Coach Bora, can you tell us your first memory of playing football?
Well, my first memory is not of an actual ball, it’s of a ball made out of socks, fabric and a pig’s bladder, but this was a very long time ago. When I was a child we were never fortunate enough to have a ball, so we played and ran after an improvised ball. I was lucky to have brothers that played football well, so we had no real ball but we’d spend the entire time with this little rag-ball. I’ve already forgotten those early days, although they have influenced my life a lot. Later I moved to Belgrade and was fortunate enough to play for an important team, Partizan Belgrade, where I learnt to play football. Those are my first steps and I was lucky enough to be part of a Partizan Belgrade team that won so many titles, a team that was very important back in those days.
What was your first World Cup memory?
My two brothers played on the Yugoslavian team in ’58, and I normally cleaned all of my brothers’ boots, because in those days you only had one pair of boots with different sets of studs. The 1958 World Cup was very memorable, because it was my first World Cup. We travelled by train for a few days and many things happened, but I was a kid and I enjoyed it a lot. Then later I always dreamed of doing something my brother had done, because my brother played at the World Cup in ’54 and ’58.
How did you make the transition from player to coach?
I went to Mexico, where I finished my career as a player at Pumas, my beloved team – one of my beloved teams. There I became a coach. So with Pumas we got excellent results, and after the ’82 World Cup, I started managing Mexico’s national team, where I stayed until ’86. We came sixth at the ’86 World Cup. I remember before the match against Belgium there were sound problems, so they couldn’t play the national anthem, and Tomás Boy, the then captain, asked what we should do, and I told him to stay in the middle of the pitch and start singing the national anthem. So they started singing the national anthem and everyone in the stadium sang it too. I thought to myself: ‘Today, no one will be able to beat us’.  
Aside from the players, you also have special memories of the fans – like the first ever Mexican wave…
Well, it was a coincidence that it happened during an important match whilst we were preparing for the ’86 World Cup. We were playing against Argentina, and the people of Monterrey were so happy that they expressed their joy by doing a wave, and that was the beginning of the ‘Mexican Wave, in September ’84. Every time I go to stadiums around the world today and see a Mexican Wave, I remember those days when, thanks to the quality and the efforts of my players, this expression of joy was born.
Italy 1990 was a sort of miracle – you took over the team just a few months before the tournament and took the minnows to the second round.
How would you summarise that tournament in one word – was it a miracle?
In one word? It’s impossible, but I would say ‘pure life’, because when you say that I immediately associate it with Costa Rica. Well, the truth is that I don’t believe in miracles, because miracles only happen when you don’t do something as it should be done; but the lads were wonderful, very humble. Costa Rica had great team spirit, we worked very hard and it culminated in us winning two games, against Sweden and against Scotland.  
Thereafter you took over another home team for a World Cup finals. In the USA you developed a team from almost scratch. What stays in your mind the most about USA 1994?
The game against Colombia was extraordinary, because as I didn’t speak English well, I was searching for words and said “seize the moment, now is the time, now is the moment, we must play now”, so it was with that mentality and with the support of the fans in Pasadena that we achieved this extremely important result. You could say that after that victory, football in the United States has never looked back. We played in Detroit, for example, but we played in a closed stadium and the heat was unbearable. It’s like I told the players: It’s not cold, it’s not hot, it’s just in the mind, and you must do your best.  
Then came Nigeria in France 1998. How did you adapt to a different type of football?
Firstly, Nigeria has very talented players. Nigeria, I must remind you, were the Olympic champions in Atlanta, I mean, they beat Argentina. So Nigeria and all the players were exceptional. Sadly we weren’t able to achieve better results, even though the team topped the group in the first round [at France ’98] winning that unforgettable match against Spain, and later against Bulgaria.  
To complete your handful of coaching appearances at World Cup finals with different teams, you led China to historic qualification for 2002...
I went to China in 2000. It was a country whose national team had never had meaningful results. They had never been to a World Cup, so it was an extremely interesting experience for me. We managed to qualify without any problems. It was very important for China; on the day of our game against Oman, when we won one-nil and the team qualified, there were 500 million people watching our match on television and in Tiananmen Square there were 1 million people out in the streets. To me it is unforgettable to be part of the history of a country that I love, which is China.
And then there is the World Cup 2022 in Qatar, where you continue to live…
Qatar is something exceptional. When you get to know Qatar, the vision of the people here is extraordinary. I first came to Qatar in 1993. Imagine how Qatar used to be back then. Qatar is a country with a future; I mean - the vision, the organisation – everything is perfect. I am dreaming of a World Cup here in Qatar. It will be a dream World Cup, firstly because of the stadiums, secondly in one day you will be able to watch three games, which is extremely important. The players won’t need to travel. They won’t get tired. Qatar will serve as an example of what needs to be done to organise the perfect World Cup. And If China takes part, imagine how many Chinese fans will want to visit the country. It would be very good for Qatar to have the Chinese team here, because they would certainly get many Chinese tourists here to complete the party.