Wow! Who saw that coming? Talented young winger Stipe Biuk, age 20, joins LAFC in the MLS on a permanent deal for a €6.5m fee, up to €1.5m in bonuses, and 20% of future fee.
Biuk impressed the moment he got called up to the Hajduk Split first team in the 2020/21 season, posting 3 goals and 3 assists in just 8 matches as an 18 year old. Ever since, Biuk has hit a plateau, producing just 3 goals and 5 assists in 47 appearances.
Biuk is still touted as one of Croatia’s finest attacking talents, despite this dip in form. His deceptive dribbling, quick acceleration, and flair, display his elite level of natural talent, but his inability to adapt to tough-nosed defenses, poor decision making, and inconsistency (or perhaps lack of motivation?) all raise serious question marks in his ability to one day become a National Team level winger.
This move is certainly a surprising one. The MLS is known as a “retirement league” and doesn’t always provide the best development for young players. However, talents like Alphonso Davies, Brenden Aaronson and Thiago Almada prove to be rare exceptions. Personally, I believe a move was imminent for Biuk regardless, but I would have rather seen him in a European league. Perhaps Ante Razov will help accommodate him in LA? Maybe he breaks through and flourishes against weaker defenses in the MLS? But wouldn’t this all prove pointless if he were to return to his bad habits and exploit shaky defenses with his raw talent and natural ability, just to return to Europe in a few years time and face stronger, more structured defenses and STILL not know what to do? Only time will tell…
A positive here is the exposure young Biuk could receive by playing in the MLS. If he shines, he will surely get a lot of American media attention, which could prove beneficial for a future big money move.
Another thing to note is the abundance of attackers already present in the LAFC squad. With Bale, Vela, Bouanga and Tello, it isn’t even a guarantee that he actually gets minutes in the MLS.
What are your thoughts on the move? Is Biuk just trying to cash in because he lacks ambition career-wise? Or is this possibly an intelligent move from the young winger and his agent as he joins fellow Croat coach Ante Razov?
Great move. You are all crazy. If he lights up the MLS in the next few years he’s gonna get a big move. The Americans will straighten him up. They don’t fuck around like in Europe. He wont be hackin butts and clubbing till all hous of the night.
Orsic to South Hampton
Finally he gets recognized.
Hopefully they don’t get relegated and he ends up in the 2nd division
Cool. But he’s not part of our future goals. He just turned 30 and will decline somewhat.
That being said, he doesn’t have a lot of miles on him. He could be very important for club but not much for country anymore. Wish him the best of fortunes. He’s been a terrific soldier.
At 30 he’s not part of our future but Lovren, Perisic and Modric are? Good thing you’re not the coach.
No he’s not. He would have left a while ago just like the aforementioned players. I love the dude but his term is up and his time is done for the NT. Sorry man, that’s how I feel
Well the late start is due to bone head Dalic not giving him the opportunity to play for than 10mins at the end of every game. At only 30 yrs he still has more to offer the National team going forward.
Perhaps man I hope and pray that you are correct. We will see in time.
He’ll probably be with us in the next Euros and World Cup
Just so everyone knows, the top 4 HNL teams beat the top 4 MLS teams
Please provide an online link to when this happened.
very unlikely. I would say not.
I’m surprised people don’t know that MLS is more competitive than HNL.
Dinamo Zagreb is only one team. As a whole, it’s not that close.
A guy who is the heart of the National Team gets shitted on by a handful of posters. Except Modrić, everyone has flaws. Amazing.
He needed to get out of Russia. This is a great move as he’ll eventually be a starter again.
I think I already asked this question but I couldn’t find the original post, so I will ask again just in case. But, does anyone know when Dalic has to suit the selections for the Euro Qualifiers in March??
Submit the selections I mean***
I think about 2 weeks prior to the first game.
I’m more curious about the Nations League semifinals draw.
I think it’s on January 25th. Three weeks away.
I’m amazed how little info there is online about this.
Originally the semis were scheduled for late May and then 2 months ago I noticed they were pushed to June. It’s like youth soccer.
Never heard of a “draw” needed for a Semifinal match.
Hard for the public to take it serious and follow their teams when the event is run this way.
It was always scheduled for June.
It was going to take place in the Euro qualification cycle in June, when the six-team groups are playing a round and these four Nations League finalists won’t have games to play (so they will play each other during that round).
They could have gone without the draw, and just made it it a #1 vs #4 pairing and #2 vs #3 pairing (and rank them based on their Nations League points and goal differential).
If this were the case, then we would be #2 and be paired with Spain (#3). Personally, I prefer Italy or Netherlands.
I did not grow up having to milk a cow to make butter, but farmer’s say, that the cream eventually rises to the top. With that said, Biuk probably did not make a bad decision. Middling European players like Pulisic, parents from Olib, are super stars here in USA, in all the TV commercials.
Like everyone is saying, he will make good money here being a superstar, while he waits to see if he is butter in USA, otherwise no whey he makes it in europe.
Don’t blink your eyes, you might miss in something in a “Split” second. Yep, Hajduk has another coach, in as many years. They are going back to using homegrown talent in the coaching position.
https://www.sportsfule.com/2023/01/01/new-job-for-ivan-leko-croat-becomes-coach-in-his-own-country-at-hajduk-split/
Just saw Milic in net and what a performance by him. He’s been holding Canada together and saving them. Definitely a starter in the years coming for the NHL. 4-3 OT win vs Slovakia. He wasn’t drafted but definitely will be signed. He’s 6th place in the WHL for save percentage as a 19 year old.
Lovren is back at Lyon. I’m a bit surprised as to why they would resign him. Lyon are a middle of the pack team now. They were top of the table a few years before Covid and when he signed with Southampton. Lovren won’t even be a starter. Does he genuinely think his status at a French club will go up at 33 years old? He’s slow and gets caught ball watching. Especially on the third or second Argentina goal.
I’m not a fan of his, but he will be a starter.
yeah _
the truth will be revealed soon
he will make a lot of sloppy passes!
and can’t position himself to be in the right spot
that reminds us about 1st goal of the Argentine!
this proves –> we have been lucky so far! _
time to kick Dalic out – for the shake of the future!
Pero govno your insight is always appreciated .Keep up the good fight against all of us infidels on here.
god of halilovic will prevail
Lololol
why did you pursue the path of falsehood / /
are you taking some kind of drugs and drinking?
I want a perorono shirt. What country and what number do you wear sir?
Those that have played the game, coached and have a good understanding of the game will tell you that first goal v Argentina was poor positioning by Gvardiol rather than Lovren. Did not need the expert analysis on HRT, BeinSports or RAI TV to confirm that Gvardiol was primarily at fault. Gvardiol was too far up the field, hence unable to intercept the through ball that led to the penalty.
Lovren had his back to Alvarez and was covering nobody, yet he started sprinting back a second before the pass was made (which kept Alvarez onside).
Lovren looked pretty confused when he saw Alvarez making the run, and if Lovren had more awareness of the situation, he would have realized that Alvarez was waay offside, and could have just stayed put when that pass was being made.
He ran back on instinct, but it was the wrong thing to do.
Gvardiol (along with the rest of our backline) was further up, but it looked like Gvardiol was playing the offside trap on Alvarez.
The moment the Argentine pass was made, Alvarez would have been at least six feet offside if Lovren wasn’t running back off to the side over there.
But this all depends on what the coach wanted, and what the plan was before the game.
Was Gvardiol at fault for being too far up (and trying to play these traps)?
Or was Lovren at fault being the only one to start running back (when the Argentinian was already in an offside position)?
Personally, I would prefer less risk and not play an offside trap where FIFA is hellbent on giving the trophy to Argentina, but it all depends on what Dalic wanted.
Lovren is AT LEAST equally at fault for that first goal as Gvardiol.
Second Argentine goal was a stuffed corner via Modric and Brozovic and failed clearance first by Juranovic and then Sosa. Nothing to do with Lovren. Third Argentine goal was Messi magic, leaving Gvardiol for dead and then cutting the ball back for oncoming forward. You could say that Lovren was ball watching, however Gvardiol should have fouled Messi way before he got into the penalty box.
That was my assessment as well watching the replays.
Notice that the Lovren haters didn’t respond to your post.
We both know that the ref would have looked for any reason to red card a Croatian player or give a PK to Messi.
It’s not easy having to defend a princess (Messi), who will always have that knight in shining armor (FIFA) jumping in to save them.
Guaranteed if Gvardiol fouled Messi, he would have fallen into the box, and Messi would get a penalty (no VAR required).
MLS is a stronger league than HNL. You can bring in the HNL top 4, and they will still have issues winning against most of the clubs in the MLS. It’s not a dance party like everyone outside of the US thinks.
The only reason people are giving Biuk so much grief is because he’s a top 40 European young talent.
He will have stiff locker room competition, which will (hopefully) light a new fire in him to produce. He’s had it easy in Hajduk because of his talent and them basically giving him the job because of who he is and what he’s accomplished in his young career. That certainly won’t be the case here– little to no outside (fan, money) influence on the club
That’s not why people here are giving Biuk grief.
If he’s going to make a transfer, then there are far better leagues he can go to in Europe, as well as taking part in Europa.
MLS isn’t as competitive as many leagues in Europe, plus there’s the added ‘unknown’ factor of how well the MLS can develop young talent over European clubs.
European clubs developing top young talent is proven. MLS is still experimental.
Biuk went for the money first. Development is secondary for him it seems.
He was probably going to be set for life with either path he took, but this one was probably more financially lucrative and that dollar difference was more important to him.
What about Olmo, went to Dinamo to RB Leipzig to representing Spain at the WC! To have a kid like that choose Dinamo is amazing, I know I thought he had rocks in his head when he did that. That Dinamo didn’t see anything in Buik is telling in my opinion.
Did Olmo happen to plateau as well @ Hajduk Split? Starting to think this is a Hajduk fundamental issue. Between Ljubcic, and now Biuk, maybe there is a lack of coaching for the youth at split, but pressure to win now takes precedence.
Olmo actually did plateau for a bit at Dinamo…but then took a big step the following year.
So did a lot of players like Vrsaljko, Majer, etc.
Sometimes it happens, but then they may take a big step the following year.
The same thing happened to Vlasic at Hajduk, where he had a big impact as an 18 year old…then Hajduk tried to sell him immediately for peanuts…then he kind of just played the same until he was 21 and did very well (and got sold to Everton).
Biuk probably would have followed a similar path (assuming he’s actually the real deal).
Maybe Biuk isn’t the real deal and both Hajduk and Biuk’s camp both know this (and jumped to LAFC because of the guaranteed money).
But if he really had the talent, and the work ethic to be great, he probably stays in Europe (the same way Gvardiol opted to sign with RB Leipzig over Leeds to ensure his own development).
Hopefully I’m wrong and Biuk ends up developing great in MLS. But it will be hard to gauge his development in a league that doesn’t play in Europa or Champions League.
I would also debate whether the MLS is a stronger league than HNL.
Sure there are some big names coming from Europe as designated players, but there is also a lot of junk too.
There have also been some middling no-name HNL players that have done very well in MLS.
I know it’s a small sample, but if the MLS was that much stronger, you probably wouldn’t have that former Rijeka player (Damir Kreilach) being such an impactful player for Real Salt Lake.
He was good at Rijeka, but was never considered a top caliber player in the HNL like he is in the MLS.
Same goes for that goalkeeper (Kristijan Kahlina) who starts for Charlotte and keeps receiving praise there since he arrived.
He was a decent goalkeeper for Gorica, but none of the top HNL teams were interested in him and then was sold off for peanuts in Ludogorets and couldn’t get the start there.
Dario Župarić is another forgetful HNL player who starts every game in the MLS for Portland too.
I don’t think I would write off any of the top HNL teams if they were playing in the MLS. Dinamo would probably take that league for all you know.
MLS is a league consisting of mediocre players that aren’t skilled enough to represent they’re nation and has beens. Ibrahimovic, Rooney, Pirlo, etc are players known worldwide and will get millions. The average MLS player gets paid just over $300,000 and that’s USD. It’s a recruitment league and will give youngsters insight and preparation to the euro leagues when they play against experienced players that are legends.
Just a hunch, but I think Perorino is excited to dust off his Lyon Lovren jersey and wear it today.
Lol. I think your probably right.
Well, that’s the end of him then
i realise nobody cares but we beat argentina 4-0 in the tennis
Iggy, you are not alone, I care and watch a lot of tennis. My second sport after soccer. The result was 5 – 0.
LOL,……. Don’t tell me Modric/Livakovic vs Messi/Martinez was 6-0,6-0
Payback is a bitch…….
Cheers Iggy! Thanks very much for the Tennis news and your efforts are appreciated seriously! Please continue to share. Nice to hear the good news. Please don’t be discouraged.
As an observer, it seemed there were an open board discussions and efforts to widen the coverage to almost all things Croatian, in the early days, of Croatian sports. Cultural issues such as interviewing musicians, like Oliver Dragojevic, MMA stars like Miocic, Somoan Klapa Singer groups were covered. I could be wrong, but reading the tea leaves, it seems that bridge was crossed, with the departure of broad-based contributors like Denis Svircic, Crippler who moved on to other endeavors and life challenges. I loved it all, but even those off topic interviews were always soccer focus based, which each interviewee asked the question: Hajduk or Dinamo? Every once in a while, during slow news cycle, we might still get some other topics covered.
To je to. I have accepted the results. There are other websites that deal with other croatian issues.
Happy New Year. Good will to all.
Just gotta accept that football is #1.
It’s pretty awesome that we’re the #1 ranked nation in tennis (people always forget that) and that we’re good at so many other sports…
But if you’re country is great at football…then any sports website is going to be dominated with football talk.
I’m sure if there were an ArgentianSports.com, ItalianSports.com or a BrazilianSports.com website…those would be dominant in football talk (despite those countries all being good in other sports like tennis, waterpolo, basketball, etc.)
Ivica/Janica Kostelic, say no more.
https://www-marca-com.translate.goog/futbol/real-madrid/2023/01/01/63b03106ca47410a198b45f7.html
It should be translated to English
King Luka!
Nice find. Sounds like King Luka could make a mint in 2024, if he so chooses, it appears. That might put unwanted tread on his tires for a 2026 WC run, call me crazy. At Real Madrid, he probably would be used more sparingly. We will see. Eventually, with the help of father time, Real Madrid will move on. Probably ’24 Euro is the last NT activity, he has said as much.
https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2023/01/01/63b1b9e322601d33498b4580.html
So long farewell
Unrelated to Biuk, but I think the success of Dalić as a manager is truly his own to claim. He approached the Repka with the philosophy that having a bunch of good players is not enough: he has to cultivate a good team. He managed to do that in 2018 because the team was basically already formed under Cacić and just needed someone to make the right decisions on the bench. However, after 2018, he had to start over. It took a few years, but he cultivated a winning team. He’s already doing it again saying that the next matches will feature more young players. He knows he needs to get them playing together now if he wants to win the Euro.
I predict we see Livaković, Juranović, Sutalo, Gvardiol, Sosa; Brozović, Kovačić; Orsić, Majer, Pasalić; Musa
Music to many peoples ears I believe.
Is that your predicted lineup for the next set of games in March? or Euro2024 itself?
It’s waaay to early to predict lineups for the Euros.
Look how many new faces we have had over the past couple of years in guys like Gvardiol, Sosa, Juranovic, Majer, Sutalo, Erlic, etc.
Back in late 2020, none of those guys were even sniffing the team…now they’re core players.
I expect there to be at least 2-3 new core players that come up on the next year or two. Some predictable ones (like Sucic) and probably some unpredictable ones too. These past few months alone brought guys like Ljubicic and Beljo as serious youngsters that could be capped. Someone new will definitely break through.
Also…I think Modric sticks around for Euros too.
That’s my prediction for what the next starting lineup is. Then there will be players off the bench, alternative lineups for when there are a lot of matches during the international break, etc. But that is my prediction of the next “core” of the team. I predict that Modrić, Perisić, and Kramarić will all be key players off the bench in the future. They’re all still great, but the core of the team has to be younger now in order for the team to win the Euro.
And yes, I meant Winning Team, as in a team that wins a majority of their matches.
a winning team or the luckiest team?>
come on — you can’t be delusional —
and would have got an opposite statement
after Belgium buried us with those chances
but luckily the garbage Lukaku was on our side!
wtf is your problem dude? like seriously go fuck off
Lol yup
I don’t know if it’s laknat or what or who
But it’s actually annoying now
It’s funny at first sometimes but it’s like a child when you are on the phone and keep bugging you for attention
He needs to feel validated or something;)
I like his build and potential
He may move in January?
Who are all the realistic Guys to move now?
Livakovic?
Gvardi??
Majer?
Someone mentioned DCC earlier
Maybe he turns it around In England
Nice little write-up on Dion Beljo
https://footballtalentscout.net/2022/12/31/dion-drena-beljo-croatias-next-number-9-by-calum-scullion/
Oops.
Mate1 already posted this below. Please remove.
🙂
No worries. I definitely made the mistake atleast twice on this site. Lol
I really think he has the chance to our best upcoming striker. A lot of talk about Simic, but he really needs to get more time at Salzburg here soon
I like that we have several striker prospects all around the same age.
Most prospects don’t pan out, so it’s important to have several options.
Musa, Beljo, Šimić are all roughly the kinds of Mandžo style strikers that we need. Ljubičić is something different, but also intriguing.
We really need one of these to pan out, and im it’s good to see that each of them have been scoring very well in their respective leagues (other than Šimić who is recently promoted and will likely get more time once Šeško transfers over in the summer).
I’m pretty excited about him. It’d be nice for Sosa to have someone to aim crosses at.
A mid table German team like Borussia Mönchengladbach would be a nice move for his growth. We need to be calling up him, Musa/Colak to get some minutes and see if a classic #9 can fit in.
No more Budimir and drop one of Livaja or Petkovic.
However, I don’t see Dalic dropping either Livaja or Petkovic as he won’t want to mess with the good vibes filling this WC. But I can see Budimir being left off. He also won’t call up Beljo until he has a full season in a top 5 league starting and scoring goals regularly. So we may see him called up just before 2024 Euros.
Borussia Monchengladbach is looking to sell Liliam Thuram’s son.
He’s a free agent in the summer and wants to go to Man United. They will probably sell him now, rather than lose him for nothing in the summer.
They were interested in Beljo, and would be good use of the money they receive for Thuram.
But since Beljo is young, there’s no issue with him just playing out the season in the HNL.
I also don’t see Dalic calling him up anytime soon.
Even though Livaja and Petkovic are A LOT older and also play in the HNL, for whatever reason they are guaranteed callups (despite being roughly on par with Beljo in the HNL).
Beljo will have to go above and beyond that he’s better than those two. It’s a shame, but the same thing happened with Musa.
I did notice one of Dalic’s interviews after the WC he acknowledged not having a real striker. Hopefully this is priority #1 for him.
My feeling is that one of these young guns (Simic, Beljo, Ljubicic, Musa) are going to be an above average striker that fits our system. Whoever it ends up being really needs to make it happen over the course of this next year to the point where they can’t be ignored.
I’d like to see this striker position solved by March of 2024 where everyone knows who our starting striker is.
Dalic will prefer Kramaric and Petkovic / Livaja
Hahaha . . keep your dream, son! +
Looking at the rules, MLS has given very good incentives for teams to acquire and develop young talent, and it’s in the best interest of the teams and the league to do so.
If Biuk performs exceptionally well there, he will move on to a top 5 European league. However, in the event that he only does reasonably well, he can likely stay there and still make a great living- team budgets are increasing and he may also become a designated player?
Ideally, he would have landed at a european club with a very good track record of developing young talent along with a relatively good paying contract. Perhaps he views it as the old saying goes : better a bird in the hand than two in the tree?
Wishing him all the best.
Maybe in the final analysis, to be talented enough to be considered for a career in professional sports, is a true blessing for anyone. The issues we’re talking about, are not the meat and potatoes contentment issues, but just nuanced details.
I think most of us who follow the team closely are cautious of comparing players to the next Perisic and just wish they develop into competent national team starters. It’s just the nature of modern football, we’ve invited several “prospects” to big tournaments who have not been invited back (Coric, DCC, Pjaca…).
But that’s what prospects are, just players who show the potential to hopefully develop into good players. Biuk definitely has that Perisic style potential but everyone knows his form seemed to have plateaued last season for whatever reason. The guy is still very young and this change of scenery could be a good thing.
For all the MLS haters, I have a question; who would win LAFC vs Hajduk? I know Ante knows both teams very well so curious to see what he’d say…
Sretna Nova Godina svima! Looking forward to the Croat-raderie on this site
It’s not a straight Hajduk vs LAFC comparison.
It’s who Biuk plays on a regular basis and the type of defense he will be facing.
Biuk also had suitors in Europe, which would have exposed him to better leagues and probably Europa too.
Hopefully he lights it up in MLS and it leads to him getting more exposure and a transfer back to Europe within two years.
If he ends up as just another player on an MLS team, then he’s pretty much done as a future NT player.
A little blurb on Beljo.
https://footballtalentscout.net/2022/12/31/dion-drena-beljo-croatias-next-number-9-by-calum-scullion/
Sretna Nova godina svima!
Thank you all for your croat-raderie. Thank you all for sharing your thoughts, throughout the year. Looking forward to each of us having a great year, and wishing you all the best.
Croat-raderie – I like and copy paste 😉
*Biuk
Typo
I thought a lot about this and I think it’s a great way to get exposure for Stipe Buik and Croatia in America and Los Angeles for that matter. Stipe has a chance to become a LAFC star and bring Croatia to Hollywood
I actually love this move..
A very possible Possible outcome….
Everything he does will be overhyped
And if he produces and scores goals which he should Every goal will be a big deal in front of 60,000 live stadium fans and millions on television in America
😂 He will sell thousand of jerseys in Los Angeles and California
More than any other Croatian ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
including everybody on the the national team besides maybe Modric (if he becomes popular even more than Modric) and it will be a huge and ridiculous overreaction and over exaggerated version of medium and
“Mediocre Level Soccer” glorified in front of so many fans who will love Stipe.
I think this will work for him. Let’s hope he can bring it to MLS and get big in LA
IM NOT A FAN OF MLS AT ALL!!! But if he becomes a star I will go to a game and buy a jersey 😂
I thought a lot about this and I think it’s a great way to get exposure for Stipe Buik and Croatia in America and Los Angeles for that matter. Stipe has a chance to become a LAFC star and bring Croatia to Hollywood
I actually love this move..
A very possible Possible outcome….
Everything he does will be overhyped
And if he produces and scores goals which he should Every goal will be a big deal in front of 60,000 live stadium fans and millions on television in America
😂 He will sell thousand of jerseys in Los Angeles and California
More than any other Croatian ever!!!!!!!!!!!!
including everybody on the the national team besides maybe Modric (if he becomes popular even more than Modric) and it will be a huge and ridiculous overreaction and over exaggerated version of medium and
“Mediocre Level Soccer” glorified in front of so many fans who will love Stipe.
I think this will work for him. Let’s hope he can bring it to MLS and get big in LA
IM NOT A FAN OF MLS AT ALL!!! But if he becomes a star I will go to a game and buy a jersey 😂
Can’t wait for Croatian night @ the LAFC stadium. We need to show up in force. Hope he has great year.
Honestly we should do a revisit of last years top Croatian prospect article to see how things have changed in a year. I applaud the guys for writing it, taking on the challenge, and putting themselves out there.
But i say it over and over again…everyone is too optimistic on these prospects.
I say it again and again that even the greatest prospect that we could possibly have in the future should be billed as the next perisic level player rather than next modric or Heaven forbid another Croatian messi call
I hate to give another i told you so
But i told you so
I long questioned what the hype of buik is given his lack of performance.
Can we find the excerpt from last years piece on most promising Croatian youth?
I’ve warned consistently not to think these hyped prospects in Croatia are ever truly game changing tactics
Does Norway have the best 10/9 duo in the world with Odegard/Haaland?
Norway produces that and we are struggling for attackers?
Wtf?
We need to do better.
All this Tournament money from deep run after deep run.
Where is the grassroots infrastructure on a national level?
We need to be developing more explosive athletes like Perišić.
Hungry monsters like Mandžukić.
We got our defenders coming through to add to our midfield factory.
Where are the #s 7, 9, 10 and 11?
LAFC is in a major market and MLS champions.
Biuk is the goods.
If he performs he will breakthrough.
If he gets caught up in the LA scene then he will flop.
If this kid can’t play well in MLS then he stinks – he got paid and in a nice place to live /play but i don’t see growth or top level striker- medium level talent at best- wish him well and I’m sure he’s a nice kid but this is soccer so if he’s not interested in top level development then he’s in a perfect spot- been to a few games and I’d say the soccer level is 5 out of 10 at best –
Does that Haaland guy ever stop scoring? Good Lord another today already. We absolutely MUST produce this type of player in the next half a decade or we in deep poop.
Gvardiol is the CB version of Haaland
Yup
Would you trade Gvardiol for Haaland if this was like hockey or football, baseball etc..
Joj fuck man are you touched in the head ? 😂
Maybe.
I may be biased but they’re even for me.
Gvardiol is two years younger and may end up being a Beckenbauer caliber sweeper for us.
Players like this are rare.
However so is a striker like Haaland. We’d probably be unstoppable if we had a striker like Haaland with so many creative midfielders around him.
Modrić, Sosa, Kovačić, Broz, Majer would all be triggers for him.
Tough call.
I love Gvardiol, but it’s gotta be Haaland all day long. We’d be outscoring everyone with him.
The replacement for Gvardiol would be a serviceable CB, which we have been pretty good at developing. But we don’t even have a classic striker.
Yeah you’re right…
But you would think Norway would at least qualify for the World Cup or even top their easy Nations League group with a striker like Haaland.
They even have a very solid #10 playing behind him too, that could feed him for goals. But nothing. They still look like shit.
Can’t underestimate the impact Gvardiol has had for us already (at age 20) and how important it is to have defense in tournaments.
I hope he hits his stride and gains confidence in the MLS. He is young and full of potential he just needs to be focused and hungry. He needs to get out of his scoring slump and maybe this is the best move for him. Good luck
I don’t mind the move for the kid. It’s not like he was going to a UEFA Champs League team and getting solid minutes. Go to a place that has the cash, facilities, and trainers to try to develop you. It’s a physical and demanding league so his effort will have to be there in order to play. Plenty of young players have left MLS to Europe to have success (Almiron, Davies, Aaronson etc.).
There are some decent vets at LAFC but he should get playing time with the amount of games played in Champions League and multiple other competitions. Imagine if they actually become the first MLS team to go to the Club World Cup. Savvy use of the new rules for the U22 kids by LAFC.
Hopefully the kid breaks out of his “plateau” and is ready to go back to Europe in a couple of years. Otherwise, it is what it is, some players turn out to be Kova, some Kranjcar, and others Halilovic…but at least we’ll get some good interviews from Ante
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cm1ZLupLq_s/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
Looks like Lovren is on the move.
and he still begs for the national team
which is a bad thing for future generations!!
I mean, yeah there’s a story
also, cro belting argenita in the nations cup 2-0
Donna winning a set 6=0 but no coverage here,, just coverager about some second grade player going to usa lmao, k
great work ante
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmzRykGNHpE/?igshid=NTdlMDg3MTY=
Is that you Iggy? 🤣
Iggy. You know this is soccer crazy
You should be the one reporting on tennis officially, like the crippler used to do for mma
Not saying this is an asshole way at all
I always get my tennis news here From you…
Biuk is an 18 year old who has been offered to play and get paid to play in Los Angeles…need I say more? Also the MLS gets shit on but it’s not as bad as it once was as it has evolved since inception. Yes I agree that it’s not a big five European league, but it’s better than the HNL. If he has ambition then he will play well when given the opportunity and if he plays well and shines in LA, a European club will come calling. If he plays poorly, then he gets to be a kid growing up in LA. I think it’s a win win for this kid!
this Biuk character should listen to Pulisic there +
no way … Dalic will make him into starting 11
prefer –> outdated Perisic and clumsy Kramaric
“Biuk will join LAFC as a part of Major League Soccer’s U22 Initiative and will occupy an international roster spot pending receipt of his international Transfer Certificate (ITC) and P1 Visa.”
The U-22 Initiative was first introduced to Major League Soccer in April 2021, in order to encourage teams to use their rosters to develop young talent. It allows MLS clubs to sign up to three players, aged 22 and younger, at a reduced Salary Budget charge.
This might be a more common occurrence these transfers to USA, rather than a rarity.
I agree, look at Riqui Puig last year for LA Galaxy.
Weren’t there whispers of locker room issues when Ljubicic left? And now another forward, Biuk, leaves for where careers go to die before his 21st birthday? Fishy.
I’m afraid that there is almost no way back. He’ll get neither significant minutes nor useful experience. As someone said above, it would be interesting to know what his other options were.
Apparently there were offers from decent leagues. Fiorentina was one team.
The deal is obviously good for Hajduk. I doubt anyone was offering more than 4-5 million Euros.
But the deal doesn’t happen without Biuk agreeing to it (which is why we’re all surprised).
Hopefully he becomes a star in MLS and it results in him coming back to Europe a better player…but it would be pretty bad if he finds himself on the bench behind some of those MLS vets.
Does anyone know what Biuk’s wage will be?
Don’t know the value, but the MLS U-22 Initiative program he was recruited under was first introduced to Major League Soccer in April 2021, in order to encourage teams to use their rosters to develop young talent. It allows MLS clubs to sign up to three players, aged 22 and younger, at a reduced Salary Budget charge.
Interesting about Fiorentina! I’m not sure what to think, but I’ll pose a question. How many ex-pats here would have even considered leaving Europe if they knew that they would make millions to stay? That’s what, a 30 minute flight home? And that’s with me attempting to be polite to our LA-based friends by leaving out my thoughts on California. Perhaps he was indeed assured of more minutes and a longer term commitment, and bet on himself.
I would think ……not many? Yes, it would be interesting to get into his mind. Definitely I hope it is mostly playing time. Christian Ronaldo is going to Saudia Arabia, maybe for the same reasoning. Lack of relative “lucrative” europe options, compared to a large financial reward, with plenty of playing time. In Stipe case, when we are young, we like a new adventures.
When I asked my ancestors why they left their beautiful Dalmatian Island for Bellingham, WA, and San Pedro, CA they said, “You can’t eat beauty.” Here I am 100 years later, no fault of my own, singing romantic Klapa songs, dreaming of dalmatia. Most people never go back, eventually inter-marry, with different cultures, and that is the end, they become part of the American salad bowl.
Luka Doncic might buy half of Slovenia when he gets back from Texas USA. Maybe he stays in the states, like nowitzki, who became part of the salad bowl.
In my opinion, this was a bad move for Stipe but good for Hajduk.
In Hajduk’s case, they get a guarantee of $6.5 million Euros and with bonuses, $8 million Euros. When they first let Ljubicic go, they said he wasn’t ever expected to me much, today we see one of Hajduk’s most hyped youth players at 20 years old and Hajduk once again letting their youth go …this must tell us all that he wasn’t excited to get better, develope more or expect to get a better offer for him in a year or two.
For Biuk, this tells me he isn’t really looking to be a National team player. Signing in the MLS is for ex stars to retire, I’m pretty surprised he left Europe.
I liked Biuk from the first time I saw him play and this makes me feel really bad for the kid…looks like he went for the money.
This isn’t a “good move-bad move” discussion…yet. We can discuss that next year at this same time.
Biuk has tons of OPPORTUNITY in 2023. If he wants to put himself on the MLS map, he now has the opportunity to. He also has U21 Euro 2023 where he can shine. If the kid can’t cut it in the MLS, then where?
It sounds like he already made a good chunk of change on this signing. If he wants to up his value to get a big European club to buy him in 2-3 years, he now has that absolute. The footballing world is his oyster. He needs to deliver. Simple as that whether it be MLS or HNL.
Hajduk needs the money, so it is a good deal from their perspective. Biuk will also get a substantial boost in his salary hence the deal. There has been a big hype about Biuk for a few years now, but in reality, he has not performed up to expectations or the hype.
For our U21 he has been mostly used as a sub by Biscan and when he comes on, he looks disinterested. However, in the return leg against Denmark for the EURO play off he came on in the second half and looked impressive and contributed to us eventually qualifying via penalties. Watched him also for Hajduk this season where he has been a regular starter in most matches, however he has not been overly impressive. Yes, he shows flashes of brilliance on occasions but then goes missing in action.
Moving to MLS I think is a bad move for him, he should have stayed at Hajduk and try to impress Biscan so that he gets a start at the U21 Euros in June 2023.
Good performance at EURO next year would have surely guaranteed him offers from European clubs.
It would be interesting to know his other options, before judging if he made right decision. So many unknowns regarding Stipe Biuk.
I am afraid to aboard the Alen Halilovic roller coaster ride again. Maybe that is why, he is making hay while the sun shines. Maybe that is the best decision for him, but maybe not his NT career.
Who will end up with the better career, Steve Žungul or Stipe Biuk…
Don’t forget Branko Šegota