There were several lingering questions surrounding Croatia going into Euro 2016. Disregard the ongoing turmoil within the federation. Nobody knew what to make of a talented squad that hadn’t played consistently well for a sustainable period of time since 2012. Would Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic finally play well together? Can Mario Mandzukic regain his scoring excellence? Will Darijo Srna be exploited at right back? How will Vedran Corluka play following multiple injuries heading into the tournament? Somehow, Ante Cacic’s name hasn’t been mentioned yet, who is undoubtedly the biggest question mark.
Those questions were answered by one of the best overall team performances in recent history. Croatia’s ball movement was exceptional, particularly in the second half. They were mostly well organized, as star wingers Arda Turan and Hakan Calhanoglu failed to influence the game. Scoring opportunties were being created on a consistent basis. The unforgiving crossbar and multiple alert saves from Volkan Babacan prevented Croatia from extending their lead.
For what many considered to be the best group of the tournament, every win is vital. Combine that with the unflattering memory of Euro 2008 and Sunday’s game felt like a must-win. The new expanded format does eliminate some excitement of the group stage. A loss wouldn’t have decimated Croatia’s hopes of progressing into the knockout stage. They simply would have been under immense pressure against Czech Republic. With a manager lacking big game experience and Spain on the horizon, it would have been an unpleasant situation.
All of those concerns were erased by a sublime display from the entire team. Besides Marcelo Brozovic wasting a few good chances and Milan Badelj struggling in the first half, the team played considerably well as a unit. Luka Modric played with a point to prove from the first minute. By slicing through the Turkish defense and constantly disrupting their attacks, he was all over the field. It was easily his best game for the national team, since his unbelievable performance against Spain in the last European Championship.
Modric earned his reputation as one of the best central midfielders in the world. Following a largely forgettable 2014 World Cup, the midfield maestro didn’t waste time towards making his mark. He was vocal about doing something special at this tournament. On a list of proud achievements, winning La Liga with Real Madrid and doing something special with Croatia are still missing. He orchestrated many attacks to put them into threatening positions. The productive ball movement and constant pressure eventually led to Modric’s marvelous volley. It was a rare moment for such a technical player to attempt an audacious shot. The bold attempt ended up producing a magical moment.
Modric’s fantastic display propelled Croatia, but they were never solely dependent of him. As well as they played during Euro 2012 under Slaven Bilic; Modric was their sole reliable playmaker. Teammates focused on getting him the ball at all costs. While focusing on getting your best player involved is never a bad decision, Italy and Spain eventually recognized their strategy. No other midfielder posed any significant threat. The starting eleven played their hearts out, but lacked overall quality to defeat Europe’s powerhouses.
Overwhelmed young players have emerged into established stars. Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic were both integral figures in Sunday’s victory. Perisic is becoming a terrorizing threat on the left wing, although shifts to right side on occasion. His crossing forced Babacan into making difficult adjustments. Better finishing from Brozovic and Srna would have given him two well-deserved assists. After being inconsistent for the early part of his international career, Perisic has become a significant part of Croatia’s success over the past two years. Aleksandar Holiga of The Guardian wrote an excellent piece about his development as a player.
Rakitic didn’t necessarily have a terrific game. Turkey forced him into giving up possession on a few occasions. When the second half began, the Barcelona star was more involved in a positive manner. His magnificent run dashing past two Turkish players forced a free kick, which resulted in Srna’s thunderous strike hitting the crossbar. He linked up well with Perisic and Srna for the majority of the second half. Many fans have been critical of Rakitic’s underwhelming national team performances. They gave him a standing ovation, when Cacic subbed him out for defensive purposes.
For all of their encouraging efforts, the satisfying win most likely wouldn’t have occurred without Vedran Corluka. The under-appreciated center back produced a commanding performance with six clearances and seven aerial duels won according to Sky Sports. No clearance was bigger than preventing Hakan Balta a clear shooting opportunity in the final minute. Turkey sent a long ball into the box, which was wasn’t initially cleared. As Glenn Hoddle reminded Slaven Bilic on ITV’s post match show, it was looking very reminiscent of Semih Senturk’s last minute goal against Croatia in Euro 2008. Corluka’s brilliantly timed last-ditch tackle ended any chance of another colossal letdown. Another oft-criticized player emerged as a true leader by responding from adversity and continuing to lead Croatia’s defense for the third consecutive major tournament.
The common flaws at left back and holding midfielder were always discussed following most games. Ivan Strinic didn’t make any glowing impression, but he was relatively composed. The recently recalled left back should have closed down right back Gokhan Gonul better on a few occasions. It was still a positive performance from him, along with Badelj, who responded well from a difficult first half of being caught out of position. He isn’t technically gifted on the ball like Modric or Rakitic, but crafty enough to maneuver past opposing players to generate attacks. It wasn’t surprising to see Modric more effective, when he is playing alongside a player, who understands his defensive responsibilities.
The jury is still obviously out on Ante Cacic. Other than not making earlier substitutions, he did a fairly good job. Bringing on speedy forwards Andrej Kramaric and Marko Pjaca proved to be a wise decision. They wasted valuable time by making quality runs and testing Turkey’s center backs. Forcing tired defenders to battle against fresh forwards can take precious time off the clock. After seeing Roy Hodgson’s tactical blunder last Saturday against Russia, it was positive to see Cacic utilize his options and stop Turkey from gaining any real momentum.
In a new expanded format, it will likely take only one victory to reach the knockout stage. All signs are pointed towards Croatia finally getting out of group stage for the time since Euro 2008. Expectations need to be tempered, but this is a wide-open tournament. No team has looked extraordinary yet. It doesn’t hurt to dream about the possibility of a big game against Italy or Germany. This will take a game-by-game process, as Cacic hopefully emphasizes heading into Friday’s matchup against a desperate Czech Republic team. Croatia has the pieces to make a memorable run. Based on their exhilarating attack and cohesive back four, everything appears to be on track so far. With new stars (Rakitic, Perisic) taking larger roles and the heart-and-soul (Modric, Corluka) playing at a high level, the pre-tournament hype about Croatia being a true dark horse may finally be validated.
Twitter: @Allen_Strk
Misko,
It was Sanader, a long time ago, who was the one who got bribed to sell controlling power of INA to MOL.
Karamarko’s wife was a consultant at some point during this process, and Karamarko was found to be in a conflict of interest as a result (so he stepped down this week). There is no doubt that the very pro-SDP media (who despise the HDZ) had a hand in bringing to light anything that can be considered negative to this current government.
But unfortunately Karamarko went after Oreskovic as well, and his HDZ worked with SDP today to put forward a no confidence vote against Oreskovic to take him out of office. SDP did it because they think they can trigger snap elections and take power again, and Karamarko did it because he thinks his party can muster enough seats to create a government or maybe even win in the snap elections this year.
Either way it’s a mess where Karamarko and Milanovic have their own greed and agenda for power. Oreskovic was probably the best man for the job to get us out of this perpetual squabbling about WW2 and Balkan Wars and actually do something to fix the economy…and he got pushed out.
If Croat voters weren’t so cynical, they’d all just vote for MOST but people don’t like their leader Bozo Petrov anymore (despite him not doing anything wrong) so people will just vote according to their stupid left wing vs right wing nonsense.
SDP wil probably win by a hair and we’ll continue to go into recession like we have been for these past 8 years.
@Crnkovic
Are the parents the coaches?
What’s to be gained by you telling the parents, you told them so?
I agree with the transfer values being a good judge of pure talent. However, I think some teams just can’t gel. I was concerned coming in that this could be a issue for us (again), but the first game has me thinking otherwise. It is just one game so hopefully we play well again tomorrow.
Belgium on the other hand looked like a train wreck despite their cumulative transfer value.
I’ve refereed kids games in England where the parents are screaming at their kid to just hit the ball long, not to do anything fancy. They fear the humiliation of being seen as soft. They’d rather be stupid and honest, than intelligent and different. Societal attitudes. I’m talking under 12 here….really sad. That’s why I always say I told you so, when they lose…
…in fact same for a lot of black English guys, just shows that it’s not about race it’s about the prevailing culture. The brazilians proved that a long time ago…
@maminjo, best, giggs, gazza, waddle…there’s been quiet a few but most of them are odd balls. It’s not that people don’t have the talent it’s more to do with attitudes amongst coaches. If modric were English he would’ve been rejected as a kid. Hoddle for example used to tap the toes of his football boots on the ground as he walked to keep his toes as close to the leather as possible for extra touch. His coach left him out as a kid saying that he didn’t have the confidence to be a footballer due to nervous body language!! Coach mistook his action for nervousness. Gazza only made it through because he was crazy and just kept going. It’s not just talent we Croats have it’s a sophisticated culture of nurturing talent, recognising some of it’s subtler signs. That is something we should be proud of. English football still suffers from the English school boy paradigm of sport as a preparation for militaristic service. A toughening up exercise rather than a collective expression. These things run deep in the culture. It’s not as simple as who can dance. It’s more to do with where you are allowed to dance. I know some white English guys who can dance like Michael Jackson, once on the football pitch it’s back to “clear your lines, the Zulus are coming”. 🙂
@Maminjo I don’t think Oreskovic was kicked out, wasn’t it Karamarko for selling 51% of INA to Hungary?
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@Bobby V
Beautiful!
And let’s keep it that way!
I realized that after.
Gotta go back a bit, but George Best is all I can come up with.
@Bobby
It’s true until SDP gains power again in this year’s elections and starts the process all over again (which they seem to be do hell bent on starting).
Orešković was strongly opposed to any drilling. It doesn’t take a math whiz to understand that it’s a bad move to risk guaranteed 8 billion in tourism per year for a possible 150 million in drilling licenses.
Now they kicked him out and we’re back to Square Zero.
@Poglavnik
My argument was that Southern and Southeastern Europeans CAN dance.
Žuti is a Croat, and Zinedine was French Algerian, so you can probably count that as Southern Euro (as a good chunk of France is deemed Southern European).
Now find me an Englishman, a Scot or a Swede (whose last name doesn’t end in an “ić”) who can dribble the ball and I’ll admit I’m wrong.
@ivo – thanks!
http://drazenkatic.blogspot.de/2016/06/croatia-cancels-plans-for-adriatic.html
Good news – let’s hope it’s true.
@Bobby V.
Bravo Bobby. Well written as always.
@Maminjo
Prosinecki, Zizou there must be a few more.
Looks like it will be the same lineup for Croatia according to several media outlets.
Peter Cech saying that this is the best Croatian team in history.
Forget about the FIFA rankings – the graph I put up earlier about the worth of teams in transfer value is a much better (not perfect) reflection of where our team ranks – 7th in Europe.
Money talks – and so does the fact of what club teams you play for.
So many of these countries without anyone playing for any club in the top 5 leagues.
This tournament just seems like a perfect setup for Croatia.
The loss of Srna’s father and his statement that “My dad was always haapiest watching me play for the national team and would have wanted me to go back” is a far cry from that gay pool party in Brazil and the comments – “fuck it, how often are they in Brazil, let them have fun”
Don’t underestimate what Cacic has done to make sure the mood with this team is where it needs to be.
Croatia has the talent, and, no team here is head and shoulders above any other in France.
We just need some luck.
Our World Cup qualifying group doesn’t look too bad now – Turkey wasn’t a problem, Ukraine is already out of the tournament and Iceland was dominated but lucked out a draw against Portugal.
The only concern for Croatia should be a hangover affect after winning the Euro Cup. 😉
Nobody from central, Eastern, or northern Europe can “dance”.
As a result, they will never produce players who can “dance” with the ball like Southern Europeans. I guess we qualify as Southeastern Europeans, so we can dance with the ball pretty well (it must be all that kolo).
Ive never been a fan of German football. Well except that time they crushed Brazil 7-1! They know how to win but they just don’t excite me. Even their players seem almost too well coached. They don’t produce Zidanes or Ronaldhinos or truly exciting playmakers.
Is it just me or does Germany play boring football?
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@Iggy
As long as it’s in the streets and not in the stadium apparently UEFA wont do anything.
Just saw the CRO flag in the UKR section of goal. LOl
@Poglavnik
True woman also have a nest mentality. They are looking for someone that will provide a secure place. However, what explains so many women these days dating dykes?
Let pjaca score a hatrick….
That douche bag aleks ho liga, or whatever his name is predicting 1-1 vs the Czechs. Please God, Allah, the supreme creator, Kalima, jah rastafari, Yahweh, tunkashila let it be 5-0 to us so that we can tell that idiot to shut up once and for all. Amen
Lol
haha, u know what i just realised, when i said: “that guy is fat, angry, hairy and ugly” i realise i could have said that more simply by just saying “a turk”
BOOM HEADSHOT FPS_DOUG !! 🙂
Damn England scored. Wanted more rioting so the focus would come off of us.
ah damn england got an injury time winner, damn..
btw notice how UEFA said england were on notice and any more bad behaviour and they would be DQd and then last night 36 english fans were arrested for riots again.
So, UEFA, where’s that DQ? Absolute bullshit. If that was us we’d be gone.
^^ well played Pog.
Even so, that guy is fat, angry, hairy and ugly.. can’t work that one out lol.. the odd couple
Less superficial?!
More like women will marry ugly for money.
@iggy
Women are less superfical than men.
@Mishko
That was pretty funny. Not as funny as me getting so angry after 08 that I jumped on the tread mill for an hour screaming fucken Turks.
Mishko the bigger question about that video is, why is a babe like that married to that absolute fucking fat cunt of a shitlicker?
Anyway, in terrific news, Engerand is losing. Bale with another long ranger, although the keeper was hopeless
OMG you guys gotta watch this. Turkish woman trolls her husband during our game. Video at the link and the results are both sad and hilarious.
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/hotsport/video-ovo-je-preokrutno-pogledajte-kako-je-supruga-smjestila-turskom-navijacu-i-sve-snimila/4444380/
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If we made our subs earlier in the Turkey game we would be better informed about potential changes for the game tomorrow. We can’t judge the performances for the players who came on for 5 minutes or less, so it’s a bit of an unknown how Vrsaljko, Pjaca etc. would perform if we start them.
Looks like something is cooking with our navijaci…
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/nogomet/navijaci/svi-pricaju-o-katastrofi-sprema-se-prekid-utakmice-hrvatske-cim-pocne-kaos-sviraj-kraj/4443480/
I have a feeling Poland is going to beat Germany today if the refs don’t screw them.
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@Crnkovic
The Russians would because they trained. I would still love if we lumped up some Turks. I cannot stand the sight of them.
Haha no worries.. and u watched 10 ? LOL.. yeah i guess it is pretty funny.. a friend showed it to me a year or so ago and we had a good chuckle too 😉
As for a CSR team.. jesus my strategy would be “Runaway” haha.. i guess u could get the crippler in there !
Guess the Irish fans have been voted the most fun to be around – you have to check out these videos of them having fun.
http://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/euro-2016/vec-su-osvojili-euro-pogledajte-zasto-citav-svijet-hvali-irske-navijace-2—440494.html
Fuck, there goes my idea.
Gotta love the shit you learn here on CSR. Thanks for video Iggy.
I just watched about 10 of them. Like the part when a team is down to their final man and they let the other team’s 4-5 guys take shots at him until he taps out – just in case he might make a comeback – haha.
I think CSR would make a good team. Doctor Prle would be our GM and HAET our coach.
just on the above, 2:30 is a good point to skip to
haha i love the hooligan MMA
but yeah, they have had a thing like that already for a few years:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GixDXD44_yA
check it out, just skip to the fight part, kinda hilarious
They should just have international fighting with guns and tanks and planes. Or maybe that’s been done..
…the refereeing would favour the big Western European bank puppet states. That’s the only problem…Russia would be disqualified despite decimating the English. Croatia would be fined because the hooligans were chanting za dom spremni while fighting….
Crnkovic,
It would always be the same three at the top: Croatians, Serbians and Russians with the Poles, English and Greeks sprinkled in.
Anonymous that would be awesome! They have something like that already in Russia
My advice for the game against the Czechs: One. Game. At. A. Time.
Who would win the hooligan euro’s?
Lol anonymous. Like it
Maybe they should organize a sport for hooligans, a UFC style group competition, the toughest idiots from each country who want to do it professionally.
You can set it up like soccer Have club teams, domestic leagues, national teams, trades/transfer fees, etc
You can have the major tournament every 4 years. Each country selects their toughest 100 goons from around Europe and sends them to the tournament.
No ping pong balls or qualifying – everybody’s invited.
Have a massive brawl in a realistically set up small European
town.
Anything to have them detach themselves from soccer.
Like me, I’m black and Muslim and croat. I’m retarded as hell. Part of town I live in is a shithole, too many foreigners…
Which isn’t saying that a lot of blacks and Muslims aren’t ignorant retards….
It’s a tough decision though isn’t it? Because you want to give players another chance to get some form going, if you drop strinic now, when does he come back into the team? Never. Or vrsaljko has a bad game then you’re fucked, 2 LB’s neither with any confidence…..same for badelj/kovacic. That’s why I would only rotate confident or dependable players at this stage. Pjaca for brozovic would be acceptable. Kovacic for modric…that’s the only change you could make that wouldn’t damage a players confidence. Rakitic is not yet good enough either. We could go 442 give mandzukic a strike partner, but then rakitic will sulk and not be ready for spain. So probably same line up, with subs later. Hopefully we are winning and can afford to be bold with subs…….
@mishko, I know it’s fun to be a racist asshole, but it’s not funny. Ask yourself what bilic, boban, rakitic (intelligent croat legends) would think of your talk? They all love black people. Not in a gay way obviously, the fact that you thought it shows where the real problem is here. And as for Muslims, you think the boys in the squad talk about their captain like that? I know it’s not fair of me to comment because I’ve been fortunate enough to have an education which explains things like history and economics, which of course some haven’t had. So I’ll stop now. Big hug brother, only joking
Oh right i got u, i thought there was something involving a jersey, i kinda skimmed over your comment as i do with most here – apologies
https://scontent-syd1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t35.0-12/13461233_950288141755751_707212604_o.jpg?oh=f1a4d4f42a863795ad3aa741e2b4249e&oe=5764681D
Iggy-You saw Low literally sniffing his balls, and you didn’t think that was the jocksniffer video I referenced?
Stipe & Bobby V- Imagine if we were the host country!!
They would be blaming the riots on us, and our inability to provide adequate security. If a French fan ran in the field in Split, they would say our security infrastructure is disgraceful. We can’t win, except for when we win on Friday.
What are u all talking about with Low? Can’t someone just post a link ? One of you cunts said “look it up” look up what? I looked up Low on YouTube and all i got was him sniffing his balls
ffs how hard is it to post a link u lazy bums
…sorry, Vrsaljko and Pjaca for Strinic and Badelj
@ Stipe – You are right. UEFA is so backwards. Could you picture the Cleveland Cavaliers getting thrown out of the playoffs for that guy who ran on the court last week?
Cacic hinting that Vrsaljko and Pjaca are replacing Strinic and Brozovic, but, we will see. Just hope Kovacic comes in at some point.
@ Maminjo – Pasalic would have made the team for sure. I see him more of a sub for Rakitic, playing behind the strikers.
@ Mile – I think Modric’s goal was more difficult to strike and looked more spectacular, no doubt, but, then the word goal – I think no goaltender stops Hamsik’s. Debate on about goalie’s role on Modric’s is still on.
Both were excellent.
Same lineup guys vs. the Czechs?
Also, Why is Croatia being fined for this retard running on the field? Why isn’t the stadium officials being fined for lack of security ? ANd why were there more Dirty Turk fans at the game than ours? I think UEFA is trying to screw us and not sell enough to Croatian tickets cause they know we go all out
Anyone has a comment on this ?
Geez.
Now Marijan Mrmic’s dad just died.
Mrmic is our goalkeeping coach and he just flew back to Cro today to attend his father’s funeral.
Too bad Pasalic was injured for this tournament.
He usually plays in the pivot role. It would’ve been nice to try him at DM. Hopefully that is something that is tried out during our merciless World Cup qualification campaign as we are in the Group of SuperDeath there.
Modric was 200 to 1 to win the golden boot for good reason. We can’t count on him to score for us. He contributed plenty even without the goal. Possibly goal of the tournament so far, but maybe performance of the tournament too. We really need some of the others to step up.
I watched the Turkey game again and agree that Badelj was pretty poor, but I think we need to stick with him. It’s not about putting the best 11 players on the field… If it was, we would have 8-9 midfielders playing at the same time. It’s about the best combination of 11 and I’m not sure someone else can play that holding midfield role which freed up Modric. Badelj is capable of a lot more so hopefully we’ll get it from him in the next game. On the positive side, he was well positioned throughout and didn’t make any mistakes that resulted in more than giving the ball away.
…and can we stop with the racist commentary. Makes us look like a bunch of uneducated, unsophisticated douchebags
Low lost the lockeroom with that move.
Germany won’t win the Euros because of this.
Joachim Low is the ultimate jocksniffer. This word can no longer be used on a fan that wears a jersey with a name on it.
Youtube it.
Yeah, there is no comparison. Modric’s goal was far superior than Hamsik’s.
People complaint about badelj don’t understand his role in the team. If you hear his name mentioned a lot he probably isn’t playing that good. In that defensive midfield game he needs to play a quiet game..
@ Bobby V
Hamsik’s goal better than Modric’s? I disagree fully. Look at the degree of difficulty between the two strikes… Hamsik’s an on the ground dribble against a glacial paced Russian back with a sharp angled hard unstoppable shot… Modric hits a full volley on ball dropping from 30 feet in the air, ball hit hard enough to dip and drop under the keepers hand who would have had the save if not for the sweetness of the strike. Hamsik goal was nice but not better than Modric as I guarantee you the slovak couldn’t replicate Modric’s goal.
“don’t act like your retarded”
Irony inspired face palm.
your vs you’re is tough
English cunts.. i was reading the comments on the fan violence on The Guardian website – for u yanks, it is a British newspaper, and even there many of the comments were wow, British hooligans finally got a taste of their own medicine and they didnt like it much (in regards to the russian fans). So even on British sites there was not a lot of sympathy for the bag of shitdrinking pissgobblers.
I guess it’s not the commentators job to point fingers and rat fans out. They probably don’t want to upset anyone so they stay neutral.
I dont agree with it, just a guess.
When is anyone gonna speak up and ask the damn question , how are the fucking flares in the fucking stadium! Not one asshole commentator brings this up, are they all told to shut up? I just can’t figure this out.
Mexico fans chant Puto the day after Orlando radical Islamic terrorism, and yet Fifa & Uefa focusing on that ugly croatian fan who ran on the field. Again Uefa should be fined for not putting in enough security to prevent fireworks in the stadium & fans running on the field. No way is the team responsible.
As if the French authorities don’t have enough on their plate with the threat from ISIS, these English and Russian assholes are surely taking away resources away from that.
Video of English fans showing their class throwing coins at young gypsy kids in Lille. Fucking scum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rL4-bpnuQVc
I got money on Ronaldo for the Golden boot, idiot was supposed to get a hat-trick in that game.
Know I’m hoping for 4 against Austria, 2 against Hungary and that should get it done.
Pretty impressed with the Slovaks too.
I bet Marek Hamsik has a big game against the English and an English club scoops him up.
Other than their finishing I’d put Portugal up there too. They controlled that whole game against a very good Iceland team.
@Mishko
So you don’t believe that France promotes multiculturalism?
@Lazio, France is a nice country, but all the parts with niggers and muslims is a shit hole. Just like in the U.S, It’s almost like a chemical reaction, add blacks and muslims and WHAMO, the area is a POS. Please don’t act like your retarded, it’s embarrassing.
Best performers for me.
Italy
Croatia
@Crnkovic
France is a multicultural country, and aren’t they promoting it by being just that?
You make it sound like all the other cultures have invaded France.
Hungary are a top 5 performance so far
French coach tried to be cute and leave out Pogba and Griezmann – too bad it didn’t come back and bite him.
Not many minnows left in Europe. I think UEFA might have lucked out so far with the 24 team expansion. The main reason for it was money, obviously, but the watering down of the tournament has not materialized. Not one team has been embarrassed.
Cristiano being an ass with his comments about Iceland. Of course they are going to celebrate. Nothing but sour grapes.
Marek Hamsik with the goal of the tournament so far – sorry Luka.
Who is this annoying Venezuelan color announcer on ESPN who talks negatively about teams most of the game – he’s done it three times to teams that have come back to tie.
English fans causing trouble for the 4th night in a row – this time in Lille. Where is UEFA now?
The Hungary friendly suddenly doesn’t seem like we scheduled a walkover opponent. They played well against Austria.
It’s all mamic
@anonymous, hell yes
@mishko, debatable
Absolute joke with the ref against Albania, everything is made so much easier for these big countries, mother fucking criminals
@zds lifestyle, the whole point of having badelj in the team is to allow modric freedom to move and create. If you play 4141 modric has to stay deep all the time and you lose our most creative influence, so your plan makes no sense.
@mishko, I agree about the big teams getting the calls and especially the home team…..but what does it have to do with multiculturalism? Absolutely nothing. Separate issues. The powers that be are in favour of immigration because it allows them to manipulate economic policy by under cutting trade unions. I don’t see what that has to do with elite athletes. They are biased in favour of larger advertising and consumer markets. They have no interest in promoting multiculturalism. If they promote multiculturalism they could end up with a situation where common people of all backgrounds actually get a long with each other and unite against elite corporate interests, that is the last thing they want. Don’t confuse yourself.
@Sudi Mi
you said it, he sounds like a baba, making it up on the run, sad
I hope Badelj doesn’t play, the only time you notice him on the field is when he makes a mistake….only gets in the way of Modric. Why not go 4-1-4-1. I have no problem with Pjaca slotting in the midfield 4.
Mishko- You aren’t kidding, those calls were comical. Wasn’t rooting for either team, but the calls got more and more ridiculous the longer the game progressed as a tie.
Just so people don’t get but hurt in future games. The ref is not calling anything in Albania’s favor, yes I have no love for them or France. But all the MEANINGFUL calls go against Albania. That’s going to be us down the road. So don’t act surprised, because the multicult shithole called France must be in the last 4. Mark my words. $$$$$$
Hope Croatia gets in some good Hoolie violence before this thing is over. We gotta represent!!
@ slavonac
its true…the tactics change did start to leak already a couple days before the game and i had mentioned earlier in the week that my buddy told me there was going to be an unexpected switch…..perhaps mamic didn’t actually believe it and thought cacic would stick to the script….apparently not the case
I have to say, watching today, a lot of teams are playing with a TON of heart. Friday is going to be a long day if we don’t control it from beginning to end
https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/06/how-an-arda-turan-slap-led-to-luka-modrics-wonderg.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/luka-modric-can-drive-croatia-out-from-shadow-of-brilliant-class-of-98-a7079661.html
Crnkovic, I knew I would get that response. I should say 100% of teams wish they had a Suker, including Sweden & Portugal.
I am a believer in Nitro’s contact. I mean, you would have to be a psycho to write such long posts quoting a fake source. And we all know he ain’t no psycho. Keep those in depth reports coming Nitro.
nitro, you just said: “Mamic has absolutely lost it on Cacic for not starting Pjaca and pulling the last minute switcheroo by putting Brozo in this spot”
but during the last few practices before the tournament started, we already knew Broz was in for Pjaca…it was being reported daily!
how is your theory considered a “last minute switcheroo”?
Nitro, you sound like an old Croatian baba in the selo babbling about the latest gossip….sheesh….
It’s 2016, football is football, the best team usually wins. Brozovic is a good player, pjaca is also a good player. RELAX
@bz, Portugal don’t have a single striker, they need suker more than any team…
Guys please just chill out….
nitro you are another Ziva, just keep throwing your garbage out
It goes without saying that we would be better with a Suker, but so would all teams in Euro 2016, except Sweden & Portugal.
oh, i should add…this mamic defiance has really helped a lot of the main players get behind him thinking for the first time they have a coach that is doing everything purely to win rather than please the powers that be. The players were initially dismayed a bit as halilovic was dropped for coric and rog thinking here we go again…but now they’re realizing that was just part of the bait and switch by cacic to get around mamic….throw him a bone with the fringe roster players, but then when it comes to who to play, play who he wants…not mamic
CACIC GOES ROGUE!
I got some juicier insights from my friend on the team than usual. So word is Mamic has absolutely lost it on Cacic for not starting Pjaca and pulling the last minute switcheroo by putting Brozo in this spot. And Mamic thinks Cacic when out of his way to deceive him by not even playing Brozo against San Marino. So the take from inside the lockeroom is this. Cacic is old and knows his coaching career is coming to a close. If the repka thing doesn’t work out, he was close to retirement any way, so he can be much bolder defying mamic than lets say a kovac or stimac who were looking to secure employment in coaching for the next 30 years and didn’t want to be instantly sacked once they lost a game if they defied mamic. Cacic also sees a big potential upside for him with a Croatia team he thinks can actually go far. If he can actually create some noise for him, maybe he could get someone to bite and squeeze out a big pay day from a higher league team to be a coach. Although Mamic has come down so hard on him, cacic is reconisdering things a bit and will possibly re start pjaca. Even if his coaching career is winding down, mamic has big influence in the croatian soccer circle cacic runs in and does not want to be made a complete pariah.
Bobby V, it will come or it won’t….in most of these tournaments, there are usually at least a half dozen teams that are capable of winning it all but typically the ones that do end up with one or two guys who get hot popping in goals….Suker prime example in ’98.
Spain after one game has a goal from their center back Pique…currently in the same boat as us….the key is getting better as a team progressively, game by game and being opportunistic.
I see this team, if it is going to advance getting it done by committee…Perisic, Mandzo, Raketa, Luka all have to chip in….
Looks like they have a good team atmosphere and the guts Corluka showed repeatedly persevering with his head injury tells me a lot about the mentality in the team overall.
WTF.. i turned on the Russia Slovakia game and no one in the crowd seems to be covered in blood yet?? Disappointing..
Good piece on Ante Cacic….
http://www.zadarskilist.hr/clanci/14062016/cacic-nisam-dosao-s-ulice-nakon-zadra-sam-bio–spreman-i-za-real-madrid
…and this from Vahid Halihodzic – says the same thing I mentioned a days ago. We need a striker to put away the few chances that come along in a game – like a Davor Suker.
– Nikad ne govorim ništa što ne mislim. Hrvatska ima realne šanse da dođe do finala, zašto ne i da osvoji prvenstvo?
Ipak, da bi Hrvatska otišla do kraja, po Vahi se treba ispuniti jedan uvjet.
– Trebat će imati jednog napadača koji će zabijati golove! Neće na svakoj utakmici biti puno šansi, ne treba se zabiti samo kad stvorite tri ili četiri šanse, nego iz jedne. Tako se dolazi do velikog rezultata! Mandžukić, Perišić i Kalinić moraju pronaći svoju golgetersku crtu…
I feel even better after reading this article – “two or three beers is all we need.”
http://www.24sata.hr/sport/cacic-ako-pobijedimo-cesku-vodim-igrace-da-se-napijemo-478843?utm_medium=Status
Post-match interview with Luka Modric
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QTjfyrEXxU
Time to assessment from professor football LAknat
about croatia vs turkey recently match, . so here we come>
GK Subasic ……….. 6/10
we did not see heroic safe from this goalie in this match
coz turkey was lame for their attacking furthermore
i know he won’t be like this … http://goo.gl/J7YzMZ …
LB Strinic …………. 6.5/10
i like him more than Srna
RB Srna …………… 5.5/10
ok he was contribute in croatia attacking but lame in passing also waste a chance to make double for us >
CB Vida ……………. 7.0/10
looks like sturdy, but i was worry about his height and jumping.. i noticed about a chance from turkey forward
won heading vs him, but luckily it was not a goal
CB Corluka ……….. 8.0/10
yeah he was great and the moment when stupid schildenfeld gave turkey player a chance, he denied
DMF Badelj ……….. 5.5/10
he just a passerby for this match, nothing special
MF modric …………. 8.0/10
who’s score, who’s yell on the pitch and negotiate
i think he has charisma in leadership, true captain
MF Rakitic ………….. 6.0/10
won a freekick with that softly move, i think it wasn’t
technique but merely a fluke, so please considering
about The God of Halilovic presence
AMF Perisic ………… 7.0/10
incredible for his cross and gave turkey chills
but kramaric seems good at dribble
AMF Brozovic ……… 6.5/10
i give him credit for his acceleration
FW Mandzukic …….. 5.5/10
He just like a stud and made turkey’s defense
worrying about him to much
u know those old conspiracy theories about how FIFA/UEFA rigged draws by using heated and cooled balls in the pots that they pull them out of ?
well sepp blatter has just come out and said ITS TRUE !! LOL
I think we see two players against the Czechs that didn’t play against Turkey.
Vrsaljko for Strinic and Kovacic as a sub.
Anybody appointed by the Savez would have automatically be tied to Mamic. How fair is that really?
Bravo Cacic – he has shown to be his own man in every decision he has made so far. I’m beginning to think that even Mamic and Suker have been surprised so far and are smiling and keeping their mouths shut.
So much more confident about the defense without Lovren in the back line.
For each win, I’m bringing him more of my business so he can stay financially above water until WC qualifying.. So far, it’s my Baba’s and Teta’s TV’s.
Malo previse leda za Ronalda danas…
Za Mandzukica!
The third placed team from this group is a potential opponent for us in the next round
Ronaldo 43 million followers
Iceland population 300k
Portugal is dismantling Iceland.
well hungry played “hungry”
We’ll always be the dark horses until we go deep into the tournament (quarters, semis, or finals). It’s a “what have you done lately” mentality.
Belgium had the dark horse title for this past World Cup, and they went as far as the quarters, and now they aren’t considered dark horses anymore.
We have the players, unfortunately, we just haven’t done anything since 2008. We would have had a favourites tag if we had qualified for the 2010 World Cup, but it was erased when we missed out. If we make a run in this tournament, you’ll see the dark horse tag wash away in the next World Cup.
The term dark horse is so subjective. Are we really considered dark horses when most analysts keep raving about our roster? I keep hearing how unsurprising it would be if this team makes it deep into the knockout stages.
Nice synopsis.