SPAIN
Mario Mandžukić and French teammate Antoine Griezmann are peaking at the perfect time for Atletico Madrid. In a 3-0 win over Almeria on Saturday, Mandza converted a penalty in the 13th minute before assisting on both Griezmann goals in the 20th and 29th minutes. The first was a cool little pass at midfield, keeping the Frenchman just onside with the second assist coming off a header in the box. With Barcelona losing to Malaga, Atletico now sit three points behind Barca but still remain seven back of leaders Real Madrid.
Atletico travel to Germany on Wednesday to take on Bayer Leverkusen in a tricky Champions League Round of 16 test. Atletico will be favored to make the quarterfinals, but Mandza and company will still need to bring their A-game. The Croatian has been the perfect replacement for Diego Costa, but comparing the Bundesliga and La Liga is like apples and oranges. (My full rant on Spanish football to come later this week.)
Mandžukić Goal & Assists
Real Madrid’s Luka Modrić returned to training this week for the first time since injuring a thigh muscle in November in Croatia’s Euro qualifying match against Italy. Modrić should only be sidelined another two weeks at most and does not need to be rushed back as Real Madrid have a four point lead on Barcelona in La Liga and had a comfortable 2-0 win against Schalke in Champions League this week.
Ivan Rakitić once again came off the bench for Barcelona, in the 63rd minute this weekend, as his side were shocked in a 1-0 defeat to Malaga. Rakitić has not been starting for Barca, who now sit four points behind leaders Real Madrid. Barcelona take on Manchester City in Champions League this week. Rakitić should get the start.
ENGLAND
Goal Nikica Jelavica Hull City vs QPR 1-0…
Nikica Jelavić doesn’t score every week in the Premier League, but when he does, it’s class. On Saturday, Jela opened up the scoring against QPR in the 16th minute with a sidewinding volley from inside the box. Hull City would score at the death to win 2-1 but Jelavić’s contribution may keep Hull City out of the relegation zone. The Tigers are now four points clear with 12 matches remaining. The question is: if Jelavić can keep this up, will Kovač try to mend the broken relationship and bring Jela back to the national side? Niko Kranjčar got the start for QPR and was subbed off in the 78th minute.
Andrej Kramarić had another solid game for Leicester City on Sunday as he played the full 90 minutes in a 2-2 draw against Everton. He played well as the lone striker for Leicester but couldn’t find the back of the net. Leicester was on their way to victory but an 88th minute Matthew Upson own goal would gift Everton a point at home. With the draw, Leicester remain four points from safety in the Premier League.
Dejan Lovren finally got a start for Liverpool in a critical match against former club Southampton. Lovren played the full 90 minutes in a 2-0 clean sheet win, picking up a yellow card along the way. Maybe the criticism will stop of the Croatian defender in his first season at Liverpool. The win gets the Reds back into the mix of things, now only two points behind a Champions League berth.
Germany
Photo: EPA/Peter Kneffel
Hamburger SV missed a golden opportunity to jump up to 10th place on the Bundesliga table but instead are looking up in 14th place after giving up an injury time goal to Borussia Mönchengladbach and settling for a draw at home on Sunday. Former Dinamo Zagreb striker, Ivica Olić, started for HSV but just lasted 25 minutes after aggravating an upper thigh muscle. No word on the extent of Ivica’s injury but early reports suggest that the Croatian international should be fit for the weekend.
Former Dinamo Zagreb prospect, Tin Jedvaj, remained sidelined for Bayer Leverkusen in a 2-2 draw against Augsburg on Saturday. Bayer still remain in the hunt for the final Bundesliga Champions League spot. Ivan Perišić was left out of Wolfsburg’s squad because of injury in a 2-1 win over Hertha Berlin.
Italy
Photo: ilnapolista.it
Former Dinamo Zagreb captain, Milan Badelj, started and went the distance for Fiorentina in a disappointing 1-1 draw to Torino on Sunday. Milan was not at fault for the equalizing goal and played well in the draw. In the tenth minute of play, Badelj was brought down in the box for a penalty kick. Was this a legit penalty or was it a flop? You be the judge.
Former Hajduk Split defender, Ivan Strinić and Napoli are at home to a Šime Vrsaljko-less Sassuolo on Monday. Marcelo Brozović and Mateo Kovačić will look to lead Inter against Duje Čop and Cagliari on Monday. Igor Bubnjić and Stipe Perica had a day off for Udinese as their match against Parma has been canceled because of money problems for Parma.
FRANCE
Danijel Subasic started in net for Monaco on Friday as he kept a clean sheet in a good 1-0 away win at Nice. Subasic made four easy saves in the match, and also received assistance from the crossbar. The wins puts Monaco fourth in Ligue 1 through 25 matches.
GREECE
Panathinaikos continued their great run of a form with a huge 2-1 win over league leaders and rivals Olympiakos on Sunday as Mladen Petric scored the winning goal. Petric got on the end of a long ball in the 79th minute and cooly finished to put his side up by two goals and in the clear. He was subbed off in the 90th minute, while both Gordon Schildenfeld and Danijel Pranjic played the whole match. The win moves Panathinaikos within three points of Olympiakos, as they have nearly made up a seemingly insurmountable gap in the last two months.
Next Matches:
Tuesday, 2/24
Barcelona at Manchester City(Champions League),
Wednesday, 2/25
Atlético Madrid at Bayer Leverkusen(Champions League), Monaco at Arsenal(Champions League),
Thursday, 2/26
Guingamp at Dynamo Kyiv Liverpool at Beşiktaş, Tottenham Hotspur at Fiorentina, Celtic at Internazionale, Wolfsburg at Sporting CP, (all Europa League),
Saturday, 2/28
Freiburg at Bayer Leverkusen, Hamburger SV at Frankfurt, Barcelona at Granada,
Sunday, 3/1
Manchester City at Liverpool, PSG at Monaco, Wolfsburg at Werder Bremen, Fiorentina at Internazionale, Udinese at Cesena, Hellas Verona at Cagliari, Atlético Madrid at Sevilla, Villarreal at Real Madrid,
~Ante Kvartuč and Denis Svirčić reporting from sunny Southern California, Zach Gilfix reporting from Minneapolis, MN
ill arrange it with your step tata;)
doubtful………………besides, how would I sneak her into the fortified basement?
im starting a fundraiser to get ziva laid… pretty sure if we got him a hooker for a week or so he may be a little nicer
Good points……not sure why Kranjcar is lumped in that mix. He never had the talent of a Modric or a Rakitic or a Kovacic. Take away Kranjcar’s last name and that he is Cico’s kid and he is an a over average player who is a borderline national team player.
I always laugh when people say Kranjcar never lived up the hype. Well, the hype was truly over the top. Personally, I think he exceeded expectations. Dude played a pivotal role in winning an FA Cup and has made a nice career as a journeyman. Plus, he helped wreck a few marriages with his wondering eye.
Kovacic just popped in his 5th goal this season.
He’s been under fire for his inconsistency, has been benched multiple times, is only 20-years old, rarely shoots on net….yet he still seems to score FIVE times this season.
We criticize him a lot here, but we have been spoiled with talent and expect our young kids to perform at bigger clubs even though they are now being sold to these clubs several years earlier than their Croatian predecessors.
What did Modric, Rakitic, and Kranjcar do at age 20?
How young were Modric, Rakitic, or Kranjcar when they first scored 5+ goals in a season (not counting the HNL)?
Kovacic is actually ahead of all three of them at the same age. Of course, this doesn’t mean he’ll be better, but I would be ecstatic if he could get to Modric or Rakitic level good.
Give him another 3 full years before we write him off, lol.
Kovacic needs time, he just hasn’t matured. Modric and Rakitic didn’t hit the next level until roughly 23-24 yrs. old.
If we look at Halilovic (18), Kovacic (20), Brozovic (22) and Coric (17) ( if he is the real deal), we potentially have an incredible midfield for years to come.
And what up with Kovacic doing the “shhhhhhh” after his goal. Is he doing that to silence his critics among the media in Italy and Inter fans????? Like they are to blame for his shitty form recently. How about playing more games at a high level. Scoring a goal against bottom feeder like he did is nice, but more is expected from him.
We have seen this before from Kovacic…..an outstanding performance than followed up with a bunch underperforming appearances. He needs consistency. Where he has struggles is against the better sides where he needs to improve his defensive responsibilities.
@bobbyv……outside of the England game where he scored, I can’t think of a game where Petric played well for the repka against a quality side. I think most of his goals came against shit teams.
I believe Jajalo also played 90 min against Lazio. Pasalic also played 75 min against Real Madrid. Decent back ups to a great midfield already.
Taking about good Croatian midfielders
Ante Coric is good, but is he that good (as in the article)? See link below:
http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=cro/news/newsid=2210929.html
So happy for Mladen Petric – class act. Never really played a bad game for Croatia. Could have definately helped out these past few years as a sub.
Kovacic has been in the “Hot Seat” recently, and I mean literally, as he has earned himself a Seat on the bench. He’s faced a chorus of criticisms for his underperformances.
But today, Kova was handed a golden opportunity to start. And boy, he looked as though he was a man on a mission. He had a well taken goal, plus he was provided that creative spark. Hopefully we see Kova take his game to another level in no time.
Let’s face it, it all boils down to a team’s midfield. And we got plenty’a Midfield FIREPOWER at moment: Rakitic, Modric, Perisic, Brozovic, Kovacic, and Badelj!
really nepoznat… great to hear he must be hungry!!
Kovacic with a beautiful back heel flick on in the build up of his own goal
@nepoznat
Makes sense, well done.
@Vatrena I usually call players I rate by their first name, so I’ll let you do the math 😀
another stream: http://www.rojadirecta.me/goto/max-deportv.net/?canal=10
shouldn’t**
@nepoznat
wouldn’t it be “Mateo & marcelo” or “kovacic & Brozovic” lol
BOTH Mateo & Brozovic starting today’s match @ Cagliari (Duje Cop starting for Cagliari):
http://www.football-italia.net/63016/line-ups-cagliari-inter
…
Mateo Kovacic finally gets his chance to shine in a new trequartista role behind Mauro Icardi and Lukas Podolski, resting Xherdan Shaqiri.
…
Cagliari: Brkic; Dessena, Rossettini, Capuano, Avelar; Donsah, Crisetig, Conti; Cossu; M’Poku; Cop
Inter: Carrizo; Campagnaro, Vidic, Juan Jesus, Santon; Guarin, Medel, Brozovic; Kovacic Icardi, Podolski
STREAM in 30 min: [url]http://sportska-tv.org/lag12/[/url]
does anyone know where i can look at videos of recent injuries in football? I need it for one of my classes
Good point. They may not be. Like I said, I only went by the line up formation.
Just cause Sturridge and Moreno were on the bench doesn’t mean that. Doesn’t make sense that they’re prioritizing Europa League in the Round of 32 when they are 2 points behind the CL spot with Man City this upcoming Sunday who face Barca tomorrow.
Nope…..I didn’t watch the game yesterday, but I did see the lineup. It wasn’t their strongest starting 11 – atleast it wasnt on paper. They got the result, so credit to Rodgers for getting it right.
@Ziva
Are you just echoing NBC commentators? Seems like that to me.
@Dukic….Liverpool is committed to their Europa League run with the hope they can win it and gain a CL spot. That could be the reason players were rested after their midweek game and it allowed Lovren the chance to play. I don’t think the boos bothered him too much or at least they shouldn’t. He has received acceptance for his lifestyle and you would think that would have been a bigger obstacle for him.
Didn’t Barca just have a run of 11-straight games undefeated. So, they lose one game and Luis Enrique is an idiot?
Plus, doesn’t Barca play Champions League this week???? Ahh, yes they do. So, maybe, just maybe Rakitic was being saved for the midweek game.
Clubs like Barca have depth and they rest players.
I have no clue if he was rested for the Man City match. I guess we will find out tomorrow.
@Armada87………you should tone down their rhetoric about the good people of “bjezigrad”.
Lovren played nervous on Sunday, but hopefully that win will give him a confidence boost.
As for Rakitic, I have no idea what is in Luis Enrique head. He wants to play these long diagonal balls and over the top, but his best player for that is on the bench. Hoping Rakitic will get a chance with a more intelligent coach.
Hvala Ante, Denis, Zach & Mr. Black!
hvala vam puno!!!!
and a happy ponedjeljak to you friend!
@armada87
Da bog ti ISIS jeba mater u srid picke.
For all you Zadrani aka peoples of ‘Bjezigrad’
are there Italian surnames like Santini still floating those neck of the woods?
1950 : Really? Don’t you have any anecdote or story to share with us about him?
I went to school with Santini he was a good player to in zadar hope he gets a B croatia call up in a match
About Santini: I like him a lot. He talks about Croatia in every interview and he seems allright. But I don’t see him play for the national team. He’s too limited. With a coach who likes him he could be playing for a mid level team in Germany or France.
i don’t know much about soccer goaltending stats but if this was hockey freaking subasic’s save percentage and goals against average would be insane good!!
where do you suppose santini will end up? i would think if he can finish at top or near the top of belgium league warrants a purchase by maybe a mid level team in germany or something??
nice game by super mario
monster strike from jelavic… like someone said he is still scoring and its not like hull are stacked with talent. id play him in LB instead of pranjic;)
nice to see petric with a nice finish… he always had the talent to score nice ones
Last post was mine.
Croatians in Belgium and Holland
Most important news was the four goals of Ivan Santini against Kv Kortrijk. Kortrijk beat Westerlo (6-0-). Ivan played the full 90 minutes and is now the top scorer in the Belgian League with 13 goals.
Meljnak won with Lokeren against Moeskroen (1-0) but Meljnak sat the match out on the bench.
So did Cale for Waasland-Beveren against Standard. Standard beat Waasland-Beveren (3-2). The other Croatian at Beveren-Waasland did even worse: Ante Vukusic didn’t even make the bench.
Oostende lost to Chaleroi (1-3). Milic remained on the bench as an unused sub while Blazevic wasn’t even on the bench.
Cercle Bruges played 2-2 against Zulte Waregem. They were 0-2 after when Bacelic-Grgic came in after 69th minutes. Stipe gave the assist to the 1-2 and he played a very decent game.
Robert Muric played the entire game for Ajax B in the dutch second division. The game ended in a spectacular 4-4 but Robert didn’t manage to score.
Still no sign of Fran Brodic in the first team of Club Bruges.