WILL EDUARDO BRING CROATIA GLORY ONCE AGAIN?
The crucial Croatia v. Belarus match is now less than 48 hours away. Even though manager Slaven Bilić chose the squad weeks ago, he has not yet named the starters. Even though we know for a fact that Modrić, Srna, Ćorluka, Šimunić and Pranjić will be in the starting eleven; other positions are still up for grasp.
CroatianSoccerReport.com created three different polls to let the fans decide who should start in other debatable positions. There were a total of 150 voters. Thanks for taking part everyone!
In our first poll we asked our readers to PICK YOUR 2 STARTING STRIKERS VS. BELARUS.
With no surprise Eduardo took in 90% of the votes. Seems like Prva Generacija and friends have full faith in Dudu’s recovery and his ability to play at top level again. Ivica Olić was the favorite to pair up with Eduardo up top with 50% support. Mladen Petrić came close but ended voting at 38%. Dark horse Dinamo striker Mario Mandžukić actually got a lot of love to start this game with 22% of the votes. How many times did you actually vote dinamofan:)? (Poll taken out of 200% since everyone was given 2 votes for both starting strikers)
WILL PLETIKOSA WATCH FROM THE SIDELINES?
In an absolutely surprising landslide victory, CSR voted Stipe Pletikosa to start in goal versus Belarus by a 76-24 margin over Vedran Runje. Pletikosa hasn’t played competitive soccer in over four months. I know many of you blamed Runje for a goal or two against Ukraine but I can’t believe this many people still want Pletikosa over him.
An unconfirmed source in Croatia has stated that Runje will be between the pipes for Croatia come this Wednesday. Sorry to burst your bubble ‘Pletikosa supporters’.
CAN VUKOJEVIĆ REPLACE NIKO KOVAČ IN MIDFIELD?
The fans have spoken! Ognjen Vukojević is the absolute first choice for defensive midfielder. Vuki crushed Ivan Jurić in the vote, 85-15 percent. I’m actually surprised Jurić got that many votes. Not just is he old but he hasn’t impressed on the field and has fell out of favor with teammates. In my opinion, the national team never acknowledged Jurić as one of their own from the beginning.
Vukojević has already been confirmed as a starter against Belarus.
Alright boys, time to justify your picks.
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http://globalist.org.ua/?p=19244 – vab банк
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@Slaven
"ziva, you need to lighten up. Get laid or something."
haha. Comedy is always welcome on this site.
"Check the name of this site. It's not EUFA.com, you know."
Im glad you brought this up. Go on google news and search "Croatia Belarus". You get 30 or so websites with the same lame game summary with no pictures, one or two cheep quotes, the end.
We do it differently here at CSR. We want Croatian fans to call CSR home for Croatian soccer. This will take time.
@Vlad
Lakers talk is always ok on this site. "team chemistry is everything" the lakers wouldn't have won their last 4 championships without Phil Jackson.
@Ante
"But I guess with all that; there always has to be a hater in the group. I guess that's just how life goes."
I disagree. I dont think Ziva Istina is a hater. Lets not turn Ziva Istina into the black sheep(Juric) of the family. Everyone can speak their mind on this website and we dont have to always see eye to eye. Ziva questioned my credibility and I explained myself.
no hard feelings. no haters.
Excellent breakdown of the "3 types of CSR readers."
@Alex
"look at anyone who becomes successful and you'll find someone questioning it."
I agree with this quote. However, this isnt the case with Ziva Istina. just a little misunderstanding. Thanks for the support.
@Ziva Istina
"Is he a fan or an objective reporter. Taking a photo with the coach of the team and trying to pimp a t-shirt of that same person lacks credibility when reporting on that person. That is a very legit question for me to ask."
I agree with you. Imagine all the photographers, reporters, journalists, security guards and others rushing Bilic for an autograph and picture.
The reason I took a picture with Bilic was to promote the website, and show our sponsors that CroatianSoccerReport.com is for real. I will post pictures of the Bilic shirt front and back. The back has 5 sponsors which payed for roughly 300 shirts to be given away for free a the Croatian Small goals tournament in San Pedro.
This shirt was designed to promote our website and to "unite Croatian fans around the globe" which is still our main objective here.
Ante and I are not here to sell shirts or "pimp" shirts.
As far as "bringing the national team to the states" the chances of this are slim to none, like climbing Mt. Everest. First, we must climb a smaller mountain, like hosting Dinamo or Hajduk before we can talk about the Big Kahuna.
All I can say is we have been in talks with both Hajduk and Dinamo. Baby steps will get us there…
@ Istina,
I know what you're getting at and that's fine. CSR is unique because you can consider it a lot of things. It's a hybrid news site which let's it readers interact with the content at hand as well as take part or even create content.
I believe there's 3 different types of readers on CSR.
1. The hardcore soccer supporter aka Prva Generacija member. These readers know the breaking news inside and out before it's even posted on the site. They know the game of football and can comment on it for days on end (like we all do here). For these people the website is basically a forum.
2. The fan that somewhat knows the game and wants to support the team but is limited by their football knowledge. They read posts which keep them up to date and vote on the polls but are too shy to comment. This group also includes Croatians that only speak English. For them the site offers all the news they can handle to be on top of things.
3. The match day fan. These fans only care what's going on on game day. These are people with serious careers, families and typically women. These fans are interested in the Twitter feature we offer as they are stuck at work and want to know what's going on. For them, CSR is perfect and completely accessible.
So it all depends on what you are looking for. And Ziva, you're definitely up there in the first category.
I am not questioning anyones motvies or legitimacy…..I had a very honest question. Is this site to be considered a news site or a message baord forum. If its a news site than posing with the national team with a shirt of his likeness and then pimping it shows laqck of credibility. If this site is a message baord where we can sound off and the guys look to make a few bucks or break even, then I have no issues with that.
It was a simple journalistic question. If you are covering someone you can look like a cheerleader because if you do, you lack any credibility.
Thas all…i was not ripping the two boys for running the website.
Ante and Denis,
Now you know you've arrived into relavancy when someone starts questioning your motives and legitimacy…Its sad but true- look at anyone who becomes successful and you'll find someone questioning it.
@ Istina,
1) We've given over 400 of these shirts away for FREE already. We're not here to make $5 or whatever off of shirts. We're here to bring people into our community.We're selling the shirts on the site to because we made another batch just for you guys. It came out of our own pockets. I'm charging to break even and for postage since sponsors didn't pay for this batch. (Not that I need to justify myself but I just want you to know where we're coming from.) This is not a business and we're not here to charge you $33 in overdraft fees.
2)Slaven is correct. We are not UEFA.com. You all know that we here at CSR consolidate information about Croatian soccer that's already out on the web. Only 3% of the content we produce is original…the shirts being part of that 3%. CSR is in between a 'fan site' and a traditional newspaper reporting website in my opinion.
3)Sharing the picture of Bilic with his own shirt that we made for him was a big deal for us. Let me tell you why. We never put that picture up with the intentions of selling more shirts. It was more symbolic than anything else. It means that these 2 guys from L.A. who created this website 18 months ago have already reached Croatia's national coach.
We didn't do it to brag. We did it to show you all that what we're doing here at CSR is working. I still can't believe how many soccer-saavy individuals we have on this site. It's remarkable!
But I guess with all that; there always has to be a hater in the group. I guess that's just how life goes.
ziva you cant compare basketball to soccer, two completly diffrent sports, you dont have to like the player to have team chemistry, you just have to respect him, do your own job and get on with it, but team chemistry is everything, and talent, you mentioned the lakers, lakers for years were top contenders but it took phil jackson to come in and sort the problems with shaq and cobe, and big deal we qualified for 06 we sucked in the tournament, as for juric he sucks, hes old he has nothing to offer, people say expierence what expierence, he has no national history, no champions legue or uefa cup finals, no big games most of his carrer was in the seceond division, hes 33 or 34 hes a sub and has no presence in the locker room, also his style of play does no suit international soccer, in genoa he just runs and runs left and right like a buzzing bee, hes just a distraction, cant play like that in croatia thats why against ukraine he didnt know where to stand on the field, get him out of here.
ziva, you need to lighten up. Get laid or something. The shirt is beauty and I don't know why you're going off the deep end on it. Check the name of this site. It's not EUFA.com, you know.
My point was that the dude is taking pictures with the coach he is covering and reporting on. As someone who has worked in the media and continues to work with media organizations, its a very legit question. Is he a fan or an objective reporter. Taking a photo with the coach of the team and trying to pimp a t-shirt of that same person lacks credibility when reporting on that person. That is a very legit question for me to ask. I have a few clients/individuals that I introduced to media members and established relationships just to gain favorable coverage down the road. That's how I view it.
If you want people to come to this site for news and updates then you have to be fair and critical if needed. If this site is basically to be used as a message board, then its fine to have that approach.
Back to the national team coming here for a friendly….not in the near future. Take this for what its worth….this is coming from me and for what I know…..If the squad goes anywhere outside of Europe it will be to Australia. If we qualify for the WC in S. Africa, it has already been discussed within the savez about going to Australia first for a tour before they go to their camp in S. Africa.
If its up to Bilic, he would not bring the senior squad to the states while he is national team coach. Bilic had a terrible experience a few years ago (2005 or 2006) when he was coach of the juniors and they came to the US and Canada. The logitics were a mess and he was upset at the amount of requests by the croatian community in the cities the team visited. He was pissed off at the savez for some of the non-soccer committments they had to keep.
But, back to Australia…the reason they would go there is because of the croatian community down there and the number of talented australian-croatians that are down under. Markovic and his people feel having the national come down and make a visit will steer some of those players our way. No such issues in the US, we don't have any young kids that talented.
ziva istina:
How does promoting your own site make you lose credibility? If you picked your source for news based off of marketing values then you would have to get your news from people off the street, and even they would be pushing their liters of cheap oil and wine. Use your head. Hows this site to grow with degradative backwards thinking?
Sorry thats a mistype by the way. I meant to say no doubt Juric had a good season last year. I just feel his slot can go to someone else. I don't particularly see the point in Juric.
Good for team Hrvatska! Olic and Dudu pull through.
No love for Juric at all here? I think his experience is what gives him a big advantage over the younger players. I'm 33 and I play soccer and alot of the younger players need alot of direction on the field. Organization comes from the more experienced players for a team effort. There's so much talent on the Croatian team, someone has to be a Boban type of presence on the field.
I thought that was why Juric was brought in to be vocal to the rest of his teammates and i would imagine he would think as a 34 year old his job is to have a voice in the dressing room and give his knowledge of experience to younger teammates. But anyway basically i'm not a Juric fan. I don't rate him. He's had one reasonable season in his entire career. I think Serie A is a league for aging players. You also say that Juric had a great season last year. No doubt i don't agree with this. Although he's not a scorer and didn't bag a goal. Vukojevic and Leko both offer more creative and attacking threat so why not stick with them as they can defend and attack. Its too late for Juric. Mid 30's is just too old. Ideally we want no player in the squad in their mid 30's. Especially someone who aint much good and who is not a first 11 player. We clearly need another centre back in the line up or to have Sharbini or Kalinic/ Klasnic/ Bilic as another forward option. We don't need four defensive midfielders. Its just not neccessary.
If you are having trouble watching it, allsport-live.ru is working
@Ziva Istina
Its funny how you never mentioned the names of "two guys on the national team (speak at least once a week with them)" We are not the FBI.
Robert Kovac was the only player to come out and say what was on his mind about Juric. We will never know what was on the mind of the rest of the squad. The only thing we do know and this is a fact, no one came to the rescue of Ivan Juric. No one had his back. No one said one word.
"And yes you were there but I wonder what type of credibility you have…You posed images of you posing for a picture with Bilic. If you are using this site to be a journalist and give us updates, then you are losing all credibility by posing with bilic and the t-shirt you are trying to sell. "
you have a good point. However, I think you misunderstood my point of the picture. This shirt was designed with the help of 5 sponsors. All five sponsors couldn't imagine this shirt reaching Slaven Bilic. The picture is for myself obviously, but for the sponsors.
Also, I could have took pictures with every single player and posted this on the website as well. However, I wasn't in Zagreb to take pictures with players and obtain autographs.
As far as selling the shirt, Ante and I gave away 300 shirts at the Croatian small goals tournament in San Pedro. Gave away, for freeeeeeee.
"with the exception of Robert Kovac, nobody else will have anything negative to say about Juric."
no one else had anything POSITIVE to say either.
Obviously, the lakers were the most talented team in the league just like last year. What happened last year? Kendrick Perkins and Big Baby beat the Lakers… Yup, talent won out.
As far as " shit of a human being" this has nothing to do with team chemistry, talent, or championships. I agree that Kobe is a " shit of a human being" as long as he plays well for the purple and Gold is all that matters. This was Kobe's first championship. The first three he was a sidekick to Shaq. This one mattered the most to him and he enjoyed the moment. I am sure that he thanked all his teammates. Obviously, Ariza and Gasol had a monster playoffs. The role players did their part as well.
@Denis……..in fact I am very freindly with two guys on the national team (speak at least once a week with them) and am cordial with a few others and they say there is nothing between Juric and the others guys. Now, there are clicks on the team, mostly the younger dinamo guys stick with each other, but that is about it. Nothing out of the ordinary.
because Rakitic and Juric sat behind the goal is not the reason to jump to conclusions. You would be surprised how many players go straight to the locker room after getting subbed (when the locker room is behind the bench unlike maksimir).
And yes you were there but I wonder what type of credibility you have…You posed images of you posing for a picture with Bilic. If you are using this site to be a journalist and give us updates, then you are losing all credibility by posing with bilic and the t-shirt you are trying to sell.
So, I know what I am talking about. Ask the players the question about Juric off the record….with the exception of Robert Kovac, nobody else will have anything negative to say about Juric.
Now, if we win today everything will be fine. But, if we lose you can bet fingers will be pointed like they always are when you experience defeat.
And I stay by my comments about Kobe…..talent won out, not team chemistry…All you have to know about Kobe is his reaction after the title-winning game and the fake, self-absorbing jumping up-and-down and the staged appearances of his wife, children and agent on the podium. He showed once agin that its all about himself and not the team. Great player, but a shit of a human being.
part II………..
@Petar Radman
"Ivan has a complex comparable to Alan Iverson "Are we really talking about practice? PRACTICE??????"" Good stuff man. Hilarious and right on point. Thank for the link.
@Ante BBB
Wow, "finally a decent post." I have been reading shit for hours now and you come up with "Samo neka igraju napadacki". I think we should play bunker against mighty Belarus.
@Vlad
"its not the job of the whole team to say something, but when the captain speaks his mind it reflects the mood of the team one would think. Even robert isn't the same player his presence is still powerfull players respect him and once the leader of the team dosent like you, it has to have an effect to some degree."
"but especially with our balkan mentality once somone is not liked were not the best forgivers."
Well said.
@Alex
"his playing looked uncomfortable and he seemed not on the same page with the rest of the team. Again, it might just be coincidence, but it could also be a symptom of problems in the dressing room."
Excellent excellent point. Juric looked depressed, uninterested on the pitch.
@Andrej
thanks for the link. Here are a few more sites with the game
http://atdhe.net/
http://myp2p.eu/broadcast.php?matchid=45716&part=sports
Hopefully, one of these three will have the game.
@Rob,
You are the first person to admit voting for Pletikosa. Where are the other 75 people… Most of the Runje people have spoken..
"This contest should be won/lost (or draw) based on our attacking players."
I agree 100%
@Alex
"With the exception of Dudu's partner and the keeper, the lineup picks itself"
Everyone will have the same lineup except for Olic or Petric… and Runje seems to be on everyoes team besides the 76-24 vote for Pletikosa
@Ziva Istina
"when did the national team not acknowledged Jurić as one of their own???"
Besides Rakitic(Who is also somewhat of a black sheep on the team) no one talks with Juric(small talk doesnt count) I was there for the training session before the Ukraine match and watched Rakitic and Juric sit behind the goal at halftime of Ukraine match. I have a picture posted to prove this.
This has nothing to do with "is he not croatian???" All of a sudden he shows up out of nowhere and takes away a starting spot.
When Robert Kovac chewed out Juric, which one of the players said one word to back up Juric. Has anyone ever said one word about Juric since his arrival?
"If you go back and read Juric's quotes theres was no attach on Kovac, in fact he complimented him."
Obviously, Juric will not go to the media and tell everything. He is 33 years old and not stupid. If he is not wanted, accepted by the team, it is pointless for him to be there…
Also, why did Bilic say that he will sit with Juric and the players and talk it out… Something is cooking here.
"The only one who said anything critical about Juric's comments were Robert Kovac. Nobody else. Bilic said the timing of the comments were wrong, nothing else."
Do you seriously think, every player on the national team will come out and talk to the media about this situation? If everyone wants Juric out, do you think even one player will come out and say so?
"Trust me when I say this….their is no internal conflict within the team, none."
How do you know? Do you know the players, coach? Are you traveling around with the team?
We are just amusing that the team inst fond of Juric. We go by the facts that are in front of us.
Team chemistry is not important? Obviously, if you have team chemistry on a team with no talent you wont go far, but it helps.
Your statement reminds me of Petar's Alen Iverson video.. "practice".. "How the hell can I make my teammates better if I practice." ~Alen Iverson The answer CHEMISTRY
"The lakers just won an nba title and kobe is the most hated guy on his team, but also the most talented."
Yes, not only NBA action, but Lakers action. Unfortunately, now you are talking out of your ass. I was never a big Kobe fan until two seasons ago. Kobe realized that to win a ring you need team chemistry, and teammates. "kobe is the most hated guy on his team" You are 100% wrong. Everyone on the Lakers loves this guy, even before they won the championship. Only Sasha Vujacic might have a problem with Kobe as Kobe chews him out quiet often and his playing time dropped in half. I am in LA, born and raised, know more about the Lakers than the vatreni. Kobe can score 50 points every game, but 50 points doesnt equal championships. Kobe has proven himself to be a great teammate and ultimately a great leader that EVERYONE on the Lakers is proud to follow.
You know your football. However, dont bring up stuff you dont know about. You keep shooting yourself in the foot.
@Nepoznat
"this is my son, Luka's first game (he is 8 weeks old)"
I will tell you one thing only: You better email me a picture of Luka in a Croatian shirt, I dont care if you throw your shirt over him as long as its a Croatian shirt. Also, take a picture and send it to us, we will post it as "Luka's first game"
Dont let the Azzuri turn your kid blue.
No offense…………….
simunic interview
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/newsid=1089182.html#simunic+victory+crucial
IF YOU GUYS WANT TO WATCH THE GAME GO TO http://www.balkansport.info CREATE AN ACCOUNT FOR FREE!! AND WATCH IT I WATCH EVERY GAME THERE BEST WEBSITE EVER! COME IN CHAT ROOM I WILL BE ANDYFLAG679
If making the national team is based on form for your club, then Juric deserves to be on this squad. Then again, so does mate Bilic, butthat is another story.
But, some of the other names thrown out…Dujmovic, Jajalo, Pokrivac, Leko…none had a better season than Juric.
yes he is 34, but we are not playing for the future, we are in the present trying to make the WC. If we lose or tie today, then there is no need to include Juric in the next qualifier. We can go with the youth movement at that point, but now is not the time to experiment with the unknown. That is why Juric makes the sqaud. I doubt he playes today unles Vuko gets injured.
And this nonsense that Juric is trying to be the boss of the team because he considers himself the elder player…..what a bunch of bullshit…where do you come up with that. There are no problems with Juric on the squad, I can attest to that.
if we win today, everything will be fine. if we lose or tie, the glue on this ship will begin to come off.
I am unsure Juric actually has a problem in Croatia's dressing room too. I think he's just a plain ordinary player who wants to boss of members of the team as the experienced player, but really he's the new guy and is not quite working out his role at the moment.
As a 34 year old with a big history of playing second division football people are more likely to criticise him so he's a little under fire. I think we should just put Juric out his misery. He should really focus on holding his place in Genoa's team as his position is very instable there being how he's not a big no player and that Genoa want to be a big club. Personally i don't think he's much better than Vranjes. He's had one good season in the top flight and that's all thus far. He's also reached the wrong stage of his career to show form and start playing international football. I don't see an old Juric being any different than an old Niko Kovac. Its not progressive. Its same old conservative stuff from Bilic. If Juric also is not starting against Belarus then its pointless him being in the squad. He's just taking up Anas Sharbini's, Goran Sablic's, Mate Bilic's or Nikola Kalinic's spot. We definitely don't need a 34 year old who is not the future and is not even really needed in the present.
You have Tomislav Dujmovic that can be looked at, Mato Jajalo if he does a good season in Siena if Bilic is needing more options in addition to Vuko, Leko and Pokrivac.
Team chemistry is overstated its all about the talent on the pitch. The reason the dutch have not won a world cup or a recent euro is because they are chokers. Yes they have internal issues, but they still have managed to make qf and sf appearances. Our team in 06 had big time issues, but we still made the world cup. At the end of the day its about talent. Youy guys have been around american sports too much where team chemistry is ta"ked about all the time. Its pointless. The lakers just won an nba title and kobe is the most hated guy on his team, but also the most talented.
One thing I pray doesn't happen is that when(if) we go up a goal we don't do what we always do- take our foot off the gas…
i think its gonna be 2-0 for us ill say da silva and modric, both seceond half goals.
To say team chemistry dosent matter is stupid, im sorry. You refrenced the 06 team which is a perfect example ya they qualified big deal, mirko jozic took us to 02 with a much worse team. we had a terrible tournament, no one ran for eachother we were a joke. when bilic took over the mood of the team changed, and the team looked alot closer, netherlands for years had great teams but never could put it toghter why they always had in house fighting, between the blacks and the whites, national football is diffrent from club, club football is their job, they get paid, they practice week in week out and the coach is alot more in control, when a team plays once every three or four months theirs no time to get to know eachother, or a major tournament, its always the teams that click the fastest that end up winning.Im not saying they have to be best friends, but especially with our balkan mentality once somone is not liked were not the best forgivers.
Team chemistry is very important. It is a big reason why we have qualified for 6 of the last 7 major tournaments. It helps that we are a small country because we normally have between 20-25 quality candidates for the national team. Normally, the starting lineup stays the same unless someone gets injured or is out of form. If you look at national teams like Brazil they have over 100 players that could challenge for the top 18 roster spots. They are constantly trying new players which is not great for team chemistry.
So our number of quality players is small compared to countries like Italy, Brazil, Spain, etc. Our advantage is having a tight small group who get to know each other well. That combined with our pride to play in the checkered jersey is a big reason why we're so successful. Since Euro 96 qualifying we have lost 1 official game in Croatia. That's amazing! Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and it happened against England in Zagreb.
If I was Bilic I would start with a 4-4-2. Pressure and attack the first 20 minutes. Belarus doesn't have our quality and I think we will run over them. We need a convincing win and me must go at them early. We can't let them get comfortable and let them think we have a chance. Runje-Pranjic-Krizanac-Simunic-Corluka-Kranjcar-Modric-Vukojevic-Srna-Da Silva-Petric. If its tied at the half take out Pranjic and put in a third forward Super Mario Mandzukic. Croatia 3- Belarus 0 Da Silva, Da Silva, Srna
Ziva,
I am genuinely curious, you don't believe team chemistry is important and you don't think friendlies are worthwhile, so what exactly do you think IS important/worthwhile for the NT to get right and work on?
Re: Juric, while I would certainly agree that the Cro press would happily make something out of nothing, I wonder whether that's the case here for two reasons; yes, the way he(Juric) isolated after halftime may mean nothing, but it would also fit perfectly with the scenario of team discord. Second, and more importantly, his playing looked uncomfortable and he seemed not on the same page with the rest of the team. Again, it might just be coincidence, but it could also be a symptom of problems in the dressing room.
Personally, I think the press is exagerating slightly it's dimensions but I believe there's some definite resentment among at least some players with the Juric "situation".
@ Ziva Istina,
First of all, if you want to have a mature debate with me please don't bring up that lameass Serb punchline like you just did. You know a lot of stuff and I'm glad your on the site but it only brings your credibility right back down when you say stuff like that.
Back to Juric, Vlad (in has last comment) completed half of my arguement. I completely agree with him. A team plays as one unit under its captain and Robert Kovac said enough for everyone. End of story. On top of that, no one cared that much to stand up to Kovac and back up Juric like I said earlier. So there you go.
And walking around the pitch is not a characteristic of a close team. Wanting to be around each other and building chemistry is what makes a complete football team.
And for the record, I've never seen a player watch a game from anywhere else than the locker room or the bench.
Let's talk about club chemistry though. It does occur even on the international level between club players.
2006 World Cup. Netherlands played Portugal in a card frenzy match. The ref was giving out yellow and red cards like presents on Christmas morning.
Both Deco & van Bronckhorst who each played for Barcelona at the time sat together in the stands after each received a red card in the game. They chit-chatted and consoled each other as their respected countries were battling it out for World Cup quarterfinal berth.
vlad……you are so wrong that you have no idea how wrong you are. Trust me when I say this….their is no internal conflict within the team, none.
We might lose or tie tomorrow, but it has nothing to do with team chemistry. the chemistry of this team is fine, the results are not.
Team chemisty is so overstated and overvauled. Half the Man U team could not stand Ronaldo, but they still won titles. Ibrahimovic was not the most well liked player in the Inter locker room, but they still won league titles. The cro national team that qualified for th 06 WC had internal problems, but that did not have an impact on the qualifying campaign.
one thing i have to say ziva istina, no one has to say anything once robert kovac speaks, the heart of the national team the real captain it goes along way, its not the job of the whole team to say something, but when the captain speaks his mind it reflects the mood of the team one would think. Even robert isn't the same player his presence is still powerfull players respect him and once the leader of the team dosent like you, it has to have an effect to some degree.
So you base your argument on the fact that Juric and Rakitic watched the 2nd half from behind the goal. WOW!!! Plenty of players have left the entire bench and watched games from the locker room after being subbed. What is the differance if they watched it from the bench, behind the goal, or in the press box. It didn't impact the outcome.
The only one who said anything critical about Juric's comments were Robert Kovac. Nobody else. Bilic said the timing of the comments were wrong, nothing else.
Maybe you prefer the players all go to the same bar and listen to serb music as they seem to prefer, since you think that will build team chemistry.
@ Istina,
Regarding Juric. These are my 2 examples to why he doesn't feel 'like one of the guys'.
When Juric made the little comment before the last Ukraine match which was supposed to lift pressure off of hid teammates, not only did the press jump all over him but no teammates stood up for him.
We all know that the comments saying that "…Croatia is a small country, we don't need to be this hard on ourselves…" was no big deal. So why did it become a big deal? They don't like him.
And 2) Denis did an incredible job at the Ukraine match. After Juric and Rakitic were subbed out at halftime, both of them stood behind the goal in their warmups instead of joining the bench. No team commroderie whatsoever.
Why wouldn't he sit with his teammates? I've never seen a player loiter around the stadium like that. You would think Bilic would have more control over his players unless he wanted him to roam around.
There are all open-ended thoughts of course but questions for you to answer nonetheless.
Remember, We are not the Croatian media. I will only make judgment to a situation based on what I hear and see from a reliable source. I'm not going to make stuff up and if I don't have an answer I will tell you.
Trying to read a decent forum post here is like attempting to drkat with sandpaper and feeling refreshed afterwards. Amateurs.
Ovako…
Sans the Euro 2000 game against jugo (a goal was taken away from us), Croatia has always succeeded when its back was to the wall. Sjetite se tekmu protiv Belgije. That being said, Croatia is the type of team that can trounce 'mighty' Germany 3:0 but the next day lose against 'weak' Ethiopia 1:0. Leaves me a little worried to say the least but I still believe we will in.
As long as they go into the game with a sense of urgency and determination, Croatia will win. Samo neka igraju napadacki!
Now you can breathe…finally a decent post.
ps…DINAMO SAMPION! ZIVJELA HRVATSKA!
Funny stuff Peter. I personally never thought Allen Iverson would ever make it on CSR but here we are.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGDBR2L5kzI
Hahaha, thats Ivan rakitic, right at 0:40
What the HELL? Why were my votes not counted? I voted to bring Mornar out of retirement and lead us to World Cup glory!!!
Also – Vukojevic will not struggle, hes like the Wolverine, no worries, we are fine with him in the middle.
Sharbini should have been called up for Rakitic. Ivan was subbed off in the 46th minute on the weekend, also, Magath has already been screaming at him during practice for not chasing down balls. Ivan has a complex comparable to Alan Iverson "Are we really talking about practice? PRACTICE??????"
I'm just curious as to what you have read or heard to make you think the team does not want Juric.
Again, i think the guy played against Ukraine, but he deserves to be on the team based on his play last year in italy. The only ones who might be against him are the players he is competing against for playing time (Vukojevic, Leko). I have heard nothing to indicate the guy is not liked or not wanted on the national team.
The last time there was any friction on the natioanl team was abck at the 06 WC when Tudor nearly destroyed the chemistry of the squad.
Absolutely Zepoznat!
Email: croatiansoccerreport@gmail.com
oh sorry I misunderstood! hehe
you've got a point there for sure!
btw I'll send a picture of my baby Luka (born the day after last match in June) all decked out including the Hrvatska jersey my mom made for him if you will post it on the blog 😀
@ nepoznat,
I wasn't talking about the fans loving Vukojevic, I was talking about his teammates. He's been with the national team for two full years now so they've gotten to know him. We can't say the same for Juric can we?
Ante, I for one do not love Vukojevic… so not everyone loves him, let alone absolutely loves! Then again, I con't care for Juric either if I'm honest… and would go with Vuko over him. But that was the one poll I didn't vote in because of my feelings for both players…
@ Ziva,
Look. The Juric discussion has absolutely nothing to do with him being Croatian or not. We obviously know that he has love for country and love for the national team as he tried to turn a shit situation into something funny for them. He obviously missed.
Istina, I respect your opinions and knowledge on Croatian soccer. You know your stuff and I lways look forward to what you have to say.
But Juric coming into the Croatian squad is a question of Croatian nationalism, but more of chemistry.
It never sounded to me like the rest of the squad (everyone that was together for Euro 2008) accepted him into the squad. Check out this analogy.
It's like your best friend telling you that this new girl he just started dating is temporary and that he's going to break up with her in two weeks. Why would you (as the friend) invest any unneeded energy into her if you don't have to? Sure you might do a couple favors for her but your definitely not going to become good friends with her.
Same thing with Juric. The team knew he would only be around for World Cup qualifying because of age and never let him in because they knew the friend would get back with the girl that everyone absolutely loves, aka Vukojevic.
I think i said before regards Petric you pick him when he's firing and drop him when he's tired and out of form. At moment he's firing. Croatia needs goals so we should play him. He has a long distance shot which Olic doesn't really have and the amount of shots we can pepper Belarus's goal with the better. Olic is the player to use when you're the underdog and you need workrate over skill.
lol actually i don't know who did that. I dont want Mandzo in the starting line up. I voted once for Dudu and Petric i think.
Runje; Corluka, Simunic, Krizanac, Pranjic; Srna, Vukojevic, Modric, Kranjcar; Eduardo and Petric
thanks for the tip about Vedran in goal… this is my son, Luka's first game (he is 8 weeks old) and Runje will be the keeper? The kid is going to want to side with his mom and Italia already… I can see it now! a 2-2 draw
Also to add, Modric and Kranjcar need to be studs for us this game and since Belarus will play a Russian style of footy (lots of physicality), he will need to be on par. Our best bet would be to stretch out their back 4, and take that physical game away.
Petric is first off the bench no doubt. Mandza will come on, to replace Eduardo in the 80th minute (Pending score)
Leko, Pokrivac shouldn't start or be anywhere near that lineup, due to them not playing in Monaco for awhile. Why they don't pull a Robert Kovac is beyond me.
Is Rakitic not playing?
When did Juric fall out of favor with his teammates??? And when did the national team not acknowledged Jurić as one of their own??? What, is he not croatian??? Not one of our own??? But we will gladly accept Da Silva.
Do you guys have revisionist history…All juric ever did was give an interview that some people inaccurately thought attacked Robert Kovac. If you go back and read Juric's quotes theres was no attach on Kovac, in fact he complimented him. I never read anything or heard anything (and I personally am very good friends with two members of the national team) about any of the players not wanting Juric on the team. His play last year warranted a call up to the squad. As for his age….we have people wanting Kovac on this team, the older Kovac just retired and nonbody complained about his age. Having said all that, Juric played like shit last game and I would be shocked if he started on Wednesday.
As for Leko coming in for Vukojevic if Vukojevic struggles…if that happends then we are done. Leko is currently not wanted by his club and would be useless for us. Juric deserves to come in if it comes down to Leko and him. Either way, if we need to use either one of those guys we are probaly in trouble.
Olic, Eduardo, Kranjcar, Modric, Vukojevic, Srna, Pranjic, Simunic, Krizanac, Corluka, Runje.
Yes, I have been a huge Juric supporter and still am, however, like Ante states in this post
"Not just is he old but he hasn't impressed on the field and has fell out of favor with teammates. In my opinion, the national team never acknowledged Jurić as one of their own from the beginning."
We still dont have anyone to replace Niko Kovac. Vuki should be able to get there one day, just not today. Maybe, we should suck up to this fact and play with what we have. My vote is for Vuki, hopefully, he will prove me wrong and the Croatian-Gatusso will show up.
Runje, even though he has struggled with the national team and got bombed on for 4 goals last weekend, deserves the start.
Pleti needs game time or he will continue to sit with Croatia until Subasic comes around.
Petric or Mandza first one off the bench? difficult call..
Why have Juric if he doesnt start? Can you imagine Juric coming off the bench.. theres no point..
Leko might come in for Vuki if he struggles..
and i forgot vukojevic too
4-1-3-2
Runje, Corluka, Krizanac, Simunic, Pranjic, Kranjcar, Modric, Srna, Olic and Eduardo.
For god sakes can we ever get 1 keeper in the history of this team that is just solid.
With the exception of Dudu's partner and the keeper, the lineup picks itself; Runje, Krizanac, Simunic, Pranjic, Kranjcar, Modric, Corluka, Srna, Vukojevic, Dudu, Olic.
The only sub that I'd definately want to see is Mandzukic for Olic in the 60-70th minute. I'd still stick with Runje because Pleti just can't be sharp-enough and because Runje can't get any worse, only better with match practice.
Petric, Eduardo, Kranjcar, Modric, Vukojevic, Srna, Pranjic, Simunic, Krizanac, Corluka, Runje.
I actually voted for Pletikosa, but I don't rate either keeper highly, so I could care less who is between the pipes really. This contest should be won/lost (or draw) based on our attacking players.