Thursday, we learned this group of Greek players are not the Greece of old. Not by a long shot.
Greece gifted Croatia three goals in a 4-1 defeat at Maksimir with Vrsaljko’s cross to Perišić the only score that did not come from a complete defensive blunder. Now Greece, a perennially defensive team, will need a minimum of three goals in Piraeus on Sunday to make things interesting.
When was the last time Greece scored three goals in one match?
Taking Gibraltar out of the conversation (because European minnows don’t count here at CroatianSports), Greece last scored three goals in the same match in a 4-3 victory over Hungary on October 11th, 2015 in Euro 2016 qualifying. Since that game, Greece has scored two goals in a single qualifying match (except for Gibraltar) only three times. And the opposition in those games were either Cyprus or Estonia.
Greece will have the crowd behind them in Piraeus Sunday but they will be forced to attack from the first whistle; meaning they will have to play more open than their style calls for making them vulnerable to counter attacks.
Be sure that Croatia will go for the Greek jugular and won’t sit back bunkering for 90 minutes. A goal or two from the Vatreni (especially in the first half) and Croatians can start booking their tickets to Russia next summer.
Prediction: Croatia wins 2-1
Why can’t we all just get along for the greater good, the good old sickle and hammer
you don’t need to have a 10……you can have 3 8s etc etc
@Poglavnik
I’ll move on then. Make no mistake though, we will cross paths again.
@Anonymous
“A anti-white TRAITOR on this site once said to me: if a player who is forced to wear a “no to racism” patch refuses to do so, “then he must be racist” – how do you explain FREE SPEECH to this anti-white RETARD?”
Is it possible for a player to wear a “no to racism” patch and refuse to do so? So this hypothetical player was forced to wear a “no to racism” patch, but he refused. Did he wear it or not, which one is it? I would’ve thought that if he refused then surely he didn’t wear it, because if he wore it he didn’t refuse!
Are you really @Poglavnik?
I have no interest in talking to you.
Anyone that talks shit and then uses “I was messing around” and earlier says “my comments as an Icelander weren’t offensive in any way!” does not deserve my attention. I’m not 12 years old. I don’t “mess around” like that.
@Poglavnik
By the standard that you live by though, as the liberal minded individual you are, surely you can’t think Poglavnik a good man. Or have you got double standards?
I wouldn’t expect you to understand that a young country founded by immigrants is just a bit different than a country that fought for hundreds of years to obtain it’s independence.
Nice try Troll.
@Poglavnik
I was messing around idiot.
But you, you call yourself Poglavnik, and knowing you from previous comments, you calling yourself Poglavnik is proof that you have no fucking idea what you’re doing, and you’re serious, you’re not messing around?
@trad cro . You’re killing me i bit. Played it again not that i needed to. . Niko nezna dije bija! Haha. Hope #2 scores 3 goals tomorrow!. Good night all! Talk tomorrow hopefully all day! U boj!
@Iggy
LOL!
I was thinking the same thing.
He’s not the sharpest tool in the shed.
@Zee
That was me. You’re the only one that got it.
https://youtu.be/HbcF98vHk-8
@anon. I still got that song in my head. ” vratija se Sime” from Thursday the other day. Great tune. Was that you? Anyway who is our 10 if luka is 8? Still confused. Krama?
On this thread i am somehow supporting Trump’s wall (or something?) and on the other thread im a commie, apparently!
LOL
@Zee
De Bruyne and Ozil were put up by Idemo as two no.10’s, in the last two games Modric has played with a lot more freedom.
Also with Crnkovic’s description of what he believes a no.10 is, I believe Ozil at his best is a far better no.10 than De Bruyne, but, De Bruyne is still a no.10.
“Modrić is 8. Can play 10.”
I can live with that.
So who the hell is 10 for fuck sakes?
Zivili!
You don’t have to be a 10 to play in 10……Spain had guys who were not 9 play in 9
Messi has no position. Can’t argue it.
Modrić is 8. Can play 10. Not best to use him there.
Oh for sure pog. Let’s just do this tomorrow mine anyway don’t know where you are but my tomorrow. Let’s rock this shit! We talk numbers in off season. Haha. Talk to you soon.
@Zee
I agree with that.
10 is the number the legends wear.
But I agree with I believe it was Crnkovic that said we don’t really play with a true #10 and that’s entirely fine.
Dalic seems to have the shape just right for Luka.
Luka’s last 2 games were 2 of the best I’ve seen him play in a while.
No trad cro. What are you trying to say? I’m confused.
Last two international matches for each player.
Modric 1 assist 1 goal
De Bruyne 0 assists 0 goals
Ozil 2 assists 1 goal
It’s obvious why I only include the last two matches of each player.
Pog of course i know the number stuff. But does it really matter? Your best player or mvp so to speak should wear 10. Whether he scores 100 goals or 1. Dont matter. So 8 or 10 don’t really matter.
Zvone and Zuti were rather similar hence they couldn’t play well together. Don’t put so much stock into the number on their backs.
Do you even realize that the numbers on a jersey do not reflect what the traditional numbers 1 – 11 represent when describing a players position? They’re not the same man.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squad_number_(association_football)
Make sure you scroll to the more modern interpretations too.
@pog. So whats the difference with numbers then? Wear number 41. Who cares as i said b4. So what was Boban a true #10 or is that Prosinecki whick wore #8 for us?
^ ^
Anyone that tries fleecing people on this site by acting like someone else is a tool.
Ashamed of myself?! Please!
Look in the mirror dude and grow up.
I wrote the Iceland fan comments. And you guys treated me with contempt because you thought I was The truth, even though my comments as an Icelander weren’t offensive in any way! A lot of you guys were assholes to me for no good reason, you should be ashamed of yourselves.
Fucking Icelandophobic idiots!
My favourite part was when I told Poglavnik, da ga jebo Hitler koji ga ostavio and called Iggy a Yugo! These are the type of morons that would want to build a wall to keep Mexicans out of old Mexico and the U.S.A.
@Zee
Not what I’m saying.
I’m saying you can be the drink stirrer from the #8 and not only the #10. You don’t have to be in that pocket, assisting or scoring on every chance to be the main influence offensively.
Whoever Anonymous is, we could use him here regularly.
So pog . Xavi is or was more important to his team than modric or Zidane?
@Anonymous
You seem to be more thoughtful than most other “anonymous” posters. U really need a proper name. Even a single letter.
Xavi was a “drink-stirrer(?)” and he was a pure #8.
Modric is more Xavi than Zizou.
Ziva is just the example I gave due to his long and egregious history on here. The more recent Truth Troll, Iceland Fan, Turkey, and so on.. what percentage of their posting is legitimately contributing in any way, and how much is pure internet trolling?
Some of the things I’ve seen written on this website over the years have been completely revolting and shameful, yet the individuals most guilty (like Ziva was for years) just kept doing it with impunity. It couldn’t be that hard to require people to sign in, and then have the ability to suspend posters (or even ban them if need be) for unconstructive or troll like behavior. Why not make this the place it portends to be (legit discussion and ultimately unifying), and not a troll center where we come to get appealed or insulted or fight with one another.
I stopped visiting here for over a year, and only came back when I realized Ziva was gone. I refuse to sign in again as long as it continues to be the wild west of internet troll posting (not to mention the conspiracy theories propagated on here as well as calls for walking off of fields).
P.S. ante, I do appreciate the response above. I’m still in disagreement, but you get props for putting yourself out there. It’s easy to have unpopular opinions when hiding behind internet anonymity (I’m aware of the irony ad I post without signing in, but you certainly are publicly out there.
@crnkovic. I disagree. A #10 is the straw that stirs the drink where everything goes through him. Modric initiates every goal not a primary or secondary assist. Can you refresh my memory about Zidane which was basically the same importance for France in 1998 and euro winners in 2000 and head butt final in 2006. Geez i can’t recall his jersey number. Can you help me out? He rarely scored. Gee what was Zidane jersey number? Can’t recall.
If it is him then yeah, he’s fucked up which we already kind of knew. I don’t feel like it is him though. But what do I know..
I know Poglavnik, I used to defend the guy but this new handle and newer bs convos he has makes me think he’s mentally ill!
i cant wait for the game tomorrow. its a good test of character and ambition for us. i want to see an even better performance than thursday
Ziva had “his guy in the Savez” that the Truth does not. 😉
Come on Truth, up your game!
where is ziva? is he the truth? i liked ziva more that the truth
Okay, enough with the defending of Ziva for me.
I just liked him better than some on here.
Which really isn’t saying much..
I think Luka should wear #3 for petro our greatest basketball player ever. Who cares what number he wears he is special and we all know it. He could wear 53 and who cares.
@Slavonac
I agree he’s a dick but he definitely had something to offer unlike some people on here.
^ ^
Agreed for the most part but if you asked Ziva an honest, football related, non-gossipy question, he’d give you an honest intelligent answer. He did have good input.
You really should get a tag..
I agree with Anonymous!!!
When I saw Ziva attack Petrovic it made my stomach turn…people like that have zero values and are bitter and hate-filled!
To be clear, my problem is not with differences of opinion in discussing sports topics etc.. I do not think we should all have the same opinion.
My problem is the allowing of certain individuals to continually and repeatedly post here with obvious intent of nothing else than provoking people in a negative way.
Let’s again review just a few of Ziva’s highlights posted above:
Mocking the death of various Croatians, including Dražen.
Mocking the Virgin Mary
Constant childish derogatory nicknames for croatian players and coaches.
Attacking of croatians from various cities or regions.
On the day Gotovina was released, and all croatians everywhere were celebrating, there was this site featuring Ziva going on and on about what a despicable human the general is.
Etc…
What part of such drivel is a legitimate and uniting discorse about croatian sports and topics? Yet this website gladly provided Ziva a voice and forum here, and continues to do so for others of his ilk. All guys like Ziva want to do is anger others and derail any legitimate discussion here: trolls.
@Crnkovic
“its a waste of his other artributes which are so syrong and so important. his defensive position and anticipation for example. if you pkay him as a 10 we lose that, and we dont have a busquets.”
Good call!
Modric breaks up plays better than anyone on our team.
He broke up at least a handful on Thursday if I had to guess.
Using Broz as a powerful #8…to cover field space, pressing, distribute…ok…I get that….#10 is a special player with talent….Brozovic is far from that!
it reflects a type of of equality in our culture. instead of uberspecialisation, we say hey why cant i dribble to? so we are all natural number 8’s, what can i say? none of wants to do all the running to fetch the ball for his friend. we are proud we are intelligent. we not slaves or machines…
I did t ask to compare, I asked if I read that you thought he can play as a number 10?
That truly baffles me. He has speed, a great shot and lungs of steel…he has zero creativity, very little dribbling skills (1vs1), his offensive aptitude is very sub par. I know he can score on occasion but his offensive abilities as a dribbler and play maker are horrible.
Crnkovic, I know we all see different things in different players but you’re reaching on this one. Brozovic is a clumsy guy…his best qualities are for defensive play with the odd attack. You’re suggesting he’s an attacker is ridiculous bro…no offence but he is far from anything as an offensive threat!
look guys. our best ever team was 3 number 8 midfielders. no 10 no 6. its not a problem. its our way. it just needs confidence and teamwork
he is also an 8, like the others but he has more of the mentality, crucially the timing to play as a 10
yes brozovic is more 10 that modric, rakitic, kovacic. trust me.
@tradcroat, no basically a 10 is not midfielder, a 10 is an attacker playing slightly deeper. a 10 is all about goals, scoring them a creating them. yes messi is a true 10. in fact barcelona at their best operated with messi ronaldinho and iniesta all in effect 10’s sharing that space taking turn to combine in the space between the lines. basically it doesnt matter you can call it what you like. thete has to be creativity, there has to width, there has be goals, there has to be defense. none of our goals thursday came from a number 10 type play. what does it matter? as long as the team shares the responsibility to defend and attack with quality what difference we call modric a 10 or an 8 or whatever. keep the movement fluid, let different players pop up in thise spaces and show us what they got. the performance was great. i wouldnt change the team ftom thursday. they were great
Brozovic a number 10 type of player? Is that what I’m reading?
Please tell me that was a mistake?
modric is tactical dribbler. basically getting away from tight spaces and moving through the gears assesing options. you see perisic step over? or coric even, more so than halilovic. manupulating the ball to front up the defender and commit them before unleashing pass or shot or beating them clean. thats a different type of dribbling. modric is not the best at that type of dribbling. but he can do it ofcourse but its not his best role. its a waste of his other artributes which are so syrong and so important. his defensive position and anticipation for example. if you pkay him as a 10 we lose that, and we dont have a busquets or kante or matic….so
@traditionalcroat. in the game against iceland there was one moment when brozovic got the ball in a tight space 30 yards out, he suddenly turned sharply away from the defender feign to shoot off one foot, thereby sitting the defender on his ass and with almost no backlift cracked off a shot on goal that went close. thats a 10. in that same situation modric would probably either have moved the ball on with a first time pass to wide player or dragged the player out of position with a short dribble, all the while increasing the potential for gaps to open up in the bunkered iceland defense. playing as a number you need to play a lot of the game with your back to goal. in fact as a number 10 you need to spend large parts of the game without touching the ball at all. onstead using your movement to draw defenders out pf position all the time waiting for that split second opportunity to make the killer pass dribble or shot. thats not modric we dont want modric hanging around waiting, we want him on the ball, dictating the rhythm of the game. its just a whole different mindset.
@Crnkovic
“a 10 picks the ball up between the lines of the opposition defence and midfield and attacks using dribbling or one-two or through balls to penetrate before getting in the box to finish.”
Is the no.10 a midfielder?
Is Messi a no.10?
You say Modric “is the best midfielder in the world. i love him he is not a 10.”
@Anonymous
Better than Modric at the 10?
Probably no one. Maybe Kovacic.
Not saying he can’t be great at it I just don’t think it’s his natural position. He sets up the offense more with the pass that sets up the pass that gets the goal. Like a 2nd assist in hockey.
@Crnkovic
You once said that a solution for us would be to play Brozovic as a 10, in your opinion why is he better than Modric for that role?
My opinion is that Modric has all the attributes to play the 10 role. In all those attributes you say a number 10 has, which ones does Modric lack?
with the dribbling ability of perisic and kramaric the slick movement of kalinic and the same two. the creativity and vision of rakitic, modric and brozovic means we dont need a 10, problem with the 10 if you mark them or they dont have a good game the team fails. you see the build up for the first goal. all those flicks in tight areas. colllective creative play. made me so happy. if we play like that. if we continue to progress in that direction. we dont need a baggio or a maradona or cruyff or a totti.
first comment @dalic lama
thankyou idemo
modric didnt play as a 10 in the greece game. come back when you know something about football. he played CM playmaker. his best position. freedom of movement, brilliant playmaking and controlling of the game. but not the 10 role. if we play like that we dont need a specialised 10. a 10 picks the ball up between the lines of the opposition defence and midfield and attacks using dribbling or one-two or through balls to penetrate before getting in the box to finish. thats not modric is it? instead modric drifts arpund the midfield intelligently finding and creating space for the team. he is what they call a midfield general. he controls the game. ofcourse he can dribble ofcpurse he can score and assist. he is brilliant, he is amazing, he is the best midfielder in the world. i love him he is not a 10
Modrić is number 8
Modrić is not Similar to Ozil and kdb
@Poglavnik
Which player in our team do you see having the ability to play the role of a number 10 better than Modric? In my opinion no one can.
@Ante, the Kalinic finish was still class. Tough to put the ball in the net the way he did regardless of how far off the defenders were.
The goal Perisic scored resulted from a very solid buildup of play.
It’s not just about the finish but how the goal(s) came about.
I honestly cannot remember the last time Croatia played with pace and quick passing along the ground. It was fantastic to see.
Hope to see more of the same on Sunday.
@Slavonac from Canada
“Remember Strinic vs Portugal? 2 guys running at him and closing him down…what did he do? Panic? Why?”
And everyone on this site blamed Strinic for the loss!
The people that blamed Strinic, they’re not saying anything about the Greek mistakes though, does that make them fan boys?
Im still not convinced Modric is a natural #10.
I love the guy and was in awe of his performance but I’d still say he’s more of a #8 than a #10 or a #6.
The commentators said that it was Modric that wanted Cacic sacked!
I found that very interesting! Maybe Modric wanted to play in a more advanced role for a while but Cacic just kept playing him in that defensive midfield spot. If that is the case, then Cacic definitely effected the team.
Like Dalic Lama said, we’ve wasted Modric for so many years.
Don’t think Cacic was effecting the team that much and was just used as a sacrificial lamb, and at the end of the day the coach is responsible for results
When’s the last time you saw a player lose a job for results
Cacic firing created a shock but still,i love how we played against Greece, but it’s greece. We should be beating finaland and Kosovo like that and not have to go to play off to beat Greece like that
@Lazio- Holy crap! Just looked up old comments from the 2 guys you mentioned {Crnkovic & Soul Champ}
Cannot see where Soul Champ said Modric is not our 10, but I do see that Crnkovic recently made an ass out himself by saying Modric is not a 10. Wish we could down vote comments from people like that.
Big blessing also we won’t have fans in Greece
There would have been a ton of baiting by their fans especially if we went up early again
Who knows both teams get kicked out and they give our spot to Italy lol
^
Yes, the sky is blue!
Is the sky blue?
Is Ante Kvartuc a Yugo?
“Modric is our 10. Plain & simple. So many wasted years, it makes me cringe.”
Tell me about. I used to say he can’t play the same role for us that he does at Madrid. Soul Champ and Crnkovic called me an idiot.
Ukraine game:
Croatia played a conservative first half and almost lulled Ukraine to sleep. Then put the foot to the gas in the 2nd half. Great game plan and it worked.
However, both of Kramaric’s goals were great goals. No defensive blunders unlike Greece.
The first was a perfect cross from Modric to his head and an even better header.
The second goal was an insane one-time Rakitic pass that surprised everyone on the field.
I don’t care how Croatia scores. I’m just saying those 3 goals I talked about vs. Greece won’t be making the highlight reel.
I’m just a scared little boy..who grew up in a household with Tito’s painting in our dining room
First time poster, long time lurker.
@Truth- Thanks for the viewing party. The food was excellent, & the conversation was riveting. Vesna says hi.
Dalic admits his only value is positioning the players appropriately.
Modric is our 10. Plain & simple. So many wasted years, it makes me cringe.
Rakitic showed us all how a CDM, on a quality team, should play. Hopefully Badelj gets his ass crazy glued to the bench.
Brozovic was finally positioned intelligently. He complemented Rakitic & Modric sufficiently. His best game yet (including his brace v Iceland)
Lost in the hysteria, Dalic was awful with his subs. Modric was getting smashed, he should have been first person subbed off. Perisic, sitting on a yellow, should have been 2nd.
Lovren is a waste of space.
Vrsaljko on the comeback trail.
@Ante- Not only was Kalinic’s goal great, the lead up to it was a thing of beauty. No team, not even Germany, could have marked everybody after such stunning ball movement.
Same goes for Perisic’s goal to a lesser extent.
You remember the game vs Ukraine? I’m gonna help you out here, cause I know that deep down inside you’re a decent kid but I feel you’re looking for something that’s not there.
The first half vs Ukraine, how was our tempo of the game? Remember the 2nd half? Did you notice anything different? The pressing and speed maybe? Do you recall how Ukraine we’re forced backwards and then all our attackers pressed?! You remember that? Ok, in what half did we score vs Ukraine? Right….the second half…why? Now fast forward to the game the other day and ask yourself why we were getting more chances? You think errors happen when there’s no pressure? When the tempo of the game is played at a higher overall speed and you are under pressure to make fast decisions cause one or two guys are closing in on you…what happens? Remember Strinic vs Portugal? 2 guys running at him and closing him down…what did he do? Panic? Why?
Errors are one thing, those errors we saw happened because the Greeks had no options and were pressed to decide…it wasn’t an accident…. it’s the strategy Dalić gave his players instructions to execute. If one of the 3 attackers isn’t pressing, the plan doesn’t work…
If the roles were reversed I’d have said Greece had the better game plan!
How about tomorrow’s game Variables..weather looks great,referee bjorn kuipers dutch catholic very fair,wild Greek fans throw flares get their team disgualified.We will be ok..Greeks are in panic mode ..
@Ante K
I knew when you didn’t give credit to Mamic for our last couple wins that you were a frustrated fan boy.
Remember in future, once you cross that white line there is no excuses.
They’d blame Strinic and Lovren if the roles were reversed.
@ Slavonac,
Really man?
I couldn’t be happier right now. I love the checkers and when we play well. It’s frustrating when we don’t. (Please read my above comment to Anonymous.)
I was wrong. Simple as that.
Something big was affecting this team in 2017 and it was locker room chemistry. Cacic out. The boys are happy.
Re:goals
I’m not saying they weren’t hard earned goals, I’m simply saying they came off of Greek errors, which they did.
It’s like cheering for an unforced error in tennis or a double fault. You just don’t.
If the roles were reversed with the same goals but Croatia lost 4-1, would you say we beat ourselves with mistakes or Greece won because they pressured us?
Mamić hacked the US election.
He shot himself AND tupac. Biggie shot himself for sympathy after people thought he was behind the Tupac thing.
…my mistake…he said maybe we should walk off the field…not lose…but all the same cause if we walked off, we’d have been disqualified.
@ Anonymous,
Fair enough. And I appreciate the well-written response.
Just so we’re on the same page:
1. Unfortunately, this website isn’t a full-time job for any of us. Comments will always pour in faster than we can delete. By that time, a full conversation has already been had. The only way to stop trolls is not to reply to them. Any response feeds the troll train.
2. I actually know very little about Holiga and do not follow him. I just know he’s a Guardian writer that lives in Zagreb. My main intention is not to be negative. I merely attempt to justify situations. Obviously, a few of you in CroatianSports.com nation have disliked those justifications.
I couldn’t wrap my head around how a team of this caliber could only grab one point from three games against Iceland, Turkey and Finland. It was my thought that they had already folded and didn’t care about making the WC because of something going on off the field.
It appears I was wrong in pointing a finger at Mamic and it was an Ante Cacic issue. The team obviously cares about making the WC and has played great football with a new coach.
IF, and remember that’s a big IF, If Croatia didn’t have plans of beating Ukraine, I wanted them to get the biggest “bang for their buck” by protesting whatever was bothering them. Things have changed in the past month with Dalic on, Olic on as an assistant and a packed Maksimir.
3. This site does unite. It’s let’s Croatians all around the world come together to discuss Croatian things. That doesn’t mean we’re going to agree on everything 100%.
Kvartuc accused me of being negative towards him on Facebook…because I reminded him that a few short weeks ago he posted comments about maybe it would be better if we lost, many people were pissed at that comment. I come here and I see him making excuses for Greece’s loss by saying our goals were lucky.
Am I seeing things right? All your comments appear as if you’re not ok with our team advancing? Is that the message you’re sending Ante? Are you seriously one of those guys thinking that we should hope we lose so you can get Mamic pay-back and somehow rid us of him and Suker…and hopefully get games played at Poljud? What’s all this about? Do you want someone to investigate whether Mamic shot himself so you can feel better about not making such outrageous accusations? Why are you apologizing for our win and making it look as if we didn’t deserve it?
The first goal was 100% typical of a team that’s pressing! When someone is under pressure, he panics, that’s exactly what happened…I’m not sure how you think that was a fluke? The second girl we scored, Kalinic was left free…I agree…and was surprised he scored cause he’s crap and missed another sitter where all he had to do was hit the ball upwards from 10 feet away and missed. Regardless…the second wasn’t really all that easy from Strinic’s perspective…he made a great run and then threaded that pass perfectly, one inch in either direction and his pass doesn’t get through to Kalinic. Third goal was a classic…the fourth goal was a reward to Vrsaljko for not giving up on the play…another goal that was created from us following through…not everyone scores in those scenarios.
You seem to be frustrated that Croatia is winning…why? Is your hatred of Dinamo and Mamic stronger than your love for Croatia? If you weren’t so he’ll bent on these conspiracy theories, maybe you could get back to loving our team and country but you seem to be leaning with people like Holiga…you both enjoy it when things go wrong…so your narrative looks stronger!
You need to look at your comments and see how many of us are reading them! You look like you’ve lost your way kid!
Ante is a fag
Im not spreading negativity. Our team NEEDS to walk off the pitch. Its the only way to be successful. END TO MAMIC AND SUKER
@Anonymous
“A anti-white TRAITOR on this site once said to me: if a player who is forced to where a “no to racism” patch refuses to do so, “then he must be racist” – how do you explain FREE SPEECH to this anti-white RETARD?”
What would be your reason to not wear a no to racism patch? Actions speak louder than words. Has any player ever not wanted to wear a patch, if so, what was his explanation?
Also for ppl saying “oh greece is shit, i wanted to draw greece all along”, didnt they not only qualify for the last 2 WCs but also get out of their group in both? so they have surpassed us comfortably in recent tourneys
I remember an interview with Fedor once (he was the greatest MMA fighter of all time, unquestionable) and he was saying it’s really about capitalising on the mistakes of the other guy, all i try to do is reduce the mistakes i make and to punish theirs
that’s sport.. you have to take your chances and be clinical when mistakes are made by your opponents
another interview i remember from 20 years ago with Agassi when he was talking about Sampras when Pete was unbeatable at Wimbledon, and a journalist asked him something like do you really think you have a chance? And he said well no one’s really been able to put him under pressure yet (cos he was thrashing ppl), so we don’t know how he’ll handle the pressure if he’s put under it
I’m not going to go on about this cos i said this in the previous thread but teams make errors when you apply constant pressure to them. They won’t make those errors on a sunday arvo kickabout.
There is an eagerness to downplay the result but as others have said, how often do greece concede 4? How often do they lose by 3? Credit where credit is due. We brought immense pressure on them – and as Agassi would say – when you put them under pressure, that’s when they crack
I’ll start signing in again when you:
1. start moderating all the trolls on here. You allow them a forum and voice; they’re simple internet trolls at best, udba quality cro dividers at worst.
2. Stop top being Holiga Jr, encouraging and fomenting negativity towards our repka with crap like “walk off the field”.
3. Start making this site what you claim it to be (uniting), and stop spreading conspiracy theories and division.
^ ^
To!
IF Greece didn’t make a couple errors (that Croatia forced)…and
IF Greece didn’t have a couple injuries before the game…and
IF Greece scored on the two other chances they missed…and
BLAH BLAH BLAH…
Let’s all just forget that Croatia also had injuries that pretty much forced us to play a broken-down Lovren (who was directly at fault for two Greek chances, that led to a goal).
Let’s all forget that Croatia’s pressure and dominance never let the Greeks settle the ball on their own end, leading to rushed passes and errors, which led to chances & goals.
Let’s all assume that the Greeks should have converted on 100% of their chances, and assume that Croatia should not score on 100% of theirs. Let’s conveniently forget that Croatia narrowly missed scoring at least another five goals, and that should count for nothing..but three Greek chances in this game should be counted as three Greek goals.
Let’s all forget that every World Class team out there relies on forced mistakes to win games, and I don’t recall any World Class team ever beating Greece 4-1. Even the mighty Belgians were incredibly lucky to pull off a 90th minute draw at home against the Greeks (with the help of a couple red cards too).
This was a textbook win.
Total dominance and control, forced errors, beautiful goals, and not rattled when the opposition scored a (lucky) goal off an individual error. That was the best part of this win.
Please sign in. Thank you in advance.
@Ante, you’re a moron, you love the certain clowns on this site who are defeatists. The ones who call their own people “mental midgets”. Isn’t that true Ante?
Goals 2 and 3 were great goals. Not just the goals, but the buildup, assists and finishes. According to you, 99% of goals scored in the history of football were due to 100% mistakes by the team that got scored on. You’re a clown.
Sram te bilo Holiga Kvartuč.
Don’t you have other things to do like call for the national team to give up and turn their backs on the country? Or maybe come up with some more absurd conspiracy theories …
Remember when Barcelona came back and knocked out PSG from 4:0 down. Even so it is Greece we did lose to them 2:0 in Greece a few years back. So 3:0 is possible when playing at home.
@TorontoCroatian, your reply to me proves what I said I about you: you’re a RETARD. How does me being pro-white make you think I’m a leftist anti-white??
@ Poglavnik,
Everything is cause and effect. That’s a simple observation. But let me ask you this: How many quality goals did Croatia score?
And I’m quite fun to watch the game with. Because when you watch a game live; you live in the moment and only care about Croatia’s shots hitting the back of the net. Time for celebration.
But now is the time to analyze how those goals went in…
1. Greek goalie didn’t trap a simple ball back to him
2. Kalinic is left wide open 5 yards from net, a perfect cross results in an easy goal (perfect cross was there)
3. Quality goal: Vrsaljko put a perfect, cross-field pass to a sprinting Perisic knowing exactly where he would need to be for the header
4. Greek defender with a poor chest pass back to goalie. Easy clean up.
Croatia scored 4 times! That’s amazing considering we averaged only one goal per game this campaign outside of one game with Kosovo.
Croatia put the pressure on Greece and it paid off. These goals resulted more from consistent pressure, making the Greek defense play with anxiety.
All I’m saying that the lack of Greek discipline really helped CRO out…
Speaking of Holiga, like all leftist anti-whites who claim they are for freedom, he criticized Srna for not be enthusiastic enough when being forced to hold up a “no to racism” banner before a game. Every anti-white establishment toady thinks he’s the fucking Thought Police while saying THEIR free speech is under attack!
Every single thing an anti-white says and thinks is DOUBLETHINK: holding two contradictory beliefs and believing both to be true. Other ways of putting it is ‘two faced’, ‘talking out of both sides of your mouth’, ‘hypocrite’, etc.
A anti-white TRAITOR on this site once said to me: if a player who is forced to where a “no to racism” patch refuses to do so, “then he must be racist” – how do you explain FREE SPEECH to this anti-white RETARD?
Anonymous, no offense, but who the phuck are you? I have never referred to you in any post, and I barely post here..
Holiga is not a Croat. Its like calling Mijhalovic a Croat.
Pro white? wtf? Its san fransisco liberals like yourself who hate whites and make up this “white privelege” bs….
PS Its okay to be white. (now go to your safe space snowflake.
PSS F you and Holiga.
TorontoCroatian said: “Holiga is a pos commie/serb, nothing more, nothing less.”
This is the same guy who accused me of “blaming the black guy down the street” b/c I’m pro-white. Yet he calls a Croat a “commie/serb” b/c the Croat is a traitor. Serbians are to blame for Croatian traitors? How does me being pro-white equate to “blaming blacks” for anything??
You are no different from Holiga.
Morocco beats Ivory Coast to qualify…damn wont see my boy Zaha at the World Cup 🙁
Ante Holiga Kvartuč
Fuck Ante and The Truth must be a joys to watch with.
Slavonac, jv, and most others get it.
It’s called cause and effect.
We’re good, they shat their pants, we took advantage.
Our passing and skill were on another level.
Watch the game again.
It was like men vs boys
There’s clearly no satisfying you!!!!We win 4-1 and the goals cone from poor defending. Glass half empty!!!
espnfc
http://www.espnfc.us/video/espn-fc-tv/86/video/3264684/greece-are-done-following-first-leg-debacle
…when you put pressure on your opponents, good things happen. The goals we scored were no fluke, they were the result of pressing and converting on the chances.
Nah, I’d tell the boys to take it easy.
We haven’t won the tie yet! Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. We need to approach this game like we need a win. Even though we are 90% done.
“Kovacic dribbling abilities “
Yeah I ain’t seen shit from him this year
@OneLastChance
It’s because of ignorance.
Those British media outlets (like FourFourTwo and The Guardian) think that just because Holiga lives in Zagreb, knows sports and can write in proper English, that he’s a good correspondent for Croatian football.
They are completely unaware of the politics behind everything and the fact that Aleks Holiga’s own ethnicity as well as his anti-Croatian and pro-Yugoslavia ideological views influence all of the articles he writes.
Honestly, everyone should just troll his Twitter and the Comments section of all his articles, by calling him out for his ideological views and ethnic bias.
Hopefully, the Guardian and these other English media outlets put two and two together, and start to look at other Croatian-based writers for articles.
Ok the Greeks suck we don’t deserve it blah blah blah
Can u guys be thankful and stop being so freaking cynical
We have business to attend to in Greece and hopefully after that a few months to prepare for Russia
We can’t play any worse then the last few games of qualifying
It’s a new fresh start like for everyone at the World Cup
I’m still so thankful we are back into it
Just last month we didn’t even know if we would make the playoff And were wondering how we could avoid being the worst second place team
Don’t u guys remember how crappy it was seeing Serbia in Africa while we sat at home…yup
Teams make mistakes Give us credit for capitalizing
We could just as easily made them and be the other way around
Fact is we won 4-1. The process of doing it was delivered quite well. The guys don’t look deflated. All huge things. Life is good for the repka at the moment and enjoy it
We are all blessed being born Croats..act like it!
I agree with Kvartuc; I’m not sure that Kalinic pops in that goal with Manolas there. That said, I’m sure we don’t pop in more goals with Corluka/ Badelj (passing abilities) starting and Pjaca/Kovacic (take on abilities) coming off the bench. Overall, very weak showing by the Greeks. I just want a clean sheet tomorrow.
PS: I thought Sokratis shoved Lovren with his right arm just before the ball came but you could only see it on one angle. Just like when Vida got pushed from behind in our last home game.
I haven’t seen much discussion on it, but should that have been a red card on the Greek keeper for taking out Kalinic on a clear goal scoring opportunity? I know there was some discussion about changing the rule to prevent double jeopardy (pen+suspension), but not sure that’s in effect.
The Greek team planned to bunker, just see the 5-3-1-1 formation (Christmas tree). Also, they have a decent goals against record. Although there were some glaring errors, we put the pressure on them to cause mistakes and took most of our chances.
Ante is correct in his assessment that the goals were cause of Greek blunders. But not only three goals but all four. Disastrous making of perisic on his goal that even a disciplined Finland team wouldn’t let happen
I’m interested to see dalic tactics in the next game. The textbook would say for Croatia to sit back and counter. But after the Finland bunker experience, the pressure might be on to play in a normal fashion
Lets take care of these gay greeks tomorrow in style.
Am really glad we got the 4th goal…a 3-1 win or 4-2, and it would be really nerve wracking if they scored early and just needed one more…
Now they really need to open up.
Thank God we have Luka pulling the strings..even these hack greek players are in awe of him and it will be a rush after the game by their players asking for his shirt.
Lets do this!
WE ARE CROATIA!
Holiga is a pos commie/serb, nothing more, nothing less.
hey Ante, good thing our boys didn’t walk off the field in protest vs the Ukraine, eh? )
Holiga is anti everything surrounding the Croatian national team. Some of it valid and some of it not. However, his job is to report so there is absolutely no excuse to not write at all about a full maksimir or a 4-1 Home win that puts Croatia in pole position to qualify. Overall, the guy is just anti domovina.
Is there a valid reason why Holiga has not sent a single tweet following the game? One of his most recent tweets supports Greece being at the World Cup.
Why is this wanker allowed to represent Croatian football in the media?
@jv,
Buddy, take a look at the Kalinic goal. When Strinic put the cross in, no Greek was within 4 yards of Kalinic. That’s simple Marking 101.
I hope we don’t lose the actual game cos it’d be better to qualify in style than to qualify after a loss but just as long as we get there. We don’t want to concede an early goal, that would put us under pressure.
Seriously Ante, give credit to Kalinic’s goal ffs!! One touch football from inside our own half and a beautiful cross from Strinic and equally beautiful touch by Kalinic. Not poor defending just great attacking football by the boys!!!
So I made it to the game on Thursday – what an experience. Worth every penny spent to get there.
In Dalic I trust – for the first time in years we have a plan and a route to goal.
My key observation is this –
In years gone by, it was the most frustrating thing in the world to watch our two centre backs pass the ball to each other, left, right, left, right, left, right, to Rakitic, back to defender, left, right, left etc. We had no plan, no strategy, just hold the ball in defence. On Thursday as soon as Vida/Lovren had the ball it was sent to midfield or out wide and they proceeded to attack. Beautiful.