BILIĆ & SRNA TALKING TACTICS
CROATIA @ Israel October 9th
3 PM(ET) Kickoff
Croatia take on Israel in Tel-Aviv this Saturday in a pivotal Euro 2012 qualifying match. Anything short of three points for the Vatreni will surely have the Croatian press going crazy; calling for the removal of coach Slaven Bilić. However, a point on the road in Israel is not the end of the world, especially with the way the rest of the group has played out thus far. On the flip side, Croatia has not had a ‘quality win’ since beating Germany at Euro 2008 in group play. It’s time for our boys to get back to their winning ways, and a win in Israel should help get them there.
Darijo Srna (yellow cards), Mladen Petrić (injury) and Nikica Jelavić (knee injury) will not be available for this match. Ivo Iličević and Mate Bilić have been called up instead. How should the starting XI look in Israel this Saturday and most importantly, what will the final score be?
AND NOW A WORD FROM DENNIS ‘THE RAM’ FISTONIĆ
Straight from the horse’s mouth: Srna has said “Everyone’s talking about Sammir, but no one’s mentioning (Ante) Vukušić because he doesn’t play for Dinamo.” Does Vukušić deserve some national team recognition or is Srna just playing his Hajduk v. Dinamo cards on this one?
GROUP F STANDINGS
WILL DOMAGOJ VIDA BE CELEBRATING IN SPAIN?
CROATIA U-21 @ Spain October 9th, 3:25 PM(ET) Kickoff
If the Croatia-Israel game wasn’t enough for you, there’s more on the day’s plate to salivate after. The ‘Mali Vatreni’ take on Spain in the first leg of their U-21 Euro 2011 playoff tie. The winner of this matchup, with the return leg in Croatia three days later, will join Denmark in the eight-team tournament next summer. Spain has one of the best U-21 teams in the world. Can Ivan Perišić, Domagoj Vida, Mato Jajalo and company prove their worth on the international level and upset Spain?
CSR will try to juggle both games this Saturday as the junior squad kicks off only 25 minutes after the big boys. Priority will of course be on the Israel match. Follow the live coverage on CSR’s Twitter Page:
LIVE COVERAGE OF THE MATCHES AVAILABLE ON CSR TWITTER
LIVE FEEDS:
ATDHE.NET
MYP2P.EU
BALKANSPORT.INFO
I don't know guys. The more I keep thinking about it the more depressed I feel.
I really wouldn't be surprised (although I WILL be angry) if we lost to Israel (even though their best players are injured), and Bilic wasn't sacked, and we don't make it out of this group.
Bilic needs to go, but sadly I doubt that HNS agrees with me and will let him stay for a very long. Basically until they lose so many sponsors so that they can't pay his salary.
live stream… link?
Thanks Vatreni. I usually followed the games through Ginger Bloke but it keeps getting closed.
Israel hardly loses at home. I think 2 losses in 10 years.
We definitely can't be considered a world power. However, if we can't beat Israel, after missing out on the World Cup and knowing what's on the line, we don't deserve to even go to the Euro. I know all our boys are struggling at their clubs, but this is not club they should play with way more pride which sadly doesn't seem to be the case. Bilic needs to go, period.
oh yea as far as the Vucinic celebration with his tighy whities he's been doing that it's funny as hell hahaha svaka cast best celebration yet….stupid but funny
I usually watch the U21 and senior games at http://www.atdhe.net. Pretty good quality and sometimes they have croatian commentators 🙂
Hey Denis, what's the name of the site you have to pay to watch Croatia's matches? SAAN or something like that?
Hvala!!
@ Denis
don't get me wrong id love Croatia to win but I think we are a little too confident going into this game.
Let's hope you are right in your predictions.
And also I agree, if it is a loss bilic is out. Absolutly no questions about it.
Sorry, last one…
Vucinic celebration
Greek Winner
Check out Georgia's game winner
Remember fan zone? Remember the poll we had a few weeks ago on CSR's next trip? Please send us pictures/videos/report on Croatia-Israel from your hood. Tell us why CSR should come to your town for an upcoming qualifier.
Yes, Toronto won the poll. However, we know nothing about where the games are being watched. Toronto, ya you, show us that you want us there. Vancouver, where you at? Chicago, Cleveland, Pittsburg, Zagreb, Split, I don't see ya. NY, tell us that you want us back. Shit I feel like a rapper. When I say "want us back" I don't mean me and Ante, I mean CSR. CSR is a peoples site. We're kinda like a Volkswagen.
@Dan,
Srna hasn't done much for the national team. I'm a fan of his free kicks, his bending crosses. However, defensively, he's a liability(example Slovakia friendly). This is an excellent opportunity for Slaven Bilic to see the Croatian defense minus Srna.
"Judging from this I think we will be lucky to escape with a draw. To be honest I'm expecting a lost."
Judging by this comment, you voted "I'm scared" on the poll.
Are you serious? You need to get off the pookie.
First, Yossi Benayoun and Celtic midfielder Berem Kayal are both out. Yossi has scored 23 goals in 80 appearances for Israel including one against us in a 4-3 loss 4 years ago.
Look at Israel's squad. They are not the same team as 4 years ago.
Croatia is hungry haven't not qualified for the world cup. No way Croatia loses this game. With a little bad luck, Croatia have to settle for a draw.
"Israel I a much larger threat than Greece."
Greece and Croatia will compete for first in this group.
Bottom line, a loss and Bilic should be fired. If you cant squeak out a draw against Israel without their star player, you're doing something wrong.
@anonymous,
please sign in so I can call you an idiot.
"Bilic already talking nonsense that a draw would be OK"
Do you really think he means that? He's just easing the pressure off the boys.
@Ziva istina
"Lets stop thinking we are an elite team, we are not, we are a team capable of beating almost any team, but we are also a squad that is capable of being beat by a lesser team. "
I agree. However, a loss in Israel without their star player is unacceptable. Israel without Benayoun is like Croatia without Modric. Israel are a decent side when healthy. Croatia are no world power, but a loss to Israel is a huge upset in my book. Anything less than a draw, and Bilic deserves the boot.
@Dinamodennis,
For the first time ever I believe, I agree with you. I would have said 2-0, however, Croatian defense is known for blunders and Runje is struggling as well. Look for Simunic to head it in his own net.
@JP,
Even though we don't have a solid replacement, Bilic must be fired if we lose to Israel. This will give the new manager plenty of time to figure something out by March. (for Malta at home in November, Ciro Blazevic can sit in for a game and smoke a few cigs on the sideline)
@Allen19,
"3-0" Wow! I hope so. Pretty bold prediction. Send us some pictures and/or video from Scorpio's. Let us know how the atmosphere was in NY.
@Ivo Miljanovic,
Serbia lost at home to Estonia. HOw embarrassing is that. I caught the last 5 minutes of this match and at the end of the match Estonians walked around the field clapping to the fans as the Serbian fans escorted then with loud whistling. I never seen anything like this.
Ziva,
You may be and probably are completely right about Crna Gora and I myself was not a huge fan of Kranjcar when he was coaching us. I thought our football was a bit negative then. I am just saying look what a new face in the locker room does to them….He has some guts going there and coaching and trying to prove a point. I know they are more then anything running of momentum but we have talent..form or no form. We have just hit an all time low in confidence and its really hard to reinstate that when you keep putting up results like we have been.
I dont think I am overreacting to bad as its been a constant string of negative results that have brought me to this. For me this is Bilics last stand to earn some dignity and respect back. Far better coaches have been in his position and far better coaches have been fired or resigned themselves for far smaller mistakes then he has made. Like I have said before I dont hate Bilic as a person I just dont like him as a coach of Croatia. I think he could be successful elsewhere where he has the players for his defensive system but attacking he lacks imagination and thats pretty much how we must rely to win is with out attack and not our defense.
Lets see how all this plays out before everyone goes overboard.
Crna Gora is a fluke. They'll qualify for the competition and do nothing for next 20 years, just like Latvia when they made the Euros. Lot easier to play when there are no expectations.
Well Serbia lost that puts a nice smile on my face to start the day but now with Georgia winning in the dying seconds of the match and Greece picking up a win the group is very tight. If we were to lose tomorrow…I dont even want to think about what this group will look like. I am not saying we wont qualify I am just saying some changes will have to be made in regards to Bilic and player selections. We were literally handed the easiest group in qualifying and if we make a mess of this well….I wouldn't know what to make of it then. We can make all the excuses we want and yes we are not a superpower here soccer in anyway but we have also never been given the easy path either and now we better not make a mess of it. We have injuries…blah blah blah well Israel does too!! and its by far their biggest threat and we should be able to take advantage of it!
I don't see us keeping a shutout but I do possibly see 2-1 on the cards. If we lose though I am done with Bilic bullshit everyone can praise him all they want but this is a must win to regain confidence! If we lose or tie once again it will be a big downer and one after another we need a positive result against a bigger team the Latvia!
It does not matter who we have to replace Bilic with anymore to me if we lose tomorrow he must go! Yes! there may be nobody better but there sure as hell will be not much worse…could it be worse imagine not qualifying for WC and EC! Look at Kranjcar 9 points with Montonegro! 650,000 people and far less talent….
I dont care I will support Croatia but its getting to where I cant stand watching because I am getting so frustrated but I will keep watching always! The problem is we have no identity the players themselves dont know their roles anymore. Keep the same formation throw players out of positions…blah blah Not like i need to tell you guys we all watch it. I just dont want to come out of game tomorrow to hear "we played well but it wasn't our day"! No more excuses! I have heard them all we have already been embarassed by England which isnt all that big of a deal because they are so talented just not coached properly. But not making it out of a group with Israel, Greece, Georgia, and Latvia…oh god.
a draw between Croatia and Israel tomorrow would see a 4-way tie for first place, at least for a couple of days. I fear Bilic will be cautious again, especially how results went today
Loss would be a disaster, really, and thats why I think Bilic will be cautious
Croatia better win tomorrow or this will end up being one shitty thanksgiving weekend here in canada with both serbia and croatia going down in 2 days
Serbia lost 1-3 against Estonia. I feel a Nelson Muntz's Hahaa coming but I'd rather wait after Croatia's game tomorrow…nee, hahaa.
I think he is referring to Kranjcar. For me he is not a traitor. Kid was dismissed by dinamo and told to find another club because he refused to be bullied by mamic and take a lesser salary even after his contract fully guarenteed him another amount.
Kranjcar's biggest problem is his last name and having to play in the shadows of his father.
We fans make a big deal out of this rivalry more so than the players. The players all get along and don't get too invloved in the rivalry.
I'm predicting 3-0 Croatia. The only active Israeli player I recognize is Ben Hiem, and he is terrible. Isreal can't afford a draw at home, so they won't be bunkering. They'll leave themselves exposed and we'll get our first goal within 30 minutes.
Ante,
Who is the Traitor?
Yeah but this is the same Srna who said when the national team players, all of the players are together and the Dinamo-Hajduk rivalry doesn't matter. Yellow card.
My predictions, sans Fistonic's pool-side Playboy Hugh Heffner-esque style, is 2:1 Hrvatska with goals by Dudustaša and Rakitic, though the Traitor might come through and score.
I think this should be a 2-0 win. I know people are out of form but come on it's Israel and we have enough playmakers to win. I have a 3-0 win, as I have my hopes up for this team. Eduardo will score the first one, then Rakitic, then at the end Kranjcar will tee off a blast. I will be at Scorpicos with my cousin's husband as it will be the last game we can go nuts for, for a long time. I am really excited and expect this game similar to the Latvia game luckily Petric isn't playing and we won't have to see him miss four to five shots that aren't even close.
I think it was more of a rhetorical question by Srna than an idea to call up Vukusic.
RE: "Does Vukušić deserve some national team recognition or is Srna just playing his Hajduk v. Dinamo cards on this one?"
For whatever reason, Srna is just playing his Hajduk v Dinamo cards. As well as he has been playing, I don't believe Vukusic is a viable candidate for the senior team. I don't know why Srna would even bother suggesting this.
We'll see….sometimes the team is greater than the sum of its parts (example…Greece 04, Slovenia) and sometimes the parts don't make a good team (example….France).
Just because a national team does not have players playing in the EPL or Bundesliga, does not mean it lacks quality. Look at our EPlers so far…..
Corluka….benched
Kranjcar…..benched
Pletikoa…..benched as he continues to enjoy his two-plus year vacation of not playing
Modric…….average, at best this year. Spurs best play has been with him on the bench or injured.
Klasnic….not on the roster, but also on the bench
Brazilian born croat…..was destined to be on the bench until his transfer to eastern europe.
Should be beat Israel….Sure, if we played 10 times, we would probably win 6 times, draw 3 times and lose once. All I am saying is not to be surprised if we come back with a tie. Better teams have gone on the road and lost points to teams lesser than Israel.
If we lose Bilic must be gone!
Do you all agree?
Everyone is critisizing our team…saying there not in form or dont start for there club team…thats fine, but we are playing isreal, so lets compare.
There best player is out. Beh haim is the only other player I know…all there other players play is lesser clubs then ours.
So mabey our boys arnt in form but id pick them over isreal players who play for weak clubs.
Cro wins 2-0 Goals by 2
i think a draw will be a good result, depending on how we look and how we play.
Its not like our guys are lighting it up on the club level, we have no difference maker on the team, a true superstar, Israel is still alive in the group and will fight at home. Lets stop thinking we are an elite team, we are not, we are a team capable of beating almost any team, but we are also a squad that is capable of being beat by a lesser team.
as mentioned above….look at out starters and the struggles they are having at the club level.
we played these guys 4 years ago on the road when we were playing better and our players were in better form, and we struggled with them. So, anyone expecting a clear victory here is a homer and cant see the reality that we are currently an average side.
Bilic already talking nonsense that a draw would be OK…the way Croatia is playing, Georgia will give us troubles, we need to go there for a win
U21s have little chance, no Jajalo, Lovren, Rakitic, Ladic's teams are never good defensively in the first place. It will be tough, but then again, Spain didn't really blow anybody away in qualifying.
**There is no doubt that the national team is in crisis and it would be a huge suprise if we win, as in my mind I believe that Israel are a much larger threat than Greece.
Sorry was in a rush!
Without srna and jelavic (currently the best Croatian players form wise) I really can't see us winning. Let's face it Israel arnt a shit team. If my memory serves me right we beat them 4-3 last time we were there. In reality this is what were left with-
runje- has been shakey recently
corluka- been left out at spurs for the last 2 weeks
strinic- young and unexperienced
simunic- out of form
pranjic- also not playing his best
kranjcar- hasn't started this season
modric- we've seen him play better
olic- out of form
dudu- his time is already up
bilic- having trouble getting a start this season
Judging from this I think we will be lucky to escape with a draw. To be honest I'm expecting a lost. I don't think anyone realizes how much in the shits this team at the moment is. Plus with bilic's recent history of questionable coaching, who knows what he's gonna put out tactic wise. Even with the current problems I struggle to see any solution to the problems at hand. I mean you can give young players like vukusic and god forbid even give sammir a try but in reality we will run the risk of losing the 'easy' game.
There is no doubt that the national team is in crisis and it will be a huge suprise if we win, as in my mind Israel I a much larger threat than Greece.
@GoldenChild,
CSR will be at Big Bear, California on Saturday for the Israel match and at Alpine Village in Torrance for the Croatia-Norway match.
Its late guys… sorry…
"Malta manager has said that he's "figured out the Croatian defense" and will "squeeze us from the opening whistle." "
should be "Israel manager" not "Malta manager"
First, let me say that we will have someone at Ramat-Gan Stadium cheering on the Vatreni in either a Slaven Bilic CSR shirt or a Crottenham CSR shirt. Now to make things interesting: They are women. Good looking women I might add. Hopefully, we get some good pictures/videos/report from Israel.
Malta manager has said that he's "figured out the Croatian defense" and will "squeeze us from the opening whistle." This might be so, however, I dont see this lasting longer than 10 minutes. After this Israeli 'blitzkrieg' Croatia will score twice, first coming from a Rakitic free kick in the first half, second goal coming from Olic in the second half. Israel will get one back and put the pressure back on Croatia, however, little too late. 2-1 Croatia
U21 Spain 2-1 over U21 Croatia… Not a bad result considering the return leg is in Croatia. I'd take a 2-1 defeat.
November prediction, Croatia 5-0 Malta
Correction: 'last real qualifier of 2010'.
Croatia has a game against Malta in November. But if we have to worry about them, then what's the point of all this Greece/Israel talk?
No Benayoun for Israel. This is critical. He's the only guy that ever scores for them.
I don't see Israel scoring, but I can't see them bunkering at home either. Croatia will manage a late first half goal (Olic tap in) which will force Israel to open up in the second half. Croatia plays the counter and Rakitic finds the back of the net on a ripper to give the 'boys in red and white' a 2-0 win.
Hit the panic button if we don't get 3 points. This is our last qualifier for 2010. Changes have to be made if we can't grab a W. We're not the Chicago Cubs for godsakes!