Source: Daily_Mail
EXCLUSIVE: Capello has taken away your English fighting spirit, claims Bilic
Croatia coach Slaven Bilic has kicked off the psychological war ahead of Wednesday's World Cup showdown with England by warning that Fabio Capello's side have lost their traditional aggression.
Bilic brings his talented side to Wembley this week hoping for a repeat of the win of November 2007 that sent Croatia to the finals of Euro 2008 and cost Steve McClaren his job.
And the former West Ham and Everton defender claimed he has spotted a weakness in Capello's team that Croatia can exploit.
Croatian coach Slaven Bilic
On the ball: Slaven Bilic claims he has spotted a flaw in Fabio Capello's England
Asked about the change in England under the Italian Capello, Bilic told Sportsmail: 'They are a very different team. They have some advantages but they are also missing something from their game.
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They are missing some Englishness, some of the things that have always made England teams difficult to defend against and play against.'
When asked to elaborate, Bilic was mischievously vague but it appears he feels England have lost a little of their robust edge.
He added: 'All I will say is that they are definitely missing something and we know what it is. But, of course, I'm not going to tell you now what it is. It's our secret.'
Bilic's team beat England twice in qualifying for Euro 2008 but suffered a sobering 4-1 home loss to Capello's team a year ago.
Croatia struggled past Belarus 1-0 in Zagreb in Group Six on Saturday night and Bilic must hope that England self-destruct again as they did in losing 3-2 almost two years ago, when a draw would have sent McClaren's team to Euro 2008.
Croatia manager Slaven Bilic and Steven Gerrard
Tamed bulldogs: Bilic claims England, whose Euro 2008 demise he famously masterminded, have lost their fighting spirit under new manager Fabio Capello
Bilic added: 'The scar for them is there but unfortunately I can't count on that. If that was true then John Terry would never have got so close to another Champions League final after missing that penalty in Moscow.
'English players do not give in and give up and he was awesome against Barcelona in last season's semi-finals. This is a new game and they have a new manager.
'Yes, it was a big blow for them. But you all forgot it two weeks later when you had Manchester United and Chelsea playing each other.
'No, I don't think there is a fear of Croatia. We did not beat them 10 times in a row. But, having said that, we are the only team in the world to have done it twice. We did it one after the other and that's important.'
Vedran Corluka
Missing man: Corluka is suspended for Wembley
Croatia will be without injured Tottenham forward Luka Modric as well as club-mate Vedran Corluka, who was sent off on Saturday.
Nevertheless Corluka will travel to Wembley with his countrymen and is hoping for a repeat of two years ago.
He said: 'We didn't perform very well against Belarus, but maybe that's good. Maybe England will underestimate us.
'Under Capello they are another team. They have played very well and when they beat us here that showed what a big team they are. We will be outsiders but that suits us and we can get something.
'I know some people said we celebrated too much against England last time.
'But people in England need to know that to beat England at Wembley is the biggest joy ever because they are a great team and everyone respects them. That was why we celebrated.'
