Croatia-Hungary Goals
After a routine 2-0 victory over Israel in Osijek earlier this week, Croatia travel to neighboring Hungary Saturday for a match in Budapest. The Inter Milan duo of Ivan Perišić and Marcelo Brozović stole the show with a goal and an assist each against the Israelis.
The number one concern in these matches is for players not to get hurt. Exhibit A: Darijo Srna.
The Croatian captain had to be carted off against Israel but reports say that he will play against Hungary.
The starting XI will be announced as the match approaches kick off.
Perisic carries himself like a warrior on the field. He doesn’t flop around like that idiot Srna.
Yes, you’re right, we don’t really know how their personalities are, but from what you see on the field, it should be Perisic by a longshot (and I’m not taking into account how good of a actual player he is).
Shouldn’t the captain be the person with the best personality to do that job? I dont know the guys personally so i have no idea who would be a good captain. Being a good player doesnt make a good captain. He might be an introvert or something that may not make him a great captain, does any of us really know?
@ Maminjo I agree. Nobody deserves it more. He leads by example. So disappointed in Modric and Rakitic.
Thought some of the slogans here are funny:
http://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/nogomet/navijaci-prijedlozima-za-slogan-ismijali-hns—431758.html
Perisic is a leader.
He needs to be our next captain.
Not dummies, just mental midgets.
The only guys on the repka who is a leader at his club is Srna. So, take that for what its worth.
Kovac questioned their effort after the Azerbaijan game.
Their was two ways of looking at it, either their effort was poor (Modric said the players gave 100%), or the team weren’t good enough to break down an Azerbaijani team that parked the bus.
Would’ve been nice to see the players remain professional, put all the issues aside and play with pride, but we saw against Norway they weren’t capable of doing so! Guess our players are dummies!
Simunic is a class act, really shitty comments Allen.
Couldn’t care less about Simunic’s opinion on Bilic. Pretty obvious that Schildenfield was a better player than him (at the time) with his solid performances at Euro 2012. Could you imagine Simunic trying to defend against the likes of Italy and Spain? Big Joe is simply butt hurt from what I’ve read/heard.
As for the whole Lovren debacle, I’m not trying to defend him. He wouldn’t be in my current starting 11 either. Vida has clearly played better than him, while Vrsaljko will be left back for now. I just don’t believe in taking personal matters into the media. It sets a bad example.
Obvious the result against Norway was his undoing, but Kovac did himself no favors by publicly questioning players effort following that game. His little back-and-forth was Modric wasn’t pleasing. Who can forget Stimac criticizing Badelj after the win against Wales? Instead of commending a come back performance, he rips one of his starters. You can’t do that. Bilic never did that once.
Why you so offended by the ebay listing idemo?
The item is located in Croatia, it doesnt matter what your default ebay domain is.
It looks authentic to me and would seem to be at that price. Also, the user has 100% feedback.
*shrugs*. I was trying to help you out you ingrate cunt. Don’t go all shitty at me for giving you an option to buy something you directly asked for.
Fuck me… some people.. honestly
@Brkic
Albania was awarded 3pts from a match that was abandoned at 0-0 against the Serbs, whom they lost to 0-2 in the reverse fixture. They wouldn’t have made it without that 3pts, they have however played better.
I forgot all about Greece!
So what does that mean for Croatia (a team with talented players) and our shit coach?
This Ziva istina is a goof! Unbelievable how desperate some people are for attention or a friend.
Iggy you the type to send a Nigerian lawyer 25 grand in the mail because you had a rich Nigerian uncle who passed away and left you his fortune
In terrific news fellas, PES 16 has released an update and now has a licensed croatia team ! Great news. And also, before Euro ’16 they will have extra DLC updating the uniforms to the latest. I know this will be especially happy news for you, Ziva 🙂
Yeah because my default eBay is eBay.au and because eBay only sells authentic
Uh huhhhhh
@Slavonac…..where am I wrong? Yes, in a perfect world all the players would respect their coach. But this is not a perfect world. Plenty of examples of players not thinking much of their coach. Not all coaches, but some coaches. I know for a fact we have had players on the national team who had no respect for previous coaches. They had professionalism to go about and do their job, but they never respected the coach. They respected themselves to go out and play but couldn’t give a shit about the coach.
I’m not saying they had a lack of respect for every single coach, but egos play a role and some players don’t have respect for certain coaches. I don’t see how that is controversial, especially with today’s athlete.
And to prove my point about players not resecting their coach………the next time any of you guys run into Simunic, ask him what he thought of Slaven Bilic as his coach. Simunic to his credit acted professional for the most part (not at the very end), but there was no respect to for Bilic.
So, let me ask you guys this…….do you think all of the guys on the roster respect Cacic or have a good vibe going into the Euros with him? You guys seem to forget that we have mental midget disease in Cro.
@ny hrvat……where was I educated. Pretty clear what I said is understandable and easy to comprehend.
@CroatianPerson85………….come on, that is a laughable question. It just wouldn’t happen. Do you wear bell bottom pants or a polyester suit? I’m sure you don’t. Its just strange and weird. Same reason I wouldn’t wear another man’s name on my back. At the end of the day wearing another man’s name on your back is disrespectful to your family, yourself and a sign that you are a jock sniffer. Always ask yourself this…..would that same person wear a jersey with your name on the back. If the answer is no, then there you go.
@Allen:
I agree
i just went to ebay and found that jersey immediately
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/CROATIA-Newest-Nike-2016-2017-Football-SHIRT-Trikot-EURO-FRANCE-Blue-Jersey-L-M-/172151866775?hash=item28150d0597:g:zfcAAOSwGYVW9b6a
nearly impossible to find the blue away
@Ziva!
Even though you would never do this, if you had to wear the jersey of a player with their last name on the back
A) who would it be concerning Croatian teams/players?
B) who would it be concerning non-croats?
PS – When are the T shirts coming out? and do they come in women’s?
The ranking of those kits is a bit of a dickfest… Belgium number 2? It’s too similar to the old Germany jerseys..
that spain away one is ugly as sin
that czech rep away.. lol.. nbr 30, buddy, i think your shirt is a tad too small
@Brkic
Good glass half empty/full comparison. Lovren could be that much of a bonehead where he may have potentially though “Hey I am warm I will go sit down now.” I highly doubt that or that another coach told him otherwise but until he clears the air, if he does, it’s going to go down as exactly what Slavonac from Canada said, disrespectful and insubordinate.
He would never do that to Klopp which shows you how much respect he has for Cacic if he deliberately went to sit down. Goes back to the idea Ziva brought up about players knowing how the savez is run and eventually growing tired and pissed off.
Flip side – real players deal with it, professionals. It must go on to varying degrees at many clubs/national teams but we can all agree there are probably not as many counties where bureaucracy goes on as much as Cro.
Either way – these guys are not paying my mortgage so I am not crying for them like I did in 1998 (although 98 was special!) They have a job like anyone else. They get paid to complete a task. I just hope people don’t get too attached with personal feelings concerning these games/tournaments.
Cacic is doing well. Making the right decisions.
Thank you slavonac for educating Ziva. 🙂
So far, I’m liking all of the signals and moves Cacic is sending and making.
Dejan Lovren would not play one minute for me. He can be the best player on the pitch, but, suffers greatly from the Balkan Buffoon syndrome – always a heartbeat away from a poorly disguised handball or foul in the box that will cost you a game.
Ivica Olic was more upset that he aged and could no longer perform at a high level and took that fact out on Cacic. Love the guy, but, it was time to go and Cacic told him so.
Pranjic – gone – thank you.
I watched Halilovic closely at Gijon. He started out well but has gone backwards since. He started playing slower and wanted to take players on instead of doing what he does best – running at opponents, setting up teammates off those runs and taking his hard shots when they opened up.
If not for a clause in his contract with Sporting Gijon saying he needed to appear a certain amount of minutes, his playing time would have been reduced.
Cacic has noticed – he might go to France, but, he won’t be playing a major role. I was wrong – I was saying Halilovic should start based on his play early with his club, but, his form has dropped in the past 2 months.
For me, it is so far, so good. The right people are being told they are not going to start or not going to be part of the team.
Brkic,
in soccer, you warm up until you are told not to…end of story! often times several players are told to warm up and yet they are never used, the coaches do this so they can change their mind and have a warm player readily available.
if a player randomly decides to stop warming up, without the consent of his coach, that is considered insubordination and disrespectful.
Ziva…your last comment gave away something revealing.
you said: “You can’t tell me there are some pros who will look at Cacic and where he has coached and think he is qualified to coach to them”
this comment is ridiculous dude, you should know better. sport has issues, just like politics, any industry actually…you have to respect your boss, whether you think he is qualified or not…you are revealing your Balkan mentality.
I assure you, 100%…that respect is one of the utmost important things a player has to have…especially for his coach/coaches, even if you are Messi or Ronaldo!
you probably never played at any level outside of community, its a known rule!
Lovren is lovren , he has no respect, doesn’t matter who coaches or what qualifications they bring, we have seen his attitude issues in the past
I’m going to readily admit that I don’t know enough about Int’l soccer to draw these conclusions, but…
When I was a college athlete and my coach told me to warm up I warmed up until I was warm and stretched, not until my coach told me “stop warming up”. Is it possible that Cacic sent them out to warm up in the 50th minute and then in the 65th minute Lovren felt warm and returned to the bench thinking he would probably be subbed on shortly?
When he returned did a trainer tell him to keep warming up? If not, why? Is it possible that this goes to style of Cacic vs other managers Lovren has had through his career? If someone told him to keep warming up and he refused that’s a very different thing for me.
Could it be that Cacic’s lack of confidence in himself made him believe Lovren was being insubordinate?
Having watched Lovren at the club and Int’l level, he does not strike me as a discipline problem… Prone to mental errors – yes… A bit of a diva – yes, but he’s usually very positive in his words and actions (at least publicly).
Halilovic on the other hand is a bit more of a complainer etc., so when I heard he was griping about playing time it seemed in character.
Time may tell, but hashing this out in the media seems strange unless it was already addresses with the player and there was more insubordination.
@Slavonac
Could not have been said better.
“professional know how to put that aside and play with pride”
Every team has issues. None of this has to do with luck or whoever is responsible for choosing the coach. This is just silly. This is all excuses for players who do not want to play. Plain and simple.
The professionals who want to play for the country will play as you point out. .
Čačić may be the coach for the wrong reasons, but it doesn’t mean that he’s not human and that these players haven’t formed a relationship with him (and want to do well with him).
If he decided to come in and become some disciplinarian, then I can understand why they would just tune him out. But if he’s simply just doing his job and evaluating all of our defensive options (which is totally understandable considering it’s our weakest area) then I don’t care if Lovren’s feelings were hurt.
I don’t think the players lack all respect for Čačić. But I do think he’s an easy target to be disrespected (if you have a player like Lovren).
Some do, some don’t.
Egos play a big role. Is player XXXXXX willing to forgo his ego and take instructions from a guy who player XXXX thinks is unworthy of coaching him?
You can’t tell me there are some pros who will look at Cacic and where he has coached and think he is qualified to coach to them. This is where the respect factor comes in and if they are going to respect him and his position as the coach. We are seeing that with Lovren. You think he pulls the same thing if a bigger name was coaching the repka?
professionals vs dummies Ziva…you said:
“Good luck getting all the players to buy into this coach when they know he was not hired for coaching reasons.”
professionals know how to put that aside and play with pride.
Tough to do anything like that behind closed doors. He might, but players and their agents have their contacts with the media and would leek the news to them and still make it out. And any good reporter should be fishing around to get stories like that.
Would Lovren do that to a more powerful coach?
Face it, some of these guys know Cacic was chosen by Mamic and not for his soccer IQ. Good luck getting all the players to buy into this coach when they know he was not hired for coaching reasons.
@ Allen Strk and Slavonac from Canada – equally good points
Question for everyone
Was Cacic right in PUBLICLY denouncing Lovren’s action/actions to send a message to the team etc OR should Cacic have done things in a behind closed doors sort of way – meaning something excluding the media, just with Lovren or with Lovren and the team?
Thoughts?
Agreed
Lovren, IMO and I could be wrong although this is what I read, I will look for the link, wasn’t happy that Schildenfeld was getting as much time as he was. It was obvious that Cacic is NOT 100% sold on Lovren at the back and was looking to see who else is a capable potential centre back.
Lovren put two and two together and stopped warming up. A good point was made, Srna (as much as we rip him) has the most caps and warmed up without hesitation.
Lovren has 1 solid year in England, shits the bed a year later after shitting the bed in France, almost flops entirely at Liverpool I guess until recently he has supposedly played well. I feel like Lovren is the guy who has one good game and then thinks he’s king of the world. Just a bonehead, no other way to explain it. You can’t teach stupid, remember that.
Example
Lovren’s Logic – Plays a bad game, he’s 100% responsible for at least 1 goal, very obvious – most people with a brain functioning at a normal capacity would say somewhere along the lines of “You know what, maybe it would be best to just lay low and not draw too much attention. What does Lovren do?
Posts a selfie with duck lips getting a new tattoo or modeling his new clothing line.
That is Derek Zoolander level stupid, you cannot teach someone to be that dumb. Plain and simple. He could be a nice guy but his decision making ability isn’t great both in soccer and partially his social life.
Sorry I am negatively venting here. I hope he can turn it all around BUT I think this is as good as Lovren will ever get and he will always be a liability.
Allen, you’re wrong dude. Lovren made his decision to walk away from warming up, in front of all his team-mates…don’t you think thats a statement in itself? if it isn’t addressed, Cacic will be perceived as weak, a coach can never show weakness in cases like that.
we can name coaches across the board in every country, they’d all make a statement, especially if there was a form of dissent or disrespect.
I’m not defending Lovren for his actions, but Cacic is just another fool. Managers shouldn’t publicly bash a player under any circumstance. It causes unnecessary drama and players start feeling uncomfortable. How are you supposed to boost morale, when you criticize a player publicly? Stimac and Kovac both did it. Both managers received major backlash.
Sad to see things haven’t changed and Croatia once again doesn’t have a legitimate manager that we can believe in.
Lovren has an attitude problem, but he’s the least of Croatia’s problems.
shit……..Livaja does this type of stuff when he wakes up.
if what Cacic is saying about the Lovren incident is true, Lovren should go fuck himself and take his arrogant ass elsewhere. he has zero credibility on that team…who does he think he is…Livaja?!
True about Lovren. But, if he didn’t play for the repka who else would strip naked in front of other guys on the team?
any coach has to take disciplinary action, otherwise they lose credibility.
I have always liked and respected Olic but in this case, I feel he’s been a bit unrealistic. his time is gone, no reason for him to act like this, at least not from what I’ve read.
Lovren has a disease…the guy is mentally challenged, super high on himself at times and then acts like the world is gonna end at other times. I have zero tolerance for guys like him…he wants to act as if he’s reached super stardom but he isn’t even a good defender….good defenders are consistent, he’s like a brittle cracker. if he never played for the National team again, I could care less.
this is why we have issues…we have too many mental midgets among the savez and few leaders.
Side note
Croatia’s home jersey is ranked #1 and the away jersey is #4 for nicest looking jerseys. Meaningless to a degree but this tournament has to be the ugliest regarding jersey appearance.
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/sg/features/ranked-every-kit-euro-2016-which-gets-your-vote#:hRNC_eatSsVeOA
So Cacic removed/suspended Lovren from the repka for his actions on Saturday.
This really means nothing right now because the repka doesn’t get together again until May. By then those two will have spoken and all will be good.
But, if you are keeping score at home – and who isn’t at this point, those are two players who have disrespected Cacic in the last month. First it was Olic, which means nothing since he is gone and was never really going to impact this side, and now Lovren.
watered down in Europe is not like watered down in other continents. a European minnow can get a result as long as they have a good game plan, especially if they play with discipline.
I never take Turkey lightly, just like I don’t take Mexico lightly…they are both soccer Nations that have a fighting spirit, regardless of if they have the overall talent.
it is up to us on how we approach the tournament, we have the quality but we lack in mental toughness and overall unity…we’ve been fragile at times and then beasts at other times (although infrequently). I am not sure we have the mentality, we lack leadership and the team spirit teams like Italy have. Italy know how to get results, even when they are apparently weak, because they have good characters that lift the rest of their team-mates and provide the mental state required to perform!
History has shown with these current players that they will struggle with a slow start. If we somehow lose to Turkey, we are fucked because we have never been able to bounce back when we need to chase a result. The tourney being watered down helps, because there is a really good chance 3 points might be enough to go into the knockout stages, so that will help.
My point is, that this coaching weakness that we have can always result in us beating ourselves.
The Turks are opportunists, so if we start with a stupid formation, or show up with no strategy that results in flat play…then we won’t score (and possibly even lose as it will give the Turks confidence to attack us while we struggle to play in our formation).
I can already see Čačić messing up the locker room if he’s fighting with Lovren via the media, yet still keeping him on the team…or if he continues to experiment during the tournament as well.
I’ll reserve judgement until after the Euros. Friendlies mean nothing, so of he shows up with some consistent strategy and tactics which takes advantage of the talent we have, and wins some games then none of these friendlies mean shit. It’s all about tournament coaching.
in my opinion, it is very difficult to predict the outcome of a game or a group this far away from when it starts. there are so many variables but none more important than team form at the time. I remember when Kovac was coaching and we had a spell of good games, there was consistency…we knew we could rely on Perisic creating, Mandzukic was always dangerous, Kramaric was pitching in…we scored early goals when we needed them, we held possession in all games, we had control of our destiny…and then, the flares situation happened ans we lost our edge, we finished that game much worse than we started it and in my opinion, it was the beginning of the downward spiral.
yes, we beat Gibraltar and Norway in our next games but the dominance in our group we once demonstrated was quickly starting to tip in the other direction.
what changed?
I believe the changes are mental and within the organization itself. the leadership lost control, it was a trickle down effect…when you lost respect at the top, you tend to get divided…the team lost their unity and are trying to somehow find it again.
Cacic has a great opportunity, as long as he doesn’t try to re-invent the wheel. If I was him, I’d certainly only call up players that have the potential to help win now and I’d make sure the older guys understand that their roles should be to help him establish a good and positive attitude. for some reason, I get the feeling Cacic knows he is under qualified and is going to try and prove he is not…this may mean he makes some stupid decisions…which may affect the environment even more than the last 2 coaches. he has the power to play things safe, make the obvious decisions as far as selection, do not try and change the entire system, help bring unity pride back to representing Croatia. sometimes psychology is the best medicine….if the players are united, they can achieve a lot…we saw that prior to the 2nd game we played Italy, where they looked 25% of what they were in the first game…and then everything went down hill, although for the most part, the players were all the same.
What strategy did Mexico execute against us?
The “let’s wait for Kovač to make Croatia’s strength its weakness” strategy?
Mexico were decent that game, but they didn’t do anything out of the ordinary against us. Our team was in disarray from the brand new formation experiment that Kovač decided to try out, and several of our defenders had brain farts.
Mexico just pounced on us once we self destructed.
All I have to say about Croatia’s chances at this Euro is that they can’t possibly do worse in a match against Czech, Turkey, or Spain than thy did against Mexico at WC 2014. Man they played like chumps in that one. I don’t see either of Cros euro opposition executing a strategy like the Mexicans did in that game. I see us beating the Czechs , drawing the Turks and beating Spain.
Lovren has the tools to be our best defender, but his constant “kiks” potential doesn’t make him a big loss.
He won’t be kicked off the squad, but he’s probably lost his chance to make the first team.
@my mum just rang me now, it’s raining outside, she wanted to make sure I’ve got a pair of good shoes so my feet don’t get wet. I’m 40, smh
Ziva we must be twins…
@crnkovic……you aint kidding about that statement regarding mothers being too nice. You should see my bitch of a mother upstairs. No matter what I call the bitch, she still cooks for me every day when I walk up from the fortified basement.
This is why this site is awesome, because of the craziness that is posted.
Now we have people mentioning how great their kid is going to be. Sure, no bias at all on that one. Pretty soon we are going to have people posting pics of their kids and discussing their success or lack of success due to “outside” factors. Either way, great entertainment.
Also, lets keep it fair and balanced here. I never said Modric was a bust. What I did post is what was being printed and posted online in Madrid in reaction to Modric’s slow start in Spain.
Also, this Pulisic kid is not Croatian. A hrvat who lives the “za dom….spremni” lifestyle would never go out of his way to tell other to “americanize” his last name and not to say it the proper way. I’m not ripping the kid, but he is no hrvat. How could he be? Doesn’t read, write, speak the language, he cant pinpoint the country on the map, doesn’t know the history of the people, etc…..I wish the kid luck. A 17 yr old starting at Dortmund is a big accomplishment.
Regarding Lovren……did anyone expect anything less? Not a big deal right now, but entertaining either way.
I think croatian mothers are too nice to their little boys, that’s our problem 😉
@brkic. Good cacic, tell them to man up or fuck off
…some of them may carry the mental midget virus though…;)
I just read the articles on Lovren – apparently he stopped warming up against Hungary without being told to do so… Cacic blasts him in the media but they didn’t even speak after the match. Why not talk to him about what happened? Who communicates with their players through the press? I’m sure there is more to it, but wtf?
Btw in my opinion. Coric, vlasic, brekalo, pavicic, halilovic, pjaca are all bigger talents than pulisic. And probably more talented than any croatian player ever excluding boban, zuti and modric. I would add suker but I can’t be fucked. Boksic maybe….
What about fabian benko guys? Anyone have an idea which way he might go?
@Lazio
Less talented team that overachieved = Greece 2004 with professional German manager. Albania in this Euro qualification with a professional Italian manager and even the U.S. Making the knock out round of WC to name a few examples.
On Pulasic. The guy is only 17… Do you think his Dad pronounces it properly but he wants to Americanize it? Doubtful. Maybe his grand father even Americanized the pronunciation when he immigrated to the U.S. I agree with everyone else who says it was the right decision and I hope he does well. We need a world class player here… not to say that’s a certainty given his age, but he has a chance.
@Maminjo
I actually think the genetic thing extends way beyond soccer. We produce more outstanding athletes per capita than just about anyone… Think tennis, basketball etc. I was a collegiate athlete at a D-1 school and lots of Croats were recruited on full scholarships because they were studs at their respective sport.
By the way, go to the Argentinian Sports webpage and you’ll see many saying that Messi doesn’t play well for the NT and that he is not even their best player.
Form is temporary. Class is permanent. Genius = 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. Confidence is everything. Football is a game of two halves…..
@Meta Body:
Good points.
Croatians definitely play the game differently than Irish or Central American children.
Anyone following the news on ‘Kiks’ Lovren?
Or maybe his nickname can be Social Media Lovren now……???
Mental midget syndrome at its finest. He can ride the bench the entire Euro for all I care. Don’t give a shot how much he has turned it around with Klopp.
well, im not sure tomic told them how to say his name but he certainly didnt correct them any of the million occasions he could have when they call him tomik to his face. That’s slack as my scrotum sac, jack.
Yes the commentators say djokocunt and also Cilic correctly so it’s not like they can’t say the names.. but not tomic
I don’t think Tomic has told the stupid Aussie commentators to say Tomik, the dumb cunt Aussie commentators choose to not say his name the Croatian way. The dumb cunt Aussie commentators have no problem saying Djokovic’s name properly. I’m pretty sure the commentators around the world pronounce Tomic properly.
@ Ziva
Ćiro did NOT put the ego aside with Prosinečki, who should of come on for an injured Boban in the second half against France.
I have always found your lack of FULL respect for Luka Modric strange even for your standard.
He has earned that FIFA 11 and is without a doubt a transcendent midfield majstor.
Are you sill upset because you called him a BUST?
Stay thirsty my friend …
@ Maminjo
Great post/point with Pulisic.
Croatian genetics run generations deep.
I happy for the kid. He did make the right choice. He will become a transcendent star for the US. He is 17 and hitting the scene as soccer is exploding across the country. My son is 8 and too has got his Dida’s soccer genetics. All his buddies play soccer and talk about the game. I myself grew up in the basketball hood with how shall We say a non-soccer playing demographic.
Croatia is so stacked with Croatian midfield talent from all junior level teams that Pulisic may never even had started for the Repka. With the US he is the unicorn of being a true number 10!
I will root for this kid like a root for Bogut, against everyone except Hrvatska.
Being ar Dortmund the kid has a shot of becoming world-class.
Stereo-type lift for all our Croatian boys who play soccer in he states. My son plays with one of the few culturally diverse/clubs in the NYC area. The coach on down see him as a Croatian baller.
ZDS
Pulisic told them to say his name the yank way? Man he sounds as bad as Bernard “Tomik” !
Does anyone know if Croatia still has a citizenship quiz?
I heard a few of the questions were something like “Which sport did Drazen Petrovic play?” and Name Croatia’s neighbor that it shares the longest land border with?
There’s a story about a Croatian guy taking the Canadian citizenship test a while ago, using his nephew as an interpreter. When the interviewer asked the question “what is the capital city of Canada”, the nephew relayed the question as “u kojem gradu zivi tetka Ana?” – to which they guy confidently replied, “Ottawa”
Ziva, who is the one (if not many there’s at least one player you would have over him) player you would have over Modric in your World XI?
They do a 4-3-3 formation, they had Pogba, Modric and Iniesta in midfield.
I know, never judge a book by it’s cover, but is it possible Mr. scratchy is over-rated? Maybe too many people have told him he is the next “Messi-ah” too earlier? Seems to have a budding un-attractive personality and playing style. Appears aloof with team mates. Hope I am reading him wrong. He seemed out of his league playing Real Madrid earlier this year, with the ball being stolen from him constantly with ease, rather than finding the open man, enough to cause a normal person to feel some humility and perspective. If he can bring down equally both his shots on goal, and attitude, it would be great for the whole team. I would rather lose with a Magic Johnson, than win with a Kobe Bryant type .
http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features/forget-your-galacticos-why-luka-modric-zinedine-zidanes-main-man
Good article about Modric.
After reading that, why isn’t Modric our best player?
It actually goes back to the grandparents. If baba and dida had Croatian citizenship, then so can you.
He was never in play for Cro. never.
You guys have been on this site long enough to know I am no fan of our savez and some of their actions over the years. In this one, they never had a chance at Pulisic. They tried and reached out to the family and had conversations with the family on multiple occasions. They even expedited the process for him to obtain his Cro paperwork at the behest of Dortmund with the hope it will lead to favorable view of the savez by the Pulisic family. All for naught.
Ziva, why say “For some reason,” I believe you explained the reason why representing Croatia meant more to Suker and the rest of those guys from 96 & 98 perfectly.
Also, Pulisic is a Croat whether he likes it or not.
Same as guys like Ibrahimovic, Viduka, etc. Same as any other guy who just happens to possess the physical skillset to somehow be perfect for ‘soccer’.
Sure, culturally, a person like Pulisic may not be that Croatian…but then why did he play “soccer” in a country where it ranks behind multiple other sports?…and why is he so damn good?
Is it because the US footballing academies are suddenly on par with European ones? Is it because he ate his veggies and worked hard? Or are there other factors as well?
In Ibra’s case, you’ve got a 6’5″, super athletic, physical specimen who is a fantastic footballer. No ethic Swede could ever put together a footballer like that. To date, no American player has been as big a prospect as Pulisic (despite there being hundreds of millions of them)…and (what a surprise!) he’s Croatian.
Pulisic may not speak the language, but he definitely had a bit of a Croat upbringing (enough to have ‘soccer’ be the sport he was put into) and definitely has that natural creative midfielder talent that has become so cliche for ethic Croats no matter where they were born.
@Lovro
If Pusilic’s dad had citizenship (which he probably did), then it’s very easy for Pusilic to acquire it himself without even having to spend any time in Cro.
Croatia has a declining population, so it’s in their best interest to provide all diaspora Croats (no matter how ‘diaspora’ they are) with an easy path to Croatian citizenship. Maybe even trigger some returnees.
Croatian law even allows for your spouse to get citizenship if you yourself already have it (with neither of you having to ever live there, and even if your spouse is not an ethnic Croat).
So, if Slavonac from Canada (who I assume has Cro citizenship) wanted his Mexican wife to get Croat citizenship, it would be as easy as them going to the Cro embassy in Vancouver and signing her up.
Good point…..Part of the reason the savez and dinamo (more so dinamo) have a tough time finding lucrative sponsors is because the companies don’t want to be associated with those organizations because of the corruption.
You have to think at some point that gets to the players. Now, all is good when we are winning and in the front runner position, but as soon as some “adversity” hits, watch how our guys fold like mental midgets. That is why it is essential our guys play from ahead and don’t have to chase a result. We have seen how they fold when chasing a result.
We need to keep in mind why the heart of our players hasn’t shown when they don the checkers, and I do agree with most points already mentioned.
The Savez is corrupt and if it weren’t so bad our players would have a shit-ton more pride.
Dejan I’ll be in Paris
Some thoughts…….
Regarding Modric………….this is not meant to be a knock on him, but he is not someone I would put in my world starting XI. He got that nod because of the visibility he has playing for Real Madrid. He is a damn good talent and I always thought he would excel in Spain, but lets be honest, that FIFA XI award is based on popularity. Still, not too many other MFs in the world I would want over him on my team.
Pulisic………As I mentioned last year, the kid was not Croatian and has never been a hrvat. He didn’t and doesn’t live the “za dom….spremni” lifestyle. But, don’t be fooled. The savez went after him and they went after him hard. They put on the full court press to get him, about as hard as they did for Rakitic. The kid made the right choice. He is an American and should play for the US. Plus, he will earn more $$$$$ as a US player.
The whole playing with heart thing…….the 96 and 98 sqaud was playing for country, the aftermath of the war and not being part of Yugo. This current group was never part of any jugoslav youth team, they had always played for Cro. Playing for Cro is not as special to them as it was to the 96 and 98 guys. For some reason putting on that dress meant more to them and Ciro was able to put all the hostility and egos aside (the guys on those teams had major personal issue) and had them playing at a high level when it mattered.
Who here is going to France?! I’m going after all!
koji je naj veci cin u srpskoj vojsci?
Haski Optuzenik
@Brkic
Can you name any of those less talented teams?
Modric is a good player, but if I was judging which players should be in the FIFA world XI first team, I would go with Aturo Vidal ahead of Modric, Modric would’ve been in my 3rd team. Modric, good player, not as good as some of you think.
Perisic best player for the NT, not Modric.
Bobby V hit the nail on the head. Look, all players are going to look better playing with their club teams. They are with them most of the year.
How many of our players play for club teams that could beat Croatia? Many of them. So, it is a step-down for them, but, still not an excuse.
You can tell who is not trying to get hurt.
Regarding Pulisic, he tells them to pronounce his name the Americanized way? This after he uses Croatia to gain his passport so he can qualify for Dortmund as a non-EU player?
Pisses me off.
I know first generation can easily become citizens, but, isn’t he a second generation kid? Is it just as easy to get one if you are so quickly or did someone do him a favor thinking there was still a chance at getting him?
Poor quality managers have led to our underachievements. Many less talented teams have hired a big name manager and overachieved. The jury is still out on Cacic, but I’m doubtful that he can get the most out of this talented bunch. It is his job to translate individual talent into team success.
Modric is a magician and if you don’t think he’s on the level with some of the top talent in Europe then you just don’t understand the game. We could not trade him out for anyone else in the tournament and have a better team. Remember, all the “top” players mentioned have had bad tournaments and been disappointments too.
The biggest difference from ’96/’98 is our defense. As much as we remember the goals from those years, it was our rock solid defense and counterattacking that we were known for.
I think we should play a back 4 plus defensive midfielder and keep clean sheets. We have enough midfield talent to counterattack the likes of Spain and boss possession against Turkey and the Czechs.
On another note, as expected, Pulisic is officially cap tied to the U.S. as of tonight. Never really seemed interested in playing for Hrvatska. The ESPN reporters even said that he personally told them to pronounce his name the Americanised way and not the Croatian pronunciation. They also said a bunch of times how Croatia was hot on his heels, trying to get him to play for them. Unlike with Halilovic, I never got the sense that either party was really interested.
They need a motivator.
This is why Ciro Blazevic was so successful with the ’98 team. He was an awesome motivator. Pumping them up with confidence and got them to go out and play.
Fatih Terim is the same way for Turkey. He gets them believing that they can go all the way (despite not being talented enough). They’ve made some decent runs with him at the helm.
Stimac was laid back and obviously didn’t know what he was doing (with his constant experimentation). Kovac was a disciplinarian, which could very easily work in the opposite way of motivating a player (especially when the disciplinarian has nothing in his career to justify the ‘my way or the highway’ attitude).
Cacic, I’m not really sure what he is yet. Definitely more laid back than Kovac. Some experimentation during the friendlies, but we have to see some actual games that mean something to see if he knows what he is doing. Hopefully he can motivate them to play hard, but we’ll have to see in June.
While it is easy to always blame Pranjic and past coaches for NT’s shortcomings, I like what Bobby V said about Perisic, he’s not our most talented player but he is by far our best. Maminjo also makes a good point about Perisic, leading scorer, leading assist man, leading everything!
Why is Modric (FIFA world eleven team member) not our best player, does he not play with heart, has he a weak will, maybe he is not a die hard Croat patriot?
When is our next friendly?
@ CroatianPerson85 – Well written.
Totally agree – Croatia is not the only country with players who play “carefully” for their national teams.
You just have to be lucky and get drawn into a group where there are more of these type of players.
Seems like we basically all agree. We just have to hope that the people who can affect things (players and staff) make it happen. That’s it. I’m just going to wait and pray…
Good question Bobby V
@everyone – Do you guys think the Croatian NT has more/less players who play better for club than country compared to other teams in Europe? What do you think it is?
I think that’s PART of what makes us NOT as good as the top teams in Europe on a CONSISTENT basis.
Mental midgets – we drop for whatever reason
Some guys play with more or less passion for their clubs than national teams OR vice versa than other guys regardless of what country you are from. Croatia just happens to have more players that drop their level than other countries IMO. Perisic brings it more consistently than anyone the last while.
Remember France has had players playing on the best clubs and they have consistently shit the bed in recent years.
Also, most of our players if not all of them, are not the “stars” on their teams. Ok Modric is the engine in Madrid according to the media the last while. We don’t have a game changing player that’s dynamic. A sparkplug.
Halilovic is trying, he’s young, needs to develop properly but still needs time. Hopefully the future, sooner rather than later. By the looks of it, we have some young kids with great skill, confidence on the ball who attack defenders but nothing really on the men’s NT. Suker was our last out and out striker.
Also in 96 and 98 Cro had more to prove to the world than we do now. There is less fire and intensity, guys make more money at their clubs.
Teams like Turkey and Mexico become better when their NT teams play. They have decent domestic leagues and most of their players play there. I can’t stand either of them personally but they will step on your head before they lose. Even Uruguay. Excluding Mandza we have a lot of “polite” players. Pretty good, skilled, play on some good teams BUT no game changers. OK Perisic down the wing, double step over then a shot or pass.
We have become predictable. Goalie history sucks, better now with Subasic, defense is slow/error prown, midfield holds possession with a million lateral passes then an overlap or cross to Mandza for a poaching tap in or we scramble for the rebound. Repeat.
Hopefully we can get Rakitic playing similarly like he did with Sevilla in a more advanced role so Modric can sit behind. Interesting to see what happens with our LB, CB, RB (Srna situation) even Strikers.
I want Croatia to do well just as much as any other Croatian person I just feel that we often get ahead of ourselves and than we are distraught if/when there is a defeat or failure.
We are NOT world cup champs because we beat Israel 2-0.
Defeat is one thing as long as you play well. 2012 we went out but played well! 2008 was tough vs Turkey. Played well.
We have a lot of quality arguably more now than before, hopefully we get the right mix and make some noise in France.
Ivan Perisic is not the most talented player on the Croatian side.
…but, he is by far Croatia’s best player the last 3 years – by a wide margin.
So, you tell me why that is the case?
Iggy the stupidity of your last post is priceless!
Nope. If you play with HEART, it is 100% confirmed you will win every single match all of the time. It doesn’t matter if the other team also plays with HEART, if we play with HEART, our HEART overcomes their HEART. Everybody knows that. Cmon.
Bobby V, exactly brother!
Maybe the other guys ARE playing with heart, but just aren’t good enough.
I think too many times we equate winning with playing with heart.
You can play hard, with 100% committment and with heart…..and still lose.
All this analysis of players with their club teams means absolutely nothing.
Croatia needs a leader to change the way the players view playing for the national side.
It takes both talent (like we have) and the WILL.
Playing not to get hurt has been all I’ve been seeing since the 2008 side.
If everyone played like Ivan Perisic for Croatia, we would be one of the top 5 sides in Europe. He is the only one playing with heart.
“The truth is we have one of the best teams in Europe”
Based on what?????????????
This is where some of you fanboys get on me and say I am negative. I’m not negative, however I am fair and balanced. We have no recent results as a national team that backs up that claim that we have one of the best teams in Europe.
Now, what we do have is great individual talent at the club level. Guys who play on big, known, marquee teams. That we do have. But, none of that translate into having one of the best teams in Europe. At least not yet.
Yeah, I see the potential – we all do. But, easy on the statements about being one of the best teams in Europe.
You know what “one of the best teams in Europe” do? They actually win games in major competitions and win knockout stage games. That we have yet to see.
Paper champions is one thing. I prefer being on the field champion.
Just like Mexico, if we get beat by the Turks of Czechs we will just lament our coaching and make ourselves feel better by saying they are the better team. The truth is we have one of the best teams in Europe. The only players that would have a chance in our team from those two countries are Turan and Cech. Similar could have been said about Mexico in ’14, we need to cut the crap and perform, enough is enough. Why are we not stacking up 60%+ possession against the likes of Hungary and Israel? We should absolutely control and dominate the Turks and Czechs, the same way we controlled the game in Italy.
Lika, Perisic has been good recently but I wouldn’t say he’s been great since his time at Inter…some of that may be adjustment and some may be personal but I do agree, he is very good! He’s transitioned into that guy who now takes the space he’s given and is always looking to create or score and has become more successful at it.
Rakitic needs guys that run into open space in order to be successful, I think we truly need another offensive minded player that can take players on for him to be more effective…he’s a great passer, he sees the play well, he needs the options cause he doesn’t have a lot of foot speed to do things himself. also, he must be in the advanced role, otherwise his talent is nowhere near as useful.
I’d like to see Kramaric enter the Euro’s on a high and full of confidence. I think Halilovic is still a few years away from being a major threat…he let’s too many balls turn over and then he loses possession.
Armada, we need an identity and someone we can use as a consistent danger…a poacher (Mandzukic) or sniper (Kramaric)…Kalinic works hard but doesn’t seem to have the nose we need to be dangerous on a consistent basis…he did it in a spurt and fizzles in and out.
It would be nice to find a surprise, someone that really takes the opportunity and shines…do we have anyone like that?
The only time Rakitic looked exceptional for Cro was when Modric came out of the italy game. They have never played well together so far.
@ Ziva
You know the answer to that question already.
@ Slavonac
well put
nobody on our team is a ‘game winner’ – not Perisic, Modric, Rakitic, Mandzukic – we don’t have a Bale, Ronaldo, Ibra, Lewadowski, etc. to just take a game over – we just have some very solid pieces in place.
these above average pieces need to come together as a group and put a good team performance in – we have some minor holes (LB, DMF, another winger), but with these guys they should be able to cover those up and at the very least, make it to the knockouts
The big question in the late and mid 90s was could Boban and Zuti play together. At the end of this tourney, will we be saying can Modric and Rakitic play together?
Slavonac Rakitic in my opinion has been extremely poor for the nt compared to club level. I just hope he does more for us.
Slavonac I would say Perisic is on fire this season at inter. Our coach and management is really concerning. I watched Vida at left back against Man city he did ok. Vida isn’t ideal but will have to do. Perisic is having a tremendous season in italy I watched the roma derby he was in the news steady.
I personally think we should first see who will be on the team and then set our goals, there could be injuries, a lot of things can happen between now and then.
Croatia are in another leadership crisis, this again, is my opinion. Cacic doesn’t have to prove much, he is the underdog but that may cause even more issues and he could pull the mental midget card. I get the feeling he thinks he can achieve things for himself by pulling some bonehead moves that may work in his favor…then say that he is a genius. He has enough quality with this group to do that and still win but if he creates that environment where the guys lose their united attitude, we will be back to Stimac’s era and the team will lose to a team like Fiji!
We must look at left back, centre defense and another attacker from a midfield position. Even with the personnel we currently have, we can compete but to do better, we need a threat from midfield…currently, Perisic is really the only constant threat with scoring or assisting. He is not enough, Mandzukic will score is he gets service…who else…maybe Brozovic?
Teams that make it, usually have something in their favor. Countries like Greece used their defense, others usually have a hot goal scorer they depend on, we currently have a bunch of good players but none of them on fire, not even Perisic.
Modric should not be looked at as our saviour, Rakitic should not either…they’ve never really been stand-outs for the NT, lets not get crazy and think they will all of a sudden turn on a switch.
I don’t know how anyone can call the Czechs and Turkey a group of death. Maybe some have low expectations and saying that comforts them.
Failure to get into the watered-down knockout stages with the names on the roster sheet we have would be a big failure. How big of a failure, you ask? Big enough of a failure that it would rival the failure of parents who have adult children wearing the last name of another man on their back, the failure of a parent who didn’t teach their kids Croatian. That is how big of a failure it would be.
What would be success at the Euros? Getting into the QFs would be success. A lost in the first knockout game would have the same feeling as going out at the World Cup. When we went out to Mexico, not advancing felt right because that is what we deserved. I think this team at minimum deserves the knockout stage based on the roster we have the group we are in.
Armada some are saying we are in the group of death!
Armada I don’t think we realize how good our players are on paper. God I hope they don’t choke! The last time since 08 that they looked great was the first italy game before the idiots fucked it up. I think it’s fair to say we have the best midfield on paper in Europe. We should be able to make spain tremble. I watched spain vs romania they aren’t the spain of old.
Here’s the entire match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdRALMuz2wk
,
@ idemo
100% agreed
but jesus christ, we have a roster chock of solid players (a few world class ones) and a group that isn’t THAT tough
on top of that, we haven’t made it out of the groups in any tournament in a decade… fucking shame if you ask me, but maybe i’m too tough on this….
even though knockouts this go around is watered down
agreed, Crnkovic.
but it is a fine line…
for this team, I think the expectation is to at least make it to the knock-outs
anything less would be a disaster – not only for me but a lot of fans. no one is expecting points off Spain, but Czech Republic and Turkey are winnable games and we would be the favorite in both.
….can see it going either way in the summer. The team could fall apart and get humiliated like never before…or they could actually gel and we could see the best performance since 98. I’d say 50/50 at the moment
Now that we have had a few days to let the disappointment of the draw with Hungary to sink in…. There are some positive takeaways.
No serious injuries and we looked good for most of the Israel game and the first half against Hungary. I’m not concerned about our ability to score – lots of players who can strike the ball from outside the box and tap in the sitters. The let off was not entirely unexpected since it was a friendly and players were trying to avoid injury. Despite several mental mistakes our defense (Achilles heel) held up well and really should have gone 180 minutes without giving up a goal.
I wish Cacic had brought Kramaric and a few more youngsters and played Halilovic a bit more, but as someone pointed out he has made some positive decisions with Pranjic etc.
Too optimistic?
Mandzu was great against hungary. Scored a sharp goal and his link play was good. No worries. Watched the u19 game. Perhaps Belgium were not 100%, but it’s hard to tell because croatia were outstanding. Brekalo is a beast, I knew that already, but davor lovren is almost as good. Also good as perisic is, and I agree, maminjo that he is our best player, marko pjaca has double his talent. So it all comes down to attitude and chemistry. Cacic needs to settle on a system, and tell the players. “How much do you want it?”. One thing I will say on a negative aspect. Is that vrsaljko has one major weakness compared to srna, which no one has mentioned….he can be a headless chicken. Quick, strong, great cross but poor decision making at times. One mistake like that and the tournament can be over. Still take him over srna though, for balance. Rakitic is better than he is receiving praise for here. Against norway he was fantastic. He just needs to be given freedom to move around and find space. He will be our best player. He will score 2 goals against Turkey 😉
Mandza’s ability to tap-in the ball into the net are the least of my worries.
@ maminjo
i hope you’re right!
i’m not sure what to make of rakitic. he looked awesome pre-world cup when he was carrying sevilla…he’s in a much different role now with barca so tough to tell what he’s capable of
i agree with the general concept of addition by subtraction (pletikosa and pranjic)
and that the youngsters are definitely better (kovacic, vrsaljko, halilovic, and definiltey brozovic). although, i’m not sure how of the load they can or will be given the chance to carry
mandzukic’s drop in form scares me a ton. i thought he obviously benefited from the bayern system, but i always thought there was a lot more beyond that, which i think he had showed for a while after leaving bayern. his inability to score lately though is worrisome for a striker regardless of how good his pressing may be
@jm
I get what you’re saying about our World Cup Team vs our Euro squad, but I still disagree with you a bit.
Re: Modric & Raktic…
I don’t think there has been any dropoff in performance from them in the past couple years. Rakitic is at the heart of his prime now (at age 28) and even though Modric is 30 (turning 31 later in the year), he’s not dropped off at all in these past two years. You can argue that they are at their peak now, since they’ve garnered some SERIOUS first team experience with the two best clubs in the world.
Re: Corluka, Lovren and Srna…
You’re right about your concerns with Corluka, Lovren and Srna. However, it’s not like they were any good at the 2014 World Cup either. All three of them were at fault for the goals that Mexico scored on us (Srna was lucky to not get red carded for that handball block). Corluka and Lovren are still as inconsistent as they were in 2014 with Srna probably getting a bit worse due to age. Honestly, they were mediocre overall at the 2014 World Cup, so if they are even mildly above mediocre at these Euros, then it’s an improvement.
Re: Left Back being a mystery…
Honestly, I’d rather take this than having Pranjic start in this position. Easily a net negative on the team, and our worst player at the World Cup. Him not being on the squad is a MASSIVE boost to this team. MASSIVE. I cannot stress this enough.
Re: Mandzukic…
Yea, he’s not been 100% healthy, but he’s been a star for Juventus when he was healthy. I know a few Juve nutballs who watch every game, and they LOVE him. If he’s 100% healthy for us at the Euros, he will be good for us. Also, he will be playing all three games for us this time (whereas at the World Cup, he missed that first game).
Re: Perisic…
Even better now than he was at World Cup 2014. I recall that there was even some debate on this board as to whether he should be starting at the World Cup. That debate ended when he had his breakout at the World Cup. But since then, he’s gotten so much better that (not only did he become a guaranteed starter) he easily became our undisputed MVP. Leading scorer, Leading assist man, Leading everything. This team is garbage without him. He’s a die-hard Croat patriot who will bring it at these Euros. The REAL captain of this team.
Other key factors include:
– Having a more in-form and better goaltender in Subasic over Pletikosa
– Our younger players from 2014 having more experience and stepping up in these past two years (Vrsaljko, Brozovic, Vida, and arguably Kovacic)
– Talent level from our depth players increased significantly. No more bums like Sammir, Vukojevic, and a very green Mocinic. These guys being replaced by talented youngsters like Halilovic, Jedvaj, and Kramaric (hopefully).
– No more Niko Kovac (though we still haven’t see what Cacinjo will do at tournament level, but Niko Kovac’s tactics are about as bad as it gets so coaching expectations are low)
@Crnkovic
Despite his last name, Alen Halilovic is actually a Catholic.
@Nitro
I think you got your information wrong. I would be very surprised if Halilovic was at all eligible to represent Kosova.
Ok ziva. He he
Italy 2006. Rocked by scandal, the team showed the world what they made of…Anyways I’m going to watch the game now on youtube. See if the Belgians are trying, or if they just throw away their careers because some people they don’t know got killed by a couple of crazy lunatics they don’t know. Anyway I blame mamic
I was thinking that too Crnkovic.. i think it’s just as logical to say the belgians will perform better and put on a more united front in solidarity with one another after the terrorist attacks than to be divided. It’s like in the NRL or AFL, u sack a coach, the team wins the next round. Some drug scandal breaks out and the team will win their next match – 100% of the time it works.
By your reasoning ziva, perhaps that’s why dinamo got knocked out of champions league, because of soudani being Muslim, no one would pass to him. Or maybe that’s the real reason halilokebab didn’t play? To punish him for being a Muslim. Lol, maybe you’re right, maybe people really are that easily manipulated by the media. Maybe they’ve got their head up they’re ass. Maybe they think ayn rand is clever. Who knows? Maybe the Brussels attacks have changed the course of history, and now halilovic will have to play for Kosovo. Lmfao
hehe Ziva, always having to rationalise good performances by our guys by saying the other team was shit or they didnt care or something, desperate to find any way to downplay our accomplishments. That’s the ziva we all know and… well, know.
All good. Nothing Ted Cruz or Donald Trump cant fix
The terrorists are bitter nut cases, who spend most of their time whoring and drinking liqueur. I know a lot of Muslims, none of them agree that killing innocent people is in anyway justified, none of them have any sympathy for the terrorists. In fact they hate the terrorists more than anyone does. In addition a lot of them have some actual idea about the political forces which have created this relatively new phenomena, therefore considering the fact that these teammates, many of whom will be friends, actually talk to each other it is more likely that they would want to express solidarity with each other than that they would be splitting into cliques. Not everyone is as backwards and ignorant as a lot of hrvat yanks. Some people realise it’s a complex world, and have actually picked up a book. Some people know that racial and religious stereotyping is a tool of the political and economic elites to keep the good people of this world fighting amongst themselves. Some people will stick up for their friends before they send them to the gas chambers for having a different skin colour or religion. Some people aren’t fucking stupid 😉
Just as I predicted – Alen Halilovic is becoming Croatia’s Justin Beiber.
Get it right, the fortified basement. Not mom’s basement.
@Crnkovic…….It was assumption on my part based on what I read. I’ll stick with it.
“Terrorists do not represent the vast majority of Muslims in anyway what so ever”………..and you know this how?????????
So, are you saying religious and political issues haven’t divided a locker room in the past. I’d beg to differ.
@Armada……depends on the delegate of the match now. If the savez can show it was his fault (meaning the savez had the correct paperwork and his missed it) then there will be no point deduction. If not, we will lose the 3 points from the match. Not a big deal as they will probably still qualify. this just goes back to what i have been preaching about the savez leadership not being qualified to run their jobs.
Claiming to know that their are divisions in a Belgium U-19 locker room from a 40 year old loser living in his Mom’s basement in Cleveland.
You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
Ziva I have to say that your Belgium divided locker room assumption is very lame. Anybody with half a brain knows that the terrorists do not represent the vast majority of Muslims in anyway what so ever. Why would it cause a divided dressing room? That’s just pathetic and insulting to everyone, from the Belgian kids to the croatian u19 team who beat them, to the intelligence of everyone on this site. Shame on you ziva. Very low
Cue the media shit storm over the U-21’s… Fiolic is the player in question apparently?
U21s played a player not on the roster?
http://www.sportskeeda.com/football/halilovic-to-switch-national-allegiance
come on guys ziva, is mad, over 40 , not married, no croatian girl, no children and lost money in croatia
pretty pathetic, of course he is mad
It sounds like you didn’t even watch the game, yet you’re criticizing people about their logic. Doesn’t make sense. You’re a weird guy Ziva, but the thing is you take that as a compliment. That’s how weird you are. Every Croatian community has it’s Ziva.
Those kids live in a bubble. Their whole lives are soccer. At that age I highly doubt they even give a shit. I’ve got a friend in Turkey and she said no one is living in fear there at all. The last few attacks in in Ankara an more recently in Istanbul were barely talked about locally compared to the way they are reported around the world. They just go on with their lives over there.
^ ^
Spot on!
There always has to be some underlying reason in Ziva’s head.
Negative…….No proof of such talk. I just call it fair and balanced.
There is one thing I don’t do when watching sports – or at least try very hard not to do – and this being emotional when discussing the sporting topic in question.
Over the years, I’ve found emotional fans to offer very little logic when trying to discuss the sports teams or athletes they root for. Passion and emotion are great on the field of play. Passion and emotion lead to clouded judgement when discussing the topic.
Ziva just gets angry when a croatian team plays well!
It led to the blowout. Not focused. Internal divisions
And my main point is that we destroyed them because we were much better, and that the terrostic attacks didn’t cause Belgium to be outclassed by Hrvatska. Let’s not use the attacks as an excuse for their annihilation.
Never said we were not better. Only said this result was expected.
Ziva, Oh please! The terroristic attack didn’t affect their psyche to the point that they would allow themselves to be SMASHED by Hrvatska.
The Terroristic attacks occurred on March 22nd. A day latter on March 23rd, Belgium u-19 outclassed Scotland 2-0. So much for your argument.
WE WERE SIMPLY BETTER. PERIOD. And taking one of the top Youth Euro sides to the cleaners is a major achievement!
Play with more heart now?????? What makes you think that? You think soccer is something they care about now. The U19 team featured a few muslims on it. Divided locker room.
as a bosniak, halilovics dad has a family tree that extends into albania/kosovo. and the kosovo govt/ nt is more than happy to facilitate… would obviously be a huge score for them if a high profile youngster like this would make the move
news isn’t out in the papers yet, but my sources in the hnl shared with me
Ziva expected result against belgium????? You would think they would play with even more heart now.
If halilovic is stupid enough to play for kosovo let him!
Today u-19 SMASHED Belgium 4-0. Victory sends Croatia to the U-19 euro championship, a tourney which consists of 8 teams this summer in Germany. And this competition will also act as a qualifier for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in South Korea with five European teams qualifying.
Expected result against Belgium. Those guys from Belgium have other worries right now. Too bad I couldn’t find a place to wager on that tone.
@nitro……..where are you getting your info from? I’m usually on top of rumors and gossip and can contact my guys to see what is true and what is half true and I have never heard anything like that about the bosandzero. Plus, wouldn’t he need a parent or grandparent who is from Kosovo to actually play for Kosovo. None of that adds up.
I wouldn’t get too worked up over Halilovic’s actions. We see that shit all the time from kids who have been babied their entire time playing a sport.
http://www.en.thesport.lt/stream/158600/1/croatia-u-21—estonia-u-21
4-0 for u19s against Belgium in Rijeka.
u21s about to start. Anybody know of good stream?
there is new buzz coming out on halilovic
supposedly he is furious about not getting any time in a friendly despite almost no bench. this is not what he was promised when he chose croatia. the buzz going around is as a result, when kosovo becomes officially recognized, he will explore playing for them instead. because kosovo was not an official fifa team when he joined croatia, he can still make the switch once they become one
does anyone know where i can buy the blue away kit
nike.com sold out and HNS wont ship the the USA
@ Idemo
I was comparing club Perisic with club Rakitic or club Modric.
Perisic is having a great season. Regular for Inter. 2nd in scoring.
What are you talking about? Perisic is killing at Inter, he’s by far their best player
I just hope Cacic has a formation in mind. I pray to God that he isn’t the next Stimac with a new formation every other game.
While he might not be the most talented on the club side of things, Perisic is by far, the best NT performer, going on the last few years now.
@ poglavnik
you might be right o nthe addition by subtraction front
i think pletikosa is a major boost there. anything hit toward the goal in the wc rolled in
@JM
Well Rakitic is 28 and in his 2nd super successful season at Barca. I’d say he’s currently IN his prime.
With Kovacic being at Madrid and training with the Galacticos day to day he will hopefully be a better version of himself than he was 2 years ago in Brazil.
Perisic is 2 years older and as well as he played in Brazil hopefully he’s even better in France.
That leaves me to my biggest hope, addition by subtraction.
Buh-bye Pranjic, hello somebody who is not a massive liability.
I feel your pain JM, but players like subasic, kalinic, brozovic, badelj, vrsaljko, kramaric, and vida have all improved since ’14. Heck Perisic is a much bigger force to be reckoned with NOW, then he was two years ago! And I think we are a better squad now than we were in ’14.
Major doubleheader tomorrow with qualifiers in the u-19 and u-21 level for the euros. Looks like Brekalo is at it again, but this time for the u-19 side. He scored against Scotland in last qualifying match. We all remember his inspirational performances in the u-17 World Cup.
on another note, i was saddened a bit the other day, realizing that THIS croatia team might not be as good as the 2014 world cup team…even though its my natural inclination to think they are better
modric and rakitic are exiting primes rather than entering
corluka, srna are both aging as well (srna significantly)
lovren was coming off a stellar southhampton campaign compared to a now inconsistent at best liverpool one
mandzukic was the bundesliga leading goal scorer as opposed to someone who hasn’t scored in 2016!
perisic is the man now, but this was already the case by world cup 2014
kovacic has not shown significant improvement
left back is still a mystery
maybe you can only point to a few potential bright spots:
1) pletikosa was unfathomably terrible in WC 2014…today’s subasic a major upgrade
2) an inform brozovic compared to sammir or whoever else we had filling the void
3) vida emering as a consistent player
i think its tough to tell Euro 2016 cro is better than WC 2014 cro
that hungary friendly really made me angry
i just couldn’t understand why we need to watch 90 minutes of domagoj antolic and 0 minutes of alan halilovic
i can’t understand why we needed to watch 180 minutes of mandzukic and 0 of andrej kramaric
some real waste on the part of cacic not to see what some of these potential up and comers could do.
Weak Spain side 7/8 of those today won’t see the field in France
It’s important for a goaltender to make that transition from smotan to pametan. Some goalies do, and some don’t…. 🙂
Spain played 0:0 with romania today!
Selling category 2 tickets vs turkey, 2 tickets
anyone in the GTA interested?
I don’t think there is a question of whether Subasic will start ahed of Kalinic.
Subasic is the better and more experienced goaltender.
Kalinic is a bit smotan, but has gotten a lot better over the past couple of years. Subasic was smotan at the same age as well too, but got better as well.
I think Kalinic will be a decent goaltender for us in a few years from now, but Subasic is the undisputed starter.
I really see no reason why Cacic didn’t play Halilovic during the last 30 minutes of the match. The Hungarians had lots of fresh legs out there and we looked to be tiring and playing to not get hurt.
The three reasons I can think of as to why Cacic didn’t bring him on:
1. He really wanted to get a winner (or didn’t want to lose) and thought Halilovic would not help.
2. Saw enough of him against Israel and thought he was not going to be useful this summer.
3. Attitude problem.
None of these are good signs for him going to the Euros. Obviously, Perisic is going to occupy the left and I suspect Srna/Brozovic/Vrsaljko will occupy the right. Not sure that’s the best place for them or formation, but it’s where Cacic seems to be leaning based on his decisions in the friendlies.
I don’t mind that Halilovic wants to play and thinks he can help, but agree he needs to make himself impactful with his performances on the field or stop complaining.
On our keeper, Subasic is our #1. Kalinic looked impressive except with the ball at his feet – there were a few kick clearances out of bounds or too low and intercepted by Hungary. Seems like a small thing, but Subasic is less likely to make a mental error because of his experience.
I saw one article that we’ll be playing Iran in another warmup friendly in May. Hopefully we can iron a few more things out in the last one to two friendlies before the tournament.
Halilovic does not have to battle with modric rakitic brozovic and kovacic for time…..none of those players are wide players
Scotland was in a qualifying group with Germany, Poland and Rep. Ireland.
All 3 of those teams made the Euros with Scotland finishing 4th in the group, 3pts behind Ireland.
I don’t think Croatia would’ve made it out of that group either.
Lucky we had an easy qualifying group.
i just remembered who it was, scotland just beat the czechs 1-0 a couple of days ago..
now, obviously croats arent ones to talk about losing to scotland as being indicative of shitness, but i thought oh well, if they lose to scots.. maybe they arent that great..
thoughts?
i havent looked at lineups/players cos i dont care so idk about that
My feeling is Subasic is our best keeper. I feel somewhat confident with him in goals, much more than i did with Pleti towards the end of his career.
Yeah Halilokebab should be happy that a kebab gets to represent such a great country as Croatia. It’s not an opportunity many kebabs get so halilokebab needs to chill his mayo, agreed.
I think spain is a big threat, the czech’s lost to someone not so good (can’t remember who) so i remember seeing that and thinking “good”, maybe they arent great. Spain is always a challenge. I really just want to get through the group for heaven’s sake first and then we can worry about stuff after that. We are such a hot and cold team, you feel like anything can happen with our guys, a smashing win or an implosive loss.
Halilovic has got a serious attitude problem.
I like that he’s aggressive and wants to play, but he’s only 19 and acts like he should be guaranteed time.
He didn’t play that great in Osijek, and he’s got guys like Perisic, Brozovic, Modric, Rakitic, and Kovacic to battle with for playing time. These guys are all playing on big clubs. He’s got to relax a bit.
Anyone else think we have a bigger threat in the czechs and turks than spain?
We will not win with the same guys, I’m sorry. A guy like halilovic who is looking to make a name for himself, needs to play now. Why wait ? Brozovic, peri sic, halilovic . NOW! Damnit , why don’t people see this.
You need to get the young unproven guys in there now!
Who is better Kalinic or Subasic? Also, who is our number 1 goalie???? Who will start at goal for the euros? Anyone please….
Yes it was sarcasm.
And the reason Cacic gave for this poor performance was the hard slog in Osijek against Israel took its toll! Hard slog against Israel, 3 players 2 keepers on the bench, and he makes one sub!
Halilovic wasn’t injured, Cacic told him to warm up and when Halilovic was ready to come on, Cacic put on Srna instead!
Halilovic told the reporters to not ask him any questions, pissed off Halilovic was.
I do wonder what this means for Halilovic, Cacic didn’t want any information on him. If Cacic isn’t gonna use him in a friendly against Hungary, I can’t see why he’d call on him at the Euros. My guess is Halilovic will not be going to the Euros.
@Brkic
If thats the case, he wouldve been more useful playing with the under 21’s.
@Lazio – I think that was sarcasm… But just in case, the only sub was Srna on for Kovacic.
Unless Halilovic is injured I can only assume Cacic has decided not to call him up for the Euros. Otherwise, he would have come on at some point you would think…
This was hungary one of the weaker team’s in the tournament. The second half performance was horrible. We definitely don’t want to go all out,but we have to do better than this. Poor result from a very poor game in my opinion.
Friendly, yes. But remember Cacic said it’s important to win, and he couldn’t beat Hungary.
The main thing is that the players got as much time as possible in the Hungary game, make sure we use our six subs.
The reason Cacic picked 20 players is so every player can get as much time as possible.
I didn’t watch the game, but how did Halilovic play?
Everyone does know that this was a friendly right? So what’s the point of getting 6-0 and a few injuries for it….it would be better if we took it easy like we did so we have a full squad for the Euro’s, which actually mean something.
Only 1-1 ? Sigh.. And i was convinced we were going to win Euro and the next World Cup after our smashing win over Israel. At this rate we might only win the Euros and not the world cup ! TRagedy !
Maminjo: i thought the exact same thing when i read the comment with Real Madric – i thought oh that’s a typo but not a bad nickname for the team, heh
Quick highlights of the game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GscHZ-qTMVM
And so it begins!
http://www.vecernji.hr/nogomet/halilovic-ostao-na-klupi-u-budimpesti-ma-nemojte-me-nista-pitati-1071544
And burnout was a problem in Brazil with the way Kovac was pushing us.
How does Halilovic not see any minutes in a game like this. I would have taken Modric off and put him in no later than the 60th minute. Cant wait to see the reaction or overreaction from Spains media and the Real Madrid brass.
I would have as well. 1 sub v 5 subs. Perisics and Broz barely got the ball in the 2nd. Cacic reminds me of what Byron Scott is doing at the Lakers. Run them ragged and tell them to man up if they bitch. I feel like that’s going to horribly backfire.
Either way, not really mad about the game. Antolic hopefully never starts again. The midfield is starting to show glimpses of a fluid attack, and Vrsaljko is coming along. Wish Jedvaj got to play in one of these games.
Something tells me our boys took their foot off the gas pedal, and wanted to avoid getting injured. Especially since there were few subs available.
Woulda been nice to call up a buncha prospects give ’em minutes, instead of having our starters play the 90min.
Srna is shit! he needs to go!!!!
Vida’s been our best defender for over a year now. As scary as that may be..
I’ve liked him for a long time. Hopefully he keeps progressing
This was a friendly however this looked so poor on our end …i literally was falling asleep in second half.
Can someone tell Hungary this is a fkn friendly.
This is absolute bullshit with the tackles.
1 sub. Whoever wanted our guys to get 90 minutes have their wish.
It may have deflected off the wall wrong footing Kalinic. That or just a wicked bend. Whoever committed the foul it was a tired one… The Hungarians kicked it out of bounds and the tackle came in late.
Maybe Vida can play left back against Spain, but other than that would prefer him at center back. Doesn’t provide enough going forward and is an awkward fit there to begin with.
Kalinic getting beat at the near post on that free kick. Pretty disappointing that he couldn’t save that.
The Hungarians showing Srna how to take free kicks
Srna taking free kicks away from Modric. Lovely.
Really struggling to stay awake during this. Literally nothing positive is going on.
Vida is sporting an awesome ponytail and undercut.
Looks like a fucking viking.
Our best defender out there.
When is Perisic not directly or indirectly involved in all of our goals?
Love the blue uniforms
BTW Perisic is no doubt our best player!
On paper Croatia is one of the favorites. The question is can they put it all together? Their weakness is on defense but you never know.
@Maminjo well said on both counts -Real Madric and some positive decisions from Cacic.
Surprisingly our midfield had a couple of mental lapses in the first half resulting in bad give aways. The last one resulted in their best chance with a long range shot that was saved by an outstretched Kalinic. That gave me a flashback to some of the soft WC goals we gave up, but fairly routine save for a more athletic keeper. Kalinic looks a bit uncomfortable with the ball at his feet, but good young keeper. I have to say the defenders look solid – of course this is Hungary and not Spain.
I don’t care about Cacic’s questionable tactics and shortened callups….
After seeing him cut Pranjic and OIic from the squad, he receives at least two ‘get out of jail free’ cards from me. That took some balls, and will benefit us HUGE in the Euros.
We still have to obviously develop chemistry, as well as cover for Srna’s deficiencies (and possibly Lovren’s mental lapses) but there is a chance that these two may put in a streak of good games for us.
There was no chance of that from Pranjic, and would have resulted in us being knocked out in the first round. Right now, we should get into the Round of 16…possibly get hot and who knows.
Although it was probably a typo, it looks like Stef T.O came up with a good Croatian nickname for Read Madrid…
REAL MADRIĆ
A couple more half chances now as they seem to be gaining confidence. What’s nice to see is the defense looks solid and the Hungarians are not getting a sniff inside the box.
Fairly easy goal in the end, but great build up with lots of players involved in the passing combination that ends with Perisic in space on the left and a nice low cross that finds Mandzukic for one of his standard first timers. Mandzukic is limping around (seems to be his foot), but seems to be playing through it.
Nice combo play ending with a Mandzukic tap in! 1-0
This one is working for me http://shstream.co/page.php?shstream=1
Does anyone have a link to see Croatia v Hungry in the United States
They definitely can, but they have played 5 games in 2 weeks if you include their club matches.
I actually played semi-pro soccer. Never said players weren’t conditioned. Actually my point is they should be a able to play 2 games within 4 days.
Stef T.O exactly!
**Prediction is CRO 3 — 1 HUN **
Ganga I can tell you never played soccer.
Dude those comments are hilarious because if you ever played on a professional field for 90 minutes you would never make those stupid comments.
Pro Soccer players are the most conditioned athletes in the world.
Is the game on TV?
@Adame
I was just being sarcastic about them playing 90 mins. At the end of the day though sick of hearing about these prima donna players when the big games come around. They all seem to disappear and shit the bed. Will see in a couple of months if they can do go deep in this tournament or another early exit.
Plus I’ve never seen a soccer player run a full 90 mins. Most of the time they are just walking.
I agree with Stef T.O.
I do not give a shit about club teams!
We need our star players to gel for Hrvatska and the national team. Play everyone and get the positioning right.
I want to win the Euro Cup don’t give a fuck about what Barca, Juve, Madric and Inter.
Every game must be used to get this team on track.
We are only a few months away and we aren’t ready!
Although players get used to it, you have to take into account the travel, sleeping in different beds, eating habits etc…they only get together with the national team 4 to 5 times a year, so its different from their norm with there club teams and this takes its toll on the body. As for hockey players, their body goes through a hell of a lot more than any other sport out there including football/rugby etc….one 40 second shift in hockey at that speed, cutting, stopping and going in different directions will have you grasping for more air than running for 90 or 180 minutes half of which the ball isnt in play or guys are rolling around on the floor time wasting. be careful when comparing to hockey. Not much out there that measures up
Ganga soccer isn’t like hockey….doing short shifts…180 minutes of running in 4 days is a lot….they have grueling club schedules.
Sorry, but no way do we need Modric and Mandzukic to play 90. This would be the perfect time to get Kramaric, Jedvaj or some HNL players on the pitch if they were called up. I don’t have a problem with some experimental tactics, but these games should also be used to determine who gets called for the Euros. These guys are in the key period for their professional clubs. The last thing we need is for the clubs to start pressuring players into early int’l retirements
OMG soccer players are such wimps. 2 games in 4 days blah blah blah…..
Tako,
Idk if that’s such a great idea. They still have CL and their league games left. Im just praying their are no injuries with our star players
Anyone with a good link to the game?
Modric and mandzukic need to play 90 minutes. They have yet to impress for the natipnal team all these years. Time these players pick it up for the national team.
His plan is already ridiculously stupid to call just twenty guys. Looks even dumber to have only two subs for field players today. The last thing modric out mandzukic need or want is to play ninety minutes
Reports throughout Europe, in particular Spain, are that club teams are not too thrilled with Cacic only calling up such a small number of players for 2 friendly matches in 4 days. After injuries and illness, we are playing in Budapest with only 3 subs, which is unheard of. Key players are gonna be logging major minutes in over 4 days, half of which were played on a horrendous pitch (Osijek) which people are also mocking. I wonder if these clubs complained about the lack of wifi at Gradski Vrt.
Game time: 3 am Brisbane time, FFS 🙁 PISS OFF