The hunt is on. Not only for teams looking to compete in Europe next season, but also for teams looking to stay alive in the first division.
The Eternal Derby marks the last week of the season. This could very well be Ivan Kelava’s final match in a blue jersey, with him being rumored for a move to Italy’s Udenise. Dinamo and Hajduk are tied at one goal a piece, and RNK Split is battling Zadar; one team looking for glory of Europe, and one looking to stay alive.
Who will be staying in the Prva Liga, and who will be dropped down and face a season in Croatia’s lower level?
Watch the multi-cast to watch all the matches and keep up with all the action – http://sportska-tv-wizi.blogspot.de/p/hnl-multiprijenos.html
Thats a start!
http://tinyurl.com/c8c37mn
Looking in from the outside, there doesn’t appear to be any division within the Belgium squad.
Then again, they haven’t faced anything that would cause infighting. You can see the true character of a team when things dont go their way. That is usually when the finger pointing takes place.
@Elvis
Thats what i was getting at…
Those Dutch teams of the mid ’90’s and early 00’s were notorious for infighting between blacks and whites on the team.
But how many players are really Belgium?
Well said Armada!
Im hoping this Belgium generation doesn’t have much unity or team spirit. Much like the Dutch teams with all their prima donnas.
@ Armada
The USA were guilty of school boy defending on a couple of occasions. If their defense was tighter they could’ve given up less goals. This is something they can improve.
Playing a semi-defensive gritty game is all they can do given the quality at their disposal. I don’t fault them for that, as I don’t even expect them to play a technical game.
But I tell ya, Belgium looked damn good. Romelo Lukaku and Bentenke were a powerful presence. These young strikers matured over the past season and will give Vatreni something to worry about.
I don’t see Serbia beating this team. Maybe they can draw them, but I doubt it.
if driving distance (12hrs +/-) from NYC I would 100% attend a Cro friendly, meaningless or not (and it’s not totally meaningless anyways because it counts slightly for FIFA rankings and therefore Pots for competitions)
If I had to fly to Cali or something then maybe not
@ Belgium looking so good
In my book, the USMNT is a bunch of nobodys, who just play a semi defensive, gritty type of game – but there is zero attractiveness about it. The only guy currently you have to keep an eye on is Dempsey, but it’s not like he’s even close to world class.
Hell, at this point, the USMNT would make the bums on the Serbia NT look like a top notch European NT…
I say way under 10K……the home city would get a great # to show up, but there would be pockets (couple hundred at most) from other cities.
Less and less people show up to croatian functions around the country as the years go one.
I got the resources to do it, but I’m not even sure if I would travel to a dump like Cleveland for a mid-week worthless friendly.
Let’s be honest. If Cro was to come play an exhibition match against the US in Chicago, how many Croatian fans do you think would show up (includes the entire US and Canada diaspora)?
I think maybe 10-13,000 Croatian fans.
There were just under 28,000 there (a lot of Croats actually), not bad. They only sold tickets for the lower level and half of the second level but those were just about full. They probably could’ve gotten a lot more people in if they had opened the upper level as general admission. Pretty entertaining match. Second part of the first half USA looked like they had a shot at a win or draw and had more possession, but after Belgium got their second goal early in the second half they were cruising. Belgium should’ve been awarded a penalty, too. Though it was against USA and a lot can change in a few months, it makes me a bit nervous for October. Belgium looks very confident. Even after USA got the equalizer in the first half the Belgian defenders didn’t look worried at all.
@Ziva
True, but it is team USA, and Belgium’s starting lineup looks like a BPL all-star team.
City/Chelsea are more recognizable names than Belgium. No surprise they would draw a crowd.
I was impressed with the crowd that was in St. Louis for the City/Chelsea match the other day.
I think I read that about 5000 people paid $10 a piece to watch the teams train.
Makes me think Cleveland should have a good turnout too.
I spoke with a former colleague who happens to live in Cleveland and he thinks the soccer game will outdraw the Indians game also taking place at the same time. Around 25K tickets have been sold so far, so i would guess the game will draw over 30K. Not a bad crowd for non-Hispanic opponent.
Soccer is pretty popular in the suburbs, not so much in the city….shouldn’t be surprising if you look at the demographics. I don’t expect a very big turnout tomorrow (I have seats that are 12 rows from the field that were $30 each which I bought today) but hopefully it’ll be entertaining.
Probably the only time in my life when I had a desire to be in Cleveland. Should be an entertaining match, but are there any soccer fans in Land of Cleves??? I think the Indians play tomorrow night. More people will be at the ball game than the soccer game.
Anyone else in Cleveland going to the USA v Belgium friendly tomorrow night?
Not to mention that he still scores for the repka. Man, that guy has a nose for the net
@ Ziva
What I meant by CL draw was their opponents in qualifying to help them get to the group stage. The CL playoff round of qualifying happens just before the Window closes so, if they were to make it into CL, an interested player could transfer in (just like badelj stayed to help dinamo qualify this year before completing his transfer out)
At the end of the day, a guy like Eduardo has accomplished all he can in his previous HNL stay. Would be tough to see him back already. Surely, a mid-table team in a good league could use a striker like him to help provide depth up front
Meh. Ogi is useless anyway.
@ Mr. Black
I know there was a period that Ogi was riding the pine… I guess he sees the pitch now…
I mean, when you get loaned out by Dynamo Kiev (who are only a notch or two better than DZG, I’d say) that tells you something right there…
Armada87,
You’re right about Eduardo. He doesn’t play much but Vukojevic is very often in the starting11.
In an inter-scrimmage game today, Alen Halilovic hit a rocket of a goal. The players all stopped and clapped. Perisic and Badelj were the other scorers, while Sammir got hurt.
I guess this is what they have to consider assuming all money is equal: come back to Cro and play for Dinamo in CL games over the course of three months and then have nothing to play for. Or go to a mid-tier team in a top league and play in meaningful games throughout the year.
yeah but for guys like Vukojevic and Eduardo, both whom are buried on the bench for their respective clubs (granted, in better leagues), wouldn’t mighty Dinamo be a step up for them? They would become walk-on starters and more than likely see a lot of minutes in Europe.
I’d rather play for a shit team for 90 minutes every game in Europe than freeze my fuckin ass off sitting at the bench at Spartak Moscow in bad weather…
@Joe……by the time the group stage is set up, it is probably too late to bring in signings. I think the transfer period is until the end of Aug.
I don’t even know if CL soccer is enough to attract guys who will have offers from other countries with stronger leagues.
ZAGREB SPAVA DOK SE NE VRATI EKIPA PRAVA
for those that don’t understand UEFA Cofficients…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_coefficient
I hope Dinamo gets these guys, gets a favorable draw and maybe scores more than a goal or two in group and maybe *gasp* win a group stage game for the first time since the 1990’s.
Not to take anything away from Dinamo, but they are Croatia’s only hope, year in and year out, of having a respectable league coefficient. Not like Rijeka/Hajduk/Loko are making deep runs in Europe anytime soon…
@ Ziva
Agreed. You definitely never say never. I just wondered if it was too soon in their careers to be returning to Dinamo to play. I guess a lot will depend on whether Dinamo gets a favourable CL draw again this year in qualifying. If they can make it through to the group stage again, that could make it attractive for the return of a player or two
@ Bobby V…..the more good news, the better. This game stinks of an overconfident, lacklustre performance from our team, especially with us having a few yellow card suspensions for the match. anything to make the job easier would be great. we don’t just need the win but could do with a nice, lopsided victory. let’s hope the scots roll over and play dead within the first half hour
And not built for playoff hockey? What does that mean? They only have both leading playoff goal-scorers and Kunits leads the playoffs in assists, while James Neal is right behind him. Also, they have the most goals scored in the playoffs so far. I think they’re pretty well built for the playoffs. PLUS, that bench! It goes so deep! Crosby missed the first two games and Pens didn’t even blink.
Pens haven’t faced anyone this year??? Who has Chicago played?? They beat up on Minnesota, Columbus, and Dallas all year.If they had to play Boston, Pittsburgh, Montreal, or even Rangers this year, there would have been no points streak. Pittsburgh had a 14 game win streak where they beat Montreal (twice) Boston (twice) NYR, NYI, and Washington, all who were in the playoffs this year.
Good news – Scottish defenders dropping like flies.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/scotland-boss-gordon-strachan-hit-1917092
Bruins-Blackhawks in the finals this year. Penguins aren’t built for playoff hockey. They haven’t faced a team that is skilled and can hit them heavily like the Bruins.
Seedings mean nothing in the NHL, especially in this lockout shortened season. Numbers 2,3, and 4 in the Western conference (Anaheim, Vancouver and St.Louis) were all eliminated in the first round.
I wouldn’t say never.
Da Silva would have to square away his relationship (and court case) against Mamic for that to happen. It’s not like Da Silva has other teams beating down the door for him to return. I have no idea when the court case is scheduled to end. I assume Da Silva will lose and this could set up a possible return where Mamic agrees to void the contract that was signed between he and Da Silva in an effort to bring him to Dinamo. Crazier shit has taken place inside cro soccer.
Vukojevic would help out for a run in the Europa League, but it would be bringing in another guy who is not counted on by his current team for Champions League action.
of all the major north american sports, seeding for playoffs in hockey seems to be the most meaningless. kings last year are a fabulous example. and every other post season is littered with division winners losing in the first round. playoff hockey is damn exciting….unless you are a leafs fan. then its just damn painful….
anyways….stumbled upon this:
http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/dinamo-zagreb-sign-algeria-striker-soudani-122817681.html
surely, those two would not be coming back to play in cro so soon, would they??
Good. Goalkeepers are supposed to be crazy. Give me a guy with a face tattoo and criminal record any day over a pretty boy to play keeper. I’ve been a keeper my entire life, but have no tattoos, hence why I write about soccer, and you guys don’t write about me.
Wow, Dinamo got themselves some type of character as their new GK. Dude spent the last month in jail and even worse – has a neck tatoo.
http://rt.com/news/uk-mass-immigration-segregation-873/
Sucks to be English.
Pittsburgh is seeded number one for a reason, and they’ve showed it in the playoffs so far. If they’re able to take Boston in this series, there’s no doubt they will take the cup, regardless who they play.
Regular season hockey means nista. Look at last year, The Kings were an 8 seed. What are they this year???? 5 seed. Seeding means nothing, at least not in the West.
I’ll take playoff hockey any day over the NBA playoffs.
Well, it’s not official yet, so Dragovoljac may still keep their license. Good news is, Sibenik should be staying up in the druga liga.
Your mighty Blackhawks have been taken to a game 7 by the seventh seed. Doesn’t matter, Pittsburgh is taking it this year anyway. Just have to finish off Boston first.
How about my Blackhawks and Zadar? You Rijeka fans can thanks us now.
Great effort by daddy’s boy Tomic. Loses the first two sets and then quits at the start of the third.
This kid needs a break from the game. I never bought into the hype of him being a top-tier talent, but even I didn’t think he would be this bad at this point in his career.
Dragovoljac never should have received a license in the first place. We are not the only country with a fly as you go soccer league. Look at France. Technically, Monaco is still baned from playing in the first division.
Hahaha. Looks like the running joke that is the HNL is continuing. Dragovoljac reportedly lost their first league license and Zapresic gets to stay in the prva liga. What a shame. Hope it’s just a rumor.
I’m just curios to know what type of security risk? The stands would have been packed with hrvati. No chance muslims or Velez’s fan group would have shown up with the high police presence at the stadium.
Too bad, it would have been a nice party in hercegovina for the repka.
Yugo fucks stopped that game.
UEFA killed that party… For security reasons haha what a crock…
Bummer… The Hercegovici would of had Bijeli Brijeg bumping for that game.
Looks like the friendly match against Zrinjski in Mostar is off. Too bad, I’m sure that would have been a nice party for 20K fans.
Another fucking Brazlian?
BTW all you YUGO shits can choke on Titos dick.
Who’s the fat chick?
Add me to the list of those happy for Rijeka!
are we really arguing about finishing THIRD in the HNL? That is the equivalent of arguing over a fat ass chick at 3am.
It doesn’t matter if you win by one point or one thousand. Winning is winning and Rijeka finished ahead of Hajduk so eat your words.
Haha Rijeka fans are gloating about being better than Hajduk, Hajduk has one of their worst teams ever and finish ONE point behind Rijeka. And did you forget that Hajduk won a cup, what did Rijeka accomplish?
You cico are a joke. Your team is awful and stop making excuses.
@armada. Great news. I never thought Rijeka would be ahead of Jadan Hajduk.
Bog Hrvati Hns Rijeka armada.
Have a Good Memorial Day ! As for the dinamo game we’ll let that one go ! Half Of the Starters on our team did not play ! Anyway , KUP JE NAŠ !! Bog , Hrvati , Hajduk , i HNS !!!
New striker for Dinamo: Junior Fernandes comes from Bayer Leverkussen. He’s 24 years old, didn’t play much at Leverkussen and has the Chilean nationality but he’s from Brazilian descent.
Also : Word is that Mourinho wants to bring Modric with him to Chelsea and Atletico Madrid seems to be interested in Rakitic.
Yeaa Forza Lazio! Hopefully Rakitic goes there next year.
http://www.javno.ba/javno-intervju/video-alen-halilovi-za-javnoba-zato-hrvatska-a-ne-bih.html
Lazio wins the CUP!!! wooo
Tornado do smrt!!!!
in other transfer news, Damir Krelilach, Rijeka’s DMF and one of the top 3 DMF’s in the HNL (and hopeful NT player one day) moves to Union Berlin in the 2. Bundesliga.
Good move for Damir. It’s a real no-pressure situation for Damir. If he plays well in the 2. Bundesliga, hey – transfer to some mid-table 1st division side in Germany or some other decent first league. If not, quietly move back to the HNL. Glad he didn’t go to some big time 1st division team. That’s just asking to be labeled a bust
@ Luka
My predictions held up:
-Rijeka would finish higher than mighty Hajduk in the table
-Rijeka will make Europe
now I can rub it in that Rijeka are better than Hajduk, based upon final table standings to guys like Cico for the rest of the summer hehe 😀
@ Ziva
I’m hoping Rijeka draw some mickey mouse, amateur team from Luxembourg, Northern Ireland, San Marino, Lichtenstein, etc. for their first tie. At least we could say we won a round in the Europa League haha
GPS Kelava signing with Granada. Who will be behind the pipes for Dinamo next season?
Ja Te Volim Dinamo….Dinamo
Svaka Cast Dinamo! Odlicna Sezona!
Funny how you don’t hear from Cico when jadan Hajduk has a bad day. He must be crying.
Bog, Hrvati, HNs, dinamo most loved team on the planet.
Great news about Split getting screwed by Zadar. F that commie club. Glad to see them not make Europe.
Rijeka, Hajduk and Lokomotiva wont doe shit in Europe League qualifiers.
Forza Armada!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes baby!!!
Rijeka all day!
@Armada
Well congrats. You were pumping Rijeka all season and now they made it.
Right on. Good for Rijeka. Split sure as hell blew their chances. Chances
prva-hnl.hr
according to the table, Rijeka are the only ones in third, ahead of Split and Cico’s jadan Hajduk
Not 1oo% they’re in. I THINK Split had to lose and they stew. Someone double check.
RIJEKA ARE IN?!?!
haha the one week I didn’t even bother watching and it looks like they actually snuck in!!
Dinamo over Hajduk 3-1. Clean match, refs were fair and brutal misses on both sides.
Džoni with a brutal miss! LOL!
Džoni, we’re sorry, won’t you come on home
We worry, won’t you come on
What is wrong in my life
That I must get drunk every night
Džoni, we’re sorry won’t you come on…
Zadar is tied with Split now too. Rijeka still has a chance for third place
Dinamo just scored. 2 – 1
Rijeka up 2-0 over Zagreb
And Pamic scores for both Dinamo and Hajduk. 1-1
Henri Belle scores for Split in the 32nd minute. 1-0 Split