Ciro Blazevic predicts Croatia will be European champion

It's official that Miroslav Ciro Blazevic will not fulfill his dream to end his life on a coaching bench.

"Yes, unfortunately this is the official end of my coaching career," legendary football coach said in an interview with Xinhua after the official promotion of his personal website (www.ciroblazevic.com) held last Wednesday in Zagreb.

The whole world will now have a chance to interact with the man who is still full of life energy.

"There are new challenges waiting for me. It's a step into another world for me and I am curious."

He is still very witty and if you remind him of his tender age (81) he will be prepared to shoot right back at you.

"You know, when I was in China they called me a wise man and in Croatia they are always telling me that I am an old man."

He is just starting a new career that also includes giving motivational speeches to people that has nothing to do with football. Blazevic jokingly said that all started from the wish of some people to make him look like a fool.

"At first, corporations have called me to make presentations so that they could make fun of me because it is not common for football coaches to lecture about something that is considered outside their field of work. So, I had to make everything more serious and those who were listening liked what I had to tell them. Then I've been invited to make more presentations and today they even pay me to lecture them."

Blazevic has become famous for his "universal seven keys to success" and he shared a shortened version of his formula.

"Talent is the first of my seven keys to success. Those who find the field that they have talent for are very fortunate people. But talent is not enough if you don't have a motivation to be successful. That is second key ingredient. The third one would be strong personality. The fourth key factor is intelligence. All those keys are something that you've been born with but they are useless if you are not willing to work on your skills on everyday basis."

"Knowledge is the highest authority. The sixth key to success that I regard as the very important one is atmosphere. Without good, positive working environment you can't be successful."

"The last key is luck. But I don't believe in pure luck because if you have all those six elements mentioned before, you'll have luck on your side."

Blazevic says that Croatian team that will play its opening match at UEFA EURO 2016 in France against Turkey on Sunday has every of the seven ingredients to walk the road to glory.

"We will be champions. We are the best. That is what you have to tell players. They have to be aware of the fact that they are the best and that we expect them to be at their best. Before the 1998 World Cup in France I said that we will be world champions and we finished third. If I would have said that we will win the bronze medal, we would end up being sixth."

Work that Blazevic has done with Chinese Olympic Team and Shanghai Shenhua from 2009 until 2011 makes him an expert for questions about Chinese plan of becoming a football superpower in the next 30 years.

"I know that Chinese want to make football important and make China a strong football nation as it is in other fields on a world map and I congratulate Chinese government on that decision."

Going back to his universal formula, Blazevic sees the biggest problem in the key number two.

"There is a big lack of motivation in China. Chinese people don't show enough enthusiasm for football. I hope that they will find a way to fall in love with football and make it the most important sport in the country. They need time to figure that out and to create system of football schools that will grow generations of young kids who will love football in the same way as Croatians do."

Blazevic says that there is a simple solution to that problem.

"The most important thing is to find skilled coaches who will be able to prepare Chinese youth, as soon as possible, for many challenges that you'll find today in a world of football. You have to introduce football to kids when they are seven, eight years old. That is to right time for them to become intimate with the ball which is very important. If you start that process when they are 12, you are too late."

But, it's not only ball handling skills that will make you a great footballer in a modern game.

"Football became so complicated that you have multiple science disciplines like biomechanics, sociology, psychology and even mathematics that we use today to make players better. The ones that are not following that progress and are not willing to learn, will be left behind."

Blazevic says that China is in a good position to make an impact in the world of football.

"China will benefit from evolution of the game of football because of Chinese mentality. They have everything to become a strong football nation. They have good mentality, they are willing to work hard and they are good athletes, fast, brave and smart. Because of that it is very important to find great coaches who will teach them how to build a system and make a plan of development for young players."

Of course, the important factor is money that is now flowing in streams to Chinese football.

"Yes, it's important to have money, as well, but that can also be dangerous if you don't use it well. If they will spend a lot of money to import foreign players there will be fewer opportunities for young Chinese players to develop. That is why Chinese football leaders will have to limit the amounts that you can spend and numbers of foreign players in their clubs."

Wise man Ciro has spoken and it would be wise to listen what he has to say. Endit