Croatia no longer control their own destiny to qualify for Euro 2016 directly. After a goal-less draw against Azerbaijan on Thursday and a 2-0 defeat in Norway, Croatia fall to third place in Group H, which would put them into a two-legged playoff in November.
So what happened?
-Croatia couldn’t score one goal against Azerbaijan or Norway in 180 minutes
-What is wrong with Mandžukić? He can’t score to save his life!
-Srna bit on both Norway goals. His days playing for the repka should be numbered
-The lack of composure from the entire team when conceding the first goal
HRVATSKA STARTING XI: Subašić – Srna, Ćorluka, Vida, Vrsaljko – Modrić, Brozović, Rakitić, Perišić, Pjaca – Mandžukić
It’s quite simple folks. We will see Croatia’s true face Sunday in Oslo.
After an embarrassing 0-0 draw against Azerbaijan on Thursday, the Vatreni not only have a chance to put the group away with a victory Sunday against Norway; but they also have a chance to self destruct with a second straight poor result. Even a draw keeps Croatia in prime position to secure a top-2 spot in the group and an automatic berth to Euro 2016, with matches against Malta and Bulgaria in October, but a dreaded loss will place the Croatians in 3rd place for a playoff spot.
Croatia defeated Norway 5-1 back in March in Zagreb. The talent is there to defeat this team easily. But is the drive? And can they do it again when it matters?
Maybe the players were taking their two matches against Azerbaijan and Norway with ease. But after a draw in Baku, another poor result cannot be taken. Juventus’ Mario Mandžukić was exceptionally poor in Thursday’s match but is still expected to start against the Norwegians.
What you need to know:
A win puts Croatia in prime position for an automatic Euro 2016 berth.
A draw still has Croatia as a favorite to qualify automatically.
A loss will put Croatia in crisis mode and 3rd place in the group; which leads to a playoff berth.
Let’s see what our boys come up with Sunday. Kickoff: 12PM (ET)
He’s right, England did screw us on purpose.
It started with the malicious tackle on Da Silva. That was vendetta paid by the 3 lions.
4th minute red card penalty by Rio Ferdinand was pretty messed up though.
I think Rio did it on purpose, even if England didn’t.
@Toni………….right? England did it on purpose? How about this……….when you leave it out of your own hands, then you don’t deserve to go. If I remember correctly, England had already clinched the group which means the game against Ukraine was meaningless to them. They didn’t throw the game. Truth is, they didn’t give a shit about the game.
@idemo
England threw that game to knock Croatia our of WC 2010.
Do you think Italy will do us a favor? not!!!
Kovač fucked up when he tried to go all Balkansko-Njemačko on Luka Modrić.
You can probably get away with doing it to guys like Strinić, Vukojević or Da Silva, but not Modrić.
Curious as to how he can repair this tomorrow. Maybe Mamić will try to get him to respectfully step down, in fear of the team mailing it in against Bulgaria.
As things stand right now Kum Kovac is either out or will remain the coach with very little support and will be out once something goes wrong again.
If he was safe, there would be numerous public votes of confidence for him by Puppet Suker and the savez. There is none of that right now.
Hopefully, after tomorrow’s savez meeting there is a Q&A between Puppet Suker and the media. That should feature some entertainment for all of us.
we need italy to draw norway and we need to beat Bulgaria, assuming Norway and us beat Malta……..
flash back when we needed England not to lose to Ukraine and they lost to ukraine
Krpa je legendo
http://www.thenational.ae/sport/football/real-madrid-star-luka-modric-falls-out-with-croatia-coach-as-euro-2016-bid-falters
Wow you guys are proposing really bringing our A game. Well, in that case we can fix our striking woes with the addition of Peter Krpan. You just watch the goals raining all over the place with this team !
🙂
Dujmovic, Rapaic in the midfield and Stjepan Tomas in the back line and we will be just fine for the final 2 games.
That’s awesome that someone thinks Tomislav Dujmovic should be in our midfield….
I would take a Miki Rapaic, who’s been retired even longer at this point, over Dujmovic.
@Ziva
“Nobody thought Strucnjak Stimac was going to be let go, but I wrote about the scenerio that needed to happen to begin the short term pain for long term gain process….it took place. ”
Yes, Ziva. Thank you for your pearls of wisdom about the long term gain that would happen. By the way, what exactly was the gain of that again????
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-iHyI6HrcziA/Uj9guHp5edI/AAAAAAAAR6w/W2GusYfog7w/s1600/hows-that-workin-blog10-16-12.png
@ Maminjo
Capello is loaded, especially his last gig with Russia.
He needs a resume filler and we need a real manager to bring us tournament success.
Fill his contract with all sorts of bonus incentives:
Euro ’16 spot.
Play – off spot.
Play – off run through different levels.
Win the whole thing !
He does that he make his money.
He is back in relevancy and he is now connected to the best pipeline in Europe for his next club spot.
We are NOT paying him is exorbitant fees but he is stock his low right now.
Ancelotti loves Modric so much maybe he’ll do it for 10 months too?
Point is we are could be an interesting short term project for a top Italian.
I agree with you as the Italian NT manager are the best in the world as they produce results with often sub par talent.
The problem is they are not taking pay cut AND dealing with the Balkan BS. But maybe for 10 months?
i think LAknat fits for NT coach >
with his master piece . . Croatia will triump for Euro 2016
……………….Kalinic…………………
Halilovic…….IvRakitic………Perisic
………..Badelj…………Modric………
Strinic…..Vida…..Jedvaj…..Vrsaljko
……………..Subasic………………..
make ->
The God of Halilovic
as a secret weapon~
Mr. Kovač should not have been appointed in the first place. Neither should have Stimać, nor Bilić. It has been one revolving door, and one disaster after the other.
Drunken Cico was better than all 3 put together, and that ain’t saying much.
Nobody thought Strucnjak Stimac was going to be let go, but I wrote about the scenerio that needed to happen to begin the short term pain for long term gain process….it took place.
We might be witnessing the same with Kum Kovac.
You can go back to the end of the World Cup in Brazil and how Kum Kovac told his players not comment to the media. Thankfully, a few did open to the media. I just hate it when coaches tell their players what they can or can not say to the media. These are grown adults. Let them make their own calls. If a guy wants to open up to the media about his experiences, then why not.
This is nothing more than rinse and repeat. Look at the leadership of the savez. You have Mamic and Puppet Suker. Any success will be in spite of them and not because of them. Our own leadership hinders the national team. And for many of us we enjoy the entertainment value
I know. There’s no way he’s let go.
I just like the over-the-top speculation in the Cro media.
Kovac brothers will remain after the Wednesday night.
I cannot see any chance of them being let go.
@Soul Champ
Easy there with the Capello talk. Although I think he would be very interested in coaching Croatia (very talented midfield to work with, lots of Serie A players on the roster, and a very close trip to home for him)…he wouldn’t do it for anything less than $5 million per year (and that would be taking a serious pay cut).
I personally do like Italian coaches, and I think they would manage Cro well (even better than a German coach could). Culturally, they are more similar to us and that German stringency may not work well (i.e. Kovac trying to emulate it).
There are also a LOT of options for Italian coaches right now as there are many experienced successful coaches who are between gigs (Spalletti, Prandelli, Zaccheroni, Trappatoni, etc). Spalletti would be phenomenal, IMO, and by far the most expensive of the group.
But the lowest paid out of all of these guys would be Trapatonni who got paid just under $2 million when he was with Ireland (not including his assistants). He would be the cheapest out of all these guys. That put things into perspective as to how much getting a decent foreign coach would cost us.
Wow…it’s been awhile since I’ve read through all the posts in a thread…but God damnit people…come on…stop ripping each other apart with such malice…we are all (except for the haters) all Croats…perhaps you aren’t all 100% Croat and perhaps you all don’t speak fluently…so be it…your veins pump Croatian DNA…stop separating and start uniting!!!
Somehow we will qualify…perhaps with a new coach…and we can all be happy again…until there is another Brazil game rigged
karlovac i remember smashing parked cars with your dads car when we were 16. how are you brother? lol!!
@Soul, agreed regarding Kovac not taking any leadership and owning up to mistakes he has made but rather deflecting it all into the players.
Good coached will always try to bring the criticism onto themselves first and foremost. Yes, sometimes they might call out a layer to light a fire under their ass but it’s done at an appropriate time.
Kovac just simply has no clue and would rather pound his chest in ignorance.
Fabio Capello for the Euro ’16?
Does not need anymore money ?
Can get down with the best pipeline in Europe for when he takes his next club gig.
Would have us tactically set up to win the while damn thing 2016!
Then you can go back to the next Balkan bum.
At least you would inspire a new generation.
Capello does well with technically gifted players who can understand his tactics.
@ Svima
Classic veliki Hrvat from Kovac, displacing his lack of leadership and blaming his players for his dimwitted tactics.
Svaka čast Luka Modric for calling out the high chair tyrant Kovac.
Luka has 2 more tournaments for the vatreni , I pray he gets the tactical set up that allows him to flourish for Croatia.
Again he looked fantastic against Azerbajian with the captain’s arm band.
Design entire national set up around Luka Modric:
1- Strong footed and FAST LB and CB – this will provide natural width from the back.
2- speed attackers at both LW and RW – this will stretch the field to allow his genius to create the magic.
3- explosive runner up top to run on to pinpoint passes to continuous ask questions of the goalie.
4- powerful CM partner to lay the wood when needed and deal with any nasty BS in the midfield.
5- CDM to cover when he makes his intelligent runs into space to create scoring opportunities.
6- CB’s pairing that is swift and powerful to deal with any coverage issues when Modric is leading the attack.
7- Manager that can implement all the above!
Simple shit here people : build around your best player.
Real Madrid learned the hard way without Modric you don’t win.
Now he is healthy and we waste his time?
I am worried that he turns 30 and says bas mi briga and focuses on his club career that pays him millions to set up his family for generations.
The vatreni needs to have young hungry players who want to prove themselves and the possibility of hard ware for the elite veterans to make it meaningful.
Rakitic could be out sooner then later too. How many smotani treneri can a starter in the Barca midfield take ?
Cue the clueless fascists who think the repka players are not human and should simply be happy to play for Croatia.
Need to make the national team interesting to the elite veteran.
Unfortunately our sporting infrastructure is incongruent with our natural talent and passion for sport.
We have Cedevita and Dinamo and Rijeka as the only 3 viable sports clubs in all of Croatia!
You always get the results you are set up to produce.
Almost good is the sad state of affairs.
This next month will see if both Nogomet and košarku can take it to new level.
Uvijek vjerni
This is pretty exciting though.
Looking forward to what happens on Wednesday.
Dujmović has been retired for over a year. And that’s a retirement from the HNL. His retirement from an actual club that pays him in real money was like three years ago.
there you go……..but with Cacic the pain will only continue.
I thin the only solution is for the players to refuse to show up and play for the repka and demand Puppet Suker and Mamic leave.
Short term pain, long term gain
Osvojit ćemo sve s Čačićom! Ssssve!
@Dado………Dujmovic??????? Ok, you can stop posting here.
You guys think Ciro did such a great job? I beg to differ , whatever. We Croatians will bitch at any fucking coach we ever have, remember that . Fickle.
A non-Croat coach is the only way to go. The players only seem to only understand non-Croat coaches who are their club coaches. Once the team is disciplined enough under the direction of a true professional then they can bring back another hack to pose as a coach.
Strinic and Dujmovic should be back in the team.
Too bad we have to play the Bulgaria game with no fans, because can you imagine what reaction of the fans would be if they give the coaching job to Cacic.
And we have people who still think there is nothing wrong with Mamic.
@Ttn, your such an Internet tough guy. Let me take a wild guess that you an on are the same loser. Lol, get a life pal.
So, we hold it against Bilic that injuries cost him the 2010 WC…….we had no depth, never had. Once first team players go down, forget about it.
Did he fuck some thing sup. Sure. But no coach would have qualified with that group.
Early goals change the scope of a game…..good and bad. England scored early in Maksimir; changed the game. We scored early in the playoff against Turkey for 2012; changed the game.
Anyway….Bilic is not an option. West Ham would not allow him to coach the repka. He would have to leave West Ham and he will not do that.
@ peter north
I knew it. You are gay just like your dad. Runs in the family for you. Lmfao
I honestly think people will riot if Čačić were to become coach, lol.
Oh well, at least it’s not Krunoslav Jurčić.
@Ttn, your mom didn’t think so. But it was like fucking a bucket so you must have been a really fat baby.
Let me get this straight for the past 48 hours we are hearing of Zuti, Bilic, Ciro and Cacic as possible replacements.
This is hilarious and painful to read at the same time.
@Croat
LOL, you write on this site for someone to suck you off and you call me low level. Of course you are a loser.
Wow, dude you need help. Get some.
🙂
@darke e, agree, painful game to watch and to listen to people tell us that we need Bilic to bring them to the promise land
@like joey
ante cacic story is front page news on vecernji list, I would be shocked if this is true
enough with the bilic talk people, just read the posts from 09 to 12 and we will all wanted him gone, ……..hopefully he never returns
@split, that 4 -1 lost was hard to stomach, hated the way fabio was laughing on the sidelines in zagreb but loosing 5 -1 in wembley was even worse
Ante Čačić as the next coach?
Oh boy.
Is this the long term gain we’ve all been waiting for? LOL
Yea we can keep Kovac and struggle to beat teams like Azerbaijan, you can talk all you want but calling me a loser just shows what kind of a person you are and I don’t talk to low level people like you 🙂
@Croat
LOL you loser, yeah we beat england and they destroyed us in Zagreb, worse lost ever for our team under Bilic. So get a life and stop making excuses that we did not have our players and almost beat spain. Also no need to suck you, not a fag like you.
Bog i Hrvati
You can suck my Croatian kolbasa, is that all you have? Sure he has one bad record for the wc/ but we didnt have any of our good players for most of the qualfying stages, with this rate Kovac will do the same thing but with Bilic we did things like knock out England, beat Germany, almost beat Spain.
@Croat
Pray he does not return or else a repeat of failing to make the 2010 WC.
Can someone please explain something about ante cacic to me?
@peter north
you must be gay with a name iike peter north. LOL
Hocemo Slaven Bilica! Hocemo Slaven Bilica! Hocemo Slaven Bilica!
Either the entire Vatreni are all idiots or the whole thing is rigged through betting for their retirement funds.
Looks like Modric is a cancer in the locker room.
@Ss
Keep it real, you’re not pissed off because of what I said about Modric, you’re pissed off because you’re a mutt. Both my parents were born in the Independent State of Croatia and both are Roman Catholic, I’m Croatian whether you like it or not. I don’t knock people for not speaking the language, a mate of mine dosen’t speak Croatian but It’s because his Croatian dad married a Maltese woman and they spoke English in the house. But both his parents are Catholic so atleast he’s not a dino-mutt. Dino-mutts are the worst, avoid them at all costs. I’m Catholic first and Croatian second, so calling me hardly Croatian dosen’t bother me, especially when it’s coming from your kind. Keyboard warrior better than a keyboard coward.
Looks like Ante Cacic will replace Kovac as early as tommorow, most likely wednesday.
Karlovac…take it easy bro, don’t allow this site to make you that angry although I can tell you I’ve been there too!
Have a cold beer and enjoy the day!
Thanks for commenting, Karlovac, much appreciated.
It’s hard to know how much to blame Kovac for this loss because the players basically look indifferent and uninterested so i guess u can say that is tantamount to not showing any heart. Kinda didnt seem to care tbh. How much of that is the coach’s responsibility? Problably some at least but the players are not exactly covering themselves in glory either.
Anyways maybe we just want to get in thru the playoffs like last time ? 🙂
@pn, your one of those tough internet guys eh. Guys like you make me laugh. Still living in moms basement.
@ Spajic
Well said. No need to mock others…this is a site that should bring like minded people together.
@ Karlovac
Don’t let some of these comments get to you. You are absolutely right…we do need to stick together.
I can’t imagine what you’ve been through…just know most of us do feel the way you do.
No. Different. Plus, I am not questioning the lack of heart and passion from this team. It is missing. What I laugh at are the amount of people who equal a loss as no heart.
your sources are f”cked like you
My sources say Kovac out on Wednesday and Ciro in as coach until the end of EURO Qualifiers.
@Ziva
You claim we lack leadership which I 100% agree with and have been saying for years yet you always mock people’s comments about “heart.” Aren’t heart and leadership essentially the same thing?
1) True Croats in Croatia welcome all Croats, whether born in Australia or Canada ( I’m not too sure who you’re associating with while there 😉 )
2) True Croats in Croatia do not ridicule their brethren around the world, they welcome them with open arms
3) Hrvati born in the iseljenistvo that do not read, write or speak Croatian well shouldn’t be ridiculed or ostracized. They should be encouraged to learn Croatian,
4) There are no “Super Hrvati.” Folks that measure Croatianhood usually AREN’T Croatian. They, intentionally or not, wittingly or not, seek to taint and divide
5) If you have issues with those of us who are ZA DOM SPREMNI and proud of it: read this article. If you need assistance reading it (not a dig), seek it:
http://www.dnevno.hr/kolumnisti/tvrtko-dolic/ubijanje-hrvatskog-jezika-827631
Interesting. Western media outlets are picking up these stories about Kovac calling out his players and the growing “rift” between him and Luka.
“Luka Modric hits back at manager Niko Kovac”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3225023/Croatia-captain-Luka-Modric-hits-manager-Niko-Kovac-entitled-opinion-tried-best.html
If Kovac isn’t let go during this campaign, he will likely be gone after next summer.
Whether he is fired by the Savez, or steps down on his own accord, I dont know. He will get that Austrian League head coaching gig that he was always gunning for since the day Salzburg opted to drop him from payroll as a player coach. He will get what he wanted from this whole experience. Glad to see us use our NT as a crutch to develop another coach.
If the Suker & Mamic dynasty were to end, someone like Romeo Jozak would probably be best suited to take over.
Mamic may have been a crook, but he knew how to surround himself with talent. When Jozak was being courted by Arsenal and by the Australian FFA, Mamic stepped in and topped their offers to retain him.
Jozak snagged Mateo Kovacic from Linz and Ante Coric from Salzburg for peanuts. There are also quite a few other youth players that Dinamo has purchased from other academies outside Cro.
Im done here this will be my last post for sometime.I cant read BS and Not get mad. I’m sorry Ive done two, 7 month tours in Afghanistan. I got PTSD and anger issues and when I read non soccer jabs I get pissed.
Also I get pissed when the Za Dom spremni pretenders come on here and preach. Have any of you been to war probably not because it sucks. So don’t insult the lives that were lost by the true Hrvati that were homeland ready by cutting down people who are proud to be Croatian. We all matter and count instead of infighting which got us all in this mess we need to stick together.
Nuff said.
Dance?????? What are you talking about?
Easy my friend. You don’t have to go all after school fight club because I posted something that you don’t like.
Nobody was insulted to relax.
President – Zvnomir Boban
Coach – Ćiro Blažević (Just for Euro 2016)… or Boro Primorac.
know
Ziva Istina says:
true…….it is what I cam mental midget disease.
Imagine what we could do with proper leadership. Just imagine if the croatian-speaking diaspora (not those who claim to be a hrvat but can’t speak) were allowed to return and run things.
I myself can admit that I cant speak fluently but I still can be a fan of Croatian football, follow politics and care about my ancestry. So don’t you dare take that away from me.
My Mama and Tata tried to teach me as the 3rd child in the family but I had difficulties in school learning multiple languages was very difficult. Is it because I’m slow don’t thinks so since my IQ is 103. Is it because my brain s wired differently for learning most likely.
So that being said your ignorance amazes once again.When you write crap like this it just makes look more ignorant and hypocritical . If you and the rest of the Croatian speaking Super Hrvati on this site had half a brain you would know how stupid this sounds.
First off I would like to point out that you would be considered and absolute joke in Croatia. My relatives often tell me how they laugh when the diaspora visit because we have no clue what it means to be true Hrvati. You cant claim to be a Hrvat if you don’t live there. Also there’s nothing stopping you from returning. Its not like your my Tata who would be arrested on site so don’t use lame excuses.
Also posting from your computer from your home outside of Croatia, on English speaking site of all things would be considered traitorous considering how Hrvati think about what England has done to us over the last century. WoW if you fake/wannabe Ustasha actually lived there and posted your stupid thoughts on a Croatian site then you could talk anything else is a absolute joke.
So don’t insult everyone with your ignorant BS. If you continue then I will send out the invitation to dance. My name is Martin BUKOVCAN. I’m the proud the proud son of Drago Bukovcan.So before you make your decision to dance you might want to do your research and since your on laptop 24hrs a day from Zagreb HQ im sure you will be able to. If you do decide I will provide my GPS location until then STFU.
Who called it?! You’re welcome in advance. I knew something was up the minute Modric was subbed out against Azer. Whatever he told USKOK must’ve been goooood from our view, bad for Mamic and the Kumovi.
Best question: who takes over? Let’s start throwing some names out there…Brlekovic? Boban? Simic? N. American/Aussie dijaspora? The floor is yours.
Šuker, and the Mamić brothers get kicked out of Cro Football before the playoff tie to get into Euro 2016…
Ćiro Blažević comes to the rescue, and fields a 3-5-2 lineup to win us the playoff tie, and eventually a euro cup title!
—————–Perišić-Kramarić————
———————-Rakitic——————–
–Brozović—Pašalić-Modrić—Vrsaljko–
————-Vida-Ćorluka-Jedvaj———–
———————Subašić——————-
Ćiro Majstore!
You now what could make this an even better comedy show?????? Imagine Kum Kovac getting fired and the savez puts Kruno Jurcic or even Zoran Mamic as the coach. Now that would be all sorts of funny.
@jm
well said,
Bilic was terrrible, sorry but he will not save us, just read the posts when he failed to get us to qualify for the world cup in 2010. They were brutal, People were jumping up and down and wanted him out. Let him enjoy his money now but we dont need him.
Yes, Italy always gets results. Always. Better Itilian squads have struggled in qualifying but they always get results when needed.
All signs pointing to a change from Kum Kovac. I still think he will find a way to survive. But, that makes me think the next match might require a negative result again for Kum Kovac to be removed.
@ slavonac
it’s unfair to say we got a goal early and that helped us.
we got a goal early! we did the job. and it DESERVEDLY helped us
there’s so much luck involved here.
mandzo knocks in one header of 10 chances in two games and everything looks so much different
it took italy right till the very end to get a result even against malta. they might’ve just been lucky to score, but now they’re the team that gets results?
Read
http://www.seebiz.eu/nakupac-i-njegovi-poltroni-ubili-i-reprezentaciju-i-dinamo/ar-119257/
lets stop with the praise bilic talk
there are archives on this site
go back if you’d like and read what everyone wrote about bilic for years
he is terrible and we need a new coach
now he’s the savior? lets be consistent
@Brkic
Kovac has an polarizing personality.
He’s an inexperienced coach, who got the job through family connections, but comes in as some faux-Geman disciplinarian who is ready to whip our “typically undisciplined Croatian” team into shape.
With the shit that Kovac says in the media, I’m sure most of these players probably think ‘who does this guy think he is?’. Only a coach like Jose Mourinho can get away with making comments like this, as he’s a proven coach that has achieved so much more than any of these players. But if you’re Modric/Rakitic/Mandzo and you’ve played for the greatest coaches in Europe, it’s really hard to take a guy like Kovac seriously when he’s trying to preach or ‘discipline’ you using his German upbringing.
Bilic, on the other hand, had a humble personality. He knew that he was coming in as a very inexperienced coach, but he had a good way of building relationships with players (many times to a fault). He wasn’t coming in as coach by pretending to be something he is not. He had some ideas, knew that he was learning on the job and has some success as a result.
It’s no surprise that we had a few former players talk smack about Kovac after they left the team. There are existing players who probably feel the same way. We’re not going to achieve much with this kind of coach and personality.
Luka Modric has been poor since the World Cup.
It’s been said by many on this board in the past.
A backline of Strinic, Vida, Jedvaj, and Vrsaljko has to happen.
Rakitic should always be pretty much half a step behind our strikers. Never the last man back (which he has been many times in these past two games).
We need to make better use of our substitutions, whether the guys on the bench play regularly for their clubs or not. Guys like Kramaric, Rebic, Halilovic, etc. need to come on if our wingers and strikers are completely flat. Don’t bother calling them up if there is no intention of ever playing them.
It’s not a good sign that Kovac just throws the players under the bus. It’s not all on him, but this is just another example of his inexperience. Just because someone is a good player does not mean they can manage. I think the NTs success under Bilic was the exception and not the rule. We can’t have someone without any experience manage the team and expect success. Maybe we can’t get someone with a great international resume, but perhaps someone who has demonstrated some ability at the league level would be a better choice… You know, the same way the players are selected.
Overall, this qualifying campaign has been okay when you look at the results on paper, but there have been very few games where the team really plays cohesively and up to their potential. Obviously this week was just horrid.
NT needs me > as a great manager coach ever ..
with the great master piece /!
………………….Kalinic…………………
Halilovic…….IvRakitic………Perisic
………..Badelj…………Modric………
Strinic….Vida….Jedvaj…..Vrsaljko
………………..Subasic………………..
make ->
The God of Halilovic
as a secret weapon~
Modric poor play had nothing to do with off field issues. He played poor and that is on him. Stop with the excuses.
Some of this is smoke in mirrors jm, in certain games we pressed early and got the goal we needed which opened up the game and caused teams to play, rather than park the bus…if we don’t score we would have had a much harder time figuring out the bunker.
When we played Italy the first time, we had possession but weren’t really creating good scoring chances. Also, they were weaker than they’ve been in the past.
Look at what professionalism the Italians prove they have…they get results, even when they are apparently weak then look at us! The difference is in the leadership qualities, Ziva is right!
Firing kovac is a terrible idea
How many successful organizations do you know that rotate coaches every year
it’s pure idiocy, especially when there is no coaching savior out there
Kovac has been fine. Up until this weekend the qualifying campaign was going great
And the funny thing is, this weekend he changed what most people were begging him to change!
he no longer started olic or pjaca!
where are all the coaching geniuses now who had gone on him to make that shift!?
how can you claim to know better than him, have him do what you think, lose, and then say he has no idea what he’s doing. =’s inconsistent
@ soul champ
I love the enthusiasm, kovac put in your young guys and it didn’t work. you want more?
I think people’s expectations are too high
We’ve only lost 1 game.
Have still put up one of the highest goal numbers for croatia in qualifying ever
At the end of the day, we’re just not Germany.
Sure we have some nice players, but are they really great?
Modric: the man. but needs to feed other good players
Rakitic: great, but better feeding messi, neymar, and suarez than pjaca
Mandzo: hasn’t scored a goal in league play in 9 months
Perisic: the man
Srna: passed prime
Brozovic: not clear cut starter on crappy inter team
Corluka: out in Siberia
Vida: in ukraine…enough said
Vrsaljko: starter on mid-level italian team…not a left back by trade
kovacic: unable to consistently start for inter
subasisc: pretty good
pjaca, olic, rebic, kalanic etc etc: nothing too special here
so what here screams dominance exactly? not much that I see.
I dream of it every night.
true…….it is what I cam mental midget disease.
Imagine what we could do with proper leadership. Just imagine if the croatian-speaking diaspora (not those who claim to be a hrvat but can’t speak) were allowed to return and run things.
I am prepared. My blessings upon you from above, rodjo!
It MIGHT happen. But only because our nation is rife with losers that can’t wait for it to happen.
@Spajic……….by the way, always loved running into you at the kladionica. I agree with what you are saying, but prepare yourself for Zuti to be the coach one day. It will happen.
How do to detect when someone isn’t really a Croat? They accuse YOU of not really being a Croat, and they call you an USTASA to boot.
Guess what, I’m no ustasa. But some of my ancestors WERE.
Prosinecki is UNFIT to lead the Croatian national team, not because he’s half-Serbian. But because he CONSCIOUSLY chose to return to Belgrade and coach RED STAR.
If you don’t understand the symbolism of that move, then, you my “friend,” are NO Croat.
Now we have an outlet in Cro claiming when Modric spoke with USKOK last week that he gave info that will hurt the Mamic brothers once this thing goes trial. if so, it could explain the poor display from Modric over the weekend. He could be worries about the retribution from the Mamic family if he did turn on them. This is getting more intertesting and honestly, this is becoming better theater than the actual games being played by the repka.
Now, I will admit this is a long way from being over. But, if somehow the Mamic brothers really do down, this could be the short term pain for long term gain we need.
So, Croatian sports dot com nation, I ask you this. In the long run would it better to continue stinking up in qaulifying and not go to the Euros, but at the same time the Mamic Brothers are eventually removed from Cro soccer. That could be the win-win we all need. Mamic brothers would be gone (I can only hope). The biggest idiot of them all, Puppet Suker, would be gone. And then I would get rid of all the players who had no balls and bent over backwards to the Mamic brothers (mental midges like Modric, Lovren, Kovacic). the last one is more wishful thinking than anything, but things did get a little more interesting this morning. Now, what becomes of all this is a truly another story.
At least we have a hoops team that appears to show “heart”, right?
@marko
Great line about prosinecki not being able to best mighty Malta.
Spajic s neba
Your such a veliki ustasa. Talkn shit Go back to ur room and keep watchn cartoons.
As for hammer. Your one dumb fuck calling modric that . Another keyboard warrior who needs to shut the fuck up
Both of you are hardly croatian.
To be honest, we got lucky on Sunday afternoon. By rights we should have lost 3-0 or 4-0. Instead the 2-0 losing scoreline flattered us. My two month old daughter is more likely to score for Croatia than Mandzukic right now.
For all those people saying that Bilic should come back – there’s no chance of that happening anytime soon, now he’s started at West Ham. Why also the gut reaction for Prosinecki to take over, when his Azeri team can’t even win against mighty Malta? Is that the aspiration we’ve sunk down to?
We’re clutching at straws here. I wish I could say there’s an easy answer to our problems, but there isn’t one. There’s no short term pain for long term gain. Just all round pain.
Meh, Win the last two games and hold out hope Norway takes less than 3 points in their finale in Italy and Croatia still would claim second place.
Even with the one point deduction, pretty certain we would be level on points but goal differential would put us through.
“Short term pain for long term again” always makes me laugh. Will we even see that in our lifetime?
@ tiha vala
The face of this team is a bunch of players who don’t give a damn. Period.
@ King Tomislav
Definitely agree with thoughts on Strinic. He was always pretty solid for the repka…not quite a Jarni as Jarni had much more speed. Also agree with the need to play with two strikers.
We do not have the wings to provide service to Mandzukic (although lately he’s looking horrible and couldn’t score in a brothel if he tried). I really like Kramaric playing with Mandza…too bad he’s getting zero time…hopefully that changes soon with Leicester.
Soul Champ’s thoughts about speed are correct. We need to inject some speed in this lineup…it’s far too slow and predictable. I think Rebic, Jedvaj and Kovacic would be the likely candidates but again, they are not getting any PT for their respective teams (or in Jedvaj’s case injured).
Something definitely needs to change…hopefully they can figure it out soon.
U said it Iggy.
Menu Kovac is raining piss on our parade.
It was supposed to be our return to a French held tournament.
A country where we as a nation had many great memories.
But menu Kovac has flushed it away.
Oh well?, go Norge!
I really think it’s time to bring back Strinic into the left back position. The games Croatia played where he held this position, we were much more secure, did not leak like a fucking sieve as we do with Sranjic in that position. Also, Strinic is fast, has technical skills and reminds me a lot about old Jarni in that position – i.e. dead solid. I agree Srna should not play in the back position, he’s a wing and is still able to make spot on passes into the midfield and/or to any forward moving around the box. I think some of the reason he and several other had a piss poor game vs Norway is due to the fact that they were out of their natural positions. The players not only looked confused and flabberghasted, they also looked uninspired and unsure – probably due to the fact that they played out of their natural positions. Vrsaljko should play in the right back position with Charlie as a libero in the middle. Croatia should start playing 3-5-2 again like the old times. Croatia has more than enough midfielders to play in such a system, and we should ALWAYS play with two strikers. What the fuck is this idiocy with one fucking lone ranger on top? When the fuck did Croatia play with one striker? And when that lone ranger is walking around like a zombie, then we’re fucked all the way no matter what.
“Allen Strk says:
Players have underwhelmed for the most part, but why is Brozovic playing in an advanced role while Rakitic is playing so deep? Why does Mandzukic continue to get coddled despite being absolutely underwhelming?
Srna was going to start regardless. I would absolutely love to see a non-Croatia come in and stop coddling him as well.
So many of these veterans get to walk into the starting 11 without any pressure. Srna, Mandzukic, Brozovic were all piss poor. Rakitic/Modric weren’t much better either. Still there has to be better ways to utilize them. Desperate long balls aren’t the answer.”
Agree with your assesment of this particular game. I wasted about $65 on a ticket to this game, thinking it was a do or die game for Croatia where we had to win vs Norway to secure at least the second place in our group. I think my shout was heard all over the stadium when Mandzukic again tried to score with a high flying kung fu back kick when he got the ball handed to him on a silver platter, all alone again with the goal keeper. That was a pass from Olic btw, who made a very devent appearance at this game. Immediately after old Ola got onto the pitch, Croatia moved forwards and the game got more aggressive towards the Norwegian goal, which is the point of having two forwards on the pitch. Everyone, even the Norwegians, were scratching their heads about Rakitic playing as the last man in the back for most of the match. And why the FUCK was Mandzukic again not substituted with Rebic? I fucking don’t get it. The man was still hazily walking around with his head hanging low, like a zombie with a hangover. The only positive thing was Sranjic not starting, but the incredibly silly “tactics” and totally erroneous positions for our players meant we again had a freakishly bad match against a very mediocre team.
Time for Kovac to pack his bags and say sayonara. We need Prosinecki, personally I hope Bilic could come back, he has at least a good tactical analysis and puts players in their natural positions.
Having Malta left is a very big negative in regards to the best 3rd placed team, they are going to finish last
So instead of having 6 points available in these last two matches we only have 3 available
fucking ruining my narrative, PISSING ON MY DREAMS
STOP PISSING ON MY PISS FFS REPKA
Fucking shitheads are ruining my youtube vid of HRV’s path toi France.. it’s supposed to be all wins and goals and unicorns and rainbows
how does THIS FUCKING SRANJE FIT INTO THAT ??? HUH !?!?
Answer me that KOVAC
@MelbCro
Not funny mate.
I wouldn’t want to play for the repka either. Well not with any enthusiasm anyway.
When the giant clubs are filling your coffers, why would I care about the repka when nobody else does.
We have idiots using the repka as a platform for racism, self serving leaders just using the repka to line their pockets.
It’s a fiasco!
I stopped caring for the repka a long time ago.
It’s easier just to not give a shit.
Fucking DISGUSTING performance and result. Shame shame shame.
@AB
“I dont want Prosinecki to be the face of the NT, that would be tragic.”
Mamic is the face of the NT…isnt that tragic already…??
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2016_qualifying_play-offs
Either way you slice it it was our first loss in this qualifying campaign not many teams go undefeated every match just doesn’t happen even the might Germany lost away to Poland. We were due for a loss and it happened move on no need to be angry about it. For those of you who thought we wouldn’t lose a game you were living in a fantasy world. Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic just don’t show up for the reprezentacija anymore they just care about where the big money is at Real Madrid and Barcelona. Luka Modric is almost 30 now we can’t rely on him anymore. We are going to be in alot of trouble in the World Cup Qualifiers if no one else steps up and fills his shoes. I am still not sold on Mateo Kovacic he is not consistent. Nikola Kalinic is another one who scores at club level but doesn’t do anything for Croatia.
Azerbaijan have got Bulgaria and Italy to come, so this ugly tactician will go to his players and say, “guys the tactics that I want you to employ for these games is park the bus.” A monkey would come up with that game plan, only difference is a monkey will look better doing the job.
I’m pissed just like most on this site…that being said I have two things to add…
1) if the repka pull up their socks and actually try in the next two games (meaning guaranteed victory) then we still have a chance to automatically qualify as the best third placed team (Ukraine our only concern must still play Slovakia)
2) why is everyone shitting on prosinecki? Yugo lover or not, he’s done wonders with a shitty Azerbaijan squad and is undefeated…I would welcome him in a heartbeat…in fact I would even welcome a foreign coach who has a resume that involves coaching at all…unlike our usual previous player coaches…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHD8csjhzDg
Prosinecki would dedicate the repka’s matches to the memory of his dear friend Arkan
Definitely don’t want Prosinecki being the face of the NT, have you seen that ugly cunts face.
Tudjman that’s a strange comment, because Rakitic played better for Sevilla than he does for Barcelona. Now which of those two teams are loaded with more talent?
Lots of good comments
@Poglavnik I liked your what you said about ‘coming to terms’ and ‘Nothing to be ashamed of just some much needed perspective.’
I respect most opinions, including Ziva’s and Yes, the current situation isn’t great, however hardly the end of the world.
And we are not the only team struggling, Italy are not the same Italy, Netherlands etc. there are plenty of examples…
Facts:
We haven’t played nice consistent soccer for a long time.
However Croatia being Croatia, we qualified for the last 2 tournaments, without playing consistently well, and this minimizes the fuss.
We have an inexperienced coach (clearly he is still learning), some players are looking past it, we have looked vulnerable up front for some time – maybe this is where we are at…
No quick fixes here….
But…We will probably qualify again, all will be good, before we bomb out in France, then another coach will come in.
Lastly, Prosinecki looks to be a decent tactician, however i don’t want him to be the face of our national team, that would be tragic.
Brozovic and Pjaca looked like two guys that were way out of their league.
It’s true that Rakitic usually sucks for the National Team. He needs to be surrounded by loads of talent to play well.
Losing 2-0 is one thing, but the entire Norwegian team lacks any technical skill making this loss even harder to take.
On Modric being a cancer, I just made that up. Sorry guys.
@Hammer
Where’d you hear Modric is a dressing room cancer? He seems popular at Madrid.
Former HDZ minister Ivan Suker is the new president of Croatian basketball association. Any relation to the other Suker? You couldn’t make this stuff up!
Niko i brate sjebali ste Hrvate.
The brozovic question is easy to answer, he is on loan to inter with a buy out clause and it is crucial to lift his value for either a buy out or they sell him elsewhere. Dont forget the only reason brozovic landed at inter is because it looked like Hajduk would sell Tino Sven Susic for north of 4.5 mil, so mamic made inter that offer.
When i said that Niko had a choice whether to be the NT coach or mamic’s bitch, some of the enlightened individuals on this site called me a “mouth breather” and now what mamic suker and niko are the problem. Welcome aboard.
If these players be they Modric, Rakitic or Mandzukic, dont wish to put their bodies on the line for the checkers they can ship off. If they are unhappy with the atmosphere surrounding the NT with the fans being alienated then its time they grow a pair and stand up and have a say, this will arguably be the second coach to be shipped off in 2 years from a seemingly intentional shitty display. The players have a voice and should use it otherwise now they just look like a bunch of hacks who dont give a shit. Its well known that the players and niko havent been on the best of terms since the WC.
Going with conspiracies maybe its time to look at the gains they would havr gotten from losing the mexico match and these 2. Beating teams 6-0 and 5-1 and then being invisible against them. Ibdont follow betting so i dunno what the matches would have paid but there is something suss about it.
Playing soccer is work. I don’t think so. If the players feel that playing soccer is work, then it looks like they need a vacation.
The only thing Kovac is doing wrong is not coming out retirement. Sorry another thing he’s doing wrong is assuming the players have the heart he had. I’ve heard rumours of Modric being like a cancer in the locker room.
@Mali ante……….really?????? Then why do the players demand to receive at least 40% of the money from the World Cup appearance.
I don’t care either way, but I think they should get paid. Remember, they are giving up private time and they are not being compensated for it. Imagine if you did something where others made money from th work you do, but you didn’t get anything for it.
If players aren’t getting payed enough then they shouldn’t fucking play. They shouldn’t give up their free time. I would rather Modric didn’t give up his free time. Fuck Modric the little cunt off then you’ll see Rakitic shine like he did at Sevilla.
@ Ziva
I really think you don’t.
We all know when you play for your national teams you don’t do it for the money…it has never been for the money.
@ Stef
I’d agree with that too. There definitely isn’t much flow or chemistry….they really don’t have a leader nor the quality in a few different positions. As Poglavnik said – we are not a top 10 team.
@Mali Ante………OK, thanks for clarification. But, I do know.
I never said money was everything. I said I think players deserve to be compensated for giving up their free time. if the federation and associated sponsors are profiting,why should not the players be allowed to be receive fair compensation.
Honestly guys it’s not heart or the will to play.
It’s all about chemistry. This team just doesn’t have it.
Last time there was any chemistry was ’08.
Since then nista!
We need to find guys that can play together and have a mutual understanding. Right now these guys are all individuals.
@Ziva
Always looking to get under people’s skin to get a reaction but as always you offer nothing in your posts. One of these days you will mature and realize money isn’t everything.
And it’s not about equating wins and losses with heart…..if you ever played you’d know.
Things I’m finally coming to terms with after today:
We are not a top 10 team.
We are not a perrenial threat to win a qualifying group.
We ARE a play-off team, as in you can count on us needing a two legged playoff to qualify for anything.
Nothing to be ashamed of just some much needed perspective.
When you guys judge heart, do you have a 4K Ultra HD TV to check if they have any heart. or are you doing so watching on your computer or Iphone?
And do you equate heart with win/losses. Meaning if we win, that means we played with heart. And any loss means we played with no heart? Just checking.
Plus, can you really blame the players. They are not getting paid to play for the repka. I honestly think it might be time to start paying players if they play for the national team. Not just for Croatia, but for all countries. The federations are making money, why shouldn’t the players be allowed to take a certain percentage of that money. If we tied their performance to cash, maybe they would show more “heart”.
While your suggestion to apply should be considered, at the end of the day it is not worth. After all, we all know, well most of us do at least, that mamic controls the strings. So, you would have to have Mamic’s approval to get the job.
@ Ganga – can’t agree with you more.
No leadership and their heart fades in and out. Some of you forget the same players (mostly) smashed both of these teams not too long ago….what has changed? Coach? You can blame Kovac all you want but it’s on the players. He played with massive heart back in the day and to see this type of lacklustre performance just burns his ass…..and most others on this site!
Just reading the posts and it sounds like the world is over. Some of you should apply for the coaching position since it may be open soon.
That 98 team had issues as well int eh locker room. Talent, on the field leader and luck helped. Don’t forget, we were in at the time what might have been the easiest group ever in WC history. It was Argentina and three first timers (Jamaica, Cro and Japan). Then we played Romania in the round of 16 and an Asanovic flop in the box got us a PK, next round we beat Germany after we were dominated for the first 30 minutes and Germany than got a red card.
The 98 team had issues…..don’t forget what type of cancer Puppet Suker was in the locker room. He was hated by most of his teammates, but his goals made up for it.
This team lacks leadership, discipline and heart. Talent can only take you so far. The 98 team had it all. A true reflection on Croatian society back then and now.
I am all in for the u17 World Cup.
Jebi ga strap it on for another play-offs.
Let’s find out who has the stones to bring it with all the marbles to play for.
“Sve znaju tamo u Hrvatska.”
All this posturing and ZERO innovation when it comes to how we deploy our talent.
Greece got the better of us today witthout Bogdanović we did not have enough to overcome a tough Greek crew with veteran killers and an army of bigs.
But the coach played Šarić and Hezonja despite their youthful folly at times. And they both will continue to make big plays and learn to make less of the bonehead ones. They will both come up big down the line during the playoffs because of the minutes they are getting right now.
I will mediate Monday and pray Bogdanović is ready for Tuesday as the team bounces back for the next three.
So, as I’m cathing up on the post match remarks, it appears Puppet Suker won’t confirm if he backs Kum Kovac. Says the exec. committee will hold their meeting on Wednesday.
So, this raises the following question……
Is this he Short term pain for long term gain plan I mentioned earlier.
Remember, Strucnjak Stimac had back-to-back shitty results which led to his removal. Are we about to witness the same for Kum Kovac. Another short term pain for long term gain situation??
Heart moj kurac .
We are TOO SLOW!
Modric is NOT MARADONA OR MESSI. He needs players to work with on the flanks and up top. He played great against Azerbaijan and got subbed out at ’70 min?
Rakitic is fed up with playing with old scrubs. He is world class and never seems to be put in a place to excel for the repka.
Kovac took a crap on Strinic and now Vrsajlko has to play LB as a natural right footed player.
Mandžukić has missed his last 10 chances in front of goal!
Kovac stabilized the Stimac debacle and now we need some real vision.
He actually blamed the players for these past two matches. Classic “ask the players” why we lost ?
International football is for young studs NOT old duds.
Play the young guys and compete with energy and attacking verve.
We are the slowest team in Europe.
What’s worse is that we have young speed in many positions to bring into the fold and choose not to because we know something that no one else knows? Pa da.
Losing at a Casino dosen’t affect me at all. Now what crime has he commited? I seriously don’t follow this Mamic drama, I just like to watch football.
Oh, let there be no doubt. Puppet Suker is a loser…….Just ask a specific casino in Vegas. They will confirm he is a loser….and a big loser.
I was talking about Suker
@Spajic s neba
If you don’t know just say you don’t know. Those are some wild accusations. No way he’s a loser, he’s a golden boot winner.
Yes, a “clear cut Hrvat” indeed.
You people aren’t stupid, crazy or on drugs. The lot of you are just ignorant:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kmn8Xm9kgg
There’s your clear cut Hrvat for you.
wait a minute, are people pissed at Puppet Suker? What happened to all the love he was getting from these board a short time ago?
Comedy my friends, comedy.
Sucked Mamic’s cock, among being a loser and a criminal.
@Spajic s neba
What has Suker done since?
Croatia’s best players have been playing not to get hurt for some time now.
It is happening with other national teams as well.
Play the kids who are looking to make an impression – the ones yet to earn big contracts.
It might get mistaken for “playing with heart”, but, who cares?
No more, please, of what we saw from Modric, Rakitic, and Mandzukic.
It looked like a waste of time for them – and it certainly was for all of us.
We have some very good technical players but lack pace. Unfortunately we also lacked both creativity and heart today.
Say what you will about Kovac but this is squarely on the players….they played horribly both games. After the second goal they completely stopped playing. Srna killed us today…I think he needs to man up and hand the captain’s arm band to someone else…trouble is we really don’t have that leader. By default it would be Modric, Rakitic or even Corluka.
This does remind me of the Stimac tailspin a bit. Some change has to happen – the same old doesn’t work.
Mamic & Suker are patriotic frauds. Scoundrels. I care not that Suker visited Pavelic’s grave. Everything he’s done since, proves otherwise. Mamic sings praises to Yugoslavia one day, and the next he’s attending Zvonko Busic’s funeral. He even went as far to try and “explain” to RTS-Serbian TV how “Busic wasn’t a terrorist.” He certainly wasn’t, but who the fuck are you to be discussing Zvonko Busic with Belgrade reporters?
WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU to be taking about Zvonko Busic??? And to a Serbian audience! If it weren’t sad, it’d be comical.
So I say, fuck Suker, Mamic, INDEX and Robert Prosinecki. All YUGOSLAV scum.
Zivio Simunic – the man they betrayed!
All is not lost…….We have Kum Kovac to fix this with his vast coaching experience……..oh wait!!!!
But, we have the great leadership and respect that Puppet Suker inspires to fix this situation…….oh wait!!!!
That blonde whore (according to muslims) saying it would be racist to send the muslims back. So many losers confuse racism with discrimination. How many of you guys watched the clip?
Shity! Just shity.
This is happening because the Catholic faith is disappearing in Croatia. God has to punish this deceitful nation.
Watch this
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rSOOsmv7A_I
@Anonymous
They won what they were allowed to win. Last I checked, we didn’t win Bosnia back. Like I said once before Croatia is a puppet state, and puppets need a master to be controlled.
@ anon
Nothing changes without blood being spilled. They refuse to see the danger that they can avoid. We need more Muslims to get the gears going.
@karlovac74…….you are baking me for the loss????? Awesome. I’ll take credit for it, if that is your logic.
Someone remind me when Rakitic’s has played a great game for the repka against a really good opponent in a meaningful game. I’ll go back to what I said a few years ago……give me a guy who plays better for the national team (someone like Landon Donovan) than someone who only shows up for the club side.
And I will echo something said earlier……if you think the answer right now is inserting a guy like Rebic who can’t get minutes at the club level, then this team is in terrible shape. Rebic may one day be a true player, but not now.
Also, I’d like to repeat something I said when qualifying started. If we drop Srna, drop him completely. He either starts or is gone. Vrsaljko is better right now.
If we shit the bed in the next game, is it time for Kum Kovac to leave. Remember, short term pain for long term gain.
Once again, thanks to all of you proving to me that I can always count on some of you (not all) for entertainment.
And since you Croats voted to sell your independence to the EU only 2 decades after you fought for & won it, you can expect Italy to start demanding Croatia do its part and relieve Italy of some of its African refugee crises, while (ironically) now nationalist Serbia shuttles Syrian refugees TO the EU.
But hey, “what’s one point?” “what’s a few Chinese?” “what’s a few African refugees?” what’s a few Syrian refugees?” Anti-whites are smart enough to extort from Croatia in small increments so that each extortion is easily accepted and every proceeding extortion seems trivial when compared to all the previous extortions combined.
Bye bye Croatia!
Actually I was the only one who said we don’t deserve to lose a point.
I hope that one point uefa took away is what costs Croatia qualification b/c people who get down on their hands and knees to grovel before their political correctness masters deserve what they get. All of you cowards were actually thankful that uefa extorted from Croatia. Croatia is still going to be called “racist” and “Nazi” no matter how much you apologize, why not stand up for yourselves? I bet that minor act of vandalism was sabotage by the Italians so don’t expect them to get a point against Norway if THEY don’t need it.
So Strinic supposedly isn’t in the team because he doesn’t “bleed for the checkers.” I didn’t watch today’s game but which players bled for the checkers today?
If you wish to read the full post refer back to the Olic to MLS article.
Ziva Istina says:
@Karlovac74…………..You mention committing suicide if a rival wins it. I laught at that comment. And honestly, kind of hope to see the Serbs win just to see if the homers would actually follow through on such a crazy threat/idea.
See the one thing I do know as die-hard fan or player you never JINX the team by saying something so stupid because your ego is bigger then the fan base. When you put shit like this into the universe bad stuff happens.
Now that being said. I blame Ziva Istina solely for this loss. You broke the cardinal rule and now I’m going to laugh because you will reap what you sow.
Ok we go from beating them 5-1 at home, to losing 2-0 away. Same Coach and Players, yet two Vastly different results. What the Hell is going on here!!!!???? The performance is just so lop-sided that it’s inexplicable.
Mamic and his hrvatstvo
http://www.vecernji.hr/nogomet/nostalgicni-mamic-jugoslavija-je-bila-najljepsa-zemlja-859063
Spajic s neba was right about the people who want Prosinecki being mutts though.
@ Spajić s neba
disagree, you can say what you want about suker and mamic but those two are not jugos, if anything clear cut Hrvati and maybe this is why index wants them to go so badly
Maybe Modric and Rakitic are over rated? Every time I watch Barcelona, thats how I fell about Rakitic . Modric looks better for Real, I admit ,but why do football commentators always try to find genius when it’s not there?
Bring in youth even if they are benched for their teams. Better than this shit .
Yeah I agree but they are clearly calling out Suker and Mamic!
Index.Yu is a greater-Serbian psy-op warfare portal in the heart of Croatia
That said, yugoslavs Šuker & Mamić must go.
@slavonac
I won’t read anything from index. They are so jugo slanted. They must be loving this lose in Oslo.
People that hope for Prosinečki leading the squad are from mixed marriages; Serb lovers a.k.a Yugoslavs.
Index just put out this article, I think some of you are gonna like it:
http://www.index.hr/mobile/clanak.aspx?category=sport&id=840403
Must be hard for players to be motivated when your own coach in a crass display of nepotism has his own brother as assistant.
If they have to rely on a 19 year old barely bloodied Halilovic they are fucked, sorry to say. Either this group demonstrates they want to go to France with tqo straight wins, or don’t waste everyomes time and give ut up alreasy…
Think about it if our players are at clubs like Real Madrid,Barca,Inter so on why would they want to risk getting injuried and playing 3rd gear. They are greedy
YOu are not going to win when Modric looks that sloppy, and the team runs out of steam in the second half. I thought Mandzukic actually looked much improved compared to the last game. Subasic looked a bit lost on both goals, he decided to head the other way of the shot.
I agree about the lack of heart, these guys looked like they were disorganized, uninterested, and with no desire to play each other or for their country. Not sure what is next, however I hope Kovac has something up his sleeve.
Perhaps Hallilovic could bring some speed, skill, and enthusiasm?
wow, was Modric playing for Croatia or for norway
I dont’ want to hear about kovac, or mamic as the problem.
The problem is these players, they don’t give a damn and it shows. Oh well no reason to really care, if they don’t why should we???
Heart, work rate, sacrificing your body…all the same and yes it’s true. You have to give the extra, especially when there’s a lot at stake…as in this game we have dropped down to 3rd place!
Boze moj…
Another lethargic performance with Mandza not able to bury anything. Srna really played poorly tonight and I’d say put a fork in him…he’s done. Sadly this lineup is about as good as it gets for us right now as our young talent isn’t quite ready. It’s not Kovac’s fault the players didn’t show up. After the second goal they completely gave up….zero heart which is sad to say.
@ Soul Champ
I agree with what you are saying about speed. We definitely need to inject some into this lineup. I think we need to play with more speed that will create more chances which we desperately need. Jedvaj and Vrsaljko as our backs with either a Kovacic/Rebic/Halilovic winger to compliment Perisic. At this point we need to get our shit together for the playoff we will be in….it would be interesting if we got Turkey yet again lol
Heart is often the difference between victory and defeat…two technically even teams, the difference more often than not is the team with more heart that wants it more.
I will have to agree with lack of passion and “heart”. I know ziva doesn’t believe in heart, but man these guys lack heart. One player out there that never lacks heart, ivica olic guy will play hard until he dies.
It’s all up to Prosinecki in October. if he can miraculously pull off a tie with Italy in October then Italy will have to try in their final game against Norway…without taking points away from Italy…Norway and Italy will play out for a tie….this of course assuming that croatia gets their act together and beats Bulgaria and Malta
This is true:
Hrvatska igrala kao da joj je taktiku složio Norvežanin: Izborniče, ne čekajte otkaz…
Where was the passion tonight? Where was dying for the grb tonight? It has been lost…..let’s see what kind of character this group has going forward. The talent is there, but is the heart.
If one thing epitomized Kovac’s tenure with the national team was his undying effort for the crest…let’s see if the rest of the group has it.
A couple of years back Romeo Jozak visited our local Croatian club in Mississauga looking for players. In his address to our executive he indicated Croatia have technical players, and if they don’t they can teach that. What they were looking for was fajteri! Big, big hearts that would die for the sahovnica….today I didn’t see that.
Rime to step up boys.
Na pitanje zašto se Hrvatska nije bacila na glavu, Kovač je bio jasan.
“Pitajte igrače zašto se na bacaju na glavu…….”
for those not solid in their understanding of Croatian, Niko basically saying to ask the players what happened after tonight’s game.
Get your popcorn ready.
Kovacs plan was do anything not to concede a goal. Which includes playing slow .passing back. And then hopefully get a goal but he thinks 0-0 is ok because as a defender u must keep a clean sheet.
I say fuck the clean sheet. Just like in 98 we scored more than we conceded. If anything it makes for an entertaining game. FOR FUKS SAKE WE DIDNT HAVE 1SHOT ON TARGET TONIGHT !
@slavonac,
First half was perfect, this is where i apologize to kovac for bitching about tactics. Our best chance is wasting clock, ping pong bullshit, sit on de, and make sure we stay organized. Once we went to attack mode in second half we gave up 2. I applaud kovac he knows half the guys out there suck, like I said our best chance is to bunker and score of set piece.
@golden child
You cant compare NT to club, we got 2 elite players maybe 2 more that are good and the rest are marginal. Club teams like barca, inter, madrid are full of good/great players. Thats the difference. Modric and rakitic are creative geniuses but how can you be creative while surrounded by people who lack that skill set? This was not kovac’s fault.
Scary thing is that if Italy beat Azerbaijan in their next game, they officially clinch a Euro 2016 berth and have nothing to play for in their final game against Norway.
They would probably field a B team, and Norway could pull the victory.
I”m guessing that the players think since they’re in big clubs now they shouldn’t try their best so they dont get hurt. #BringBackBilic
Italy winning against Bulgaria now.
Norway playing Malta in their next game with a chance to stretch the gap between us and them to 5 points.
We need to win our final two games and hope for Italy to bail us out (again) for Euro 2016 as they did for us during WC 2014 qualifying.
Can anyone describe what the plan was from minute 1 to minute 35? Was it a ping pong match or a soccer game? What exactly was the strategy?
Our midfield looked like Swiss cheese, nobody controlled the play and settled it, where was the creativity?
Yes, the coach doesn’t play but I wonder why the players didn’t look organized? I’m not excited to watch a very troubled team looking less than ready to play…how long will this last?
We never do it easily, never. You guys can blame Kovac all you want but I point the finger at the players.. where was Luja?!? Perisic?!? Rakitic?!? Mandzukic?!? Supposed wolrd vclass player on top teams shit the bed…now we will seee what kibd of charactee they REALLY have…
@jarac
The players have been dogshit because coaching and executive is god awful. When you see these players perform differently for club over country, there is definitely a problem with how those players are being lined up, given instruction, and even inspires before the match. Sure, it’s their fault for not being professionals, but the blame also sits with the staff just as much (if not more)
Players who looked awful
Mario – missing the target more than a drunk dart player
Rakitic – legit seems like he’s not trying…
Modric – didn’t look like Luke at all..
Srna – frightening at best caused both goals from most basic shot fake…
Brozovic- failing to make simplest passes known to man
Players who were good
Perisic – attacking beating the D several times crossing to a useless ST
Corluka – did his part
Stime- prevented a modric fuckup and was relatively ok with pace and crossing
Pjaca – for not his offense but tracking back to defend
So basically whole team was awful except 3-4players that is a exceptionally poor performance.
It’s disappointing we didn’t score, but C’mon Srna was ripped apart by Bergets TWICE! And all too easily, school yard defending really.
If Srna keeps playing like that, I don’t care who you have as Coach or at CF, we will give up goals and lose.
Funny how no one mentions how shitty rakitic plays for us , and don’t tell me about the out of position bullshit, I don’t want to hear it. Someone always has something to say about Corluka, wtf did Corluka do wrong today?
This Croatia looks like worst in last decade for sure …heartless players with no will to prevale. We blew a first place lead to playoff position ….back to top 50 of world and “team under construction” for next 4years. 🙁
I just have to sit here and shake my head. You knew the game was over when they scored because yes, they are mental midgets. The problem is , unfortunately so is most of our people, Including most of the posters here. It’s a mentality that will never go away . If it’s not the ref its stimac, if it’s not stimac it’s Kovac, it’s always mamic , fucking enough already. As soon as the groups were drawn most of you had us in France immediately, in fact mentioning how this would be a perfect time to treat this as a tryout for youngsters! Lmao. Now all of a sudden prosinecki is gonna be some savior? Who the fuck is he? Is he gonna get on the field and score a fucking goal! Stop being ignorant. Yes , of course the coach is part of it , but today had nothing to do with him. If one of those chances go in for us we win , then it’s ok I guess. I’m so sick and tired of this , when Mamic croaks everyone will be calling the next guy a crook , thief also same shit, there is no long term gain . Mi smo kurac od naroda, Sami smo krivi za sve, uvijek seremo po svome.
it’s ok though
we have players now at Real Madrid, Juventus, Inter, Bacelona, Liverpool, Fiorentina, Hamburg, etc.
3 to 4 of our players have recently or are currently captaining their club teams
we’ll be fineeeeeeeeeeeeeee, we’ll figure it out
you know what other NT has that EXACT same way of thinking and also suffers from mental midget syndrome constantly?
SRBIJA
The run is over for:
Kovac – stabilized a sinking ship with basic organization, NOT ONE IDEA going forward.
Srna – legs bave been shot for two Years. Fully out of squad.
Pranjić zato je SRANJIC.
In effect immediately :
New coach.
Strinic at LB.
Vrsajlko at RB.
Jedvaj – CB.
Vida – CB.
Too Slow … Have to go:
Ćorluka
Mandžukić
Srna
Fills need for speed:
Halilovic
Rebic
Vrsaljko
Perišić
Kovacic
Jedvaj
This 6 play because they are fast.
Based one the fact they are fast.
Because they are fast for their clubs.
Oh yeah because they are FAST !
Better be technical superior like Modric if you cannot run.
@ basketball hrvati
Hezonja made athletic plays all night vs Slovenia. Yeah he was a bit nervous with the ball but a steal and explosive dunk, put back after a missed free throw, an at the box rub above the rim (all ball, no foul) is why you start young talent.
@ Svima
Need to drop all Balkan Block headedness from Croatian society.
Nothing Balkan supports Croatia EVER!
Uvijek vjerni.
I don’t blame Kovac entirely. Yea he could have benched Mandzu but I think he figured that with the number of chances that have been coming his way he’d eventually break the duck. But as we have just witnessed a Mandzu goal looks like it won’t come from the next 30 chances. His best play was the goalline clearance header.
Srna was consistently embarassed and having him play right back is not the right option. I never like seeing both Rakitic and Modric playing in the deeper mid roles. Kovac relied too much on service to Mandzu when Perisic is our real goal threat. Why not have Modric look to play off of Perisic in the attacking third. Before people start coming out with the pitchforks and torches if Mandzu buries one of those chances at the start of the second half and we’re not looking at a Norway victory.
Honestly I would have played Schifo at CB and moved Corluka to RB.
Italy plays the Bulgari soon, who knows maybe Italy loses to give Cro competition to in our race to the bottom.
I liked the starting lineup but the team played like crap.best player was perisic. But didn’t have his best game. What is kovsc.thinking to have three stickers on. The guy is clearly lost. Pjacs looked decent I see some potential,you can tell he was nervous,
Modric sucked and so did Dario. I liked modric on Tottenham he was forced to make plays. He needs to do that here. He has to do more for croTizn then at Madrid. Little bigger looked lazy.
Kovacs pederu . VAN ILI OUT! FUK HEADS GOT US SET UP TOO DEFENSIVELY . MODRIC WAS A DEFENDER. WE ARE A FREE PLAYING NATION WHO TAKES RISKS . PROSINECKI IS THE MAN . ATTACKER BY NATURE
With the skill we have in the midfield they should be controlling the entire game. Nevermind coaching this team doesn’t play with a will to win. Partly a coaches fault but I say the players need to rise to the occasion and play for the country with all their heart. These guys got their cash already and play half ass for Croatia. No one on that time played hard except maybe perisic. Srna should be done after this.
I knew the meltdown on this board would be epic on sunday. I said so on Thursday. Thanks for the entertainment
I would have given Kalinic an opportunity to lead the line. Far from ideal option, but Manzo had no business starting today. You don’t start a striker in a serious drought in a huge game like this.
do we have 14 or 15 points right now? I’m reading different things
Yes mandzu is struggling and can’t finish lately. But come on, kovac is clue less. We need a 2nd striker to be given a chance and not Olic. Pjaca over kovacic is a criminal act.
Srna was embarrass today he doesn’t need anyone to tell him it’s time to retire from the repka. I do feel bad for him because that’s how he will go out.
Unless we convince prosenecki I don’t know of a charismatic coach who can calm the ship.
It’s not Srna’s fault Kovac put him in, he’s a defensive liability.
Stinic LB, Sime RB.
Pjaca actually had a decent first half. He had a few decent dribbles and tracked back defensively. Definite promise with him. He’s one of the last culprits.
We can’t afford a foreign coach so forget about it.
You start with the youth now, next game.
Get rid of this bad blood feeling.
Start the Jedvas, Kovacic, Halilovic etc.
I said it 20 fuckn times Srna should play RW not RB!
The Dutch are a shit show too. Now 4th in their group after the Turks took them to the woodshed.
We overrate our players – just like the Serbs.
@ Jarac
i’m with you on the players just collectively shitting the bed the last 2 games…
but what is a coach for then? our trener has to either motivate these guys somehow, make the right tactical changes, something…
i can take 1 stinker of a game, you go have to fly out to Borat-stan at the end of the summer for a meaningless qualifer really… i’ll give them the benefit of the doubt for the azeri game
but this sranje? our boys had to come out, get the early goal, take the 3 points and go back home.
what happened? mental midget syndrome kicked in, we get embarrassed and now our potential for winning the group is out the window and we might not even qualify…
yeah mandzuka had the 2 worst nt games of his life, but jesus – is he the only one who can score of us? where is the rest of this fucking team? again, the trener has to step in during times like this and figure shit out, obviously Niko i brate did not, 2nd game in a row.
I’m so embarrassed
Time to bring LAknat as a coach ..
let him to show the Master Piece of Tactic >
with The God of Halilovic as a secret weapon
Srna should have been cut loose years ago, has become a hack on the pitch and has always been a terrible choice for captain. A leader of men my ass.
@Allen
who you gonna replace the veterans with? Name them? Srna can atleast send balls into the box. Look at Pjaca, did nothing absolutely nothing? Who u gonna play over mandza?
this result really makes me sick, no excuse for this loss, players with no heart and a coach that can’t seem to light a fire under their asses, never seen so many hrvati on a team with no srce
Players have underwhelmed for the most part, but why is Brozovic playing in an advanced role while Rakitic is playing so deep? Why does Mandzukic continue to get coddled despite being absolutely underwhelming?
Srna was going to start regardless. I would absolutely love to see a non-Croatia come in and stop coddling him as well.
So many of these veterans get to walk into the starting 11 without any pressure. Srna, Mandzukic, Brozovic were all piss poor. Rakitic/Modric weren’t much better either. Still there has to be better ways to utilize them. Desperate long balls aren’t the answer.
Peter North,
But Mamic isn’t THAT bad. Apparently it’s a headless snake. If you cut them off, someone shittier will take over.
Who could we realistically bring in as coach?
Wow 2-0 Norway! Ever since the Mexico game nothing surprises me. Let’s keep hiring people w no experience.
What a joke! Zero zero mental toughness. Always the same op same ol.
Kovac interview: we were better and deserved the win. I like the way we played hahaha
Are you guys watching the same game? You can’t always blame the coaches, these players have sucked ass on the pitch.
Did you guys see the payout for an outright Norway win? Very nice.
@Ziva, there is no short term pain for long term gain as you say.
It’s simple. Mamic and Suker need to go, cut the head off the body. Simple, that’s the only gain.
Are we gonna fire Kovac and hire anothe stiff then for him and so on under this puppet regime? Everyone on here knows what has to be done but when is it ever going to happen? Who knows.
As long as those mujos at the top are around, we are going to see the same type of sranje.
Allen I agree bro!
Better to embarrass ourselves today than next summer.
The day Bilic or a non-Croatian coach is hired, I’ll regain faith in Croatia possibly doing something major. Until then, same old mediocrity.
So glad I opted out to miss what I imagine is the best shit show.
Good news, Malta is up 2-1 on the Azerbans………
Short term pain for long term gain. Mental midgets. Did I get anything else wrong?
Hope Niko i brate enjoy these last 10 minutes on the bench
Srna Fuuuuucccccckkkkkkkkkkk!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And here come the long balls
Love how Brozovic stays on. What does he offer that makes him worthy of staying on?
@MelbCro
agreed we can blame the players all we want…the fault iscoaching staff
Starting to lose track of Manzo’s misses.
I do have to admit i apologize to our coaches for there strategy, our best chance to win is bunker and set piece, thats it. If we try to push offensively our defense cant hold on the counter.
Kovac is so out of his depth
Osama Bin Berget going for the hat trick
Srna’s best asset at this point in his career – diving.
Igraju ko kurac. Norway is stringing together beautiful passes and scoring goals. Should be 3:0. Kovac and the Kumovi need to go
Absolutely disgusting!!
Fuckin Srna biting on that move like he was going one on one w pele in his prime
cardiac croats, never know which team will show up.
This is the first time I’m happy about a loss.
Kovac is getting fired.
Let’s hope we can get Prosinecki.
Let the shitshow begin.
Mas u picku
2-0
Jedvaj is the new right back!
never mind,done…
Modric with a baddddddddd mistake, Vrsajlko saves the game basically
Ragnar Lothbrook with the brace! LOL
down a goal I gamble on rebic
LOL seriously.
When a team parks the bus, Olić isn’t going to do anything with that.
Kramarić is the logical choice.
Mamic really hates Kramaric doesn’t he?
Might be time to stop coddling Modric. He’s been ineffective and nearly cost them there.
I find it amusing that we beat up on the Azeris and Nowary a combined 11-1 at home and currently we have drawn in Azerbaijan 0-0 and are losing today 1-0. What a turn of events.
Norway have the bus parked. All 11 behind the ball.
Olic on for Pjaca
Olic as the savior. Fantastic.
What are the chances of getting Prosinecki after this game?
We don’t have a goal scorer.
Glad to see twinkle toes Mandzuka has attended the Darijo Srna scool for diving. Svaka cast Mario.
We need a goal scorer to be subbed in…this is starting to look Stimac esque!!!
I don’t know if we will score another goal in the group qualifying stage..haha. So unimaginative in attack.
Mandzukic is beyond useless at this point. His streak of wasted chances might hit double digits.
Does anyone see us scoring 2 goal this half? I don’t.
I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL DRAW!
Anddddddddd we’re in 3rd
We will win!
That’s what happens when you don’t take your chances. Here come the playoffs.
Board meltdown in 3….2….1..
Srna wtf!
If Mario Mandzukic scores off a bicycle kick… LOL
Aaand that’s what happens when u don’t take your chances..
Just as I encourage Srna…he gets gassed. Well this is awful.
That’s Rakitic completely screening Mario and whiffing on the header.
Srna send in a good cross for the first time in ages!!! Encouraging start, but they really should have scored. Great chances.
mario…what else do you want for service?
Modric has wasted a lot of balls.
I worry all these knocks will catch up to him soon.
U don’t heal in your 30’s like you did in your 20’s.
Need more SPEED!
Really could of used Kovačić today, probably would have started.
Pray Kovač makes immediate adjustments.
Norway had 1 goal chance in the first half and will have another if we do not shift our attack.
I’m going to admit I had faith in Kovac, I believed he had enough experience and common sense to set lineup, strategies and formations. When he first appeared I gave him the time to adapt and I afforded him the fact that the team he inherited wasn’t necessarily his.
I am now openly going to say that in my opinion, the guy has severe mental blockages and I think he lacks in player selection and strategy…period!
I didn’t go along with the Kum Kovac narrative because I thought he’d prove to be a good coach, I still don’t buy the kum Kovac narrative but what I do say is he is like a fish out of water and has to change…or he should be replaced soon!
His stupid and illogical lineups make me shake my head…Rakitic in the shallow position while Brozovic starts in the advanced position? Who the better distributor and who has the better shot?
My his game looks bad and although they started to gain possession in the latter part of the half, our team looks like a toothless monster…no bite whatsoever!
So now will you all blame Kovac again when we don’t win. I mean at some point these players need to perform, Jesus christ. I’m really getting tired of rakitic, he looks horrible again, best players so far are Corluka and vrsaljko, no surprise with Corluka, our most consistent and underrated
man we lack pace, nice chance by mandza but we are slow as shit.
Im gonna goto bedsies
wake me up when we score next
might be a few weeks
135 minutes without a goal. This drought has to end today right?
Finally a well-executed set piece. Not a bad take there by Manzo.
Ok so how the hell are you guys watching this? I’m in the States and my ESPN3.com can’t seem to load.
Ok so how the hell are you guys watching this? I’m in the States and my ESPN3.com can’t seem to load.
That set piece was laughable
That set piece..lol.
What on earth was the idea of that free kick?
Rakitic looking bad on his takes for our 2 corners..
looks like another 0-0 draw comin right up fellas
might hop back into bed at half-time methinx
i think its the hearing of the appeal martinhrvat
yeah sloppy as my ballsies
sigh
Sloppy game so far
They actually had numbers for a second with great hold up play from Manzo. Brozovic takes a 30 yard shot. So much for an upgrade today.
What is the September 17th disciplinary hearing that the commentator keeps speaking of? I thought this occurred already hence the one point deduction?
This is very erratic…no possession and a lot of turnovers!
Brozovic already wasteful in possession. Pjaca and Perisic have had opportunities, yet he can’t play the simple pass.
Brozovic playing in an advanced role. This usually doesn’t end well.
stream:
http://firstrows.org/soccer/norway-vs-croatia-frs116dad
it’s hard to see our box cos its in the sun and the rest of the field is in the shade
fuck my balls i actually got up at 2 am after drinking a 6-pack earlier and having work tomorrow (later this morning)
better be worth it !
That looks better.
Hope Brozovic looks good today.
streams for the game???
Besides not benching Mandzukic, this might be the best starting 11 that Kovac has put out in ages.
Finally he sees the light…even the pjaca selection over Olic is surprising….this lineup is actually as good as we can field right now.
I see flashes of real potential in Rebic. Man it’s a gamble but I would give him or kramaric some minutes near the end.Curious to see if srna and sime can get good crosses into mandzukic.He needs a goal to get some confidence back.
Contemplating his next course of action, the main character in the play Hamlet declared “to be or not to be.” And So too is this game Croatia’s ” to be or not to be” moment!!!
We all know Pranjic doesn’t belong there!
Pranjic shouldn’t even be on the squad!
Vrsaljko did really well last game while Pranjic did nothing, this is a good sign and possibly a result of Kovac realizing he has to do what’s best, not to be stubborn and force guys in that he prefers.
Sude MI I’m so happy about that! More wing play on the left!
Hmmmm, no Pranjic….nice!
This is the posted lineup:
17:10 Objavljeni sastavi, Mandžukić ipak starta od prve minute! Hrvatska: Subašić – Srna, Ćorluka, Vida, Vrsaljko – Modrić, Brozović, Rakitić, Perišić, Pjaca – Mandžukić
Agree…we will see Sranjic and probably Olic. Which will be ironic considering Kovac thought Pjaca was our best player last game.
I’m reading that they are denying Croatian fans into the stadium…..
@Horvat I think that’s my lineup as well. It is the best we currently have. We will see Pranjic at LB though and probably Olic in for Pjaca. When I see Olic dancing around the touch line and inevitably dribbling the ball out of bounds into our bench it gives me instant diarrhea.
………….Kalinic…….
Perisic..Rakitic….Pjaca
……Modric..Brozovic……
Vrsaljko..Vida..Corluka..Srna
…………Subasic……
There isn’t any “gain” until Mamic and to a bit of a lesser degree, Suker are out. Simple.
Hey who knows which TV channels in the states are showing Norway vs Croatia today? I’m in Chicago and want to watch it at a bar
Some lineup changes are definitely in order. I would love for Kovac to sit Mandzukic and bring him on later in an effort to light a fire in him…it won’t happen though.
With no kovacic to bring on as a sub, I wonder who he will use as his subs. Rebic has great potential and offers something we don’t have much of, someone who can beat a defender with his speed, unfortunately he hasnt been playing and was very poor in his last few outings for the repka. Brozovic should start as he’s been good….I guess Kovac thought Pjaca was the player of the game for us…don’t see that but it doesn’t matter.
I definitely think Olic starts…he’s shown up for us in big games over the years and maybe he has one more in him.
Hopefully he sees the light with Sranjic….much rather see an out of position Vrsaljko play LB…..should be an interesting game.
Let us see what happens later today.
I still think we win today in spite of our coaching staff.
But, lets say we don’t. Do we begin thinking about the short term pain for long term gain category.
also the points table u show there is a bit so-so cos it hasn’t had our point taken off yet for the swastika
Wow:
https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/11953074_964890593574223_7270523490411122683_n.jpg?oh=9fd41268221364a51023dea5a06452be&oe=56AB7E10&__gda__=1449751674_033b3ece211c6e8601d68f37e5ed89c7
oh yeah – Go Team !