We are now 117 days away from Croatia kicking off their Euro 2024 tournament against Spain in Berlin on June 15th. And the same question we’ve been asking ourselves since Mandžukić retired in 2018 has to debated: who should be Croatia’s first choice (#9) striker?
I never thought I’d be saying this, but 32 year-old Osasuna striker Ante Budimir will be Croatia’s best option in Deutschland this summer. The man is on absolute fire this season in La Liga and has been consistent throughout. He is a perfect #9 “target man” as his top skill is getting in the air and using his head. Check out the goal he scored this past weekend against Cadiz:
Budimir has been receiving service all season long at Osasuna and making the most of it. This is where (possibly) missing Perišić during Euro 2024 would hurt the Vatreni if Dalić does decide to go with Budimir. Perišić, Sosa, and Juranović/Stanišić crosses from the sideline would make Budimir dangerous in any penalty box. If he can get service, I believe he can score 1-2 goals at Euro 2024.
Budimir has tallied 13 total La Liga goals in 25 appearances for Osasuna this campaign. He has one more than Lewandoski. Two more than Griezmann. And only trails an injured Bellingham by three. I would be shocked if Budimir didn’t bag another 2-3 goals during the final stretch of the season to finish at 15+. Budimir has three multi-goal matches this season (Granada, Girona, Cadiz) and has scored in every calendar month since September. Osasuna has 13 matches left in the season and still have to play Real Madrid (March 16) and 2nd place Girona (March 9) in back-to-back matches. Let’s pencil in those games to see if Budimir can have a strong showing against La Liga’s top brass.
Remember, Budimir has only been capped by Croatia 19 times since 2020. He just recently scored the game winner against Armenia at Maksimir in November, which booked Croatia’s place at Euro 2024. It was also Budimir who was fouled in the box in Paris to draw a penalty in Croatia’s first ever win over France in June 2022 (Nations League). Thank you Ante Zorić.
With my logic still standing that Dalić SHOULD NEVER play Kramarić as the #9 striker for Croatia — allowing him to play a supporting role instead — which he is better suited at, that would mean only Budimir or Petković are options at striker this summer with Musa and Beljo never panning out and Livaja retiring from international football.
So with that said: do you go with Budimir or Petković? It’s an easy one for me.
aaaa
—————————(Budimir)—————————
—————————Petkovic—————————
—(Pjaca/Orsic)—(Pasalic/MarcoP/Spikic)
———Ivanusec——————–Kramaric———
———————-(Baturina/Vlasic)——————
—————————-Modric——————————
—————(Sucic)—(Bulat/Misic)——————
——————Kovacic—Brozovic———————
Perisic——————————————Juranovic
(Sosa)———Gvardiol—Sutalo——(Stanišić)
—————-—(Erlic/DCC/Vida)———————
————————-Livakovic—————————
——————-(Labrovic/Ivusic)———————
I totally forgot about Ivanusec as well.. yeah he had a few knocks and fell out of form.. hope he stays healthy and gains form incase Perisic will not be… this will leave a gap also where I see Perisic playing a bigger role then in attack as a Left back with Sosa splitting time with him(mostly realistic case I think).. if Perisic is ruled out god forbid I believe Gvardiol will be forced to play LB in some tactical form as we have options at the back…. Not sure when Orsic will be available for Dinamo he will be watched closely again if given chance and he can regain 80% of his old self…. but at this point if Dalic is looking for someone similar to Perisic in the left attack role aside from Ivanusec it looks more likely Pjaca will cement a role with the VATRENI at this point (he was unlucky to get a knock during the qualifiers as he probably would have gotten the shot over Marco Pasalic otherwise..(glad though we got to see him as he shed some light in that role as well on the right side as an option there as well) would like to see Dalic use Spikic in the upcoming friendlies as well as he is versatile player on the right side as well..
Who do you guys think Dalic should give a shot to at the upcoming friendly tournament in march I believe it is.. definitely will be 80 percent youth players here so let’s have a discussion bring your thought who should be called upon?
Why hasn’t someone activated the 20m euro release clause in Budimir’s contract yet ? There were a lot of clubs in the past summer / Jan transfer windows looking for strikers (as e.g. Arsenal) – the market speaks – we need to listen (20m for a striker is nothing for the top teams across top leagues)
Now people saying Budimir > Morata (lol)
Morata’s record
2022 World Cup – 3 goals in 4 games (Germany, Japan, Costa Rica)
2020 Euros – 3 goals in 6 games (Italy, Croatia, Poland)
2018 World Cup – not selected by Lopetegui – he only took 3 strikers
2016 Euros – 3 goals in 4 games (Turkey (2), Croatia)
Morata has a proven track record of getting bought by, playing for and scoring at at the top clubs in Spain, Italy, England – Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Athletico
Morata transfer fees have been:
20m euro RM –> Juv
30m euro Juv –> RM (he was so great at Juv – RM bought him back)
60m gbp RM –> Chelsea
58m gbp Chelsea –> AM
Budimir has a unproven track record of being a complete bust in German’s 2nd tier (St. Pauli’s), being able to score a few in Italy 3rd tier (Crotone) after being a complete bust Italy 2nd tier (Sampdoria), he couldn’t make it at Mallorca in La Liga 2 (they loaned him out to Osasuna after a yr), and after two underwhelming seasons at Osasuna – he is now putting in a couple of headers from 6 metres and 3 penalties this yr and he’s better than Morata – come on
Budimir transfer fees have been:
900k euro
1m euro
2m euro
8m euro –> Osasuna (w/ a 20m euro release clause)
Great research and very enlightening. Appreciated.
Yes the numbers speak the real truth about what the outside world thinks of Ante, not much.
Personally though, I not saying he is the next coming Savior, I am just saying, I love the guy as a person, and wishing, hoping for the best for him as a player, as well as off the field of play.
It is like when you go to a soccer game, where you know your child is not the best, but you always put them in the best light, regardless that the facts and numbers tell you otherwise.
All Croatians fans are relegated to the title of Believers of the Vatreni magic, world numbers be damned.
I don’t think anyone said that Budimir was better than Morata.
Most people on here still probably on the fence on whether to start Budimir or not, and if he’s a big game scorer (like Petkovic has been for us).
I think we’re all just happy to have another option up top that we can figure out.
Antonio Marin who a few years back was a very promising teenager has done his ACL at training with Olimpija Ljubljana. He joined Olimpija from Dinamo only a few weeks back. It is unbelievable how many of our players especially youngsters are breaking down with serious knee injuries.
Alan Shearer tore his ACL in his first yr at Blackburn in 1992 – he recovered – and went on to play 14 more years and score another 250 goals, etc
A torn ACL should not be the end of someone’s career – esp in 2024 – but sadly – can’t think of one of our players that have torn their ACL – that has come back to a full recover (back to how they were pre-ACL tear) and/or don’t have further issues thereafter (e.g Pjaca)
It seems like it never stops! The ACL train line keeps running on time ploughing thru our talent, like Covid epidemic of the knee.
——————-Budimir—Kramaric——————
—————————Modric——————————
—————Kovacic———-Brozovic—————-
Perisic—————————————-Juranovic
———Gvardiol—-Sutalo—Stanisic —————
————————-Livakovic—————————
——————Petkovic—-Pasalic———————
————————–Baturina——————————
—————–Sucic (Moro)Bulat———————
Sosa———————————————M.Pasalic
—————DujeCC—Erlic—Vida———————
——————-Labrovic(Ivusic)————————
It has been 6 years since 2018 and Mandzukic as Croatias last true striker.. we have not produced any young blood worthy of him since… We will have to rely on an aging but experienced striker and an in form Budimir and our current false striker in Kramaric.. Musa fell off the map making that move to MLS and have not heard non of Beljo lately…. Although Rijeka are playing well M.Pasalic and Pjaca obviously are contributing in whole for the team but are not standing out like so just a few months ago… Perisic is a wild card whether he will be fit and ready..
Sosa Sutalo have stagnated at Ajax and Juranovic and Union Berlin are having a horrific season…. Stanisic is also getting playtime here and there.. Modric Kovacic of late are bench players.. Brozovic is sun tanning in the Arab league.. Livakovic is having a so so time at Fenwrbahce… Our boys better get some playing time if we want to catch form going into the Euros.. I don’t think I remember a time so many players are kit playing or are not standard in there teams for Croatia..
Almost all our key players are playing well and are in form.
Other than the flanks (which I hope will be reinforced if Perišić, Ivanušec or Oršić get back into form) we have no significant areas of concern.
We’ll be fine.
Also, Union Berlin are having a great season now that Bjelica took over.
They were like 2W 12L before he took over.
He’s got them winning games and are probably a top-6 team in the Bundesliga (if you only consider their record from when he took over).
Yes exactly. We’ll be alright.
Luck has found us lately, hopefully that will continue
Watched the extended highlights Rijeka vs. Lokomotiva
Pjaca took very lively – nice direct runs, good vision/passing, pushing forward, 2 assists
Pasalic not so much (he was brought off after 55′)
Interesting – Pjaca has been playing a lot of 90′ recently – and in the last 6 games – has 3 goals and 4 assists
Fingers crossed his fitness remains until Germany
https://www.transfermarkt.us/marko-pjaca/leistungsdaten/spieler/205940
Pasalic in the last 3 of 6 games has barely lasted a half (31′, 45′, 55′) – suggests he isn’t performing well right no – and no goals/assists during that time
https://www.transfermarkt.us/marco-pasalic/leistungsdaten/spieler/395928
Ivanusec – in the last 7 games – 1 game he remained on the bench – 1 game he played 78′ – the rest are cameos 9′ to 28′ – he doesn’t strike me as a player that can see limited minutes at his club – and than come to the national team and perform strongly over 90 min
I seen glimpses of maturation from Kramaric lately, regarding looking for the open man, and being a team player. I still think he likes to play catch with the opponent’s goalies though unfortunately, rather than scoring. Additionally, I have never disliked him as much as most contributors and commentators on this site. At 32, that is like 25 in Croatian years. He might still surprise us all I say one day, but only has 8 more years, based on Modric longevity model.
He’s been very good for us these past 3 years.
Agreed, but I think he could get much better if he played on a better team. Hoffenheim are mediocre at best. I would love to see him playing at a higher level, with some world class players one day.
He’s already 32.
I’d rather not mess with a good thing and he continue playing with Hoffenheim for the rest of his career.
With his new role, it seems like he could give us another two tournaments (Euro2024 and WC2026) playing at a very high level.
I think guys like Modric, Krama, and Broz are not done with this team and will still be viable options for us at the next World Cup.
Another WC for Modric, would be great no doubt, a wait and see situation. I not sure a Euro 24′ champ would help him decide to stay, or a loss would create a need for revenge. He reminds we of all the tennis greats like Federer and Djokovic. They never want to stop until it is completely clear, that winning at the top level is not possible for them. International play is inherently not about money, but pride.
Oh, he’s still young. Heck Karlovic just announced his retirement at the young age of 45. He aight
Karlovic hasnt done anything in years. Him retiring is pretty easy to do when you have not won in years.
Yes
Karlovic lived and died by his serve, but always had that upper ceiling with his narrow skill set game, where age was a non-issue in a way. As long as Karlovic can play Bocce, he can beat 96% of the human race. You must finish in the top 8 to get decent pay day at professional tournaments albeit, which represents the top 0.5% in the world.
Yes
if senatori still play in 2026 then better hope we get a cooler climate. Asking a 40 yr old to play in the humidity of N. American is not smart.
Makes no difference
Yes, I want to agree Maminjo, that maybe he is on cruise control @ Hoffenheim, but in a good way. He seems to have hometown respect, that keeps his mentality steady. Domace Soccer, Germanic style. I don’t think he has to atrophy necessarily, by staying comfortable ensconced.
Perhaps
Hi Oleg
No
Hi Evgeny
Kramarić wants to play entire matches and run a team’s offense. He can do both at Hoffenheim and consistently receive high ratings for it. He must have been super disappointed with what happened at Leicester, so he sticks with the good situation he is already in. He’s set individual records at Hoffenheim, went to the Champions League with them, and is now leading them through a new phase that could end with them returning to European play in the next few seasons. They are competitive in nearly every match.
A lot of our players have that stability with clubs in competitive leagues, which is good for their form. Šutalo, Pašalić, Vlašić, Stanisić, Erlić, Bradarić, Budimir, Caleta-Car, Majer, Pongračić, Jakić… Even Halilović, Toma Basić, and Milan Badelj are regular starters at their clubs (even though Badelj retired from the repka). The pool to draw qualified players from is getting bigger.
Nice to ponder. It is good when our players fine a home where they can play a positive growing role, especially all the good news of recent for Buddha-mir on Croatia sports.
Yes of course Mario pasalic for secondary scoring along with majer
These depth guys will be key
Karma
All jokers for goals
If they get hot anything can happen
Petković is slow as Molasses, but there are intangibles, that can’t be measured, and maybe tangibles that can be, like he is made of stone.
The improbable comeback pass from Orsic to Petkovic in the Brazilian overtime will go down in history, served up perfectly.
With that said, I am likewise now a big fan of the man named Ante Budimir, on and off the field. I hope they both play a role together, backing each other up. All the best to them both.
I think the old Orsic could service them both. We will see who the new and re-built Orsic has in common with the past MVP player we knew at the world cup.
Elder Perisic, has become more like an effective tailor cross stitching passes into the heart of the defensives, taking what they would give him, less like the Thoroughbred racing horse running down the sideline. His skill to receive services and put them into the net is most likely intact.
Who is better, a 36-year-old Perisic, or a 30-year-old Orsic both with post knee surgery? It might come down to who had the better surgeon and PPO coverage.
I always said that orsic petko off the bench is getting a special combo
They have/had such good chemistry and I was bummed when they switched up
It was like getting 3 players for the price of two
It’s like if sosa played with budimir all season long and got to bomb crosses to him
It would be way more effective then there handful of times in repka practice
I hope in the future more of our guys can link up on the same club teams
One of the reasons why the big countries are the big countries is cause of that
Sure 2010s Spain was stacked but they played with each other all year long…..
Sosa and Budimir playing at their potential or what we think is their potential would be great. Those last two goals he received the passes from the right wing of Osasuna. Wonder if that works better for him?
With that said, Juranovic making deep runs and subsequently crossing with Budimir roaming on the left side, could be a potential weapon as well, and replicate his efforts at Osasuna of late.
Hopefully Dalić doesn’t make the same mistake and not call up Oršić if he’s back to full health.
He cost us a gold medal at the Nations League because of this. The guy is very impactful when healthy.
Orsic game seems to be more narrowly defined and predictable, but what he does, No one does better. Run outside, make a severe cut inside, and ring that back post. Really beautiful to watch.
the decision to play Budimir over Petkovic or the other way around has a looong way to go. between now and then anything can happen and even if the tournament was to start tomorrow, I wouldn’t automatically say Budimir has the advantage because he plays in a better league. Petkovic has some other qualities that make him valuable…he’s very skilled and can hold up the ball, he makes very good passes and he tends to be a big game player. The only way I see Budimir taking the advantage over Petkovic is if he plays with tons of energy, if he challenges in the box (all the time) and if he high presses the defenders…then I’d say YES…because a good high press definitely forces mistakes and Petkovic cannot provide that for us.
Perisic has been practicing for a while now, recently with the ball. the last comment I heard for a timeline for his return was possibly in April. I am concerned he’s trying to hurry back and help Hajduk, this injury was very serious. at the end of the day, Perisic will do what he thinks is right and I support the guy…he’s done soo much for us over the years I consider him one of our best EVER!
I can see Petković coming off the bench in this tournament and scoring a critical goal for us (like he did against Brazil and Holland).
I hope so. he’s more dependable now than he was a few years back so I hope he can help us…and I do feel like he will!
Budimir is the only choice. Budimir or bust. Let’s goooo
Definitely a good idea to play an in-form Budimir during the Euros! Whether he should start…I don’t know. Petković is playing really well lately too. His game against Real Betis was top-notch. As for service – Sosa, Stanišić, Juranović all provide excellent crosses inside and Oršić should definitely be back from his injury in time barring any setbacks. Perišić will be cutting it close.
Petkovic 8 HNL goals compared to a HOT Budimir with 13 La Liga goals. I mean….it’s black and white if Euro started tomorrow. Let’s see how Dalic plays both of them next month in Saudi
Petkovic is like Playoff Jimmy.
He only shows up for the knockout rounds. Regular season stuff is just practice.
Any update on Perisic, is he back to full training yet?
No clue.
My guess is he’s already training behind closed doors and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the guy just suddenly show up in the lineup for Hajduk, playing at 100%.
On current form it has to be Budimir and Petkovic coming off the bench. I would like to see them play together with one being robust while Petkovic is more of touch player, but for that to happen Dalic would need to change formation to
3 – 5 – 2 or 4 – 4 – 2 which he won’t do.
My concern is that Budimir needs those crosses to come in.
Our only issue right now is the form of our wingers/flank players.
We need at least one of Perišić, Oršić, and/or Ivanušec at 100% healthy and in form by June.
I’m not sure how Sosa has been doing, and I don’t want to rely on a wildcard player like Pjaca or Marco Pašalić.
I’m confident Juranović will play well like he usually does, and we have an in form Krama and Stanišić on that right side.
I could still see Petković outperforming Budimir at the Euros. He’s just a big game player who meshes so well with our midfield.
Borja Mayoral (who is 27 in April) w/ 15 goals doesn’t even one cap yet w/ Spain – – he hasn’t even been called up – let that set in
Morata who is level w/ Budimir – has 34 goals in 69 caps w/ Spain
Budimir w/ 19 caps has 2 goals (vs Turkey in a 2020 friendly (who cares) and Armenia (ranked 94th in the world))
Budimir scored two last weekend vs Cadiz (19th – relegation zone)
In fact – 6 out of 13 goals – came against the three teams currently in relegation zone (18/19/20) – look at their goals against / goal differential, lol
3 of the 13 goals are penalties
While not sure we have a better option (sadly) as our starting “#9” – let’s put the #s in perspective – and recognize this is a guy who is currently lighting it up against (future) LaLiga 2 opponents !
https://www.transfermarkt.us/ante-budimir/leistungsdaten/spieler/46413
In the last qualifying cycle Morata got 9 goals for Spain. Impressive right….. until you find that 6 of them are vs. Malta and Georgia
Let that set in
Recognize this is a guy lighting it up against teams that are far far worse than any la liga 2 teams
If you’re going to cherry pick stats….
If Budimir gets time on the pitch and even a quarter of the quality service Morata gets with Spain, he would guaranteed win the golden boot
Bog i Hrvati
💪🇭🇷💪
I agree. Morata is playing the same competition Budimir is in La Liga. Budimir went through a serious developmental phase between last season and the beginning of this one. The Budimir that keeps scoring goals, including against top teams like Girona and Real Sociedad, is the true Budimir. It took him years to find it, but he’s found it.
About Beljo, isn’t he just injured? I wouldn’t say Beljo didn’t pan out. He has about 15 years of potential top-flight career ahead of him…
Kramarić is now a midfielder, no longer a striker. Pašalić is probably the third option as a striker because he has the size and aerial ability and is a great finisher in the box.
lol
Morata scored 4 goals in 6 games in last Euro qualifying (3 vs Georgia, 1 vs. Scotland – other teams in group were Norway, Cyprus) 😉
Budimir hasn’t been able to even score against Cyprus and Malta in 2021 – when he played them – let that SINK IN – nor could he score against Latvia (over 90 min – in Nov), Austria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, etc when he’s had the chance
But who cares about qualifiers
Let’s look at the actual tournaments – here is Morata’s record
2022 World Cup – 3 goals in 4 games (Germany, Japan, Costa Rica)
2020 Euros – 3 goals in 6 games (Italy, Croatia, Poland)
2018 World Cup – not selected by Lopetegui – he only took 3 strikers
2016 Euros – 3 goals in 4 games (Turkey (2), Croatia)
Saying Budimir > Morata is a beyond silly
Morata has a proven track record of getting bought by, playing for and scoring at at the top clubs in Spain, Italy, England – Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Athletico
Morata transfer fees have been:
20m euro RM –> Juv
30m euro Juv –> RM (he was so great at Juv – RM bought him back)
60m gbp RM –> Chelsea
58m gbp Chelsea –> AM
Budimir has a unproven track record of being a complete bust in German’s 2nd tier (St. Pauli’s), being able to score a few in Italy 3rd tier (Crotone) after being a complete bust Italy 2nd tier (Sampdoria), he couldn’t make it at Mallorca in La Liga 2 (they loaned him out to Osasuna after a yr), and after two underwhelming seasons at Osasuna – he is now putting in a couple of headers from 6 metres out this yr
Budimir transfer fees have been:
900k euro
1m euro
2m euro
8m euro –> Osasuna (w/ a 20m euro release clause – there were a lot of clubs looking for a striker in the summer / Jan transfer window – but nobody thought worth paying 20m for Budimir – let that SINK IN)
Let’s try to have a bit of objectivity – otherwise it’s just silly
I’ve always liked Budimir. He’s never received the service or playing time to make an impact with our national team. He’s a classic #9 style striker, tall, wiry, with a nose for goal. It’s his time to shine.
The pieces are there….
Ajmo dečki
Bog i Hrvati
Budimir is a good player, but he needs service which doesn’t eventuate a lot from our much vaunted midfield. He therefore always looks ordinary when playing for the repka. That’s down to poor coaching / game plan and a lack of personnel. When Kova’s always playing you have issues, the guys natural position is bench warmer.
Budimir or Bust! It’s his time now!
I like Budimir. If Petkovic is in form, he can sub-in later in the game, when things slow down.
I agree
Petko has his place
But let’s face it
He’s got what like 30 mins of proper fitness in him?
Budimir krama petko
And let’s hope some secondary potential scoring from majer even
King luka is good for one bomb at least
Let’s see if orsic and Perisic can come back….
We have guy contending to win La liga scoring title on an average team
If he is hot, he’s our ticket
Golden boot euro winner….