UKRAINIANS CELEBRATE IN DNIPRO
Croatia will be absent from their first World Cup since gaining independence in 1991 due to Ukraine’s 1-0 win over 10-man England on Saturday. Although Croatia are still mathematically eligible for a playoff spot; we can’t count on it as Andorra last earned a competitive point on September 3rd, 2005 in a 0-0 draw at home against Finland in World Cup 2006 qualifying.
SO LET THE BLAME GAME BEGIN…
Is it Rio Ferdinand’s fault for being lazy and letting that ball drop straight to a Ukrainian player?
Is it Fabio Capello’s fault for taking out Lennon instead of the sloppy Heskey after Robert Green’s red card?
Is it Slaven Bilić’s fault for being too ‘buddy buddy’ with the team and always playing favorites?
Is it Darijo Srna’s fault for not showing the leadership which Niko Kovač did?
Or was it simply not meant to be as bad luck was too powerful to overcome for the Croatians?- red card for Robert Kovač vs. England, multiple hit posts vs. Ukraine, critical injuries to Croatia’s players, a lousy 94′ penalty kick call for Ukraine vs. Belarus.
The answer is NONE OF THE ABOVE. The first rule in sports is to control your own destiny. Croatia gave control of their own destiny away when they couldn’t beat Ukraine. We never gathered as a team in the rough times to overcome the situation. It was always about blaming goal posts or red cards. Good teams can come together in times of turmoil and overcome. This is something I hope we learn for next time.
BILIĆ PRAYING FOR A MIRACLE, AND HIS JOB
England was never directly an obstacle in Croatia’s path to the World Cup. It is called qualification after all and a second place spot would have got Croatia a potentially ‘easy’ playoff draw. Now looking back it looks like this whole qualifying campaign was all about ‘sticking it’ to England again. It was about showing the world that the last campaign and Euro 2008 was indeed not a fluke. It was so much about England that Croatia completely overlooked the rest of the group. Sure there were injuries to Stipe Pletikosa and Eduardo but Croatia should have enough in their arsenal to give a better performance. Look at these results:
0-0 draw in Ukraine
2-0 win in Andorra
2-2 draw in Zagreb vs. Ukraine
1-0 win over Belarus in Zagreb (minus Hleb)
Bottomline: Croatia didn’t deserve squat with all these poor performances. Although Croatians and their fans all over the world are mourning this Ukraine victory- we should not! This is a blessing in disguise as changes will be made for the better. New coach, new leader, new players and most importantly a new plan. Look at what England has done after their embarrassing display. Look for the Croatian national team to be hungry come 10 months time. This is all for the better. We have limped into tournaments far too many times in the past and just like the current economy, must hit rock bottom before regrouping and starting all over again.
CAPELLO HAPPY WITH ENGLISH EFFORT?
Fabio Capello did not have one ounce of fury after his first competitive loss under England. This is the same guy that threw a fit after Croatia scored a meaningless goal in a huge 5-1 victory for England in September. I didn’t quite understand his calmness in the post-game interview. He is a perfectionist. He wants everything done according to plan yet all he could say was that England played well with 10 men.
Are you kidding me?!
Call me a cynical Croatian, but something fishy is going on here. Sure, England has already qualified for the World Cup and they played their ‘A’ squad but this loss isn’t even making front page headlines in England. No one is blinking an eye.
English economists reported that the FA would lose over £1 billion in revenue after Croatia denied England a spot at Euro 2008. Was this the final dagger in teaching Croatia a lesson?
I’m sure I speak for all of you when I say that soccer is dead to me- for the meantime. However, for all you super-optimists out there who believe in miracles and a possible Andorra hold off of Ukraine on Wednesday, here is your glimmer of hope. When Croatia last beat England 3-2 at Wembley, Russia still had to defeat Andorra away to qualify for the tournament. Russia barely squeaked by Andorra 1-0 and ultimately made the semifinals of Euro 2008.
Will the small mountainous nation of 84,000 people pull off a miracle and save the desperate Croatians with a draw against Ukraine? Probably not, but it’s always fun to dream.
ziva istina, Budala. You have a lot of nerve talking about someone's English. I've tried reading some of your other comments but I can't make it through them. Yours is the worst I have ever read. You're the one whom shouldn't visit this sight anymore. Try bosniansoccerreport.com instead, it's more your style.
@mark……please dont come back to this website. You must not be able to read croatian or english for that matter.
You watch the Finland-Germany game and let us know if we are still alive. Come on Finland, you can do it..
Going back to qualifying, don't we still hold a chance if we finish 3rd? It's my understanding that group 9 has only 5 teams which will allow a stronger 3rd place team in a different group to qualify for that final playoff spot if group 9's second place team is weaker. If that's the case then as it stands now, it'll be Cro and Finland fighting for that final spot. Right?? With Finland playing Germany in their fianl match, I would say we have a pretty good chance still.
I fail to see the humour in the Hitler video.
People that are saying the Kazak game doesnt matter, It does matter, right now we are in the first pot for the Euro 2012 campaign, anything but a win could drop us to the second pot, We need a good win in the Kazak game
Boro Primorac……he has not been the main guy in charge in 15 years. His skill is working with younger players and developing them, that is not something that will work as a natioanl team coach when you only get your side together for a few days. He is a right-hand man for Wegner and will not leave. You can forget him.
@razor555……what the hell does tourism dollars have to do with paying a national team coach or funding the federation. The savez does not make money from tourism. Money generated from tourism and other taxes should not go towards the savez. If tourism dollars equated soccer success, then Cyprus would be a top 10 nation.
So Capello showed the world how to beat his team; by having more heart and working hard for every ball. Ukraine out-hustled England all over the field. Did Bilic take some notes?
On the bright side of things I can save some money by cancelling my TV account for EPL games.
I'm out of here.
Yes Croatia has only 4.5 million, but so much money is being made on Tourism right now,where is compared to Serbia who make almost next to nothing on Tourism,dont forget there are far more Croatians outside of Croatia then inside,wich equals much more funds,i dont see why we cant afford a good international coach..
……Some 1 mentioned Clemente & Serbia saying International coaches dont allways mean success, yes we no that, but an International Coach can mean much success also, EXAMPLES – 1. Gus Hiddink (Russia) who have only got better & better since he took the reigns, dont forget he also was successful at South Korea & Australia, 2. Otto Rehhagel (Greece) who guided an underskilled Greece all the way to a Euro Cup title, 3. Pim VerBeek (Australia) who was at South Korea & was making them much more competitive before Australia lured him,Australia qualified with ease under Pim..
OUT WITH BILIC & IN WITH THE NEW !!!
I'm not saying Boro would want the job, but it (should be) the job of the Savez to court him and try to make it happen. He is the best viable Croat, so he needs to be on the shortlist. If the bid fails, then so be it, but the HNS need to at least try to set their sites high, instead of simply doing what they always do and go for the lowest hanging fruit.
@ Dan
Boro Primorac is not a part of the equation. He is Arsene Wenger's right hand man and will probably coach by his side as long as Wenger has a job.
Now that you've mentoned it primorac would be perfect. All that exproence at aresenal would be perfect but I don't think he would leave a secure job like that for cro.
Your forgetting that Antic had experience coaching half the sides in La Liga. There is no Croatian manager besides the too-old Ivic who's got a similar resume. Yes, there's Sergije Kresic, but he's more of a Segunda coach who's won promotion on a number of occasions. That's about it for experienced Croat managers at the highest level, unless I'm forgetting someone.
While it's a long shot, I'd love to see Primorac at the helm. He's Wengers right-hand man since his days in Japan and is credited with being behind the tactics at Arsenal. Otherwise, we need to go for a foreigner. Stimac would be a disaster. Haven't these people learnt the pitfalls of inexperience from the Bilic experiment. I can't believe he's even being considered after what's just happened. Then again, we're talking about the HNS, so I can…
We make big money when we qualify for big tournaments. The new coach could have a solid base salary plus bonuses if they hit their goals. This is one option. Or we can choose to play more friendlies even if we have to do it for less money. More friendlies=more money. We can find a way to find that cash. An Irish billionaire is helping to pay the salary of Trappatoni..Maybe a guy like Todoric can help pay the salary of the new coach..I don't care let Jana be the official water of the national team..We must look at all possibilities..
Like I said before if Hajduk can pay Reja 300,000 euro/year then 1,000,000 euro for national team coach is reasonable. With 1,000,000 euro/year a great coach can be found. We have extremely talented players and some coaches would love the opportunity to take our team to a major tournament. I hope that Boban steps forward now to take over Markovic's position. This would be a huge step in the right direction..
Well, the Croatian Radomir Antic is Tomislav Ivic. I am not sure if he would want the job again and if his health is OK for the job.
Yeah but after appointing Milovan Djoric (prob the worst ever coach) and losing Petkovic to china, then dejan savicevic they had the ultimate low so we're not in that situation. Clemente is the most boring authoritarian coach in the world. He was terrible. When we say a foreign coach we don't mean a dinosaur.
Foreign Coach does not always bring success. Last qualifying for Serbia they brought in Javier Clemente and they didn't qualify now they brought in Radomir Antic and the guy has really brought Serbia up. Im sure we have a Croatian Radomir Antic to take control of our team. and bring it back to where we are suppost to be. We need big changes and we do need to do them soon because missing a World CUp could put added pressure for us to qualify in Euro2012 plus we might lose our ranking easy.
@Vatreni….I actually do have an idea what some of the sponsors pay per year and its not that much. One of the reason i received tickets to the last WC and Euros is because I really good with the managing director at one of the companies that sponsor the team, so I know what they pay and the benefits they get from the association.
Croatia is not a big brand name. Putting a logo on a Croatia practice jersey does not bring in the same value as putting logos on a England, Germany, Italy jersey. We have 4.5 million people in Croatia, so to think some of these sponsors are paying in the 7 figures is dead wrong. I'm not saying the savez has no money, they do, but not enough to justify giving a foreign coach 2 million euros per year. Look at the contract Bilic had after our qualification for Euros, it was still small.
If Ireland, a nation of similar size to Croatia, can afford Trappatoni, I'd think we could at least afford a qualified foreigner. No, we wouldn't be able to lure the big names- the Hiddinks of the world, but that doesn't mean we need to scrape the bottom of the barrel with guys like Ivankovic (or the bottom of the garbage bin, with Stimac).
Speaking of Trappatoni, he's exactly the type of manager needed; tactically astute, massively experienced. We should be looking at guys who are perhaps at the end of their club management careers who'd want the challenge/experience of international football.
As far as Croat managers, Ivic is quality but is way too old. The only other name that I can think of is Boro Primorac, but I can't see him leaving Arsenal for Croatia. Who knows, though, maybe I'll be proved wrong.
Its hard to not respond to comments even when you try to. From the selection of Stimac, Ivankovic, Zajec and Jurcevic, i'd take Ivankovic or Zajec. I liked Jurcevic as a player and person, but he's not anything great as a coach. At Dinamo he did okay, but nothing special. I also think he prob won't command players respect. Besides Ivankovic the only other people you can look at are Zoran Vulic or Ivan Kalatinac. But that sounds all very mediocre.
I think we should go foreign. I think its trype to think Croatia can't appoint a foriegn coach within their budget. Hiddink only qualified Russia thanks to Croatia and Capello has only done so far what England expect which is to qualify. You could end up wasting money on such people. There is plenty of guys out there who could be a revelation in Croatia.
I think plenty of people would want the Croatia job and will do alright with it. I'd prefer Jurcic or Reja over Stimac.
It's up to Ukraine or FIFA to file a complaint, not us.
However, if that was us who did that (Ukraine fans stopped the match 2 times and a few flares nearly hit Green), we'd be fined the next day.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1219709/Ukraine-burned-FIFA-England-flare-nightmare.html
Article from DailyMail about the incident in question.
@Ziva Jersey sales, TV rights, ticket sales at home games, sponsors, friendlies..In all these years these idiots at the Savez have not even made a center in Croatia for our team to prepare for games..Instead we were going to Catez, Slovenia..How much do you think that cost every time??
OK even if 5 million euro goes to the national team for WC qualification where does the other 5 go?? Lets say we've made and average of 5 million euro over the last 10 years..We missed euro 2000 so we qualified for 4 tournaments=20 million euro you can't tell me all this money is going to camps and academies…Please @Ziva don't be so naive stop protecting these kreteni..We don't make money..We're a top 10 national team..We're making at least 1,000,000 euro from Nike alone per year..You think those small sponsors each give 1,000 euro..They pay money because they put billboards up at Maksimir when they play and wear their brands on their t-shirts and sweat tops..That is great exposure for those brands..Nothing is free and you have no idea how the contracts with the sponsors work because the terms are never open to the public..We make alot more money than you think my friend..
Go near muslim territory after bombing there people is extremely risky in my opinion. This is not the time politically to be holding a tournament in africa. It has to be expected that some attack will occur somewhere going by the sequences of the last years. thats politics. To hold a world cup over there is stupid in my opinion. If it all goes well then that will be extraordinary. South Africa needs to be well on top of everything and thus far i don't think they look so great. Security has to be 100% at this world cup.
Well then…..how much should our savez be fined. if you want to fine and deduct points from Ukraine, then we should as well.
All those companies you listed that are sponsors all pay small money. We do not have the cash to pay a few million for a coach. As for the money we received to attend Euros and WCs, remember that just under half of that money goes to the players that got us to those tounreys.
With the exception of the Nike deal (which is not that much) all of the other sponsors are local or regional. We are not making as much money as you think. Money has been invested in academies and training camps.
I'm not an idiot or a picka. I'm a die hard supporter of our team. and If Croatia is not there which is most likely going to happen it will be a disaster for me as it will be for most of us if not all. I was suggesting complaining because it would have been worth a try. Ukraine should be deducted points for that game because of there fans throwing flares on the field. Fifa has made it clear it will take measures against teams that do that including deducting points so why in the hell would we not complain to make Ukraine pay the price for the actions of there fans.
@Ziva please don't tell me we can't afford a foreign coach..Following sponsors of Croatian National Team..All these brands pay the Savez money annually for marketing purposes
Nike
PBZ
Adris
Konzum
T-com
Ozujsko
Ford
CityEX
Jamnica
Croatia Bus
Vindija
Ledo
Iskon
FedEx
Istravino
Siscia
We charge between 200,000-300,000 euro per friendly. Asian and Middle Eastern tournaments can bring in up to 1,000,000 euro. This is not including television rights the Savez makes money on. Croatian reports estimate the Savez will lose up to 10 million euro by missing the World Cup. How much money has the Savez made attending 6 of the last 7 major tournaments?? OPEN Y0UR EYES PEOPLE..
If we can't find 1,000,000 euro a year for our national team coach we are in trouble. Hajduk is paying Reja 300,000 euro/year. @Ziva don't be ridiculous the Savez has money these idiots Markovic and Srebric are filling their pockets paying Bilic 100,000 kuna per year. Its ridiculous and I'm sick of it. Now all we need is for Stimac to become coach. This would really make me crazy. Stimac assistants can be Mamic and Sinovcic. I can't believe people are mentioning him as a possible candidate. This guy is a criminal and has no coaching experience. We live in a fu#$%^ up world.
Well dinamo yes some articles that are features sometimes bring in first-person opinions, but those people are columnists and not strictly writing hard-news. Objectivity does exist, but its not realistic to actually attain it. Its more or less a goal for journalists to approach, the goal of neutrality. You don't always have to make news extremely strict as in inverted pyramid style (important to least) and can try different methods, just need to use them in the right instances.
I'll still be browsing this site even after Croatia don't qualify. I've been here when CSR started, happy to see it getting recognition.
New coach…..none of those guys mentioned in the article are the right answer…
But, it might caome down to Stimac and Ivankovic.
I personally think it will be Stimac if they decide to have a croatian coach. Don't know why they would pick him, but that is another story.
Ivankovic is the pick if you want to go back and reward the most qualified croatian. This would be the same path we took with Baric, Jozic and Kranjcar. I think Ivankovic is a good coach, but while in charge at Dinamo (numerous times) his teams were good but rarely impressed with their style and play outside of Croatia.
If we go the foreign route….Katanec was markovic's main target last time around. I dont want him. As for bigger name foriegners, we dont have the money to pay them unless we get some washed up old coach looking for a final pay day.
What do you guys think will happen if ANdorra keeps it scoreless or beats Ukraine?
@Vaterni….Don't get me wrong, if Boban wants the job I am all for it. But, I have never heard him say one thing about the savez and my only point is you can have Mother Theresa in charge, but having the criminal element within the savez will not change anything.
And to the idiot that asks why the Savez doesn't complain to FIFA about flares being thrown on the pitch in Ukraine. What are you a picka? Do you cry to your mommy when you get picked on or fall of your bike. Grow up…. Those flares had nothing to do with the outcome and we were not even involved in the game. Plus, who are we to go to FIFA or UEFA and complain about fan behavior with our reputation of throwing flares and rasicist chants and comments.
Dinamofan I think you are wrong. Like Slaven said we want to go to the World cup wherever in the world its going to be played. Im sure everything will go on fine as regards to it being held there. However it will not be that great of a World Cup without Croatia
I don't mean to send a chilling message but South Africa 2010 may be a competition Croatia have done well to miss. When you take a major competition to a country which is not 100% organised things can go wrong. This could be a bit like when the Cricket World Cup went to the West Indies etc. Something probably will go wrong somewhere. Looking at it perhaps Croatia are safer being at home. Its shame not to be part of first world cup in Africa, but there is a potential for disaster. I feel a bit sorry for Eduardo. Don't care a jot about Simunic, Olic missing a last world cup as they had lots of go's, but Eduardo will be 30 by the time of the next world cup. He's now missed two majors during the peak of his career. Next Euro is everything to him i'd imagine.
South Africa is a bit like Croatia and i think their is potential for Hjorve Custic moment. Either in stands or hotels. From that perspective i'd rather Croatia wasn't there. Croatia appears to have bigger chance of winning a Euro rather than a World Cup at moment. Rakitic, Kranjcar, Modric, Corluka, Eduardo, Srna are all still young so Croatia have really got no excuse not to qualify next time.
Some talk of Olic retiring. Would mean Rukavina and Kalinic being brought in whether they are ready or not. To be honest i want to see Kalinic in a Croatia game anyway cos nobody even can tell yet if this guy is any good or not. He seems to have managed to avoided being involved in a serious match so far. About time he was given one.
I think Croatia missed a major opportunity in 2008. That was the time when they still had enough of a defence, creativity and forward line to do big things. If not for Eduardo's injury that's probably the best squad Croatia's had since 1998. During this tournaments qualifications i think the whole defence has vanished. There isn't a defender except Corluka who is geniunely up to the higher standard. Simunic is good only when everyone else is. Krizanac is like Zivkovic. Decent man marker for particular matches, but nothing more. Pranjic is not a left back end of story.
I dont understand why Croatian Federation doesn't complain to FIFA about flares being thrown on the pitch in Ukraine. FIFA sent a message to the Serbs about possibility of losing points if anything happened regarding flares. why wouldn't the same apply for anyone including Ukraine. This would probably be more realistic to expect FIFA to deduct points rather then expect little Andorra to save our ass.
http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/clanak/art-2009,10,12,,179316.jl
looks like the Croatian media wants a change to! plus Bilic is being pressurd to resgsin
also we have 4 coaches to pick from
http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/clanak/art-2009,10,12,,179208.jl
and Ciro talking
http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/clanak/art-2009,10,12,,179308.jl
Klinsmann never coached anyone before the 2006 World Cup and he finished 3rd with Germany…Not everyone needs 10-15 years of hands on experience to be successful..He's got the soccer knowledge and connections to do a great job..
Will Boban actually try taking over Markovic's position?? I have no idea..I do believe he is the most qualified, honest, and knowledgeable person..Maybe I believe there is some good in the world that will overcome evil..If enough people defend Boban I believe it will be possible..Then, Mamic, Stimac, Sinovcic etc will only represent the best players who deserve national team call-ups..Boban is too big of a person and name to be pushed around..He has millions already so I don't believe he would take the position for the money..The most important job for the head of the Savez is to choose the next national team coach..We must get the best coach for what their budget can afford..Croatian news is reporting the Savez will lose up to 10 million euro by missing out on the World Cup..Maybe we can find a coach who will be on some type of performance based contract..Example-Qualify for Euro 2012 and receive 2 million euro. Otherwise, you will be paid 1 million euro a year. After that the youth national teams must be run well..Ladic needs to go I think he's horrible..I like both Novoselac and Gudelj who are heavily involved in the youth national teams..Also, more focus must be put on the Croatian league..The current HNS has done nothing to get people into the stands..The attendances in Croatia are sad and must be improved somehow..Markovic has totally disregarded the HNL..I can't think of anyone better than Boban for the job..@Ziva if you can please let me know..
Here we go again with the Boban talk. What makes you think he will take over the savez. As long as people like Mamic and Stimac have their hands in the savez you can forget about Boban. Also, what makes you think Boban will be successful? He has no experience leading a federation or a club.
The Kazak game is worthless. Does not mean anything if we win 3-0 or lose 3-0.
Looking back at everything now, we peaked at the Euros and probably played above our heads. Bilic made one major move tactically against Germany and it paid off. Unlucky against Turkey and we have fallen and come back to earth. This is reality now.
I think i'm gonna bring my comments down to zero and just spin off the HNL1 articles. At the end of the day that's what Ante and Denis more or less do. Commenting is far too time consuming for me. I'll leave that to others. Regards journalistic standards – i personally am gonna try to keep my articles as less opinion based as possible. Its quite easy to do when just writing reports. However naturally as in the case of Dinamo am also gonna put across any feelings from the club regards atmosphere towards a win and defeat.
Regards Croat press, i've actually noticed that their's lots of opinion in the reports. Its far from objective. I've not actually seen much like that in English press. Nogometni Magazin is very opinionated. Sometimes i don't know if i'm reading an article or a forum post on their site. Sportnet can also be opinated, so if i compare CSR with Croatian Sports Press then this is all about the same. Yeah for me posting comments is far too time consuming so will try to stop as from today.
Nicely said @Vatreni very poignant.
@Dinamofan I for one enjoy your writing whether I happen to agree with you or not.
I wouldn't stop if I were you, but I would stop worrying about your audience. If no one appreciated your work, it wouldn't be published, and you'll know by that alone. An audience is an audience. Smart or dumb. You need 5 "customers" before you get 6!
Whether it's worth the effort that it takes you to produce some cogent thoughts, is something only you can determine.
I'll be honest Saturday was a horrible day for me. I wanted to support Croatia in South Africa but now it is nearly impossible. I say nearly because Andorra still must play Ukraine and I do believe in miracles. Russia barely beat them 1-0 in the last game of Euro qualifying. I won't give up until all the games are finished and its official.
I will say I'm extremely disappointed in the Savez, Slaven Bilic, and our players. There are so many mistakes we've made since
Euro 2008 I don't even know where to start. Personally I think Slaven Bilic should be an assistant coach. Nice guy never works when it comes to coaching, girls, the real world etc. I would much rather have a dictator or general as coach of the national team than Mr. nice guy rocker. I'm sorry Slaven but if you were a real coach you would have beaten Turkey's reserve squad in Euro and you would have found a way for us to qualify.
I've never been more humiliated as a Croatia supporter than right now. Getting embarrassed in 2 games by England and not being able to beat a mediocre Ukraine team once. This qualifying campaign has been a big joke. The only good thing that we can hope for is change. The head coach will definitely go and I'm hoping the Savez leaves also. This is a perfect time for Boban to step up with some of his chosen advisors to lead this Savez into the future. With Boban's connections I think he will be able to find a great coach to take over. I hear Ancelotti has expressed interest in coachin Ivory Coast. Why wouldn't he want to coach someone like Croatia? Please don't tell me the Savez doesn't make money. All those sponsors on their sweat tops and t-shirts are all paying to be there. They also get paid big money for attending tournaments in Asia and the Middle East. If we need to play in more of those to get a better coach then do it. Make it happen I don't care how but no more coaches like Slaven Bilic.
I'm disappointed in the players because it seems like no one is stepping up to lead this team. When Niko Kovac was there we all knew who was leading us into battle. He was the engine and heart of or national team. Someone needs to step up quick because we have too many talented players to be missing tournaments like the World Cup.
I'll be honest if Croatia does not qualify the summer will be boring for me. I will support the U.S. but when I listen to the American national anthem I feel nothing. When I hear the Croatian anthem I get chills. I know its something more than just supporting a soccer team. Those checkers on the jersey have an amazing history behind them. A history where our ancestors have fought centuries for us to wave that flag. Sometimes I feel that the jersey means more to me than some of those players. That should never happen and its the coaches job to make sure of it. Playing for club and country cannot be compared and these players need to be reminded constantly. The invitation to the national team must be earned and not handed out.
There's a reason we are a top 10 national team and I'm confident we will be back there soon. It sad because I think some people that comment on this website make more sense than the people leading our national team. I hope that whoever is chosen as head coach is ready because it will not be easy. This team is too important to too many people.
I expect us to go out and take all our frustrations out on Kazahkstan. Let's at least end this qualifying with a great victory so we can move forward on a positive note.
CSR are doing all well and good for what you and Denis want from it and are making good progress. But for me to write regularly then there's got to be more than Ziva and Radman to drive me to spend time on it and criticism from other members which i duely note. I seriously don't know where you lot get the idea that any objectivity exists in journalism. My reports could be a lot lot worse. However if DinamoZagrebblogspot use them then they can't be that bad.
However this is also like giving a kid food they don't like. We don't want this to become nauseating. So i have no intention to shovel crap in the direction of an audience that don't want it.
At present CSR is about time filling for me and experimenting with your audience. But your audience has to be into what your doing otherwise its pointless. This is all about how a individual spends there time. Its not about whether CSR is any good or not.
Phhh,Are u Crazy, beating Kazak is not ending on a high note,this campaign was a disgrace,if u think otherwise u obviously dont no much about the game & are no where near as passionate as others, & u say there are many more to come,4 years is a long time Buddy, just think of it like this, in 4 years u will have aged considerably, & alot of the squad will have retired,Croatia was supposed to be at its peak after the Euros,but now instead we will have to rebuild which will take some time,in 4 years there will be a new crop of players trying to make a name for them selves & if there arnt some serious changes, 1 being Markovic & 2 – S.Bilic, then i fear another struggle is on the way..
@ dinamofan:) & CSR Nation,
Yes, this truly is a sad time in Croatian sports history. However, changes will be made and this will be a fun and busy time to be a part of the national team and CSR- I guarantee it.
Regarding CSR, sure Croatia will not be at the World Cup but that shouldn't stop any of our Prva Generacija members from posting their usual thoughts on the outcomes.
I will be rooting for the U.S.A, Bosna, Australia, African countries and the Dutch as they are my top 10 team to win the WC. I'd like to see them finally raise the trophy after that fantastic Euro 2008 display. I will be rooting against England, Italy, and North Korea.
"What is wrong with some of you….CSR is not journalistic operation. Its a blog to discuss croatian soccer and nothing more. I enjoy the opportunity to comment on things and use this is a source to have a discussion. Anyone who is mistaking this for a legit newspaper, online news site is looking for the wrong thing. This is a forum. " -ziva
Well said ziva istina. CSR is a democratic page/forum where readers can chime in and be heard. Readers can also contribute their own pieces to be displayed. It's a one stop shop news on our players around Europe as we consolidate all of the weekend's results for you so you don't have to search aimlessly online for hours. (Croatians Around Europe)
Obviously CSR's stock will drop as Croatia will not participate in the World Cup. But that's only one part of the operation. Denis and I are currently talking to Hajduk and MLS teams about creating a mini tournament in North America. It definitely looks doable. We are also in talks with the Clippers about having a Croatian basketball night in March in Los Angeles. We're also considering Phoenix.
As for the whole journalism discussion.We are not the New York times. We are allowed to all express our own thoughts and opinions on CSR just as our readers can rebuttal in the same fashion. CSR is a democracy where the majority will get their way.
Dinamofan: I'm upset about your current feelings on CSR and towards a few of our most active/outspoken members. I can't guarantee anything from a journalistic point of view but I know that if you stick with us good things will happen.
CSR, in it's first year, has already been recognized by the HNS as a credible Croatian news outlet in giving us credentials to the Ukraine-Croatia game in Zagreb. The Croatian Chronicle, based out of New York, runs some of our columns monthly as has some Croatian websites. CSR is evolving and its reader base is growing at a good pace. We are now at 10,000 absolute visitors per month.
Imagine what we can do with 100,000 members. We can legitimitely be a true voice in Croatian soccer.
Please let me know how you feel about the site guys. Positive and negative input is always welcome.
How would you feel if CSR was no more most importantly? It's obviously a big part in my life, but what about you?
Ok people we should all be over the fact that England didn't win but we knew it wasn't in our hands so let focus on what is. Croatia still has a game to play against Kazakhstan we have to be with our Country how ever the situation because the same Croatia has brought us much joy and will also in the future. I'm hoping for a win, i predict we will win on a high note by 3-1 and finish the qualification with our heads high. Missing out on a World cup in not the end of the world. and there will be many more to come Go Croatia Go
What is wrong with some of you….CSR is not journalistic operation. Its a blog to discuss croatian soccer and noting more. I enjoy the opportunity to comment on things and use this is a source to have a discussion. Anyone who is mistaking this for a legit newspaper, online news site is looking for the wrong thing. This is a forum.
bring back CIRO! look at what he is doing for bosna! only proven coach we have on the international level.
Our youth needs to be played more often, our defence is the worst it has ever been.
I like to see 3-5-2 again, pranjic position doesnt fit the left back role, I dont care even if Bayern plays him there. If you dont have good defence, stack the midfeild.
I just want to see changes and have a new focused team for Euro cup qualifying with new HNS management, coaching, and some new defenders (except Corluka)! Keeping Bilic would be a big mistake, I believe all Coaches need to earn their stripes coaching 2nd and 3rd division teams,etc before given 1st division or international coaching roles!
The first thing you should know about journalism dinamofan, is never talk in the first person, as you do on some of your CSR 'features' or 'posts'. Its not needed and clearly, if you're trying to make a journalistic approach then no one really cares about your opinion. Sorry to be harsh, but that is how journalism works. Then again this is a blog, so a journalistic approach is unnecessary.
Ahh ye, no one cares. This site is based purley on opinion. As are the articles posted which are at times very bias. And what do mean by 'journalistic standards' if you really did have that you wouldn't me assisting a small pointless site such as CSR that isn't clearly going anywhere.
Maybe you won't see me again. I'm coming to conclusion that if CSR's audience compromises of Radman and Ziva then its not meeting my journalistic standards to write for people like this. I think i'll get bored of this sooner rather than later.
CSR has to improve its class of audience. I don't know about Ante and Denis, but i'm gonna find little motivation reporting on players who flopped in the campaign and in under 21's. I truly hope their is more people out there than Ziva and Radman who read CSR.
If Croatia doesn't qualify, which looks extremely high, I'll be cheering on Bosnia to get through as an unseeded playoff team and Serbia in the WC. Former Yugoslavia, gogo!
Markovic is the FIRST person who should resign.
Our repka is in serious turmoil…….I just hope something changes for the better.
Haha, yeah, you can only try and hide from the truth so many times I guess. I can see why you would try and weasel your way out. Yeah, some other player would get called up that you never cared for, put in 35 mins of work and suddenly we will see you on again spouting off more claims that he impressed you, now hes a player. Whatever helps you get through the night man.
Bilic isnt going to be fired
http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/clanak/art-2009,10,11,,179206.jl
and also
http://www.jutarnji.hr/sport/nogomet/clanak/art-2009,10,11,,179237.jl
Since when did Badelj surprise me lol. Badelj was always promising. Not sure what you read there. Might be best to focus on your philosophy books instead cos you're having trouble with all this forum reading. Maybe your brains not attuned to it.
Regards Vrdoljak. My opinion remains. Mediocre player who tries his best. Needs to move abroad to improve. No chance of national team selection, but again i repeat deserved it more than Leko and Pokrivac at the time in question. I thought i explained that to you once before.
Jelavic not surprised me. He did what he did in Europa Liga. I said he may be a player for a one off match which is what international football is. Of course we debate whether a guy deserves it. Using info for your own ends again ay, as i say great politician. Jelavic should score 15 this season if he is to prove himself a decent player. With only 4 this season he is going slow.
i'm bored of this. I'm supporting Bosnia and Serbia. JOVANOVIC!!
Croatia's WC qualifying campaign is/was a disgrace. It's obvious that this team doesn't have the fire of past squads. They made their own bed by letting their WC destiny slip out of their control. They got smoked by England twice, and tied a less talented Ukraine team twice. You can't be losing and tying qualifying matches on your own soil and expect to make it to the WC.
I wonder if Rakitic is now regretting his decision to play for Cro instead of Switzerland?
I think looking to current HNL players for future national team stars is a mistake. They need to get our talented kids in the big 4 leagues (England, Spain, Germany, Italy) earlier in their careers, and let them learn how to play against quality competition day in and day out. Only then will a small country with a population of only 5 million people be able to remain competitive in world soccer.
As for WC 2010…I'll be cheering on the USA squad.
I cant believe we have to even continue this debate. Lord knows how calling up 2-3 of our countries best under 21 defenders could help their development. How playing with senior members of the national team, taking some of their positive work ethic and just the challenge would motivate them. The debate was never who should have been the replacement for Jelavic, dont even know why you brought that up. It was that Jelavic surprised you when you thought he should have never been there in the first place. Badelj surprised you, as did vrdoljak. Yet you are so sure that calling up guys like Vida, Pamic, Prahic and Lovren is just a waste.
Sorry, your contradictions are the only consistency, my bad.
How many players this season surprised you? Ones that you didn't favor and then all of a sudden a few weeks later, you are on the bandwagon. After all that you still are unwilling to keep an open mind in the future. let me guess, suddenly you will make some lame attempt to show that you actually did favor Badelj in the past? Its funny watching you contradict yourself actually. No consistency in your arguments.
No DinamoFan, being the first to post a message on a thread is hardly hiding. Also, once again you miss the point entirely. You claimed you never wanted Jelavic in the squad, did nothing to deserve it. Okay, we can all agree that he has not done enough to date. I started by saying this was a player that intrigues me, not that he should start vs Ukraine or England. That is what Friendlies are for, where you try new tactics and players. Then Jelavic plays less then 45 mins, gets a goal and you say suddenly he showed you he is a player. That being said, you can still go out and spout off things like NO HNL defender aside from those on Dinamo or maybe Hajduk should be called up. Thats the point. You constantly contradict your statements from previous posts and then are still unwilling to change your line of thinking. At the beginning of the season you didn't favor Badelj, thought Dinamo should loan him out, now you are a huge Badelj fan. You hated Vrdoljak, then you say he should possibly be in line to get a call up. You never thought Jelavic should play, then less than 45 minutes makes him a player. After all that, you are still unwilling to try out some young kids who, are the only hope we really have. I cant even tell you how absurd the idea is of turning to Vucko and Mijatovic as if they are the only hopes for the National Team. Jesus Christ, every other National team in our position would realize that they have to turn to their youth when they haven't produced a solid defender in nearly 6 years.
Well i think there is a fundamental problem with the defence anyway which is lack of quality and lack of depth. I won't blame Bilic for that.
Krizanac obviously is not as good as people thought, but i wouldn't highlight him. Him and Simunic are clearly not good enough against quality opposition, but are still good enough against certain opponents. They are still key to have around during the transitional period. We shouldn't bar them. Kovac, Runje and Juric should retire. Kovac retires end of season anyway, Subasic needs to start over Runje and there is little point in Runje sitting on bench. He should focus on club level where his place does not seem secure.
One player i would vilify in Croatia's squad. The only one is Jerko Leko. His attitude has absolutely stank. If he is in Croatia's squad he should prepare properly or he decline the invitation. He has one year on his contract and is a free player and he chose not to transfer. That's scandalous. He knew he was gonna be inactive. What he has done has put Croatia in a situation where HE was meant to come in and replace Modric, but cos he wasn't fit enough he couldn't and ended up in fact blocking Croatia from having anyone to use in that position.
I think Rakitic could have played better, but i definitely think he tried. Petric is the other player who you have to question. He clearly has not put in the effort this campaign. But Bilic has to change these guys who have not shown the right attitude. He didn't that's why it all comes down to him and he has to go.
To be honest Im not even that fussed that we didn't make it. It's a lesson to be learned and I'm sure we will build on it. Meanwhile I'll be cheering for the Aussies as I live in Melbourne. Like last time they are still the underdogs of he comp but I think they will suprise some people like the last WC. I'm sure most of the people from this forum to will be rooting for the county they live in whether it's England or the USA. There's nothing wrong with that at least we all have one team to watch. We all just have too look on the bright side.
Sorry the whole newspaper thing wasn't an insult. It proberbly came out that way but I just wanted to know if you heard what was comming out of the Croatian press. Who knows if bilic would stick to his word but who cares now those players are useless to us now as we are not going to play and competative football for the next year. Odds are that the two were gonna retire after the WC anyway.
lol you want me to read news paper lol. Great gonna learn a lot there aint i. Who cares what they say? Once bilic goes, we'll learn what Simunic's and Krizanac's situation is then. Seems to me Bilic is making a desperate attempt to save his job by finding an escape goat.
If Croatia no longer call up Simunic and Krizanac then they are a sitting duck. They will be demolished by every single side. Take out Kovac, Simunic, Krizanac who will you play. i'm gonna say this to anyone who comes out with this stuff. Forget what Bilic says. He making things worse for himself. Why does he not bow down with some respect. Bilic is a chain smoker and has yellow skin and red eyes. He's hardly an example of how to take care of yourself.
These HNL1 players can't beat St Patricks Athelitic. They can give as much heart and desire as they like. They won't do anything. Kalinic is a classic example. He says his physical conditioning is way below the standard of high standard football. Same goes for rest of HNL1 players. Till they go through proper fitness regimes you don't touch these guys who belong to Osijek, Varteks, Rijeka. There is a reason why Cibalia is Dinamo's main rival.
Correction krizanac.
Dinamofan I don't know if u read the cro papers but simunic is no longer a member of the Croatian football squad after the drunken incident. Bilic claims that he will no longer be called up. Same goes with krizanic.
Croatia did not deserve to make the World Cup, thats for sure, they were the 3rd best team,Congrats to UKRAINE, who only lost 1 game thru the campaign & defeated England after a hard fought battle in the opening clash with England, a 1-0 loss at Wembley, a fair result for a team who showed just how determined they were to go to South Africa, even tho Croatia has 5 premier League players, a further 2 players from Germanys top side,there spirit & heart was not there,Ukraine showed twice as much with much less talent, so i take my hat off to Ukraine, good luck at South Africa & i hope u Crush England there at some stage or another,that would be great.
As for Croatia, its back to basics & youth team training drills because the way u played thru out the campaign was an insult to the likes of the 98 squad who knew how much it ment for us Croatians,i hope u realise over the next 4 years how long of a wait it is for the next WC & how much it sucks to be watching from the side lines..
As some 1 else quoted, i dont want to even think about Football at the moment, i dont know when i will be ready either, & the future is not looking so bright, Some serious changes need to be made for things to improve, start off by getting rid of Bilic & several players who obviously dont want to play at the WC & have no ambitions in making our country proud..
Did Bilic only catch those guys drinking cos he was on the table next to them and then turn around.
Regards Ukraine fan, basically we all insight each other. That's life. Enjoy your victory and be happy. England could have wiped floor with you if they altered their team slightly, but you did well against the side you faced, also without Aliev and Cringinsky which is hugely impressive. Remember i was however singing your teams praises a lot earlier in campaign and saying Ukraine are improved from last campaign. Also pointed Milvesky out as a man to watch.
Regards the national team now. We should go through a series of friendlies to work out what we have that is good and what should be trashed using the following staff.
Goalkeepers: Pletikosa, Subasic, Delac, Didulica?, Ivesa
Defenders: Sablic, Corluka, Knezevic, Mijatovic, Vucko, Simunic, Krizanac, Cale, M Pamic, Lovren, Vida?
Midfielders: Srna, Gabric, Dujmovic, Vukojevic, Jajalo, Ilicevic, Kranjcar, Modric, Badelj, Rakitic, Babic?, Pokrivac, Sharbini, Pranjic, Sertic, Perisic
Forwards: Eduardo, Olic, Petric, Mandzukic, M Bilic, Jelavic, Rukavina, Kalinic
Retire: Runje, Kovac, Juric
Prob past their best now: Klasnic, J Leko
For new match after Kazakstan i think Croatia should try 3-5-2 against strong opponent
Subasic – Corluka, Krizanac or Sablic, Simunic – Srna, Dujmovic, Sertic, Modric/ Kranjcar, Pranjic – Eduardo, Olic
see how it works. Get Sertic aligned to Croatia.
Test from bench: Jelavic, Mandzukic, Rakitic, Cale, Gabric, Ilicevic, Vukojevic, Petric, Vucko, Knezevic.
If we have no defenders and no left back, then we have to bulk up the midfield. We also have to arrange a friendly for Kalinic, Badelj, Vida, Anas Sharbini to feature in at some point soon.
oih Radman i answered your Jelavic comment on the Qatar post. Try reponding over there, rather than hiding out over here. Jelavic scored 3 goals in one season in Belgium. That is poor. He scored 7 goals only last season. That is poor. He did nothing at Hajduk. There is barely any sort of decent history to this player. To call up a player based on a few Europa Liga goals is a risk. If you believe it isn't your crackers. There are other players who have done more than this guy to deserve it. However he scores then you acknowledge that the guy deserves another chance. This is normal. However why did he have such a terrible career to date. When i make such in depth remarks i hate people like you who ignore the full statement and just engage in point scoring. You'd make a great politician. Basically i always say if you are gonna say someone should be out Croatia's squad that person should identify a replacement. Also if you don't want someone in squad you recommend someone who is better. Mate Bilic deserved it more than Jelavic – end of story. Jelavic however deserves it more than Kalinic and Rukavina who are his main competitors – i think i said that as well. You conveniently forgot that.
i hope we'll beat Andorra on Wednesday to make Sablic & Co be less arrogant..
Croatians – you are #3 and this is what you deserve.
It is time for Andorra to shine! I have a crazy feeling Andorra is going to have the game of a lifetime and somehow manage to score three goals against Ukraine.
Apparently Jelavic and Sharbini were drinking and were also cautioned by Bilic. He says he didnt want to punish the two because they are young and is willing to forgive them. Simunic and Krizanac should have known better.
I still advocate calling up the youngsters. I want to see the kids play, I know they will fight for the shirt, give 100 percent. Something I havent seen in our squad since the Turkey match. There are good players in the HNL, players on teams other than Hajduk and Dinamo. Ones that would totally embrace the challenge. First Jelavic apparently did not deserve a call up, then he plays and people say he impressed them. Then you still here arguments where they dont want to experiment with other players from other leagues.