Another exciting weekend of the Prva Liga is in the books! Round 12 of the 2021-22 season gave us 16 goals and an instant classic between Dinamo Zagreb and Rijeka. The weekend saw two surprising comebacks from Dinamo and Hrvatski Dragovoljac, and a surprising result in the Dalmatinski Derbi between Hajduk Split and Šibenik.
Last-placed Hrvatski Dragovoljac hosted sixth-placed Lokomotiva Zagreb to open the 12th round of the season. A 9th minute header from 21 year-old striker Sandro Kulenović gave Lokomotiva an early lead, followed by a SCREAMER from 18 year-old wunderkind Lukas Kačavenda in the 17th minute to make it 2-0. Kačavenda has been on fire for Lokomotiva and Croatia’s U-21s in the 2021-22 season, and is rumored to become a Dinamo Zagreb player in the winter. Dragovoljac answered in the 30th minute of the match, thanks to a goal scored by Benedik Mioč off a deflection, followed by tidy finish in the 58th minute scored by Andrej Lukić. The match ended in a 2-2 tie, a disappointing result for the Lokosi. CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Andrej Lukić
Fifth-placed Gorica hosted eighth-placed Istra in the second match of the weekend. An own-goal from Istra midfielder Frano Milnar in the 12th minute was cancelled out by a fantastic goal scored by Hassane Bandé in the 53th minute, his fifth goal of the season. The match, statistically dominated by Istra, ended in a 1-1 tie. Gorica has been unable to escape their average slump of matches this year, following two memorable seasons in the Prva Liga. CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Hassane Bandé
First-placed Rijeka and third-placed Dinamo Zagreb delivered the most intense match of the season in the third game of the weekend at Stadion HNK Rijeka. Josip Drmić opened the scoreline in the 7th minute for Rijeka, followed by a second in the 38th minute. Darko Velkovski made Rijeka’s Armada roar for a third time in the 41st minute, and Rijeka entered the halftime break with a 3-0 lead. A Bruno Petković penalty put Dinamo on the scoreboard in the 58th minute, followed by another penalty converted by Petković in the 65th minute to make it 3-2. A little over five minutes later, Mislav Oršić thought he had scored the equalizer, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR in the 75th minute. Unlikely hero Komnen Andrić found the back of the net in the 82nd minute, scoring the official equalizer of the match. The match ended in a 3-3 tie, a heartbreaking result for Rijeka. CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Josip Drmić
Struggling ninth-placed Slaven Belupo hosted second-placed Osijek in the fourth matchup of the weekend. As expected, Osijek took a first-half lead thanks to a 22nd minute goal scored by Amer Hiroš. 22 year-old Darko Nejašmić added to Osijek’s lead in the 45th minute of the match, giving Osijek a deserved 2-0 lead entering halftime. Osijek remained strong in the back throughout the rest of the match, and the match ended in a 2-0 victory for the visitors. Osijek are proving to be serious title contenders this season. CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Darko Nejašmić
Hajduk fans, you can stop reading now.
Seventh-placed Šibenik hosted fourth-placed Hajduk Split in the final match of the round. The Dalmatinski Derbi’s scoreline opened in Šibenik’s favor, as Marcos Mina found the back of the net in the 25th minute. Mario Ćurić sealed the victory for Šibenik in the 84th minute, converting a penalty against his former club. Despite attempting 17 shots and holding possession of the ball for 61% of the match, Hajduk was held to a shutout by the hosts. What’s the excuse going to be this time? CroatianSports’ Man of the Match: Mario Ćurić
Hajdukovci, here’s a trophy to make your week a little better <3
with regards to the Hajduk result…I don’t see the loss as a major falter, I see the reactions to the loss as a problem.
The coaches and players really do need some stability and it just seems as if the club has a habit of making bad decisions. This week they want to fire the coach, last week they insult Bjelica by chanting ”Bjelica Srbine, čakija ti ne gine.” and this week they want the coaches head. I mentioned how the fans attacked a player that went to Sibenik…accused him of snorting cocaine and spray painted the accusation on his mothers fence/wall. For any poor result, people’s personal lives tend to get attacked and this is a major trend at that club…its hard to play in such an unstable environment.
Since 2018 there have been a total of 9 coaches at Hajduk. Thats 9 coaches in 3 years!!!!!
In 2018, the city of Split held an HNS protest, they were accusing the HNS of several conspiracies against Hajduk, which caused Hajduk to suffer in their results.
This year, at the beginning of the season we saw Hajduk make some player investments/additions…ie Krovinovic, Subasic, Livaja re-signed, Biuk is on the up and up… and the majority of people on this site were hopeful that maybe this year, we can have a strong and competitive Hajduk…we all agree this is what the HNL needs.
Here is the big problem. any time Hajduk win a BIG game, they’re back…they’re gonna win everything, Hajduk Zivi Vjecno and then BOOM, one bad thing happens and the wheels fall off, the coach needs to be fired, the players get the shit kicked out of them in the city, the Torcidasi demand a coach and player meeting, every GODDAMN week its a new drama!!
We are 12 games in to this season, Hajduk is 4 points out of top spot…soo what!? Leave their Damn coaches and players alone for one Damn season. This has got to be the most inept club I’ve ever seen in my life. Its always somebody’s problem but not the club itself! Each club has its ups and downs. there’s usually a natural course that needs time to mold when there’s a new coach and different system and environment. Sure, maybe this Swede sucks….but what about the 8 before him in the last 3 years. I’d hate to play for a club that is always dramatic and in some huge disarray! Let the players play and the coaches coach. Stop assaulting the HNS, stop attacking Bjelica, stop attacking the players, stop playing the DAMN victim….grow a set of balls and mind you’re business. Its ridiculous to watch the way this club is run and yet the finger is always pointed at someone else!
I just watched an Andres Escobar documentary about his killing in 1994 after he scored that own goal in the World Cup.
It covered a lot, and I didn’t realize how much pressure these guys and their families were under during that time.
When they lost the game against Romania, the player’s families were being harassed and the coached was accused of playing too many players from certain clubs to give them exposure for transfer sales (similar to how Torcidasi keep claiming the HNS only plays Dinamo players for this reason).
The entire team was threatened (sent to them via VHS tape to their locker room) to play certain players…or else), so he made some unnecessary changes to their lineup for that USA game.
These players were under constant duress and didn’t even speak in the locker room.
All this after one group game, lol.
Torcida reminds me of a (less violent, but just as unstable) version of the Colombian footballing culture at that time.
Yes, I really do feel bad for the players and coaches and their staff. Soo many good kids that come from Hajduk over the years. Soo much anticipation and dreams fulfilled for the kids of Hajduk . Imagine finally getting there and then the dream is crushed by the very fans you dreamed would cheer for you!?
Stability isn’t in splicani vocabulary. 😉
How would Dinamo or any of the better of the HNL teams of that year do in the mls?
I think thats a tough question to answer.
its easier to raise your level (if you ask me) than it is to adapt to a lesser level. I don’t think Dinamo or any Croatian club would do well in the MLS…its stepping down a couple levels. the quality of players in the MLS is decent but there’s far more shitty players in the MLS that aren’t technical but they are physical…and this changes the game. Also, there are 5 turf fields in the MLS and thats not healthy and its far different from playing on grass.
Was going to answer with the same. I think MLS players are more fit, as a whole, compared to your average HNL player. Technically, I’d give the advantage to HNL. But not so sure if you just take Dinamo, plug them into MLS and they run away with the title by double digit points.
no I don’t think they’d walk away either. There’s a lot to adapt to over the course of a season….refs is another thing, I don’t like MLS refs, they’re far too unpredictable.
I don’t think MLS players are more fit although I do think they’re probably physically stronger.
…technically?
watch any MLS team play out from the back vs any Croatian team play out from the back and there’s a MAJOR difference. Technically, Croatian players are far better at the BASIC’S…hands down, not even a debate and this is where the difference’s begin.
Probably clean sweep the entire league? lol
I watched a game Roughly over 40 years ago with Dinamo Zagreb vs the Toronto NASL team (they were once called “Metro Toronto Croatia”, but later changed their name to “Toronto Blizzard” before thae North American Soccer League folded, and it was eventually replaced by the MLS. The final score was 2-2, and my Dad (a big Dinamo fan was convinced that they didn’t really try). I have always been torn between Dinamo and Hajduk because my mother is a Dalmatinka, so I recall thinking ” What else is a hard core Dinamo fan going to say?”
Who wins the palacinke championship?
Fritula cup should be a cup for Mario kart
I’m assuming Drmic is Croat blood? This guy has scored nuff goals for Swiss if I’m not mistaken and would have definitely been serviceable
Has roots from Vitez in BiH. Apparently the story goes that no one ever approached him from the HNS when he opted for the Swiss.
But yes, Croatian blood.
Yes he is, and he was vocal about playing for us.
But the HNS didn’t seem interested in him, and Switzerland quickly capped him (along with the Bosnjak and a few others who looked like they wanted to bail on the Swiss at the time).
He had one good season in Germany, but really struggled to score throughout his career.
Rijeka tends to play a style of football that really pumps their striker’s goal scoring rate. There have literally been 10 strikers in the past decade that had career years at Rijeka, and did little elsewhere after.
As much as we bash the HNS, they are surprisingly decent in capping the best diaspora Croats.
They didn’t really go too hard after these guys like Hrgota, Drmic, Gavranovic and few others who were trying to put them on the spot for a callup. None of these guys really panned out much, and the latter two had to rely on the HNL to revitalize their careers.
But they did go hard after Rakitic and did what they could to snag Pulisic. Obviously Pulisic was a long shot, but they got Raketa just fine. They did well in the past with guys like Joe and the Kovac brothers.
More recently, they snagged Pongracic and Stanisic…both of whom will be very good for us. They grabbed Marco Pasalic and a few other intriguing youth prospects too, so it seems like they got their shit in order.
The only significant misses were Ibrahimovic and Viduka…but the Ibra thing was all rumor (none of that Ibra Croatia or BiH stuff was true). He was never going to play for anyone outside Sweden. Viduka also never wanted to play for anyone other than Australia (which is odd, because he now lives in Croatia).
Must say the Rijeka re-tread program has turned a number of striker’s/AM’s careers around; Benko, Kramaric, Drmic, Bezjak, Andrijasevic, Gavranovic, Heber…
Colak too, almost forgot.
Krstanović, Gorgon, Tomasov…
Ask that Spanish speaking Sibenik coach if he wants to coach HNS-
LOL, where did they find this Mario Rosas guy?
I assumed he was Colombian (like Sibenik’s owners) but it turns out he’s from Malaga and was a former Spain U18 player.
But the guy has almost zero coaching experience (one year of third division Spanish football).
I assume he got this job because he somehow has a connection to the owners and they can all get along in Spanish.
None of the owners probably speak Croatia or even English well (this coach definitely doesn’t), so they probably can’t really communicate with any Croatian candidates.
I don’t think this Sibenik head coaching gig was posted on LinkedIn or anything.
Maybe they met this guy in a bar while partying in Malaga one summer, and they found out he coached, lol.
I am always curious as to what the hiring process is for HNL coaches and the criteria used to hire them.
I can understand all these random Croatian coaches, who got these jobs by connections and relationships developed while playing in the HNL or for the National Team.
But how does a random Spanjolac who never really coached (like Mario Rosas) find out about the job, applies for it, and actually gets it (without even knowing how to speak any language)? LOL
Well, they beat Hajduk so it looks like it’s paying off.
Looks like the HNS has their blueprint for the next coaching hire.
I guess hiring a foreign coach was always the key. Just gotta make sure that he’s VERY foreign, so the players don’t understand his directions.
It may have been better for us at these Euros if Dalic didn’t speak Croatian or English.
Listen, I’m all for Hajduk getting some sort of silverware (20 years almost since a league title, almost 10 years since last cup) but just giving them the Fritula Cup here for 2021 is a stretch. We make some damn good fritule up north, perhaps better than what you find in Dalmacija.
I think you Riječani should stick to the Karađorđeva šnicla
Boom!!!!!!!!!
Whoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa, slow your roll sinko 😉 A ‘segment of the population’ in Rijeka might like that sort of thing. For us that live the ‘za dom … spremni’ lifestyle, day in and day out, not so much. 😀