On July 21st, I ventured out to Pasadena, California (well out of San Pedro range) to catch the friendly match between Barcelona and L.A. Galaxy at the Rose Bowl. I was looking to speak with both Ivan Rakitić and Alen Halilović (Croatian national team players) on the upcoming season. Unfortunately, they declined to give any type of formal interview.
However, during the match, I ran into close CroatianSports.com friend Barbaros Tapan in the press box. So who is Barbaros and why should you care about what he has to say?
Barbaros is CNN’s Turkish correspondent to Los Angeles. He covers all A-list events ranging from anything at Staples Center to walking the red carpet at the Oscars. But even more important to Croatian Sports Nation, Barbaros is a die hard Besiktas supporter. The same Besiktas our very own Slaven Bilić managed the past two seasons.
Being the large media figure Barbaros is in Istanbul, he naturally befriended Bilić over the past 24 months. And although he only had to say the nicest things about Bilić, Barbaros still did not fail to mention the holes in the former Croatian manager’s game.
“Billić’s impact on the whole country was huge.”
“In his two Turkish seasons, he (Bilić) couldn’t win one big game. He has difficulty reading the game right.”
It is my firm belief that Slaven Bilić will once again hold the reigns as Croatian manager again. But for now, he is at the helm at West Ham United. And with him shocking the Premiership this past weekend, defeating Arsenal 2-0 at Emirates, I thought it would be fitting to start the Slaven Bilić talk again.
Do you want him to manage Croatia again? What does he need to accomplish in the Premiership to earn privilege again?
in honor of the bosandzero going there (not confirmed), Cevap or Burek would be a good name. I’m sure there is a bosniak community in Hamburg to make the bosandzero feel home.
…so with Ivo Ilicevic and Ivica Olic already playing for Hamburg, another – you guessed it – nickname is due.
CroHamburger – or, maybe “the Cevapi”, for a nice short nickname.
http://www.sport-english.com/en/news/barca/alen-halilovic-set-for-hamburg-loan-bundesliga-4425088
Looks like this is going to happen.
I though overall Bilic was a success as NT coach. Euro 2008 was the first time the NT advanced to the knockout stages of a major tournament since WC ’98.
Yes there were bad moments. The two losses to England in WC ’10 qualifying, and again against Greece in Euro qualifying. But he had some stellar wins…
Did any of you expect the win against Germany in Euro ’08. I certainly didn’t.
For now I think the most import concern for the NT is player personal, not who is coaching.
I thought it was time to try someone else after Euro. 2012.
Today I would be extatic to have Bilic back.
Kovac nema Pojma.
I, for one, would not have anything against Bilic being the national team coach for another stint.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaarbaros!
Always a pleasure running into you at the staples center and talking hoops/soccer.
This guy is a superstar back in Turkey. Don’t worry, you dont have to deal with Slaven Bilic anymore. haha.
Thanks for the interview. See you at Staples next season.
Good start by Bilic it’s only one game surprises do happen in the EPL. You do get funny results like this once a season. It is a long season so we will see where West Ham United finish.They need to strengthen their squad.
Nice to hear from a Besiktas fan and his perspective on Bilic.
Bilic’s resume speaks for itself. It would be pretty disrespectful to see Bilic get rejected, if he were interested in managing the national team again. It’s pretty evident that Mamic isn’t going to go international in finding a new manager.
What Croatian would you like to see actually manage the national team after Kovac? Nobody really comes to mind.
So far, so good for Bilic. Forget Europa League, not many clubs care about that tournament. This is a big year for West Ham, as they are moving into a new stadium next year. It’s all about the Premier league and Bilic delivered on Sunday. They truly played off the counter and kept the defense narrow. Besides Chamberlain, Arsenal didn’t have wingers on the field until late in the game with Sanchez. It was wise for them to keep the defense narrow.
They didn’t have Jenikison or Obiang either, who should be key players this season. Not many teams can claim to winning at the Emirates over the past few seasons. Arsenal can’t use the major tournament excuse either, as no major tournament took place this summer. Hopefully West Ham continues to play exciting and Bilic continues to succeed. I don’t know why any Croatian wouldn’t want to see him succeed, unless you support another London club. He’ll always be one of the greats in Croatian soccer/football history.
Are you saying Mamic had no influence in picking Strucnjak Stimac and Kum Kovac? Strucnjak Stimac was hired as a compromise between he and Mamic. The selection of Kum Kovac was all Mamic as well.
We are always going to hire a Croat for cheap because it makes no sense for us to pay millions for a coach. Tough to justify paying someone that much in Cro.
@ Ziva
We hired Strucnjak Stimac and Kum Kovac, proving you don’t need any experience ce or results or success. All you need is the backing of Mamic.
Notwithstanding your speculation on Mamic that neither you nor I can actually verify, I submit the two biggest factors for all three are that they are Croatian and come cheap.
I don’t think he will ever manage for the national team again. His did his time (long period of time) and did his fair share of accomplishments.
I think he will stay to manage club teams
Does he need to accomplish something as a coach to lead the repka one day again? NOPE.
We hired Strucnjak Stimac and Kum Kovac, proving you don’t need any experience ce or results or success. All you need is the backing of Mamic.
Cool to hear his views and how a Turk properly pronounces the names of the three big teams of Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and Besiktas.