CroatianSports.com’s Allen Outraged has returned from the shadows for Croatia’s all important World Cup playoff with Iceland. Our favorite analyst from Queens, New York talks about his starting formation in this Friday’s match (2PM ET) as well as which players he does not want to see on the pitch.
Welcome back old friend!
Mishko,
3 potential U21’s are on the repka. Kovacic, Vrsaljko and Rebic.
Tomo how many of the U21’s have been called up for the NT?
I dunno, just saying
.
Gracan takes over the under 21’s – concede goals and lose for first time. Completely incompetent coaching strikes again for the HNS..
Didn’t know an ITouch was considered a potato for a camera. I learn something new every day from this site.
Beautiful videos boys!
Especially that first one Mate!
That vid is funny too though, good find ; )
No it was one with an old German granny (2006 wc) and it was just too funny. I think it’s disappeared from the Internet.
@Mali Ante-Love it.Now ask yourself,”what would the WC be without Hrvatska?!”
@NK Susak,I don’t think its him.The hat that he packed for the trip had a skull and crossbones sewn onto the front, right below the 4Cs” 😉
@majstore,
I think u are talking about this one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr4swlq_Fi4
Man this chick has no clue what they are saying haha
gotta love our navijaci
Live picture of Ziva from Rejkjavik (hes on the right)
http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/5zgTibWU0ySfulivoYEl0w–/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD00MjA7cT04NTt3PTYzMA–/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/Reuters/2012-09-07T220538Z_1063870736_GM1E8980GVQ01_RTRMADP_3_SOCCER-WORLD.JPG
One of my faves…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2w8Pe1U9J84
BJEZITE LJUDI….
Sorry fellas^^^^^^forgot to sign in,silly me!!
@Mishko-Faux said “hard on”LOL!
-Looks like we are doing a bit of growing up around here.Nice to have Mr Outraged back.I agree with a earlier comment,about not being overly hard on the guy,he has matured and grown while he was absent(and we all missed him a little) Don’t be overly hard on young Ziva either,he is currently still turning into that Butterfly as we speak with his maturing and growth.I hope he doesn’t have to go away for too long to put final touches on himself.Hell,we would miss the little Schmuck!!
-On the Iceland game,I think their coach is really trying to pump and convince his players that Croatia are down.I think its overstated.It was just mainly form,and although time was limited for Kovac,you don’t need that much time to turn form around.
Another beautiful video
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ckvZMttBzmo#
again my soccer knowledge is not tip top like some of you, im a canadian i know my hockey, but generally the coach will run similar lines as he will run in the game in practice
so, with that being sad, what is kovac running in practice throughout the week??
Awesome video enjoy
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=0SIKevig6CM#
I have faith in Niko and think the players just stopped playing for him. Kovac will play the boys for the most part in their natural positions. We definitely have the talent but were lacking the continuity due to all the juggling Stimac felt he had to make. I really feel that a 4-2-3-1 is the way to go…..
Mandzukic
Perisic/Ilicevic – Rakitic – Vrsaljko
Modric – Kovacic
Corluka – Simunic – Lovren – Srna
Pletikosa
Subs Eduardo – Kranjcar – Olic
@Faux Cro, you said hard on. LOL.
.
u guys r being hard on Allen. He has matured a lot in the last couple of years.
I don’t agree with him on Olic, but that seems to be a divisive issue.
^ ^
Samo rakija, kruh, i ajvar!
To je moja tradicija!
Get your popcorn ready
Jarac,
The original baci sise vid is a classic. It seems like it has completely disappeared from the Internet : (
@denis
I emailed you
Video wars on CSR, I love it.
.
@Vatrena Cast,
“I might just have to record a video myself, and we can debate it out.”
Let me know when you are ready.
baci sise da se igramo igramo igramooooo , woops wrong song
Tek da sjednem na tirbinu pa u pitcku materinu saljem purgere, oh man wrong one again
zovi samo zovi….
ajmo ajmo ajmo…..
uboj uboj….
bjezite ljudi bjezite iz grada stize ekipa pijana bijezite ljude dok postoji nada jer ovdje igra hrvatskaaa, ahh this more like it
Armada…you ever go to the Istra Sports Club? I went there years ago with an Istrian team…we played a few friendlies at the Istra Club of NYC.
^ ^
“a potato as a video camera.”
Funny! 🙂
Nearly time for an Icelandic FUCKING SMASHING FELLAS
(^__^)
if youre not outraged then you obviously know less than allen. olic in his early years tried to be a fancy player, doing step over, spins, yadda yadda yadda. He realized that wasnt working. ill be the first to admit i never thought the guy would ever be decent. but looking at his career. goddamn! first of all Bayern doesnt sign bad players and guess what he played for bayern, and scored some big times goals. If you think that olic just runs around with out the ball with no use then you dont see the game outside of the player that has the ball at his feet. olic makes excellent runs, keeps the opposing defense on their toes constantly. trust me you dont want the ball at olic’s feet, that is not his game. the guy knows where to be to score. What is he now 34 years old? its obvious he knows the game because he still plays at the top level. if not olic then who? kalinic? Allen I am sorry but you need to pay closer attention.
And for gods sake if youre gonna post a video work on your pronunciations you sounds like one of the goddamn american announcers.
And please next time try not to use a potato as a video camera.
I might just have to record a video myself, and we can debate it out.
The game is 7pm iceland 8pm croatia east coast americ 2 pm pacific 11 am. Aussie 6 am. Or 5 am.
anyone else getting pumped? I’m not working tomorrow and have my morning planned…morning coffee then a dump…take a shower…shag the wife…eat breakfast…and then the game…
Thanks chopper and tomo. So that IS 5AM Bris time.. awesome !
Iggy, the game is at 5.50 am Melbourne time and live on Setanta. They never get it wrong. Let’s smash ’em!
Game is 8pm rekuvyk time. Melbourne time that is 11 hrs behind. My calculations say 6am give or take an hr
^ ^
It doesn’t hurt that it’s in Brazil too.
^ ^
i feel like this World Cup will be like the last with most of the South American teams making the knock-out stages.
Didnt see the first half, but Im watching Belgium get their asses handed to them by Colombia in Brussels, and it feels pretty damn good.
Allen – this is for you bro!
“Olić je danas trenirao s momčadi. Još ću popričati s njime, i ako bude na 100 posto, nije tajna da će igrati”, javio je izbornik s Islanda.
dannyj – nobody knows…just speculation
if I had a choice of Pranjic or Perisic on the left…Pranjic wins…easily!
what are the current reports out of croatia for the lineup?
Pranjic came on as sub alot too and started 6 games played lm and wing. typical pranjic imo.
yup… more heart then valentines day!
was just trying to look up pranjic for this year… wikipedia says 1 goal in 6 appearances
anyone know how he is actually looking right now? in form?
Kovac’s…hands down!
who wins…
a team full of niko kovac’s playing at his international level or a team full of rakitic’s playing for a new contract at club level???
The game is 7pm Iceland time right???
That’s what fifa says:
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/preliminaries/europe/matches/round=258394/match=300261019/index.html
so.. at the moment google tells me it’s 8.50pm in Reykjavik..
6.50am here.. so the game is 5am Brisbane time..
wtf i am getting all different times
is any cunt in AUS and know what time the game is for them?? if so please list your city and time ! THSXXX
the rumor that Simunic will play left back is just a rumor…its definitely not a fact…yet anyways!
………………Mandzo……….
…Perisic……Rakitic……Srna
…………..Modric..Kovacic………..
Corluka..Simunic..Lovren..Vrsaljko
………………..Pletikosa…………..
we’ll make it!
If we don’t make it to Brazil with only Iceland in our way, I WILL NOT WATCH THE WORLD CUP!
Fuck thats hard to fathom though…
Allen – Yes, for the most part I agree…BUT against a weaker defense on a freezing cold night where skill may not be the decider…someone has to make a chance from nothing and thats why I think Kovac wants Olic in there…to make something from nothing.
Regardless, you and I are on the same team and we want the same result…how we get it may surprise both of us…lets just pray for the best and cheer for our team…whoever is on the field…even Rakitic!
I think the term role player in soccer doesn’t really exist. You have your role and you are supposed to play to that standard. Essien and Alonso are defensive midfields, who do an excellent job at controlling the midfield and still managing to attack here and there.
Other than Olic, the only striker I know who mostly hustles and doesn’t have much on ball skill is Dirk Kuyt. Even he mostly comes on at the end of games for Holland. Olic is nice for about 20 to 25 minutes just to see if he can outhustle the tired defenders. Other than that, just feel he’s ran his course and doesn’t do enough.
I like Veslo over Scorpoios as well, I’m just in the minority when my friends/relatives vote on it. Oh well, maybe we’ll get an Armada-Allen Outraged post game show aka worlds collide.
swiss win 2-0. e moj niko we should clone you!!
T-Bone – (hilarious name)…although I have been very naive in the past, I’d hate to believe money is the factor in all this with Rakitic…I’m not a fan of his but I’m not sure I believe what you mentioned…I could just be a naive fool!
great comments regardless!
lijepa li si makes me emotional…have you ever seen the video of all the different artists that sing it…awesome!
I’ll tell you why some guys fail to perform for the NT like they do at club level, the answer: MONEY. Take Rakitic for the best example. When he was trying to impress European clubs before and while he was with Schalke the dude was playing very well for the Vatreni because he DID NOT secure a long-term big money contract. Now with Sevilla he has that and I’m sure his contract is loaded with performance-based incentives that are affected by a hamstring pull he suffers when playing like a man possessed against Scotland in Zagreb. (This did not happen). Now that he’s been secure with Sevilla for the last few years the dude does not have to show anything when he plays for Cro. It’s common sense: why risk yourself to injury and losing future financial gain playing for a team that does not put food on your table. As far as I know the HNS pays players when they qualify for tournaments and ‘star’ players earn from endorsements domestically. So what you get is Raktic playing ‘safe’, I’d say at about 70-75% of his ability Hence the lack of defensive motivation, hustle, and all-out creativity. This being said a Rakitic playing at 75% is still better than some of the bench options we have if playing at 100% effort. When a tournament is at stake though I would be very surprised if we don’t see a marked improvement in play from some of our ‘star’ players.
As I stated though this isn’t true for all of our players that have big money contracts. Guys like Olic, Mandzukic, don’t ever really give a subdued performance for the NT. I think Modric is sometimes guilty of this. For me though Rakitic is a stand-out non-performer for the NT and it most likely is pressure from Sevilla that keeps him from giving his best to the NT.
I’m looking forward to the match tomorrow and I think we’ll get a good idea of how the tie will unfold in the first half of play. If we look good on offense and generate crafty well built and timed attack plays with smooth passing our chances of passage are high. If however they look anything like the last few games under Stimac, (i.e. no conviction, aimlessness in final third, lack of hustle, etc.) be ready for the shaming of the checkered shirt and a lame World Cup for Hrvati everywhere.
That one and samo je jedno along with lijepa li si are the ones that get me taking jager shots pre game early in the morning
My favorite game song!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ybni0ImuHU
hahahha sorry bro
JEDNAAAAAAAA DUSA A NAS DVOJEEEEEEEEEEEE
Poglavnik…hahaha…yeah my bad!
I was going back and forth to 2 different pages and saw it wrong…here are his career stats:
486 games
204 goals
this is very good – 42% scoring ratio
Davor Suker career stats:
448 games
203 goals
45% scoring ratio
Alen Boksic career stats:
350 games played
109 goals scored
31% scoring ratio
dAMN IT aRMADA, i WAS GETTING ALL HYPED UP THEN YOU HAD TO THROW MILEY CYRUS’ ASS INTO THE MIX
PUNA SOLI AL JE JEBACKIIIIIIII
VENECIJANSKI*
damn Google Translate! haha
DALMACIJO DOMMMMM MLETACKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
😉
fucking fifa.com was telling me vs iceland was 4.45am a few days ago now it’s 3am.. shit my dick that’s a fuckier time.. all the othermatches are at good times to watch but ours : (
HERCEG BOSNO SRCE USTASKOOOOO….
DALMACIJOOOO….
SLAVONIJO ZLATNA TI SI
PA KAZE…
OJ ZAGORO LIJEPA LI SI
AJMO ZAPAD….
SPREMNI…
VOLIMMMMMMMMMMMMM TEEEEEEEEE HRVATSKOOOOOOOO
OHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHHHHH OHHHHHHHHHH
VOLIM TEEEEEEEE HRVATSKOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Having been to both veslo and scorpios myself b4, I’d have to go with veslo as well.
AJMO ISTOK…
ZA DOM….
MALO VAS JE MALO VAS JE PICKICE…
re: Scorps and Veslo
Scorps is the type of hole in the wall bar you go and get smashed at. They don’t have food, it gets insanely packed (which has its pros/cons) and until recently, you could smoke in there. Went there for years to watch games, but when your 29 years old, I don’t want to be drenched in beer, smelling like death due to the cigarettes and beer and packed like sardines in some dimly lit bar. Granted, the scene there is awesome, just not my kind of joint anymore.
Veslo is a Dalmatian owned restaurant with a large bar area. I’m gonna sound very Ziva Istina-esqe right now haha but at Veslo, you can get a good plate of cevape, fuzi, dalmatinski juha, etc. to eat pre game or during the game, they have waitress service pre game and during the game as well. There is a fair amount of seating (I normally grab a booth with my crew). The staff is good and while you won’t get sprayed with beer or smell like smoke, we sing, chant and get wild with the best of them!
If they just had WiFi, I’d be all set 😉
both places are good, depends on what you’re looking for
Jebi ga now I can’t think of anything else except malo navijanje…
AJMO PICKE RUKE GORE
MI HRVATI…(clap clap clap clap clap clap)
@Slavonac
You sure about 75 goals in 140 games?
Wikipedia says 16 goals in 87 games.
2-0 for the swiss!
Hope this is an example of what the u21 team lost and what the A team gained in Niko
Taking it to a whole new level:
It was too loud to do the video in mama’s basement, so he had to use the car. Gotta do what you gotta do to get the job done!
Allen – also note what I said earlier…”7 workers – 2 intelligent distributors – 1 goalscorer…there are always variations and also players that are gifted who are work horses”
Allen, this is what you said bro “A striker is supposed to score goals and take advantage of chances. He does neither”
Ivica Olic:
games for Croatia 140
goals for Croatia 75
Games for Wolfsburg this year: 12
Goals for Wolfsburg this year: 6
I wouldnt say Ivica Olic doesn neither, you may have overlooked this but his stats are the real deal Allen moj!
Allen – Im comparing role players…not strikers…are you serious dude, thats what you got from that?
They don’t allow smoking anymore. Of course, the guy that doesn’t go there anymore makes that claim about the place still allowing smoking. Totally makes logical sense.
Whatever let’s not argue about nonsense. We are all Croatians and need to unite for the big game tomorrow.
I never realized its breakfast at noon in L.A….pretty cool if you ask me, I love palacinke!
Stari moj samo cekaj dok se preselimo u LA. Dolazim k tebi u onu tvoju famoznu garazu kada Hrvatska igra
Slavonac from Canada- You are comparing Olic (a striker) to a defensive midfielder like Gattuso and Essien. How is that logical? A striker is supposed to score goals and take advantage of chances. He does neither. I know you are a good guy, it’s cool. Obviously teams need their workers, Croatia has that Vukojevic and Kovacic to an extent. Olic is a striker, he needs to produce something he doesn’t do on a consistent basis.
Armada- I go to Veslo after the games on a few occasions to eat or have the delicious soup. It’s a great place like it a lot, but Scorpios is a place where my friends always want to go and I’m not going to argue. I’m not going to have a hissy fit like you though, it’s cool. Maybe will run into each other finally.
For those of you in the LA area interested in catching the game outside of your mom’s basements. We will be showing it on a big screen projector at the hall at Sv. Ante on Alpine and Grand. There will be Karlovacko and Palacinke for breakfast.
Had a pretty good turnout for the game vs the Serbcunts, so come check it out.
^^hahahaha^^ i was thinking the same thing! A jesmo li divljaci, nema nas svitu!
Armada,
I think you just unintentionally gave Scorps free advertising because after hearing that, I’d rather go there than Veslo
Ajmo ih Rusit!
Armada – good…we need good energy…no fighting today!
nije bitno – I’m kinda superstitious and have learned from many many predictions in the past…to be careful of what I say. well, fuck that theory today…I say we will win by 2…at the very least!
@poglavnik
Agreed. I’ve been in Astoria for years and I’ve never been there. Hopefully i can get out early tmrw and hit up scorpios.
@Armada
You’re really selling Scorpio’s to me!
Smoking, spraying beer, and NO dj booth.
My kind of place! 🙂
Slavonac, I really believe we are going to go out tomorrow and display a type of game the croatian people have been waiting for some time now. This is going to be the rebirth of croatian domination. 3-1 za nas maybe we wont even concede a goal.
Example: look at how the same youngsters Kovac was coaching right now. Down 1-0 to the swiss.
@ Slavonac
oh I’m not in a bad mood at all, sometimes the kids on here just need a little straightening out 😉 haha
@T.O.
It’s been much more than just this qualifying cycle.
Of course he can get better cuz he really can’t get any worse at this point.
@Ante B.
Shaved!
Oh non-pornographic, never mind…
Armada – dont be in a bad mood dude….we gotta unite!
OK…lets change the tempo…I wont criticize Rakitic for a day…anyone think we’ll break out and play great!?!?
TO Cro – I know his worth at the club level…1 goal against Macedonia 13 months ago…nothing before that or after that…and thats my point! If he shows up tomorrow, I’ll be the happiest guy on the planet, I hope he does but am not overly confident he will!
@ Allen
LOL… First off, I ain’t your homie, pal.
Second, I go Veslo down the block. My crew normally goes there and you can normally find me there on gamedays (better atmosphere to watch a game, food is good, you don’t have people spray beer after every goal and people don’t smoke in there ) in the small booth by the DJ booth. Made it for 2 of the 3 Euro games and for the Ireland game, got pretty hammered, staggered over to Scorpio’s and saw David Diehl, bombed out of his mind, before he jumped in his car and hit every parked car in Astoria before getting his DUI.
Hmmm … funny, didn’t see you there? Where were you hiding? Maybe you were in mommy and daddy’s basement watching the game? Or maybe creating a new YouTube video?
Third, I know you’re in your teens, early 20’s so don’t tell me about making it out to catch games LOL I was going to Skorp’s to watch games, before Veslo was down the block – were you at Scorp’s when we beat Italy in 2002 and shutdown Broadway? Or maybe you were there when we beat Germany in 2008 and shutdown Broadway again?
Meh, that far back… you were still in grammar school probably learning how to wipe your guza (that’s Croatian for ass, FYI)
Carry on, young buck.
u21 stream: http://sportska-tv.net/croatia/
Bear in mind if he didn’t save us against Macedonia, we would not be playing Iceland tomorrow… He’s not the only one who flopped in this cycle…
kinda funny except that we’re gunna wreck iceland
http://espnfc.com/video/espnfc/video/_/id/1615039/league/featured?cc=5901
@ Slavonac,
He saved us against Macedonia, for one.
I understand that you’re not his fan and that is your right. But, he chose to play for Croatia over Switzerland and his family was threatened because of it.
He was a stud at all his club teams. So much so, that Schalke sold Oezil to Werder because they thought Ivan was superior.
He’s captain at Sevilla.
Started and was worthy of it, for the repka at 19 and he’s still young and I believe he’ll only get better…
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Fredrick’s of Hollywood catalog all the way!!!!
@Allen
You seem like a good guy and all, but thats 4 minutes of my life i’d like back! 🙂
TO Cro – am I playing at the highest level there is? that header was one very very important example of lack of discipline! tell me what he has done for the NT…I’d love to hear your answer to this one!
Rakitic is a bum!
I’ve been saying it for about 5 years now.
It’s about time the media starting riding his ass!
I’d play a 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1. Our midfield would be impenetrable.
Allen – sorry bro…you arent logical! i’m not attacking you on a personal level I just think you haven’t been exposed to the makeup of how a team is formed. there is no way on this earth you can have 11 skilled players and expect to win, you need work horses as well, role players, guys that will sacrifice their body for their teammates. 7 workers – 2 intelligent distributors – 1 goalscorer…there are always variations and also players that are gifted who are work horses ie…Xavi Alonso, Michael Essien, Gennarro Gattusso…but its impossible to field a team of only skill…someone has to do the dirty work!
@Slavonac are still going on Rakitic because of a header?!?!
Let me guess, a goalie has NEVER saved your attempts at scoring, right? NEVER EVER?!?!?
Anybody have a link to the U21 boys. BTW Allen all your comments are WRONG. 🙂
Thank you for the love, it’s great to be back.
Armada’s comments would bother me, but he’s never shown his face once in Astoria for a game so no reason to get offended by someone that hides. I understand work is always important, but never seen you once even for the Euro Cup games in 2012. Stop hiding homie.
I know some of you adore Olic and I’m sure he’ll probably play, but I’ve just never gotten the appeal. I want players who are skillful on the ball and are always a threat to score. If Olic has the ball, it seems like it’s a turnover or he’ll shoot it into the bleachers. I’d go for a 4-5-1 tomorrow based on what I’ve seen recently. Might as well give Niko “Big Mac” Kranjcar a shot, alongside Rakitic, Modric, and Kovacic.
Is Strinic injured? I didn’t mention it but I really hope Pranjic doesn’t start at left back. He’s always been a liability back there. Might as well put Lovern there and Schifo-Corluka as centerbacks. There is your tactical lesson.
nepoznat – I agree, he has a great cross, great shot and can create. during the Euro’s I’ll never forget just how pissed off he made me, its when I started to notice his piss poor play! i remember clearly, he was floating back, making it harder on his defenders to double up on him because he couldnt defend…and then going forward…nothing!
….and then we get to that deciding moment…he was coming in from behind the defender…Modric sees him and crosses the ball perfectly… perfect height, perfect weight, perfect speed…the only thing Rakitic had to do was either head it in the opposite direction the goalie was going…and/or towards the ground! what did he do….HE LAZILY headed the ball head height directly at Casillas…I mean LAZILY! That action right there shows his lack of discipline…every kid in the entire world knows not to head a ball head height towards the way the goalie is going except for Rakitic!
you butcher more names than than espn3 commentator
@Slavonac Because he has talent, as evidenced by his status at his club, etc. And I think we have misused him by putting him as RM/RW. He is good enough where he deserves a shot in a more natural position for him and I think it would pay off for the whole side. Granted I do not see Srna as the RW for Brazil but just to get through the next 2 matches
All that is true. Spahic played with Rakitic in Sevilla, he knows his work ethic. I’m sure he watched a few cro games as well. He can see the difference better than we can. It may not be an excuse but like i said, there may be some truth in it.
Do you think the smell of sammirs jock still lingers around on the plane and dressing rooms?
nije bitno and Armada – that last comment “On briljira zato što zna da mu nema premca u klubu.”- is alarming to me and says a lot! Is he selfish and doesn’t know his role in the NT…plays there because our NT has a better rep than Switzerland? I see it as “I’m a proven great player and should be given a free pass to float…because I have skill”!
playing in midfield is very challenging, you have to play on both sides of the field, you have to create chances, make yourself open and available to your teammates for a pass and then the transition to creating a chance or scoring opportunity….while ensuring you are defensively responsible!
When Rakitic started with the NT he was better than he is now, maybe he felt he needed to earn his spot. If you watch previous games you’ll notice he does the bare minimum defensively, almost wont even challenge to win the ball and often will put in a half assed effort just to show hes there!
Providing service ie…passing and crossing…means you have to be alert, know where your players are and make the play, he seems to have lost that part of his game with the NT which makes me even more angry when I see him “going through the motions” on his defensive responsibilities!
Kovac knows his worth, so do I…but he lacks in the effort department… “stisni malo”…”daj sve od sebe”…waiting for that one incredible play that may never happen isnt good enough at this level, you have to create them yourself!
there are always players like this… play great for club/don’t play great for NT – or on the flipside, play great for NT/not so great for club
Look at a guy like Asanovic. What did he really do club wise? I know he had a decent run at Hajduk early in his career and then another good run at Panathinaikos, but he was a legend for the repka. Same for a guy like Ladic. He never even played out of the HNL (!) but had a solid NT career.
Ivan’s played for 2 NT managers now and this is always been the case, plus he’s 25 already… Hopefully NK can get him to play at least more consistently for the NT, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he just remains an NT enigma..
Armada your right. But i’m just as stumped as Slavonac is. I really cant figure out why he plays like crap for us, then i ran across this article earlier… Who knows there may be some truth in it.
@ nije
I mean that’s such a BS excuse, if that really is the case… If we had a Rakitic and Perisic who consistently in-form for the NT, along with consistent play from Modric-Kovacic and whoever we plug in at DM, we’d have one of the top 5 midfields in Europe…
Slavonac – this may answer your question about Rakitic.
Sigurno pratite zbivanja u Sevilli. Rakitić tamo briljira, a u reprezentaciji je nevidljiv. Kako to objašnjavate?
“Sigurno da pratim Sevillu. Čujem se s Ivanom često. Ivan je jedan igrač koji treba osjetiti nečiju toplinu, netko mu treba pokazati da je bitan, da je vrijedan. To ima u Sevilli, dok mislim da nije dovoljno cijenjen u reprezentaciji. S jedne strane objektivno, jer tu su igrači poput Srne, Mandže, Modrića. U Sevilli je Ivan glavna zvijezda, rekao bih i jedina. On briljira zato što zna da mu nema premca u klubu.”
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/emir-spahic-u-hrvatskoj-reprezentaciji-nesto-ozbiljno-ne-stima/711358.aspx
I’m so OUTRAGED right now! GAMEDAY TOMORROW!!! Hope there’s a follow up. Looking forward to seeing a vid for the return leg.
Got a kick out of the Tornado Zadar scarf too haha.
nepoznat – I see you like raketa…what do you think he brings to the team? I was watching the Kovac interview yesterday and it didnt surprise me when Kovac was asked about Rakitic and just how different he is for his club team vs the National team. I know he has great skill…which we almost never see him utilize it to make a difference in the games so what is it about him that makes you have faith?
just corious!
potential stream for the u21 Swiss game:
http://firstrowus1.eu/watch/221238/1/watch-croatia-vs-switzerland,-u21.html
Olic topic is soo old and what really surprises me is that people still dont understand his role, his contributions, his worth to ANY team.
Years ago I watched Alen Boksic play almost every weekend…e was tall, strong and ran like a freak…I mean that guy was a beast…BUT, if anyone ever watched him play he was famous for missing sitters….sometimes he couldn’t hit the ocea while standing at the end of a dock, nevertheless, he did soo much for his teammates by working hard, pressuring the defenders and scoring tons of amazing goals. Olic isnt the same player but he has some similairities. Olic is always pressuring, if he is one on one…he is super fast and can burn you (but also trip over the freakin ball sometimes) …defenders are always looking to see where he is on the field ecause he’s not easy to mark…Boksic was similar in that way, he just had more skill and was a bigger man!
In my opinion, its never a risk to play Olic…if he is played with Eduardo or Mandzukic (both can score) he adds the element of pressure, dangerous to leave alone, can beat you one on one and at the very least we know he works hard…I’m not really sure who else has those characteristics on our team. utilizing 2 goal scorers means we must make changes to the midfield…coaches love players like Olic, it affords them the opportunity to play a more skilled midfielder in behind because they know Olic is responsible defensively and wont stop working all game long!
PS….and….he’s a Slavonac!
Word on the street is, Doktor Prle is gonna crack Ziva Istina’s…. identity in Reykjavik.
Here is what I would like to see however, it’s a hybrid 4-1-4-1 / 4-1-3-2 with Raketa shifting between playing off the striker and in the MF:
http://www.footballuser.com/formations/2013/11/872766_Croatia.jpg
Yes I want Pranjic out there on the LW over Perisic/Olic (I hate Olic on the wing of the MF) and then both he and Srna have defensive abilities to go with some attacking fortitude and those defensive abilities will be needed with Mateo in a DM role since he is not a straight up defender
Formation time!
My 4-2-3-1 since the media is all reporting 4-2-3-1:
http://www.footballuser.com/formations/2013/11/872764_Croatia.jpg
@Zagorac
“i’d love to see Allen and Stimać debate on tactics”
That was the best quote ever on CS.com!!!!! Hvala!
Offside Zamka documentary:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLcM-nDbRb0&feature=youtube_gdata
@ARMADA87 i’d love to see Allen and Stimać debate on tactics
and is that a Tornado Zadar scarf?!?! LOL
majku bojza… if Tornado actually saw you wearing their gear…
who would be a better analyst on the HRT telecast for Croatia-Iceland game:
AllenOutraged
or
Strucnjak Stimac
Good luck Croatia and greetings from Romania! May the force be with you!
Olić is known for getting goals in important games…
@Matesic:
I agree about Olic. He gives his all and is a versatile forward.
However, people will be arguing his merits 10 years from now, because of his lack of “skill”.
Nice job Allen.
@ Allen
Well done my friend. BUT…
Olic is in form and always productive. Just needs some supply to work his magic. I say start him and give him a half. At 34 he still brings the intense running we will need against Iceland. Plus he will be ready for the ocassion. At half bring on Rebic to run the counter and keep Iceland honest at the back.
Weather:
40f, windy and the rain will taper off. Could have been way worse. Zagreb will be 50f and light rain.
The wind may help our free kicks and long range bombs from Rakitic – Modric – Kranjcar- Lovren – Srna etc…
T-1 day
Well done sir! I like your style with a crack at Ziva Istina and the gooooooooldenchild.
Looking forward to some highlights from Scorpio’s