England
It was all Niko Kranjčar and Vedran Ćorluka for the Spurs Saturday afternoon as the Croats saved Tottenham on two separate occasions to force a draw with the Bolton Wanderers at the Reebok Stadium. Bolton managed to score a quick goal in the 3′ to put Tottenham on the ropes early. Bolton kept the pressure on the entire first half as the Spurs played horribly on defense as a unit. Ćorluka didn’t help the cause as he appeared ‘out of it’ making silly decisions while giving up unnecessary fouls. Luckily for the Spurs, Bolton couldn’t get another goal in before the halftime whistle and Niko Kranjčar came through in the 34′ to equalize the score at 1-1.
Kranjčar one-timed a high bouncing ball and absolutely crushed it into the goal. He made it look easy but more times than not players usually kick these rising balls into the 12th row. It was Kranjčar’s first goal with Tottenham and helped the Spurs go into the locker room drawn at 1-1 in what could have easily been a disastrous half.
KRANJČAR OPENS HIS ACCOUNT WITH TOTTENHAM
Ćorluka made up for his sub-par first half as he scored Tottenham’s second equalizer of the match in the 73′. Ćorluka scored the header goal off the foot of a Kranjčar corner kick. It was Vedran’s first ever goal as a member of the Tottenham Hotspur and you can tell he was pumped during his celebration. Tottenham should have won this game with their second half performance alone, but Peter Crouch choked on two fantastic chances that should have given the Spurs a lead late in the match.
ĆORLUKA SAVES TOTTENHAM A DRAW
Ivan Klasnić was subbed into the game in the 87′ to try and create some last minute heroics for Bolton. ‘Killer’ made a nice run which would have found him uncontested with the Tottenham goalkeeper only to find the offsides flag up moments later. A replay showed that Klasnić was onside and should have had the opportunity for the game winner. He still has not scored a goal in the Premiership.
Luka Modrić is still around a month away from returning to soccer after suffering a broken bone in his leg during the Birmingham match four weeks ago. He has been ruled out of the Kazakhstan match but could be ready for the playoff legs in November should Croatia lock up second place.
Eduardo has been ruled out for a week or so after injuring himself in Arsenal’s Champions League match versus Olympiakos earlier in the week. He has been ruled out of the Kazakhstan qualifier. He has been replaced by Rapid Wien’s Nikica Jelavić.
Eduardo will miss Sunday’s visit of Blackburn Rovers after aggravating a thigh muscle injury against Olympiacos.
“It was a gamble to play him and unfortunately his muscle injury got worse,” Wenger told Arsenal TV Online. “He will be out [of the Blackburn game].” -Arsenal.com
Arsenal dismantled Blackburn 6-2 with goals from six separate Gunners.
Nikola Kalinić was left on the bench as he did not get any minutes against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium Sunday afternoon. Arsenal put a 6-2 beating on the Blackburn Rovers.
Germany
Photo: bundesliga.de, Ivica Olić, left, in action against Koln
Bayern Munich were in action on Saturday against Zvonimir Soldo and FC Köln looking to rebound from a two game goalless drought in front of 69,000 at the Allianz Arena in Munich. Bayern managed to hit two posts and settled for another goalless draw leaving the Bavarian giants searching for answers.
Croatian international, Ivica Olić came on in the 71st minute for Bayern Munich and registered two shots in limited playing time. With the draw, Bayern find themselves eighth in the Bundesliga, however, only three points away from a Liga Europa spot. Bayern were without Arjen Robben due to injury.
“My players worked hard, but it is very difficult to play against a Cologne side who only defended,” said coach Louis van Gaal. “They have 10 men behind the ball like a wall. You need a bit of luck to get past them and we did not find this. We controlled the game, but that is not what the fans are interested in – they want to see goals, and they are right. The Bundesliga is far from being decided. The prizes are given out in April, May, not now.”
~ Bayern Manager, Luis Van Gaal
Photo: bundesliga.de, Danijel Pranjić, left, in action against Koln
Danijel Pranjić came on for Franck Ribery at halftime for Bayern Munich. Danijel didn’t make much of a difference for Bayern, as the result remained the same, 0-0. Here is something for the statisticians keeping track at home: Bayern had 71% of total possession.
“It’s an important point for us, for our morale, for our belief. We didn’t intend to play so defensively, but Bayern put us under pressure and controlled the game very well. We thought we might have a chance or two on the break, but it didn’t work out that way. We had luck on our side today.”
~Köln manager and former Croatian international, Zvonimir Soldo
Josip Šimunić is out of action indefinitely after tearing muscle fibers last weekend against Hertha Berlin. Hoffenheim went down 2-1 at Mainz in a first ever Bundesliga match up between the two.
Photo: bundesliga.de, Mladen Petrić, left, celebrating with Hamburg teammates
After going down 1-0 in the ninth minute, Mladen Petrić and Hamburg scored three unanswered goals to give Hertha Berlin a seventh straight defeat in front of only 38,000 at Olympiastadion in Berlin. Mladen played 63 minutes, had two shots, and watched Hamburg kick the ball around the rest of the game. With the win, Hamburg are now undefeated in all eight Bundesliga games this season.
Photo: AP, Ivica Banović, left, getting physical with Hannover
Ivica Banović started and played the full 90 minutes for Freiburg in a 5-2 defeat at Hannover. Ivica has stared every game for the recently promoted Freiburg, registering his third goal of the season in the 35th minute, heading in a high pass from Johannes Flum. Does Ivica deserve a shot in a highly competitive Croatian midfield?
Ivica Banović goal
Photo: bundesliga.de, Ivan Rakitić, right, meeting German president Horst Köhler on Saturday
Ivan Rakitić came on in the 83rd minute for Schalke setting up a penalty kick in the 90th minute giving The Royal Blues a 2-0 home victory over Frankfurt. 21 year old Ivan has yet to see consistent playing time under new manager Felix Magath. Quite disturbing to watch enormous talent sit on the pine game in game out.
France
Photo: RClens.fr, Runje looking on after Lyon free kick
Lens failed to overcome a game tying penalty kick miss by Yohan Demont in the 36th minute of play and fell 2-0 to Lyon. Vedran Runje started for Lens and wasn’t at fault for both goals, however, he did let the only two shots on goal through and finished without a save.
Photo: RCLens.fr, Runje pregame warmups
Lens 0 Lyon 2
Dario Šimić, and Jerko Leko were once again sitting at home watching Monaco surprised Marseille 2-1 at Stade Velodrome.
Italy
Ivan Jurić will be out of action for another game or two for Genoa. After losing two straight, Genoa redeemed themselves with a 3-1 victory at Bologna.
Igor Budan came on for Palermo in the 85th minute of play already up 2-0 against Juventus. Despite dominating most of the game, Juventus didn’t manage a single shot on goal. An impressive victory for the Sicilians, even though Juve were playing their third game in the last seven days. Igor needs playing time for him to have any shot at representing Croatia again. 5-20 minutes off the bench for the 29 year old former Rijeka striker will not cut it.
Igor received a grade of 6.5 from goal.com: “Nice little cameo at the end that included a neat through ball to set up Miccoli for an effort on goal.”
Dario Knežević is back in the mix for Croatia, returning last week for Livorno. Dario played the first half today for Livorno in a 0-0 draw at Siena. It was reported that he hurt himself though. Stay tuned.
Austria
Rapid Vienna defeated FC Magna Wr. Neustadt 4-0 in Austrian Bundesliga action. Nikica Jelavić provided another solid performance playing the entire contest and scoring in the 10′ and 69′. Could the recent National team call-up be providing Nikica with the extra motivation he needs to prove he is one of Europe’s underrated talents? Rapid Vienna sit third in the Austrian Bundesliga standings.
Austrian Bundesliga table leaders Red Bull Salzburg thrashed FC Karnten 7-1 on Sunday. Red Bull newbie, Nikola Pokrivač played the entire match for his team and scored in the 34′ on a fairly sharp angle. It looks like Nikola is settling in well in the Austrian Bundesliga receiving ample amounts of playing time and capitalizing on scoring opportunities.
CHECK OUT THIS ANGLE
Spain
Mate Bilić came on in the 67′ as Sporting Gijon was leading Mallorca 2-1. Gijon added some insurance two minutes after the substitution and then Bilić scored his first goal of the season in the 83′ to secure a 4-1 win for Sporting Gijon.
It still baffles me how Mate Bilić doesn’t get a shot at the national team. The guy is playing in Spain, arguably the second best league in the world. There has to be something political going on here. That’s the only way I can see this situation make sense.
Watch Bilić kiss the baby at the end of the highlight clip. I hope that’s his kid.
Marko Babić started for Real Zaragoza in their 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Babić was given a chance in the 20′ to tie the game up with a penalty kick. It was a very poor attempt as he kicked it right to the diving goalie. He was subbed out 16 minutes later due to a knock he received and is expected to miss at least a month.
Russia
Ivica Križanac sat on the bench as an available sub in Zenit St. Petersburg’s 2-1 home win over Dynamo Moscow. Križanac has not played for Zenit in over a month and his fitness should be questioned for the national team. Although Ivica did not play, he received a yellow card in injury the same time Dynamo’s Kombarov was flashed a straight red from the referee. CSR doesn’t have any other information on the matter but we think the two bookings are related. With table leaders Rubin Kazan losing to Lokomotiv Moscow, Zenit are only four points behind first with six games left in the season.
Tomislav Dujmović and his Lokomotiv Moscow side defeated Russian leaders Rubin Kazan Sunday to get back in the mix. Dujmović once again played the entire match in his defensive midfielder role allowing Kazan a lone goal in the 75′. The national team should keep an eye on this 28 year-old as he could be a replacement for Vukojević down the line if that doesn’t work out.
Ukraine
Darijo Srna and Shakhtar Donetsk couldn’t get the full points away to Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk as the game ended in a 2-2 draw. Srna played the full match and also received a yellow card midway through the game. Both Shakhtar and Dynamo Kyiv are undefeated this season, however Dynamo has only drew once compared to Shakhtar’s three.
It’s going to be a race between the two for the Ukrainian title this season. Dynamo currently have four points on Shakhtar. The two Ukrainian giants will also meet in the Ukrainian Cup semi-finals.
Ognjen Vukojević was suspended for Dynamo Kyiv’s 1-0 win over city rivals Arsenal Kyiv due to an accumulation of yellow cards. He will be available to play in the next leg after the international break concludes. Dynamo Kyiv sit in first place with an undefeated record only having one draw to blemish a so far perfect season.
Goran Sablić has not suited up for Dynamo in over a month now. He should be ready to go within the month due to a lingering injury.
Turkey
GABRIĆ DRIBBLING WITH ČALE WATCHING IN THE BACKGROUND
Hrvoje Čale and Drago Gabrić both started for Trabzonspor, playing the entire match against Gaziantepspor in a 0-0 draw on Friday. Gabrić receveied one of four Trabzonspor yellow cards in the 74′. Trabzonspor currently sit fifth in the Turkish Super League standings.
Belgium
Club Brugge defeated Anderlecht 4-2 at the Jan Breydel Stadium jumping into sole posession of first place in the Belgian Juplier League. Ivan Perišić (pictured in dark) started the match for Club Brugge and provided multiple assists for his club’s goals before being subbed in the 72′.
Greece
Mario Galinović, Ante Rukavina and Panathinaikos play Monday when they host Larisa. Will either Croatian feature in this match as Galinović has been rumored to have fallen out of favor and Rukavina is never guaranteed any time off the bench?
~Denis Svirčić and Ante Kvartuč reporting from windy San Pedro, California and Ivica Peroš reporting from Dugi Otok, New York
Michael,
Feel free to add whatever you like.
Alex,
Capello wants to keep England firing on all cylinders. Also, Ukraine will be hungry for a win, so this will be an excellent test for England.
Sokota's goals both came in same match. He hasn't done much in the other 8 so far. Looking back we was right to let them both go. Balaban is past his best. He needs to roll up his sleeves and get committed to a cause if he is to have a little Erceg/ Spehar or Vugrinec spell to the end of his career. I reckon we'll prob see a short forey at Rijeka from Bosko and that'll be it for his career.
In Greece there is a lot of Croatian dross including Ivan Bosnjak, Dario Smoje – however there are two players making a good impression – one being Daniel Cesarac is doing well and Mario Budimir is having another decent season at Ergotelis. Hajduk missed out there in my opinion.
Firstly, just because Prosinecki was a talented player doesn't automatically make him good at spotting talent. The two abilities are unrelated- look at Arsene Wenger…
I just saw Capello's squad list and it is basically the same squad who played us, with James, Abonglehor and Wright-Phillips being the only additions that I noticed. Just as I thought, Cappello wants to maintain the perfect record and get his Defense to tighten-up.
Staying in Greece, Bosko Balaban has yet to register a goal for Panionios FC in 6 matches, but has 1 yellow card.
The former "Croatian Michael Owen" Mihael Mikic is currently still in J-League. A started featued in 23/28 of their matches.
And finally, Tomo Sokota has 2 goals for his Belgian side Lokeren.
Just thought I'd throw it out there 🙂
Panathanaikos won today 4-0 over Larissa.
Galinovic was on the bench and Rukavina got subbed in the 74th minute.
Rukavina has to compete with some talent on that team, so it's no wonder that if he doesn't score, he won't play much.
Here are the highlights.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyqYGBzhug
@Zach G,
Ante asked me the same question. haha
I think Jajalo has to prove himself a bit to make Croatians Around Europe. There are plenty of others out there also hoping to make the cut.
Jajalo has been featured in five of seven matches for Siena.
However, you and a few others have been asking for him. The people have spoken. Mato will be on Croatians Around Europe after the qualifiers.
Why isn't Mato Jajalo (Siena) in Croatians around Europe?
@ Peter Radman,
What is your address you I can mail you the red shirt?
I think Prosinecki and Bilic's judgement of Mate Bilic is prob why both of them didn't have as good a club career as they should have done. Prosinecki can be a bit of snob at times and Slaven didn't conduct himself properly at Everton putting down the players that was there and saying he was promised better playing staff. Both of them prob can't see what Mate is doing. They prob don't even respect Gijon.
Mate Bilic and Sporting Gijon is the example of small team fighting for every moment and won't give up their status. Just like Stoke City in England. If Prosinecki had the work rate of Mate Bilic to go with his own talent then he'd have been one of the best 10 players in the world in his time. Prosinecki just does not recognise what Mate Bilic has, but that is Pros's failing not Mate Bilic's.
If i was Mate Bilic i'd say stuff this team, i'm off to Bosnia. You only get one crack at a World Cup in a career. Once his career is over his loyalty to Croatia will be irrelevant cos nobody will even remember him apart from in Gijon. Blazevic is clearly interested and Bosnia are always moaning about how we steal all there players so might as well give them one.
Regards Mandzo – yep we prob should rest him. We've rested Morales, Papa, Cufre, Kovac recently so its surprising Mandzo wasn't given a break as well.
@Dinamofan,
I am with you regarding Jelavic. Sure he plays in the Austrian league, but he is in top form the last month or so. Why not give him a chance against Qatar, and Khazakstan in the second half? Mate Bilic should have got a call first, however, at 29, Bilic might be thinking about the future.
Also, I remember last year Slaven Bilic sending Prosinecki to Spain to watch Mate Bilic. That was the last I heard of Mate Bilic for Croatia. Apparently, Prosinecki and Bilic weren't interested and remain that way today. Unless Bilic starts scoring against the big boys in Spain, I dont see him in Croatia's plans.
As far as Sharbini, from my limited HNL knowledge, and from what I hear from others in Croatia, the kid is overrated. The only reason he will continue to get the call for Croatia is so Hajduk can sell him in the next few years. He's an on/off switch. The problem is, he doesnt turn it on quite often. Hopefully, I am wrong. Also, how come there wasn't any interest for his services from Europe?
@Cromachine
First, we aren't in the playoffs yet. If Ukraine beat England we are done.
Second, sign up as a member of CroatianSoccer Report on our home page right below the polls.
If Russia beat Germany at home, Germany will be in the playoffs. This would be an interesting match up.
Also, Bosna or Slovenia would be amazing.
I would prefer to play:
Israel, Latvia, Greece, Switz, Poland, Czech, N Ireland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Ireland, Bulgaria
I pray we dont play:
Portugal, Russia, Germany, Bosna, France
Listen to this, Bahrain or New Zealand will be in the world cup… I can see Brazil putting a dozen past them.
@Michael,
Thanks for the update on Petric, forgot to add this on Germany. Mladen might be out for 8 weeks. If this is the case, he would be out for playoffs as well.
@Slaven,
Not sure if Jelavic will start. There hasn't been a replacement announced as of yet. Also, like Ziva istina said, Eduardo still might make it in time for the qualifier.
@Brane,
Good to hear from you, I just sent you an email.
Then maybe DZ should give him a rest for the NT game. DZ is unstoppable anyways.
Hi Ante, Hi Denis, I was able to get online for a few minutes today, but could not get to email or facebook, so saying hello here. Ante I updated POD on ES…..but keep doing it…Thanks…Denis SEE YOU SOON I HEAR!
In Croatia they are not use to playing the amount of football Mandzo is at the moment. Sometimes he's with national team, then European competition that weekend domestic league and has been playing all the games. He's not on 100% every game at the moment. Against Timisoara he looked a bit warn down, a bit better at weekend, but this is not the best Mandzo right now. I think he needs a break. In Croatia they only get equipped for weekend matches. All this midweek football is not commonplace to HNL1 players. If he is gonna play he could definitely do without a stint on wing. We need Mandzo to be playing a bit better than he is at the moment. If it means giving him a week or so's break that might be what he needs.
Mandzo is young and full of piss and vinegar. How could he be tired? When I was his age I could run for hours. Maybe he's partying too much and not getting enough rest.
Whoever plays doesn't really matter. All should be making an impression against Kazakstan. The worst option would be Mandzo though. The guy needs a break. If they play him against Kazak then should rest him against Qatar. I think this guy is on the verge of burn out going by a couple of his recent displays. We haven't finished with him yet. The worst thing would be if Mandzo appeared on left wing like i heard suggested on nogometni magazin
If Da Silva is out (still a very slight chance he might play), then I would think our starters up front would be Olic and Mandzukic. I dont think you can start Klasnic because I think it has been some time since he played a full 90. Jelavic, no way a guy just called up will get the start. Who else is left??? Bilic might call someone else up to the squad, but I doubt they would get in.
Now that Petric is out for the next NT game, I guess Jelavic will start. Who will be the replacement call-up?
Petric is now injured, he picked it up during his match on the weekend vs Hertha Berlin
Team to face in playoffs.
With Croatia heading to playoffs next week i was wondering what teams you guys would like our team to face. As it looks it will most likely be France,Portugal,Croatia.Rep Ireland,Greece,BiH,Russia or Germany. Slovenia or maybe Czech Republic.in the playoffs. as fifa announced they will seed teams so with our rankings we will avoid France, Russia/Germany and Greece.I would not want us to face Rep Ireland or BiH. other then that the rest of the teams should be easy to beat.
Why do i keep forgetting Corluka lol.
Exempting Jerko Leko and Dino Drpic has everyone noticed things are a lot better with regards to players playing at their club. This prob should help Croatia if they do get in the play offs. Regards Banovic – that's a debatable one. Clearly he plays each week at Frieburg and plays good. Its between him and Pokrivac. Personally i think Banovic would be a direct replacement for Modric. He has plenty of experience and would be better than using Kranjcar out of position again. However i think if Modric returns for play offs then there prob isn't room for Banovic.
If everyones fully fit squad prob should be
Subasic, Runje; Knezevic, Krizanac, Simunic, Cale, Kovac; Srna, Vukojevic, Juric, Modric, Rakitic, Pokrivac or Dujmovic, Gabric or Banovic or Sharbini, Kranjcar, Pranjic; Petric, Olic, Eduardo, Klasnic or Jelavic or M Bilic, Mandzukic
I think Milan Badelj is pushing really hard for a place as well. I think he's certainly playing better than Sharbini. Ivan Perisic is definitely under observation for after the play offs. He's playing excellant at Brugge. And Hertha decided not to sign him for next nothing. Can Favre get anything right.
Well lets just say lets hope Nikica Jelavic becomes the player Mate Bilic is. Its hard to judge him in the Austrian league and in random Euro Cup ties. Will have to see how he does. You can say though there is a reason he plays in that league.
The omission of Bilic, Gabric and Dujmovic belies logic. On form those three deserve to be ahead of Jerko Leko, Anas Sharbini and maybe, possibly Ivan Klasnic. The only logic i see to Anas over Gabric is this debate over whether Rakitic is a right or left sided player. I'm hoping to see Anas against Qatar and hope he does something as its been a slow start to his Hajduk career.
My opinion on Klasnic is that nobody knows his longevity in a match. Everyone says its bizarre he plays football after one of the biggest things to stop a player playing football besides a heart condition. Basically if comparing Mate Bilic and Ivan Klasnic, maybe we say that Bilic has greater power in his body than Klasnic does. He has the better fitness to give everything for 90 minutes. You can argue Klasnic is only a impact sub these days. At Gijon its a tiny squad and eventually they will get burn out so that's why Bilic is rotated, but he features every match.
That was an abrupt end for Babic's case for a call up:). I think this is the problem with players that have missed so much football. Its same with Eduardo and is why Walter Zenga is treating Igor Budan with extreme caution. We can't call Babic or Budan until they show they can last 10 matches without breaking down.
I'm actually willing to extend some praise to Jelavic and Pokrivac. Besides this is the same Austrian league which Mate Bilic, Mario Bazina and Mario Maric scored regularly in i think they are doing whats required of a national team member which is to play each week and scoring or assisting goals. That's all you can ask.
I'll look at Jelavic's call up now in the context of his competitors. Kalinic is not playing enough football at Blackburn (forget reserve games), Rukavina not playing or doing enough at Panathanaikos, Budan not yet ready. You can argue that Klasnic would do even better than Jelavic at Rapid and also that Mate Bilic has already done better than Jelavic at Rapid. However Jelavic is 24 and Bilic/ Klasnic are 29 so i guess therefore to try him against Qatar is not the worlds biggest crime.
Regards Mandzo and Lovren in case anyone thinks i got a Dinamo bias. The only thing you can ask of Mandzo is that he scores near enough each week at club level. Whilst he does that then he can be put forward as a contender in the national team. At present he is doing that so you could justify his place.