Photo: TheFA.com
Same celebration. Different game.
Don’t let the picture deceive you; three days after his goal against Swansea, Nikica Jelavić is celebrating again. This time he slammed home past Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in the 24th minute off a fantastic cross from teammate Magaye Gueye. The near post one-timer was cool and collected as Jelavić didn’t overdue it. The goal put Everton up 1-0 in their FA Cup quarterfinal replay against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. During the match, Jelavić had a total of five shots, with four being on goal.
Although he scored the opening goal, Jelavić was criticized for not finishing clear chances on goal.
“Listen, he’s been brilliant since he came here. He has changed a lot of our games. The way he holds up the ball is excellent and he brings others into play. It doesn’t matter if he misses. He scored tonight and we all work hard for each other anyway. We have each other’s backs here.”
-Everton captain, Tim Cahill
During the second half, Jelavić was given an assist by ‘the statsman’ for his cross through the box which was ultimately going nowhere. Sunderland midfielder David Vaughan attempted to stop the ball but ended up clumsily kicking it into his own net. The 2-0 scoreline would hold up seeing Everton clinch a FA Cup semifinal berth, where they will face crosstown rivals Liverpool on April 14th at Wembley.
Jelavić goal @ 0:52, own goal @ 2:08
Photo: TheSun
In other FA Cup news, Luka Modrić got the start for Tottenham in their rematch (not replay) with the Bolton Wanderers Tuesday night. The original match was abandoned due to the collapse of Bolton player Fabrice Muamba 41 minutes through. After a scoreless first half, Spurs finally got on the board in the 74′ after bombing Bolton keeper Adam Bogdan the entire match. Gareth Bale would add one more moments later to make it 2-0 Tottenham.
However, Bolton’s Ivan Klasnić would make things interesting in the final minutes, whipping in a perfect cross from the sideline to Kevin Davies to make it 2-1 in injury time. It wouldn’t be for Bolton as Louis Saha would add an insurance goal for a 3-1 Spurs win. Niko Kranjčar remained on the bench.
Tottenham will now play London rivals Chelsea on April 15th in the second FA Cup semifinal from Wembley.
Modrić shot (0:14) Klasnić assist (4:52)
Maybe we will see a Perisic/Jelavic combo in the next friendly after all?
They’re probably our hottest two offensive players right about now.
Perisic should be called up and used in both upcoming friendlies in attempt to tweak/improve our attacking style.
perisic scored another sick goal today, i think this guy must have the most goals per minutes played ratio in germany!
Croatia is falling apart it a shame they ruined this country greed mafija tatin sinovi, for a country of bareley 4 we are in trouble i love it here cuz of all my family and friends but this mafia is killing us working people all the HDZ and who ever i the vlada do is steal steal steal steal and stal and steal and did i mention steal. That like the country the nogomet is falling with it!
damn ipad….sorry for the bad spelling
NK Varazdin is done. So, that now leaves 15 teams in the HNL. A few maore amy fall before the end of the season. Heck, we are getting cloer and closer to the 4-team league that I want.
Nice piece on Jelavic from Everton’s site.
http://www.evertonfc.com/news/archive/2012/03/29/head-to-head-jelavic-v-long
As I said in my initial post…I kinda wonder what a Perisic/Jelavic striker pairing would play like for the repka?
Perisic has experience playing in that second stiker role (he played it on the repka too against France and almost scored with Hugo Lloris barely getting his fingers on that shot for the save).
Perisic on that left side, with Jelavic further up front similar to his Everton role would be interesting. You get the right mix of size, skill, and speed with those two and they can both play with their heads.
I think perisic would be great behind the likes of jelavic, One thing i like with perisic he can shoot the ball dosent need to be in the box to score! I think perisic is what we need a good link up player between the midfield and strikers, one thing is for certain mandzo olic and jelavic one of those three will start, i think any two of those three is a bad strike force! perisic jelavic would be like dudu and olic were, one horse and one link [player, i fear that it wil be olic and mandzo in the end though!
@ Armada
Rakitic is the best player of that generation, because he’s played for so long, most people forget he just turned 24…that’s what happens when you score goal of the year in switzerland when you’re 17
On a more agreeable note, I completely agree armada, perisic is a great player that deserves to start (he was great against France in that recent friendly, almost scored the only goal of the game) but being a coach I don’t think you can pull any big changes this close to tournament time….we’ll see what Bilic does in the next two friendlies before euros, but realistically, the only person jumping into the starting 11 would be jelavic, if he keeps this form…even then I doubt it, Bilic probably feels more comfortable with Olic-Mandzukic tandem
I agree with what you are saying on Perisic. But, its not like Perisic is getting that many more minutes than Olic or Kranjcar at the club level.
You could argue that getting meaningful minutes is less important to a player like Olic or Kranjcar than it would be for Perisic in the buildup to the Euros. I think there is a common ground somewhere in between.
I think we have to find a starting spot for Perisic somehow. I don’t know if playing him as a FW is the answer, but the kid is one of our biggest talents; athletic, great in the air, good with both feet, fast, etc. and we’re still trying to push guys into the starting XI like Olic and Kranjcar, who barely get any playing time and aren’t in their best form? Yes, congratulations Niko and Ivica for being two of our more important NT players in the last decade and they deserve recongnition for that, but the fact of the matter is, there are better guys sitting on the bench, who get regular playing time with their clubs and I think could contribute more to the NT (with Perisic being the prime example). He ain’t a kid anymore, he’s hungry and personally, when it’s all said and done, he’ll be the top player from his generation.
the experience argument is at times very overblown. I wouldn’t take klasnic, eduardo, olic, petric because of their experience, i would take them if they can still produce. Suker was kept on the repka for too long because of the experience argument, but at some point experience just becomes code for old.
I would include the Brazilian-born hrvat on the roster, but I don’t see him as a starter.
Class is permanent, form is temporary….
I still believe eduardo has what it takes to win matches for croatia….To me, eduardo will be in my starting 11 regardless of his form…
Experience still counts for the NT…klasnic, eduardo, olic, petric are stirkers who provide much needed experience for younger strikers like jelavic, kalinic and mandzukic.
Im loving how comfortable Jelavic looks infront of goal. It shows his confidence.
And really how critical can you be if he misses a few chances? Heck even Messi has missed shots within the 6 yard box.
I still have confidence in Olic and Eduardo as good strikers (Just because they aren’t getting quality playing time, these guys can still produce) Now throw Jelavic in there.
Anyone else, and I’m really not as confident that they’ll produce. You could get a goal or two out of Klasnic and Mandzukic.
@ Goldilocks – I love that you love what i wrote and i’ll say it again cause i’ve been saying it all along! I TOLD YOU ALL THAT JELAVIC IS A STUD! Nothing wrong with Jelavic and his foot skills he can finish with both feet and always manages to get open for players trying to make an assist. He may not be a Maradona at dribbling but he’s not too shabby at it either. He also may not be Suker or Boksic or any player of that caliber but is the most complete stiker Croatia has right now and he’s starting to show it to all the people who dont know how to analyze football. Stats mean alot but dont mean everything. Don’t get me wrong he still has alot to prove playing in checkers but Bilic needs to give him more PT than he has been offering him.
@johnb
Please don’t jinx him. =P
I pose a question to you all:
Can Perisic be considered in the top 4 for Croatia’s strikers? Yes, he’s a natural winger/supporting striker…but he’s young and hungry. He’s coming off the bench for Dortmund (1st in Bundesliga and current champs) but when he comes in during garbage time, he scores.
I have little faith in Olic, minimal PT at Bayern and 0 faith in Dudu, who hasn’t played for Shakhtar in 2012. I feel a Jelavic/Mandzukic tandem brings aerial attack and presence, but no speed or creativity.
5 strikers to bring to Euro: Jelavic, Mandzukic, Olic, Eduardo, Klasnic. I suppose you would consider Perisic a midfielder…
Leave Petric and Kalinic at home…
Jelavic reminds me of Alen Boksic, with the way the way he can play upfront alone, hold the ball against defenders, and needs just one touch to set-up his shot even in tight spaces. He can finish with both feet, and is strong in the air, which is encouraging. I would pair him with Olic, who can help create space with his runs or follow-up on Jelavic’s shots on goal for easy tap ins.
@Ante Kvartuc
That’s just it. The people in Cro actually DON’T go to the games….and for the few that actually do show up, no money is actually made on those ticket sales. You can get Hajduk season tickets for something like 350Kn. That’s like $2 a game. Barely covers the water bill to water the pitch.
The only way Hajduk & Dinamo make money is to ensure that the young players they have on their roster get a chance to feature on the repka’s U21 and A selekcija, and get the exposure to outside buyers for lucrative transfer deals. They also force the smaller, local teams (ie. Sibenik) to hand over any of their semi-decent prospects to them and sign smaller agreements with them on sharing the profits from the player’s future transfer deal (that they do not honour).
This is the reason why all those players who didn’t sign with Dinamo or Hajduk and left for outside clubs directly from their local teams never get a national team callup. This is the reason why Mamic is so involved in which coach is selected for the repka.
Every repka player that went outside the HNL without playing for Hajduk or Dinamo first (where they would be forced to sign a 30%+ lifetime contract), had to take the long route to get called up for the national team.
I used to laugh when I saw guys like Ivan Bosnjak, Mato Neretljak, and Marijo Maric have their callups suddenly stop once they were sold.
Before one can really start arguing about the redevelopment of a new HNL, I think you have to be quite the expert in economics. If not, its just listening to anyone’s dribble. I am no economics expert, so I will not mention jack about how to fix the liga.
Jelavic hot right now, but will Petric syndrome occur. I think Petric is still a great finisher, and should be considered as well. I don’t know how to predict players abilities in big tournaments well. Sometimes I have seen guys who play mediocre or subpar during club season and then it seems for the fuck of it, they kick ass in the tournaments.
Question: Have there been kleets with checkers all over them?
@ Crno and Ziva,
This is all ridiculous news coming out of Croatia regarding Hajduk. They protect Dinamo and Hajduk at all costs, letting them slide by on legal technicalities while other, lesser known clubs are punished.
I stand by the CSR strike. And to people in Croatia…they need to wake up and stop going to games period. Giving these crooks and mafiosos 10 kune is bad enough.
The clubs obviously aren’t making money, I just wonder if the owners/mafia are using them as fronts/money washing for their illegal activity.
I love the “Remember when I said how good Jelavic was gonna be.” Also, just because you score a lot of goals somewhere, does not mean you’re going to be good everywhere. That’s just completely and utterly false.
Jelavic is showing real promise, but he’s definitely still got some work to do when it comes to footwork and dribbling. He may look like a tank running down the field, but defenders aren’t too afraid of his dribbling skills.
@Chopper
You’re telling me Dujmo is going to do that much better than Vuko? That’s a joke in my opinion. If anything, they are on the same level. They’ve both have had their fair share of games for the NT, and both have produced just about the same.
I can see Vukojevic going up against Spain without a problem. Bilic isn’t going to go after the Spaniards full bore. He needs a guy like Vuko that’s going to sit in the middle of the pitch and be an utter pest. We don’t need him on offense, never have needed him. Dujmovic is not that much of a stud up there either.
I like the fact that we’re throwing out all these names, but it’s hard for me to believe Bilic is going to go against the grain and give these kids a chance.
@HNK DALMATINAC CRNO …….everything you said is correct. But, you still can’t stop a player from leaving early, even if it stuns his development. Leagues outside of Cro will pay more and its tough to tell a 20 year old kid to remain in Cro and play for 1/4 of the salary he could play in another country. Yes, he may sit the bench and not develop. But, there is also no guarantee that same offer will come along 2-3 years later. What if that kid doesn’t get any better or if he gets injured.
Offense for NT is not the problem, both Mandzu and Jela doing well, with backup from Olic and Edu. Defensive mid and stoppers are the real issue!! Vukojevic is good as a Def Mid behind Modric and Rakitic, but he struggles offesively. Gone are the days when the Def midfielder only had to hold the shape of the midfield and link defence with attack – Spain will tear us apart if Vuko starts; Dujmovic/Vida is a better option. I agree with HNK DALMATINAC CRNO, Vida would be ideal for this role, but needs time to adjust to it. Kranjcar is too slow and only an impact player off the bench. I would play Modric and Rakitic, with perisic on one wing and Ilicevic on the other. The backline looks good with Srna and Strinic/Pranjic as wingbacks and Corluka and Lovren as CBs with Simunic and Gordon as cover. No other option for defense. Sorting out the midfield is the priority at the moment. Could you imagine Vukojevic up against Xavi and Iniesta? We would get torn apart, then if Vuko does eventually win the ball, he coughs it up so often. No one in the NT has played this role well since Soldo and N. Kovac!
Also, I hope klasnic gets a callup. He is in decent form. Throw eduardo in and you got your five strikers.
Jelavic looks sharp. When he first transfered in, I was very eager to see if he could cut it. So far, so good. I see him as a starter with Olic. Don’t like jelavic and mandzukic together. With both those guys running their guts out, I hope we can generate offense.
As for krancjar on defense, why not? Could we do any worse?
@ nije bitno your right in a perfect world a non cigan lopov would buy a club and make it a good team not in croatia lie cheat steal is their motto Bilic and his band wrote a great song about croatia.
@ Ziva alot of croatian players fail or it takes them a while to adapt when they go from croatian league to a big 5 league name me one modern croatian player who went to a team in liga petica and was guns blazzing, the problem also is that you are a zvjezda in HNL but when you go to a elite european team you need time, look at Jelavic people laughed at me 4 years ago when i said he will be a good player. Modric didnt adapt he was voted flop of the summer transfer in 2008 Corluka wa the only one who made a good transition. In short the craotian league is a joke so what if your a number 1 keeper defender midd foward in this croatian league WE NEED CHANGE this HNL is also affecting the National Team croatian diaspora are choosing to play for the country of birth beacuse that country offers them more!
@HNK DALMATINAC CRNO…..I understand your point, but you can’t have a law state states anyone under the age of 25 (or any age for that matter) is not allowed to be sold. That is a restriction on employee rights. If a kid wants to leave at age 19 or 20 for a better=paying job in another country (league), the HNS and the Cro govt. have no right to stop someone. We don’t stop young IT specialists from leaving for a better paying gig in another country, so we shouldn’t do it with soccer players either.
The goal of every young player in Cro should be to get playing time, make a mark and try to get the hell out of the HNL as soon as possible.
@ HNK DALMATINAC CRNO – I agree 100% but unfortunately the cigani / lopovi will not allow any of this. Last year Androniko Lukšić a south american from Chile and of Cro descent, was try trying to buy the majority of Hajduks shares and was shutdown! Why? Its simple, everybody knew that if he was going to buy and own Hajduk for the most part, they wouldn’t be able to steal anymore. He is ranked the 27th most well off man in the world in front of Romana Abramovič! With a guy like him on top people like Surjak, Kerum and all those other idiots that swear they do and mean well for Hajduk, would be obsolete and they were not wanting to have anything to do with a man of that caliber.
Tri sam ti zime saptao ime zastavu ljubija zbog tebe sve sam izgubija Hajduce ljubavi tko te to unisti (uprava odlazi)!
I wonder what a Perisic/Jelavic striker pairing would play like for the repka?
Perisic on that left side in a second striker role, with Jelavic further up front similar to his Everton role.
You get the right mix of size, skill, and speed with those two and they can both play with their heads.
@ Ziva i think the league needs to bankrupt and get rid of mafia and cigani who are in croatian nogomet and then they should make a league of young talent and make exciting young playr and develop and not sign overpaid strance and also not sell toung talent till they are like 25 then the league would be ok, Krafne kifici mafia lopovi josko svagusa, mamic velika glava,markovicu po po po, I think if afew diaspora millionare croatians need to come to croatia buy a team and make new tadiums lock up huligans haa.
http://www.hrsport.net/vijesti/437358/nogomet-1-hnl/suspendirani-hajduk-sibenik-i-karlovac
@Josko Balaban they didnt pay their players and hajduk didnt give sibenik 3.3million kuna for rukavinas transfers to greece 4 year ago
Hajduk’s suspension will be lifted tomorrow or the following day. They will get out of it on a legal move/
Just more proof how this league is total crap. Quite honestly, Hajduk should be shut down for failing to pay their bills and be placed in administration. They owe Sibenik around 300-400K euros as part of the Rukavina deal when he was sold to Greece. If you can’t – or in this case won’t – pay the bills, then measures must be taken.
I just read that the HNS suspended Hajduk and a few other clubs for not paying debts. Anyone have any news on this?
@ Toni yes i think it time to change i like kranky but time for new change i would like to see Ilicevic modric vida perisic middfield Vida when he played for osijek was a dm that would be a fast mid field and rakitic kranjcar as subbs not bad im not a coach but i do play so i would try Kresic-Srna Corluka Lovren(Vida) Pamic/Strinic Ilicevic Modric Vida (rakitic)Perisic Mandzukic Jelavic-Subs Kelava Kranjcar Rakitic Edi Klasnic Dujmovic
Yes you guys are correct I think Jelavic does look great out their, really pulling through for Everton I think I would like to see him start maybe with ola, ola Olic not sure yet though, but I also have to say Modric looked excellent in that F.A Cup game passess were super sharp ,quick to get back and all over the pitch,he just has to tame that shot .What do you think guys can we put Kranjcar on defense at all as a starter
would that work just a thought I think he do better than some of those joker’s no???-U-
I’ve said that if Jelavic gets in form for Everton Cro won’t have to worry about offense at the Euros. It looks like he’s starting to get very comfortable in the EPL and him tallying 5 or 6 league goals looks likely. It’s a no-brainer to have Jelavic as a starter and its up to Bilic to figure out who to pair him up with.
P.S. Anyone else out there think Kranky’s days as a starter for Croatia are over? He hasn’t looked like a legit player since he went on that tear scoring match winners against Israel and Georgia last year and doing the same for Tottenham.
Jelavic looks great! That goal yesterday was against an EPL side too. Hopefully Bilic will start getting Jelavic some more minutes in the friendlies before Euro. Jelavic and Mandzukic good be a strong pairing in June
so far so good. let’s see how things progress, but so far really excited. leading a league in scoring is no easy task regardless of league, so you gotta give him some serious credit for that. one has to wonder if jelavic keeps this up, if its a good sign for perisic, having lead the belgium league in scoring. to me, he usually looks solid and seems to have made some good of his limited opportunities on the club level. maybe with a transfer to a team where he gets to play more often, we could all be pleasantly surprised that he could be a legit contributor
I have been telling everybody this guy is a STUD! But everybody would say he only plays in the Scottish league, if he was playing in a stronger league he wouldn’t be that great. Well i think hes starting to prove all those non believers wrong now! I don’t care where you play if you score 30 goals in 45 apps your a stud! I just don’t see how people don’t see that hes a Croatian tank from Hercegovina! When he runs toward the opposing teams defenses he looks like he is going to pummel them! not only is he physically strong, the man is great with the ball, assists well, and has hops for those headers! I never doubted his club play because he has proven his self everywhere he has been, but will or can he play good in the checkers? I think so, but Bilic is yet to give him a real chance.
I think the Own Goal was a far post shot that the goalie got his right hand onto. Either way he created that own goal.
The big miss was a harder shot than it appeared. He narrowly missed the far post with the keeper rapidly advancing.
Everton is not a silky smooth team that converts on every chance. Jelavic is not Ivan Klasnic, but Everton seems to be the ideal club for him.
http://www.24sata.hr/nogomet/prvak-europe-pa-debi-za-inter-livaja-pozvan-u-prvu-momcad-259661
nice!