Did Marko Livaja legitimately retire from the Croatian national team this week or was he pushed out? My inclination is to believe it was the latter, but nonetheless, this is a good thing for the future of the Croatian national team. With how Zlatko Dalić treats his players when they misbehave, there is zero chance at this point in time that Livaja will ever wear the checkers again in his career.
This is good news for three reasons:
- Livaja is volatile. Who knows what really happened this week between Livaja, Dalić, and the HNS. However, after being kicked off the team for the UEFA Nations League semifinal and final in June and then again last month for September’s Euro 2024 qualifiers, Livaja was called up once again this month for games versus Turkey and Wales. An olive branch was offered by Dalić and the HNS but someway, somehow Livaja mucked it up. We will never know what was said behind closed doors but I will 100% put my next paycheck on Livaja opening his “hot head” mouth. We already know Dalić is a disciplinarian and won’t put up with any nonsense in the locker room. Just ask Nikola Kalinić and Ante Rebić. With Livaja already bringing negative attention to the team back in June for the “Rijeka fan incident”, Dalić cleaning up the locker room with toxic behavior is a good thing for the entire team moving forward.
- Livaja is 30 years old. He’s in the twilight of his career and should be leading by example both on and off the field. At 30 years old, Livaja is not the future of Croatian football. He’s simply not. Maybe if he was having a hot season at Hajduk, he could carry the Croatian national team at the #9 position at Euro 2024…but that would really be it. His omission from the national squad moving forward (plus injuries) will allow future Croatian strikers to push up the pecking order sooner than later. Musa, Beljo, Šimić will now all be in a better position to get cracks at the #9. Even if there are some growing pains in qualifying, I’d rather go this route with those three than play a 30 year-old Livaja who won’t be around for much longer anyways.
- Livaja has been ice cold in the HNL. Look, I’m a Hajdukovac, but why should Livaja have a seat at the table instead of Musa who plays in Portugal or Beljo who plays in Germany? Livaja has been anything but impressive a quarter through the HNL season. This guy should be tearing up the league with MVP performances, but he’s not. So why does Livaja deserve a spot on the national team? In 10 Hajduk appearances this season, Livaja only has 4 goals to go along 2 assists. More importantly, Livaja has not scored a goal since August 20th against Rudeš. The man is ice cold at the moment and his poor form and volatile behavior can only do more harm than good for the repka at this time.
This is a shocking piece of “journalism” and totally misinformed.
Sincerely – a Croatian football journalist
livaja je Bog. =U=
Hahaha je was going on the Nations League Finals Nobody kicked him out
So are we confident?? I seem to recall Turkey getting a few draws against us in Hrvatska in the past so hopefully that doesn’t happen again. Really hope to see positive strides from Musa.
We’ve lost a lot of players this round.
But we’re at home and we still have better players than Turkey.
It’s pretty telling that we could field an entire team of reserves and still be better than Turkey.
Anything can happen, and our biggest risk is that our trio up top have played very little.
We’re still favorites. Even a draw results in us topping the group, but we need to be dissatisfied with anything less than a win.
All sports sites are reporting that Juranović and Petković are not 100% and will be on the bench (to avoid further injury). This is the alleged lineup for tomorrow:
Livaković – Stanišić, J. Šutalo, Gvardiol, Barišić – Modrić, Brozović, Kovačić – Pašalić, Musa, Brekalo
Sounds like a winning line up.
Ajmo!
What a change 4 weeks can be. Rare starting opportunity for Musa, Brekalo to show off their current skill sets to see if they can be pieces to this fast-ever-changing puzzle. The defense and middle field are still solid as it gets.
I’m not mad at that
Called me old fashion, but the closer we get to a Dalic protype “No Gimmick” team, the happier I am.
No more attention hungry angst red-white checker dyed hair, or wacky Death Row Danny Pranjic style tattoos. We want Gvardiol prototype clean cut studs, who do their talking on the field who give the sign of the cross when they score and leave the gimmicks and dances to the Nordic blonde-haired Brazilians, and Griezmann.
Alright, Get off my lawn you whipper snappers!
I enjoy Dalic’s no nonsense conservative, value-based decisions. He is lucky we have the depth, for him to make a stand without too much impact to the final product.
This was long overdue, Livaja should’ve been given the flick straight after the World Cup.
I’m going to quote the great and infamous ziva istina
Look at me livaja showed his true colours
Sure we don’t know all the inner workings on what’s happening
But again I’ll quote him by using short term pain equals long term gain
It’s unfortunate dalic hand has been forced now to play young guys
It’s been his biggest fault as a coach but obviously the guy has done some things right
I’ve criticized him myself over the years but we were being lead by a tv repairman who had the most talent arguably ever available to a Croatian coach and dalic snuck us in to Russia and it’s been quite positive since
We got rid of some cancers
I’m not calling these guys cancers but certainly their attitudes have been a problem
Sometimes it’s best to cut the leg to save the body
So even if dalic cheated on his wife years ago he is showing what you guys are going on with your religious arguments in recent weeks and seems to have transformed himself
We aren’t perfect and dalic has shown he isn’t either but he seems to be leading the proper way now and I can only hope is personal life is the same
With all this rambling aside
We are in a great position to qualify for yet another tournament and without having to do so ugly this time
We have had some really bad luck as of late
But if there was ever a time we could have this happen it’s now
We have some unproven guys but they are young and hungry
Ljvaja isn’t that, let’s face it
He isn’t more physically fit then say musa( maybe you can say he is stronger) but we all know his attitude and work rate just like petko is questionable at times
What’s made luka, vida, Perisic, mandzo the next level repka guys is obvious a decent amount of talent but exceptional work rates even when they are slumping
we have average to above average talent in all positions and back ups
The rest is hard work, luck(which usually comes with positive attitude and effort) and solid management
We have these things
Guys will be back from injuries but at the same time it’s up to a young guy or two to make that next step
So all in all, while we could use ljvaja as let’s just chalk this up as a blessing in disguise type situation and let’s see what we can do with youth and world class leaders on the pitch and in locker room
Good article…I agree with your reasoning. We want players with passion, but as professional athletes, they also need discipline. I remember when Mandžukić was starting out at Dinamo…he was extremely “hot-headed”. Then Zee Germans straitened him out at Bayern.
Where has Livaja been unprofessional on the field. I don’t think he has done anything bad while in HNL. I think he had some issues in Greece, but been clean back in the HNL. I think people confuse being moody for unprofessionalism.
we are wasting words on a bench player anyway. My only issue is how this was handled . Savez should have done more to not be in this situation. I own my own business and you don ‘t handle employer relations like this.
“I think people confuse being moody for unprofessionalism.”
you most likely don’t know his personality. he’s had fist fights with players in Italy and he’s always been known for a shitty attitude, unprofessional behaviours (skipping practices, smoking)…there’s a reason nobody stood up for him (except for Bruno, who was put on the spot)…if he was a good guy then the entire team would have backed him…have you ever belonged to a team before? My God, its as if you’ve never played a sport in your life…teammates usually sacrifice for teammates but in this case NOBODY did…thats not by accident!
Davor,
Livaja (while playing in the HNL) was shouting out disrespectful crap about other Croatians (after a game, in front of fans and media, and using a megaphone)- you simply don’t do that as a national team player!
In the several months that have passed since then, Livaja was given a chance, but he has not made an attempt at making ammends, and so, he is pushed off of the bench ( where he at best currently deserves to sit on).
We have had other players say disrespectful things and still play for the national team.
I’m fine with the decision to not play or call him up based on football reasons. But, nobody is buying the “disrespectful” excuse. He shouted at a few idiot fans. Big deal.
He shouted crap at thousands of fans in the first episode!
I believe attitude matters, and for Livaja, the last two episodes we are reffering to, are likely just the final two straws.
Given a choice between two equally effective players, the guy who brings the toxicity to the team, is the guy that gets cut.
As you point out, it may not be fair, but at some point, someone gets punished when things need to change.
Modric when asked about talking to Perisic…”yes of course I’m in contact with Ivan”
Modric when asked about the situation with Livaja…”I haven’t had any contact with Livaja”
as the captain of the team, its obvious in this situation that Modric couldn’t give two shits about Livaja and he’s irrelevant, otherwise he would have reached out to try and fix the situation between Livaja and Dalic/HNS.
as I mentioned before…Livaja is a big shot in Split, he can smoke, miss practices, behave as he wishes but on the National team he can’t do that.
The Modric as captain who didn’t speak with Mandzukic until right before the 2018 World Cup.
If he is a great captain, then wouldn’t the captain reach out to the troubled player to bring him back or calm him down.
There were a number of players and even coaches on the national team who did not like Livaja and were jealous of the attention he was getting within the HNL. He is probably a tough man to like.
This “article” was clearly not written by a Hajduk fan. I don’t claim to know Livaja’s motivations but I think his “hotheadedness” is an oversimplification.
We will be facing a motivated Jihad Turkey tomorrow. I hope Dalic is channeling that ZDS energy.
in a situation like this I look at the variables. in this case we have Zlatko Dalic, a good man, very professional, polite, respectful and he seems to be fair. we then have Marko Livaja who’s edgy and has had several controversies throughout his career…he’s tempermental and not a very easy person to get along with.
if we are not biased and if we are truly only looking at the facts…Dalic has been consistent with what he expects from his players and Livaja did behave unprofessionally and didn’t get the backing he wanted…because everyone on that field saw how childish and ridiculous Livaja behaved…you can’t defend that behaviour.
Livaja is good for HNL and Split but only they tolerate his bullshit, doesn’t mean anyone else should! I’d rather play a kid like Beljo over a clown like Livaja. creating drama in the dressing room is very destructive and divisive, this is something I just think doesn’t belong and Dalic has done a good job at maintaining a healthy environment in the National team camp!
Next we are gonna see more banners from Torcida bashing Dalic over this instead of them laying blame where it belongs!
You have no idea if Dalic is a good man or not. Praying the rosary in front of a TV camera might make his a good Catholic or might make him someone who does things when the media is around. If there is on thing about professional athletes and coaches they all live in a different bubble than the average person.
I’ve met Dalic, some people I know, know Dalic. I’ve never once heard a single bad word said about him. I asked some of my friends from Mostar about him and they all told me he’s a very good man.
our National team has done extremely well under him…he’s doing something right!
Well, as I said before these people lead different wives. I know that he cheated on his wife years ago. That is a topic for another time.
Yeah, he has a generational talent in Modric. I like how he handles himself for the most part. But, the true test if he is a good manager will come after Modric leaves.
Dalic is a Livnjak, he can do no wrong!
He’s a true professional and has not put up with anything that can negatively affect the team. Livaja was barely serviceable when he was in form. Right now he’s not even repka material and he knows it.
This Livaja thing is so weird to me. He’s never been anything but a fringe player…and a shity one at that. Who cares if he’s not on the NT. It’s obviously for the better.
I’m obviously a Rijeka fan and don’t think these takes are warranted. We are talking about his age, meanwhile we still rely heavily on 38 and 34 year olds to lead this team. And yes, while he’s had a slower start to his HNL season, I wouldn’t call 4G/2A “ice cold”. He’s still a top 3 player on the league and will finish top 2 in scoring come end of the year.
In summation, the scenario in Rijeka was a shit show on multiple fronts and while I’m obviously not a Livaja homer, I think he’s a nice depth piece to have as we transition to a new generation here. I don’t agree with Dalic and his hesitation to use some of our younger guys, but you have to ease some of these guys in (which he barely has done) while still having guys who are experienced on the squad to play a supporting role (like Livaja, Vida and Kramaric).
But the one big difference is we never relied on Livaja. You cant compare Modric, Kramaric, Vida, or any older player to Livaja. Livaja is just a fill in player at best.
Some valid points ARMADA87.
However, exactly why I think the message here to the team players from Dalić and Co is:
not even for a player who deserves to be on the bench, during a time when we could potentially use him (due to all of the injuries), will we tolerate a shitty attitude and the resultant disrespectful behavior.
100% agree with you!
Livaja could walk on water when he was scoring goals but now that his goals have dried up people aren’t going to accept his bullshit for very long. he really needs to snap out of this drought sooner than later.
This is easy for me. He should not be on the national team because he is in poor form compared to the last 2 years. End of story. I hate hajduk and their fans, but I also realize they are the loudest fan base in the country.
But, what poor behavior? He confronted an idiot fan at the national team’s training in Rijeka. He didn’t hit the fan. I wish he did that way he would be banned. He walked over and the guy shut up. Other players have done a lot worse if we are going to look at personal behavior as the reason to drop a fan. Lovren lied in court and stayed on the national team. Didn’t he. A few others did also in court. We had other players publicly make fun of their teammates and they still remained on the national team. I don’t think behavior off the field should be a factor.
Good take here.
Davor,
As I have stated above, regarding the megaphone incident ( which occured first, and where Livaja shouted out, in public “piĉke Šibenske, dobit će te batine”.
Unnacceptable behaviour for a national team player.
Shortly afterwards, the incident you refer to above occured. A fan was chirping Livaja, and he could have realized that it was done in response to his own innitial comments, which he mistakenly made, and as the result, he could have acted professionally, and restrained himself.
However, Livaja did not, and instead found it necessary to defend his big ego, and to proceed to confront the fan (which in essence, was doubling down on his initial disrespectful statement).
It’s no wonder that Livaja got next to no support, because the rest of the team knew that he himself started it, and that he was in the wrong.
In the end, it appears that the people of Šibenik will not be getting batine (as Livaja stateqd), but rather, it’s Livaja who got the batine.
When the experinced player offers nothing over the youth, it’s time to let the older guy go. In Livaja’s case, it’s the ultimate no brainer because he dug his own grave with his bad attitude and unprofessional / undisciplined behaviour.
There is a fourth reason, his ugly tattoos
I’m a Dalmatinac!!! HŽV!!!!!
But I Absolutely Agree Unfortunately. He’s done man. Can’t even play in ?? at the moment
His actions are extremely disappointing as a Hajduk fan. Unfortunately for him there is no going back from this. This year he really has not been in good form either so it’s really hard to justify the call up here so maybe this is for the best.
Dalic will have a prime opportunity here to integrate the youth so there is a positive out of this. Unfortunately Simic won’t have his chance here to be around the National Squad given his current form.
I really do believe this is Musa’s chance to shine.
It never should’ve gotten to the stage where he had that altercation with a fan. Not only because Livaja shouldn’t have reacted like that but Dalic kept calling him up when at that point, him being part of that team was long overdue and it really should’ve been straight after the World Cup, he was dropped completely and that time could’ve been spent on playing other players who would be able to do more for the National team within the Long run.