Expectations for Bora Milutinovic are higher than ever as he enters his fourth consecutive World Cup. None of his previous teams have had as much talent as the Nigerians.

Bora Milutinovic is speeding down the road somewhere in Switzerland.

It's two days after his Nigerian team lost 3-0 to Yugoslavia. In two weeks he'll be coaching in his fourth World Cup. The cell phone connection is horrendous. The car engine competes with the static. Yet it's not that difficult to make out Milutinovic's statements.

''I am happy,'' he says. ''It's normal.''

They are the statements he has always made, whether it was when he coached Mexico, Costa Rica, the U.S., or Mexico, again. Whether his team was looking good, or whether it was coming off a loss, with Milutinovic it was always, ''I am happy. It's normal.''

But how can everything be normal? Nigeria is coming off its third loss in a row after a tie with Jamaica. The 1-0 defeat to Germany, that's no scandal. Then an embarrassing 4-0 loss to Swiss club Grasshoppers before Yugoslavia thumped the Nigerians 3-0.

Keep in mind that the Nigerian public and Milutinovic's bosses have dreams of actually winning the World Cup. Milutinovic had to agree that this was possible when he took the job. Moreover, Nigeria has long been dubbed the best candidate to bring Africa its first World Cup title.

In his three previous World Cups, Milutinovic coached underdogs and the aim was respectability. Even though Mexico was host in 1986, it hadn't even qualified in 1982 and was a disaster in 1978. Milutinovic guided the Mexicans to the quarterfinals and became a hero. In 1990, he took charge of Costa Rica just 90 days before its first World Cup appearance. Its second-round appearance was considered phenomenal.

With the U.S., a win, a tie and two losses were still considered a success, because the task that time was also a round of 16 spot. But how different is it now that he has Nigeria, whose potential was realized when it won the 1996 Olympic gold medal?

''It's normal,'' he says. ''The ball is the same.''

But he has started to downplay the expectations, pointing out that an Olympic tournament – in 1996 it was a U-23 tournament in which each team was allowed three overage players – is different than a World Cup. He says the traditional powers remain the favorites.

''They are always the same,'' he says. ''Brazil, Germany, Argentina, France, Italy. Then maybe Spain, England, Holland, Yugoslavia, then Nigeria.''

Blending talent

Milutinovic had qualified Mexico for France '98, in fact finishing first in CONCACAF. But then he was fired after four straight ties frustrated Mexican fans and federation brass.

Mexico has since had such a horrible series of results that many there regret the replacement of Milutinovic by his critic, Manuel Lapuente. What does Milutinovic think of Mexico's slide since he left?

''I really only watch my team,'' he says. ''I don't think so much about the other teams. The U.S. and Mexico have my best wishes, nothing more.''

It wasn't since winning the Carlsberg Cup in January with a second-string group that Milutinovic had the confidence of the Nigerians and press.

''When I arrived in Nigeria,'' Milutinovic says, ''the fans greeted me with shouts of, 'Bora Maestro, Bora Maestro.' All was well after the Hong Kong tournament, but in these last games I didn't have my full team.''

A major question about Nigeria remains its shortcomings in the organization department. During the gold medal run, its Dutch coach Jo Bonfrere said, ''From the day we started, we had problems everyday.''

When the team arrived in Atlanta's Olympic Village, the Nigerian delegation did not greet the squad as it was charged to do, and they wandered around looking for their dorms. When it became known that the village was six hours from the games in Athens, they opted to find lodging there – but they had not, as the other teams had, made reservations. They ended up in a budget motel.

An altercation with a bus driver and last-minute uniform requests were among the problems that ensued.

But Bonfrere, who had his own difficulties locating his paychecks, had a close bond to his young players, who expressed their fondness for him. He let them flourish within an attacking system that ended up overwhelming the likes of Brazil and Argentina.

Milutinovic replaced Frenchman Phillipe Trousier last December and then had to start picking a team from the bevy of Nigerian talent that is scattered around the world. His roster now comprises players from eight different European leagues. Blending these stars – and several are indeed outstanding talents – isn't that difficult, Milutinovic says.

''But there is much travel and I have not had my whole team together,'' he adds.

He'll have to work his magic faster then ever to mesh his talent together in time for its June 13 game against Spain.

As for the infamous off-field problems, Milutinovic says, ''If you had Nigerian players, U.S. organization, and Bora as coach, you have a world champion.''

But two out of three will have to do if Milutinovic's fourth World Cup will be more than just another second-round appearance.

(by Mike Woitalla, senior editor of Soccer America.)

RECORD BOOK

Bora's Scores

MEXICO '86
First Round
Mexico 2, Belgium 1
Mexico 1, Paraguay 1
Mexico 1, Iraq 0
Round of 16
Mexico 2, Bulgaria 0
Quarterfinals
West Germany 0, Mexico 0
(West Germany won 4-1 on PKs)

ITALY '90
First Round
Costa Rica 1, Scotland 0
Brazil 1, Costa Rica 0
Costa Rica 2, Sweden 1
Round of 16
Czechoslovakia 4, Costa Rica 1

USA '94
First Round
USA, 1 Switzerland 0
USA 2, Colombia 1
Romania 1, USA 0
Round of 16
Brazil 1, USA 0