WORLD CUP USA ‘94: SEMIFINALS : Spotlight : MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACKING

Coach Berti Vogts of Germany took a farewell shot at retiring goalkeeper Bodo Illgner on Monday, the day after Bulgaria had eliminated the Germans in the World Cup quarterfinals.

First, Vogts told reporters he would not blame anyone for Sunday’s 2-1 upset loss.

“You don’t have to look (to see) who is guilty,” he said. “It’s not good to do this.”

Then Vogts pointed his finger at Illgner, who played erratically during the tournament. Vogts was furious that Illgner announced his resignation from the national team after the loss.

“If we had lost to South Korea, I would have made the change,” Vogts said.

Illgner gave up two second-half goals as South Korea rallied to scare the Germans in a first-round match. Although Illgner misplayed the two goals, he later made some brilliant saves to help Germany preserve the 3-2 victory.

After the match, Vogts talked to an assistant to decide whether to continue starting Illgner.

“It was a mistake to maintain him,” Vogts said Monday.

If the coaches had made the change, Andreas Koepke would have drawn the starting assignment. Hearing what Vogts said further frustrated Koepke.

“Vogts is crazy,” he said at the team hotel in Short Hills, N.J. “He could have said it weeks ago, but now he says it.”