Bilić buoyed by debut win

New Croatia coach Slaven Bilić toasted "a huge victory" for his charges after they overcame an inexperienced Italy side 2-0 in Livorno yesterday.

Memorable result
His opposite number Roberto Donadoni had taken the opportunity to give the senior Italian players a rest for the match but that did not dampen Bilić's mood. "This is a huge victory," he said. "I know you will all say that it was not against the first-choice Italy team, but it's a match I will remember."

New additions
Having taken over from Zlatko Kranjčar following a disappointing Croatian display at the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals, Bilić made adjustments to the established starting lineup with Luka Modrić and Milan Rapaić replacing Niko Kranjčar and Marko Babić in midfield.

Bilić impressed
"I already knew before the game the huge potential of Luka Modrić and I can say now that Modrić can be a force for us," said Bilić of the young NK Dinamo Zagreb midfielder. He added: "I saw some mistakes and we will work on it from the first day of preparations for the [UEFA EURO 2008™] qualifying match against Russia."

Dream start
Modrić scored Croatia's second goal after Eduardo da Silva – Bilić's replacement for Dado Pršo, now retired from international football – had struck the first. "It couldn't have been better," said the Brazilian-born forward. "We defeated Italy and I scored a goal."