I was fascinated with the approach of people such as Marcelo Lippi and Fabio Capello. I gained experience, but I did not have role models or tried to copy anyone, I wanted to be myself," says Halilhodzic, who got his first chance with a big club in Africa, in 1997, winning the African Champions League with Raya Casablanca. | "I wanted to see how other people do it. I visited many clubs, watched various coaches, and I was fascinated with the approach of people such as Marcelo Lippi and Fabio Capello. I gained experience, but I did not have role models or tried to copy anyone, I wanted to be myself," says Halilhodzic, who got his first chance with a big club in Africa, in 1997, winning the African Champions League with Raya Casablanca. |
| After that, he took the then modest Lille from the French second division to the Champions League and had relative success with PSG. He earned the reputation of being a strict manager, insisting on a kind of discipline that for a while saw him branded "the dictator", but also made him well-known all over the world. He claims he was offered the Chelsea job, but that he "turned it down because of the language barrier". | After that, he took the then modest Lille from the French second division to the Champions League and had relative success with PSG. He earned the reputation of being a strict manager, insisting on a kind of discipline that for a while saw him branded "the dictator", but also made him well-known all over the world. He claims he was offered the Chelsea job, but that he "turned it down because of the language barrier". |
| Nonetheless, after the failure with Ivory Coast – if it deserves to be called that – Halilhodzic encountered the same peculiar set of events with Dinamo Zagreb, losing only once in the league, but still being sacked by the president Zdravko Mamic before the end of the league campaign. | Nonetheless, after the failure with Ivory Coast – if it deserves to be called that – Halilhodzic encountered the same peculiar set of events with Dinamo Zagreb, losing only once in the league, but still being sacked by the president Zdravko Mamic before the end of the league campaign. |
| Extraordinarily, Halilhodzic has been in charge for 75 games – for three different teams – over the past five years and only lost eight of them, all by one goal, including two friendlies and one defeat in extra-time. Still, he was somehow sacked by both Ivory Coast and Dinamo. | Extraordinarily, Halilhodzic has been in charge for 75 games – for three different teams – over the past five years and only lost eight of them, all by one goal, including two friendlies and one defeat in extra-time. Still, he was somehow sacked by both Ivory Coast and Dinamo. |
| Algeria was supposed to be a new chance. They promised him patience and trust, provided him the freedom of making decisions, and he justified his reputation. Halilhodzic dropped some of the team's biggest stars, such as Karim Ziani, rejuvenated the team and set qualification for the 2014 World Cup as the main target. | Algeria was supposed to be a new chance. They promised him patience and trust, provided him the freedom of making decisions, and he justified his reputation. Halilhodzic dropped some of the team's biggest stars, such as Karim Ziani, rejuvenated the team and set qualification for the 2014 World Cup as the main target. |
| He said ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations: "This is Africa, and everybody has huge expectations. I think here in Algeria the pressure is even bigger than in Ivory Coast, people love football and they expect us to play at least in the semi-final. If you ask me, we made a step forward by coming here. We are in the toughest group and with the whole new team". | He said ahead of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations: "This is Africa, and everybody has huge expectations. I think here in Algeria the pressure is even bigger than in Ivory Coast, people love football and they expect us to play at least in the semi-final. If you ask me, we made a step forward by coming here. We are in the toughest group and with the whole new team". |
| Still the goal is to reach the quarter-finals, and Halilhodzic did not hide the fact that he craved wins against Tunisia and Togo because he believes Ivory Coast may be too good for his team. | Still the goal is to reach the quarter-finals, and Halilhodzic did not hide the fact that he craved wins against Tunisia and Togo because he believes Ivory Coast may be too good for his team. |
| The chance to beat Tunisia is gone, but Togo await in a must-win match on Saturday. "Ivory Coast are the absolute favourites. I really don't see a team that can beat them. That team is experienced, it is the best in terms of quality, have a good system and they are very motivated." | The chance to beat Tunisia is gone, but Togo await in a must-win match on Saturday. "Ivory Coast are the absolute favourites. I really don't see a team that can beat them. That team is experienced, it is the best in terms of quality, have a good system and they are very motivated." |
| The only obstacle could be the pressure on them. Sabri Lamouchi is an inexperienced coach, this is his first big job, and that can be crucial. "The pressure in Africa is much bigger than anywhere in Europe and that can be a problem for a young coach. But I think this team have their own way and that the influence from the coach is not that big. He'll have a huge help from experienced players and that is good for the team." | The only obstacle could be the pressure on them. Sabri Lamouchi is an inexperienced coach, this is his first big job, and that can be crucial. "The pressure in Africa is much bigger than anywhere in Europe and that can be a problem for a young coach. But I think this team have their own way and that the influence from the coach is not that big. He'll have a huge help from experienced players and that is good for the team." |
| Three years ago, Vahid Halilhodzic was a dejected man after that crushing Africa Cup of Nations defeat, but today he is not using words such as revenge or vengeance. He is aware that he cannot let himself think about it. Not when destiny in the shape of a player called Msakni once again showed him that matches so often are decided by the smallest of details. | Three years ago, Vahid Halilhodzic was a dejected man after that crushing Africa Cup of Nations defeat, but today he is not using words such as revenge or vengeance. He is aware that he cannot let himself think about it. Not when destiny in the shape of a player called Msakni once again showed him that matches so often are decided by the smallest of details. |