WILL IGOR ŠTIMAC BE ABLE TO KEEP NK ZAGREB IN THE HNL?
HNK Rijeka announced the departure of coach Robert Rubčić following their 6-0 defeat to league leaders Dinamo Zagreb on Sunday. Former Hajduk Split coach Zoran Vulić is being strongly tipped to take over as Rubčić’s replacement. Vulić, 47, has been looking for a new job ever since leaving Energie Luch Vladivostok last December. He is regarded as one of Croatia’s better coaches having already coached Hajduk on four occasions.
Meanwhile, new NK Zagreb coach Igor Štimac says he will talk to a number of free agents in order to recruit a better playing staff for his pointless Zagreb side. Štimac is hopeful of bringing Krunoslav Lovrek back to the club, where he scored 32 goals between 2006 and 2008. Other free agents on the search for a new employer include Patrice Kwedi, Antonio Franja, Darko Miladin, Hrvoje Vuković, Mate Brajković, Goran Brajković, Marin Skender and Goran Ljubojević. Veteran defenders Mario Tokić, Mario Cvitanović and Boris Živković are also still available. Former Zagreb midfielder Marko Marić however looks likely to stay at OSC Lille after the French club restored him back to the first team squad.
At Maksimir Stadion, Dinamo Zagreb are still undergoing the post mortem following their surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Anderlecht in their first match of the Europa Liga group stage last week. Goalkeeper Tomislav Butina was resultantly dropped by coach Krunoslav Jurčić for the league match against Rijeka and has appeared to accept part of the blame for recent European performances. With Butina out of contract in the summer, speculation has mounted over the 35 year old’s future as a Dinamo player.
Coincidently, Dinamo also were given permission to allow Ivan Turina to join first team training following his release from Lech Poznan. Turina, who has enhanced his reputation whilst in Poland is likely to recieve offers from Croatian clubs, but it isn’t expected that Dinamo’s problems will be resolved by signing up the 28 year old former Croatian Under 21 international. Turina’s first training session back at Dinamo was also not his happiest as Luis Ibanez succeded in breaking his nose with a long range shot.
Another potential Dinamo target is Joey Didulica. He could be set to return to Australia if his brother John gets control of Melbourne Heart. The 30 year old former Ajax, Austrian Vienna and current AZ Alkmaar second choice keeper would be the type of stopper Dinamo are looking for; as Butina and Turina’s main weakness lies in holding shots and commanding there penalty. Didulica in contrast infamously divides opinion for being ridiculously brave or a danger to himself and others when putting his body on the line coming for crosses and to save shots. Didulica has been recovering from head and brain concussion injuries after being knocked out for a second time at the back end of last season. Didulica’s first injury in 2006 kept him out until the start of this year.
Hajduk Split coach Edy Reja says Ahmad Sharbini will not return from an injury suffered whilst with Rijeka until the international break in October. Reja who started Anas Sharbini and Senijad Ibričić in attack last Saturday, will also count on new signing Duje Čop, whilst he also expects Brazilian Paraiba to return to action shortly.
Written by dinamofan:), CSR HNL correspondent
@Dinamofan
No need to apologize. You are doing a marvelous job with the HNL report. Obviously, you are a DInamo fan, however, you are writing from a neutral stand point which Ante and I and the rest of our followers appreciate. Also, feel free to comment your feelings on Dinamo and their performance.
Thanks for the agreement. I think what i was trying to say to Splitski was that Dinamo see it as a surprise and he was trying to tell me that they and tha a football club somehow just accepts these kind of defeats and goes oh well.
Then he wrote his biased report on Kranjcar a day later. Basically right i am being 100% as fair as possible with my HNL1 reports. I'm talking up sides, trying to find their qualities and even applauding Hajduk during this revival. And i bet i also got Ante BBB in the background somewhere thinking i'm a pillock for taking an interest in Hajduk. i'm doing all this for your lots benefit so work with me people. I can't be arguing over whether Dinamo are surprised or not to get beat by Belgian teams. If i make a mistake fair enough, but i'm not apologies for such a thing as one word in a report.
@Petar Radman
I haven't heard anything about the new Croatia jersey. Keep us posted if you hear anything.
@Slaven
I am with Ziva istina on both Viduka and Krkic. It would have been nice to see Viduka up front with Suker. Would he beat out Boksic and Vlaovic? hmm..
Your shirt is in the mail, I'm still working on DVDs…
@Dinamofan
I agree that Dinamo's loss comes as a surprise. I predicted a draw as Anderlecht are not the Belgium power of a few years back qualifying for champions leagues. Also, playing at Maksimir is a huge advantage for Dinamo.
" Hopefully he's not just interested in Badelj and Lovren cos they are HNL1 players who can be cashed in on. "
I'm afraid so my friend. Isn't it funny how Kalinic would get called up almost every game while at Hajduk and now he is yet to get a cap since transferring to the best league in the world. I always thought Kalinic was overrated(hope I am wrong), ultimately, "its all about the $$$".
Juric and Dujmovic didn't make Slaven's cut. I dont think Bilic even knows Dujmovic. Oh, well, I guess Leko and Pokrivac once again.
@Ziva istina
"I dont think it makes sense to bring in someone totally new at this stage. At this point we will sink or swim with our current group."
I disagree. Players like Leko and Pokrivac dont deserve a call up. Games against Qatar and Khazakstan should allow us to give some new faces a chance.
Obviously, against Khazakstan, if we are still in the race for WC2010, start our usual 11. However, if Ukraine beats England, I want to see our B team out there.
@HvarSplican
"Anderlecht in recent history make it to the group stage in the Champions League almost every year, and a couple occasions made it past the group stage!!"
History doesn't mean much in football. Anderlecht are a fraction of what they were a few years ago. Perfect example: Ajax. A powerhouse team the last 20 years. Dinamo knocked them out.
@Croat
Bilic has come to the end for Croatia. Great run in 2008, then everything fell apart, just like Ciro Blazevic. There is a reason, managers dont stick around longer than 2 tournaments. Slaven is young and unproven, never managed a club. Croatia should let him go pursue other bigger opportunities.
"The only reason why Bilic wants to stay past the World Cup is because those lucrative offers are no longer in front of him."
Listen to Petar Radman..
I'd agree with you Dinamo don't get the practice in HNL1. can't really blame other HNL1 sides for that as they have to sell their assets every year to pay the bills. I think they do well just to provide any competition.
Dinamo and Hajduk also throw pennies there way for their best players. They don't really pay them properly so what can you expect. They also don't play in midweek so everyone lacks football and prob don't train as much as other clubs. I don't feel Dinamo's big problem at the moment is their lack of competition though. I think some of the players in the team are a bit below the standard of other members of the team. At present also Dinamo are trying to play some exciting exhuberant style of football with three playmakers in a 4-4-2 midfield. Unless Vrdoljak is top quality, which he's not, far from it yet, then arguably you're gonna have problems stopping the opposition coming at your defence.
Also you look at Badelj and Morales and they are excellant players, but Sammir is not on the same level. Mandzo is doing his best for the quality of player he is at present, but he needs a goalscorer alongside him cos he can't do the outside the box work and the finishing. He need a class strike partner. If Eduardo was partnering Mandzo and not Papa i think we'd have a different story. I believe Papa though needs time. I think we should drop him now and see if we can get a reaction.
The only way Dinamo will get through this group, is through hardwork and adjusting their line up in accordance with form. I believe they made improvements when they brought in Cufre to left back. Kovac also improves central defence, but they need to drop a playmaker (Sammir) from the wide position and put a guy who can run out there like Ibanez or Tomecak which will improve the defensive side of their play. Then maybe if they sign in the winter and they are still in Europe we'd see a better Dinamo. However teams like Dinamo should be respected cos we could have a team like this if things were different.
Koch, Corluka, Cale/ Cufre, Kovac, Mikulic; Etto, Vukojevic, Modric, Morales; Eduardo, Mandzukic
At present we're having to facilitate other clubs difficencies, who can't produce home grown players. In my opinion if we can just keep enough quality players together one season then we'll do a better job in Europe. I'm definitely not gonna give Dinamo and HNL1 sides abuse just cos they have to sell players. However lets face it all these so call teams who are better than us sustain their strength through money, not through anything they are doing better than Dinamo in terms of producing players. They just buy thats all. Nothing special in that.
Radman, today the squad gets announced. I think he'll pick Gabric over Ilicevic. I'll forecast the squad now. Will be interesting to see if its same.
Runje, Subasic; R Kovac, Simunic, Cale, Lovren, Krizanac, Pranjic, Corluka; Srna, Rakitic, Kranjcar, Juric, Pokrivac, Vukojevic, Sharbini, Gabric; Eduardo, Olic, Petric, Mandzo, Klasnic
Its not the squad i'd select, but i'd be surprised if Bilic does not select the above. I'd substitute Dujmovic for Pokrivac. Maybe Ilicevic for Gabric although i think they both deserve it, so either is fine by me.
The only reason why Bilic wants to stay past the World Cup is because those lucrative offers are no longer in front of him.
@ DinamoFan – Ilicevic is a central play maker like Modric. If you look at the goals he has scored this season he usually cuts in from the center of the park. I like Badelj, interesting prospect. Ilicevic has to have the leg up on him. Also, Sharbini, Lovren and Vida should start to be considered. Sharbini based solely on merit. Lovren and Vida out of need.
BILIC IS BACK WITH A STOMACH WITH HUNGER WOOO BILIC!!!!!! i want him to stay after wc2010
http://www.croatiantimes.com/news/Sports/2009-09-23/6113/_%B4I_could_coach_Croatia_even_after_the_World_Cup,%B4_says_Slaven_Bilic
@dinamofan I agree with you Dinamo and Anderlecht have similar qualities. In this category of 2nd rate European teams I would also include top teams from Holland, Austria, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Czech, Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway etc.
A big problem for Dinamo is that the competition is not quality enough in the HNL. Talent wise Dinamo is just as good as Anderlecht if not better. When Dinamo plays European games the soccer is much faster so its not something they can get used to unless they play that way every day. I just read an interview by Gabric saying the Turkish league is far above the HNL when it comes to speed and skill. That's not a surprise to me but we're talking about the Turkish league.Imagine then when you compare the Croatian league to the top 4 England, Spain, Italy, Germany. In the top 4 leagues every game is a challenge.
Jurcic must force Dinamo to play faster and make quicker decisions against all opponents. Another issue is our players don't go 100% in practice. Whenever Modric talks about the Spurs he mentions how much more competitive trainings are. The only way a team improves is not being lazy at practice. Every training must be taken seriously. More competition in practice brings out the best in players during games. When some players arrive at Dinamo they believe they have already made it. Experienced coaches know how to get the maximum from their players. Its Jurcic's job to keep motivation levels and fitness high. I hope Dinamo does better their next Europa league game.
i've done a little research into the mighty Anderlecht. Recent Champions League seems to show same as Dinamo Zagreb if not worse. 2008/09 season reads being knocked out of qualifying round of Champions League by BATE Borisov. 2009/10 season reads 8-2 agreggate demolition by Lyon. I'm sure you'd agree nothing special there. I also bet they have not had the same player turn over as Dinamo. I'm not willing to discuss Anderlecht beyond the last two seasons cos i'm sure you'd agree that's not the same team. Can't stand it when people use club history that stretches back to players that may not even be living anymore to make a point about the present.
The last time they qualifed for the Champions League they lost every game and finished fourth.
However i can get Ante to take the word surprise out my article if you like. Its all cool by me.
When reporting on Dinamo Zagreb at the moment lets face it is generally acknowledged they've been storming the league this season, but have not made same impact in Europe. The whole and only issue about Dinamo is this underperformance. Why would i not write about this. They are also competing against a side from Belgium which is a country whose teams Dinamo tend to beat more often that not. Its also a country where Croatians seem to continually succede. Also we've barely seen a star come out of Anderlecht since Jan Koller, Radzinski, Mpenza, Mornar and Goor. Its generally been a side doing nothing special. I've also not seen anything from them in Europe for ages. Against Dinamo also lets face it did we really see anything much from Anderlecht. Generally it was a poor game. I don't see what evidence there is for suggesting Dinamo and Anderlecht is two different worlds. On the whole the defeat made many in Croatia and at Dinamo pretty annoyed. I don't understand why you think they're is a feeling of acceptance. Its a slap in the face for Dinamo who actually thought they have a decent team. As a result they have to keep working to put it right. You shouldn't be so stunned by someone reporting on Dinamo trying to rectify the situation. Its the same as what every other media outlet is reporting. Nothing much different.
I think we can talk about neutrality of reporting all night. Personally i believe there is no such thing. Basically i'll see if i can make you understand. My report was about Dinamo trying to replicate their league form in Europe and about the clubs attempt to turn things around. It was about what they are trying to do to change things. Its pointless for me to write a report saying, Dinamo Zagreb have announced they believe they were rightly beaten by Anderlecht and don't believe there is any point in travelling to the return game in Belgium. Then a quote from Milan Badelj saying, well i tried my best but those Belgians are too damn good. Red Bull in the end got their comupence in Israel. Hardly the hallmark of a great side. As for Anderlecht, its not a quality side. It was a team Dinamo hoped to beat. i don;t think anyone can deny that. Forget the past cos Emile Mpenza and Bart Goor are not playing for them now. We have to look at both teams and there aint that much on that Anderlecht team or Red Bull team. They're all pretty average players. Also Dinamo dominated both teams and they're flaws were their keeper who also played a stinker against Hearts, plus Sammir, defensive midfielder and lacking a number 9. Dinamo has a big squad and have not tried other alternatives so the report is about what Jurcic is doing next. I think your issue is about me using the word surprise. But if you don't believe it was a surprise to Dinamo then why are they dropping players and fine people. Whats all that about? Does that sound like a team who are not surprised by a poor performance and being beaten by a mediocre team.
I think we can talk about neutrality of reporting all night. Personally i believe there is no such thing. Basically i'll see if i can make you understand. My report was about Dinamo trying to replicate their league form in Europe and about the clubs attempt to turn things around. It was about what they are trying to do to change things. Its pointless for me to write a report saying, Dinamo Zagreb have announced they believe they were rightly beaten by Anderlecht and don't believe there is any point in travelling to the return game in Belgium. Then a quote from Milan Badelj saying, well i tried my best but those Belgians are too damn good. Red Bull in the end got their comupence in Israel. Hardly the hallmark of a great side. As for Anderlecht, its not a quality side. It was a team Dinamo hoped to beat. i don;t think anyone can deny that. Forget the past cos Emile Mpenza and Bart Goor are not playing for them now. We have to look at both teams and there aint that much on that Anderlecht team or Red Bull team. They're all pretty average players. Also Dinamo dominated both teams and they're flaws were their keeper who also played a stinker against Hearts, plus Sammir, defensive midfielder and lacking a number 9. Dinamo has a big squad and have not tried other alternatives so the report is about what Jurcic is doing next. I think your issue is about me using the word surprise. But if you don't believe it was a surprise to Dinamo then why are they dropping players and fine people. Whats all that about? Does that sound like a team who are not surprised by a poor performance and being beaten by a mediocre team.
@ DinamoFan
In Croatian terms…. Iša si skroz na kvasinu! How can you say I was analyzing that game from a personal view? Why would I analyze the game from a Dinamo point of view? I'm analyzing the game and my expectations before the game are as a neutral supporter. To say that Dinamo are on par with Red Bull and Anderlecht is a complete farce. Anderlecht in recent history make it to the group stage in the Champions League almost every year, and a couple occasions made it past the group stage!! When did Dinamo ever even make it to the group stage??? DinamoFan, your information is great when it comes to the 1. HNL, but when reporting it needs to be from a non-biased point of view, right down the middle, with no ties to any club.
I think Badelj is interesting cos he plays exactly like Modric. Being only 20 he's obviously gonna still be a bit raw and not the finished article yet, but i think these guys are more progressive than Leko who seems all washed up.
I agree with you on Ilicevic. I was initially in favor of Badelj being ahead of him, but then i thought okay lets check out some of his matches for Kaiserslautern and i must admit he looks highly impressive. The only thing i'm wandering is is he another wide player or is he central like Modric. I prob would say he's wide. Maybe at this moment i'd take Srna, Rakitic, Sharbini, Kranjcar and Pranjic over Ilicevic if he is categoriesed as a wideman. But i'd still have him in squad over Leko. I think we're basically talking Gabric or Ilicevic or Badelj for that Leko slot. My opinion is any of those three are fine.
At present everything is rosy in the garden of Dujmovic. He's a player who is full of confidence and plays with a smile on his face. At present i think he may be a breath of fresh air in Croatia's squad. I think players like him, Ilicevic, Gabric, Badelj that are doing good things at their clubs will bring positivity to the squad rather than people like Leko, Pokrivac, Drpic and Vejic who lets face are not doing very well all round at present. Not doing so great at club or international level.
I don't mind if Dujmovic is on the bench and i don't think he will mind. But basically will need to clear out the dross in our squad so the forementioned players plus Lovren are the type of guys we should be looking at. We can also definitely expect to see Robert Kovac back.
I believe that Ilicevic and Lovren should be in the discussion to definitely be picked for the team. Lovren should be on the bench or start. I am all for Badelj gets some recognition. I still dont believe he should be ahead of Ilicevic. Badelj is a interesting prospect, but his last 2 seasons with Dinamo havent been that impressive that he deserves his call up this soon. Another year or two for him. Lovren should play the coming game. Allot of these players we are mentioning, if they are picked, and that is a big "IF" at this point. They would most certainly be on the squad but not even on the bench. This is a time when you want the tried and tested. Just win the last game and tinker with the lineup when you have friendlies. Bilic will be announcing the squad tomorrow, so, the suspense will be put to an end.
If it were up to me I would start Dujmovic against Kazakhstan. I know that sounds crazy since he hasn't practiced or trained with the NT but, with all do respect to Kazakhstan, it's Kazakhstan. Even if most of our starting 11 for some reason don't play if we don't beat Kazakhstan I can honestly say we don't deserve to go the world cup. I just don't see the sense in waiting for a friendly to see if Dujmovic can add something to our midfield. But even if he did play well against Kazakhstan I wouldn't start him in a playoff match but rather have him on the bench if (God forbid) we found ourselves in a desperate situation. Maybe I'm being too cautious because you know, our players never get red cards or injured in a club match prior to a big qualifier…..
dinamofan, regarding the losses of DZ to other European clubs; my theory is there's a lack of discipline and it causes the pressure of the championships to fluster the team. The domestic games are more like scrimmages to them, which shows in the scores.
The NT needs more youth. Our older players are out paced. I'm all for trying out Dujmovic. I don't know about Cale's fitness. He seemed fine in the last Andorra game. He's young. Even when he's deemed unfit, he's still more fit than a fit Simunic or Juric.
Well it seems now that Ivan Juric made a miraculous recovery so maybe in that case we may not need Dujmovic. However Dujmovic is a lot taller than Vuko and Juric and considering we have a problem defending crosses, you'd think Dujmovic would be of use to us. I don't understand the logic of not wanting Dujmovic personally. Form wise he couldn't do any better. Also Pokrivac really has not done anything much in his career. I don't even think Dujmovic and Pokrivac are even on same level regards form. Dujmovic is playing every week in a team which is pushing for Europe and Pokrivac failed in a mid table French side.
I think Bilic was referring to not bringing in new guys for the reamining qualifier match. I dont think it makes sense to bring in someone totally new at this stage. At this point we will sink or swim with our current group. Even if he did call up a few new guys, they would not get into the match anyway.
Just read a rather annoying interview with Bilic in which he says the only new players that interest him are Badelj, Lovren and Jelavic. Hopefully he's not just interested in Badelj and Lovren cos they are HNL1 players who can be cashed in on. As for Jelavic not sure why he makes an impression by scoring a couple of random easy looking goals in Europa Liga.
I personally think that Bilic doesn't particularly look. By the sounds of it what he's gonna do against Kazak is bring Gabric in for Leko, Lovren in for Drpic, Kovac for Vejic and that's it.
Bilic also admits he only selected Delac so he could speak to Chelsea whilst in London. Hopefully he's bluffing. He also says that he didn't play Cale as he wasn't fit. Disappoints me that he things what Pokrivac has done at club level is higher than what Dujmovic has done. Hopefully he doesn't mention Ilicevic, Budan and M Bilic cos he has thought about them before. hopefully he stays open minded for a week or 2 to allow players to impress on him.
Re: Hrvasplican.
I was reporting from the perspective of Dinamo Zagreb's camp. To the players, coach and board they didn't expect to lose 2-0 at home which is why they fined the players and changed the team. You can't really just look at things from a personal point of view when reporting cos within Dinamo's camp they don't go into these matches expecting to lose. Especially when Anderlecht are losing to sides like St Truiden and even Balaban and Mikulic are saying Anderlecht are not a good team. It was a surprise to get beat by a mediocre team at home. Also Dinamo has not lost to a Belgian team in a long long time so the history is actually in Dinamo's favour.
When you talking about Dinamo carrying out a post mortem on their Euro displays you have to look at it from their angle, rather than the viewpoint of a fan sick of HNL1 clubs flopping in Europe. They're isn't really a reason Dinamo should be losing to Red Bull, Anderlecht and Timoarsora cos we have similar or more money as them of late.
I don't know how did it, but nice job picking up Galifianakis.
Anyone know where to buy a Dinamo jersey online?
@Peter Radman
Nothing yet on the new kits, hopefully within the next month we will see a new design.
@Ziva Istina
If you want to get more specific, Krkic's mother was born in Catalonia. Makes you wonder about his feelings towards representing Spain considering he has played for the Catalonian regional team.
i digress
fronts* not friends
@Dinamo Fan
To say that Dinamo defeat to Anderlecht was surprising is crazy. I'm surprised Anderlecht didn't win by a bigger margin. Remember, the Belgian side are perennial group stage inductees in the Champions League. But good info tho.
@Ziva Istina
You're absolutely right on both friends, neither one of those guys are traitors.
Viduka cant play for Croatia because he has already played for Australia. He made his debut for them 15 years ago before Croatia did anything on the international scene. Can't blame him for that.
Krkic is born in Spain and his mother is Spanish….that is his homeland
I don't like Viduka just as Serbs don't like Krkic because they won't play for their real home land.
Has anyone heard anything about the new Croatian uniforms? We are suppose to wear them on the last match day during qualifying.
http://croatiantimes.com/news/Sports/2009-09-22/6081/Zoran_Vulic_is_Rijeka%B4s_new_coach_
It's official, Zoran Vulic is the new Rijeka coach.
I've been reading a little bit more into Melbourne Heart and it appears this is a newly formed club that as yet has no squad or coaching staff, but has to assemble it in time for December to take their place in the extended A league. With Didiluca in charge it seems Josip Skoko, Mark Viduka and Joey Didiluca are all highly expected to go there. So its possible therefore Skoko will leave Hajduk in December.
Perhaps may make room for some younger guys like Kreso Ljubicic.