Uff…
After a fantastic opening to their Europa League campaign, Dinamo has been bagel’d in three straight and are now in trouble of not finishing top-24 and playing in the next round. Dinamo have now lost to Celta Vigo, Lille and Real Betis by a total of tally of 10-1 over the past month. Not great. Next match: January 22nd vs. FCSB. That will be a must-win for Dinamo at Maksimir.
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After starting their Europa League campaign with seven points from three matches, Dinamo Zagreb have now lost their last two matches to Celta Vigo and Lille by a combined 7-0 aggregate scoreline. Is it time to sound the alarms have a near perfect start? Absolutely.
Dinamo will need at least a draw Thursday night against La Liga side Real Betis, who currently sit 5th in the Europa League table, to ensure their European season does not implode after a fine start. Let’s see what happens.
Maybe the last gasp draw vs. Hajduk this week gave the team a bit of momentum heading into the Betis match.
what’s next for dinamo
oh wait i know, jaga is waiting on Sunday lol
lol
Thank GOD Jagusic didn’t join the Dinamo shit-show
Also this game shows what happens when you play against super confident opposition and do not do enough to threaten them. We had good possession early in the game but did nothing to threaten them, happy to keep ball at the back. You see what happens the opposition become comfortable to push forward and get control of the game. You have to take risks earlier in attack. Otherwise the better side will take control and win
Dinamo garbage again. Mikic looks talented and confident. Misic showing why he doesn’t get a cap for Croatia. Beljo is isolated, not his fault. I don’t understand the selection. Do we not have more talent than this? And bakrar should start the game. Not the game to give topic and soldo starts. Filipovic another panicking keeper. McKenna average player. Dominguez too young to be playing alongside average older player. Goda very average player. Ljubicic ok nothing special. Hoxha, beljo and mikic only guys good enough for this level. Stojkovic must be brought in to become a regular. Vidovic needs to be trusted as well. Where is mudrazija? Where is bulat? Hopefully changes at half time
Mikic talented sure but not ready fort his level. To often he’s doing the wrong thing there’s a reason he got subbed out early.
Valincic is missed and that’s a understatement. Should be Croatia’s RB at WC.
Bulat? Guy been gone for a year mudrazija injured Bakar off to Africa. Vidovic guy sucks he has no position too slow for winger not a midfielder basically a 2nd striker. No idea why they signed him. No problem with soldo playing guy needs minutes and I would keep playing him and find out what they have. Dinamo was never gonna win this game. For the rest of year I wouldn’t play Ljubicic or any of the old players Europa is over they have enough young players to win league.
Team should be built around stojkovic
They can’t attack they have no one in middle to hold ball make a pass back line is weak simply they don’t have players.
Yeah, true
3-0 H
Surely Kovacevic gets fired after this ?
Its the game problem over and over – the opponent are targeting the FB to isolate 1 v 1 and get in behind and while defence crumbles
The last 10 goals against in Europe have mostly been the same weakness
U need either Misic or Soldo to get over and/or the wingers to get back so it remains 1 v 2 at all times
Kovačević might be getting the sack for Christmas.
I would like to talk about Petar Sucic again – he’s young and it’s his first season playing in a big club and Serie A so yes, he needs time to establish himself at Inter. But imo if there’s one young NT player whom we cannot afford to be playing very little for his club going into the WC, it’s Petar Sucic. Because Petar is a starter for us and imo an important cog in our midfield, someone who could be crucial to our success next summer. We need him to blossom at Inter by THIS season already. As the season progresses, I really hope Petar will somehow improve his consistency and form… and eventually beat out competition from his older, more experienced teammates, namely Zielinski and Mkhitaryan, to nail down a place in Inter’s starting 11. Tough ask I know but we all believe in Pero, don’t we?
Inter rotate constantly under Chivu. They have thuram, Martinez, Esposito and Bonny as strikers. Only 2 can play at a time. All 4 have rotated during the season so far and all have impressed. In midfield they have Petar, zielinski, mhkitarian, calhonoglo, frattesi, diouf and barella. That’s 7 players for 3 positions. All 7 are good and deserve to play. Chivu has done an excellent job of keeping all players fresh and interested. Petar has played quite a lot and has had two or three excellent performances including two matches where he is probably best player on the pitch.
For a young player in his first season at a huge club this is highly impressive.
On top of this, inters tactical system is very difficult for a midfielder who likes the ball (as all Croatians do) as it’s based on rapid transitions and direct verticalisation to the strikers. So often a midfield player will go back towards his own defensive line to offer an angle for the defender to pass out, perhaps receive a simple pass and the lay off, then have to sprint forward 40 metres to catch up with the forwards to give an option there. It’s a lot of running and few touches on the ball. It’s very quick. The goal Petar scored against fiorentina was even more remarkable for this reason. It was his only chance to do something special in the match and he knew that and produced a magnificent goal. The pressure is huge and Petar so far is handling it. This is arguably better for his development than playing every week in a team that gives him the ball and allows him to create in midfield. He would look great, but at inter he is learning how to become clutch. Anonymous does your eye test agree?
Another point. It’s very rare for any player to play the same way for club and country. This is logical as each team has different tactics and different chemistry. Sometimes a player can struggle at their club yet always play great for the NT, sometimes the opposite. Even world class players like Modric have to adapt their game according to their teammates and team structure.
Petar playing at inter, huge pressure, very little time on the ball, concrete solutions demanded on every play. He comes back to play for Croatia, our play is slower, more methodical and there is room to play in midfield, he can relax a bit, enjoy the ball, this feels like fresh air to him and he thrives.
This is what I see happening with Petar. AND because he is drilled for decisive contributions with inter, in the tough games we will see in the World Cup, he will recognise the rare opportunity to create or score a goal and take it.
Then later on he will move to La liga or to the premier league where he can enjoy greater possession of the ball. Italy is currently more direct than the premier league.
Italian coaches are the masters of pragmatic tactical football. It used to revolve around solid defense and counter attack. Now it has become quick transitions and direct attacking conclusions. What has remained is the essential quality of having a higher conversion rate: to recognise an opportunity and execute.
Petar Sučić is the LAST guy we need to worry about on our team.
Dude is so consistent and knows his role. He plays often enough to be in form. There’s rarely a drop off in performance with him.
We have way bigger form and injury concerns with guys like Livaković, Stanišić, Perišić, Kovačić, Budimir, Ivanović… even Modrić (possibly being overplayed at Milan) is a potential issue.
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