On Sunday, Portuguese newspaper Record featured an interview with West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic.
The manager has confirmed that the club want to keep Filip Krovinovic and Matheus Pereira following their loan spells, and these quotes were quickly spread through the English media.
But the interview actually had more than that, and we’re bringing some of the other quotes the coach presented during the live video chat with Record.
First asked how his family has been doing during the Coronavirus break, Bilic has revealed how he’s been taking care of his children during lockdown.
“They are fine. I have five children, three who live with me and two older ones: my son studies in London and my daughter is in Croatia. The three little ones are keeping us busy, which is fantastic. They give us energy. It’s demanding, but, even now, people should stay at home and it’s boring, because our lives have totally changed, the day passes in an instant.
“We have to teach school at home, do my own thing, read, prepare games for the rest of the season and everything goes in an instant. It’s a difficult situation for everyone. It’s time to show solidarity and it’s incredible. We had all read it in books or in the Bible, but this is the first time – and I am 51 years old – when we are all the same.”
“It doesn’t matter where you live, what continent, what work, what power you have, how much money you have, how influential you are in your community: we’re all the same. We’re all very small as individuals, a small part of something very big.”
Bilic talked a little about how good West Brom’s season had been before the break, saying he’s in preparation for the games left.
“We’re in a good position, six points clear with nine games to go. It leaves us in a position where we don’t need to panic or lose our minds if we aren’t winning at halftime, it’s a cushion to be calm and confident. Of course, it would be better to have a breakthrough like Liverpool, but if someone had proposed this to us at the beginning of the season, we’d have accepted it quickly. I’m confident, as we’re preparing for nine games and I have some experience of that from the days when I coached Croatia. It’s like preparing for a Euros or a World Cup.”
However, regarding the return of the Championship, Bilic says the world may have some bigger concerns by July.
“It’s not just up to us and football isn’t the priority, but it would be the fairest. I’m not a scientist or an economist, but if things don’t get better by July and we have to stay closed by then, then the world will have much bigger concerns than playing football.”
Bilic has also been asked if he’s still a rock ‘n roll manager: “I play guitar at home – if I wasn’t talking to you, maybe I’d be playing it now. It’s for pleasure. When I do that, things come to mind, ideas about football.”
Finally quizzed about what he’s been listening on Spotify lately, he said: “For the past few months I’ve been listening to a friend’s band from Split. And Muse, who I’ve known all along, but I haven’t listened to for a long time. In October they had a concert in Birmingham and I went to see it with my assistant, who also loves music. Amazing! Since then I’ve listened a lot. I also listen to a little bit of Black Crows, heavy metal, rock, Springsteen, Chopin…”
