Vedran Runje out of Perrin's grace

Ozren Podnar reports from Zagreb

Vedran Runje out of Olympique Marseille?

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"The coach has had it in for me since Madrid."

Vedran Runje used to be the second best rated goalkeeper in the French Championship, but now he braces himself for being the second best .. at Olympique Marseille.

The imminent arrival of Fabien Barthez from Manchester United combined with the irrational animosity his coach Alain Perrin feels for him spell disaster for the proud Croatian goalie.

Pride is precisely the issue between Runje and Perrin and the battle of egos started after the second game of the UEFA's Champions League in Madrid, which the French team lost 4-2.

Perrin was reportedly furious at his team for the defeat and he did not waste any chance to drive his discontent home to the players.

"When Real beat us 4-2, he gave us a heavy ball-busting," said the 27-year old Runje to the Croatian daily Jutarnji List. "It sounded as if it were extraordinary for us to have lost in Madrid, at Santiago Bernabeu, to obviously the world's top team with Ronaldo, Raul, Zidane, Beckham and the rest .. all of them star players. Who can go there and beat them?

But Perrin was determined to crucify the players so he started 'shooting' us with all guns blazing. Suddenly, I lost it and told him what I thought of his attitude. It was not myself I was defending, because he had not criticized me directly. I rose in defence of my teammates."

Runje is an outspoken, temperamental Croat from the southern region of Dalmatia, famous for spawning fierce, independent characters.

"It seems that my outspokenness is a shortcoming. I used to think it pays to be frank, to say things to someone's face rather than behind their back. But I was wrong. Still, I am proud of my 'shortcoming' of sincerity," claims Runje, denying he had argued with the coach about tactics.

"I did not mention the first thing about tactics or made any comment about the coach's work. The only thing I said was that he should stop hammering us about the game we had lost in Madrid and that we should all turn towards the games that were ahead of us. And I spoke to him openly, in the dressing room, not to the press."

In the (bald) spot

Runje's intervention may have served Perrin to justify the Croat's forthcoming relegation to the bench, in view of the much talked-about arrival of Fabien Barthez from Manchester United.

"When our reserve keeper was injured, it was generally believed that the club would sign another backup keeper, but they ended up signing Barthez."

The Croat learned of the French national team goalie's arrival directly from his coach, who came up to him on the eve of the League game against Strasbourg.

"It's fine by me if you are going to bring him in, but I suppose I will stay on in goal as long as I keep on performing well?" queried Runje.

"Nope," said Perrin. When (Barthez) gains the right to play, he will be our first choice keeper.

Since OM was top of the table back then, and still in contention for the second round of the Champions League, Runje saw Barthez's arrival as a not-so-covert move designed to uproot him from the Olympique's goal, rather than a response to a dire necessity.

Seeing that the famous bald-headed Frenchman will soon be eligible to play in the French League, what's going on in Runje's mind?

"My contract does not expire for the next two and a half years. I will be there on January 5th for the beginning of the preparations for the second part of the season. Since I had a knee surgery 10 days ago, I will be working separately from the rest of the team. I am tough, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't like this."

Still, it will take still more toughness on Runje's part to swallow a further consequence of his fall from grace: the loss of any hope to earn a call-up from Otto Baric to the Croatian Euro 2004 squad.

"I got called up once, for the Andorra qualifying game, to replace the injured reserve keeper Tomislav Butina."

But, Club Brugge's Butina suddenly recovered and claimed his usual position on the bench, behind the regular keeper Stipe Pletikosa, and Runje had to watch the game from the stands.

Back then in September he must have thought that another good campaign in Olympique's goal would have guaranteed him a place in the Croatian squad, but with his reserve status in OM looming, all hope must be lost.

"What hope did I have? They did not call me when I was the top goalkeeper in Belgium (when playing for Standard Liege), they are not likely to give me a call now that I'll be looking at Barthez's back..." says Runje, who will be listening to offers from other clubs. According to the Jutarnji List daily, Bayern Munich is considering him as a possible replacement for Oliver Kahn.

Ozren Podnar