Croatia assistant coach Ivica Olic has opened up on being around 200 metres behind a fatal accident on the outskirts of Berlin on Wednesday evening. In a harrowing accident, a family of three are reported to have been killed on Germany’s A24.
A 59-year-old man, a 47-year-old woman and their 19-year-old daughter were killed in the accident. Bild report that the man lost control of his vehicle while attempting an overtake.
Police closed the section of the motorway leading towards Berlin. Croatian football icon Olic was reportedly stuck in traffic behind the incident for two hours.
The 44-year-old was driving back to Croatia’s base with members of the team’s support staff after their 2-2 Euro 2024 draw with Albania on Wednesday afternoon. Olic and another member of staff decided to go for a walk, forcing the police to escort them back to their cars.
Bild pictured Olic and the other individual walking alongside a police car. Asked for his reaction, the former Bayern Munich forward insisted he simply wanted to stretch his legs and was unaware of how bad the accident was.
“We didn’t want to gawk, we just wanted to stretch our legs,” Olic told the German newspaper. “It was only later that we read how bad the accident was.”
Olic and the other support staff had travelled back separately to head coach Zlatko Dalic and the players, who had all boarded the team bus. The coach arrived back at Croatia’s base in the town of Neuruppin, Brandenburg, before the accident occurred.
A statement from the Croatian national team read: “We were very sorry to hear about the accident and we extend our condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in the accident.”
Croatia have endured a disappointing start to Euro 2024 and need to beat Italy in their final game to have any hope of qualifying for the knockout rounds. They were held to a 2-2 draw by Albania on Wednesday, conceding an equaliser in the 95th minute after battling back from 1-0 down.
Dalic’s side were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Spain in their opening match. It leaves them with just one point from their first two games. Spain and Italy both have three, while there is a route to the next round offered to the four best third-placed teams.
