Written By: Andrew R.
With the start of the 23/24 HNL season around the corner, clubs across the league have actively been signing new players for their upcoming campaigns. Today, we will go through all the moves made so far in June by each club, examining each club’s approach to a dogfight of a season in Croatia.
Dinamo Zagreb
After winning their 24th league title, Dinamo seem intent on keeping a title-winning side intact despite rumors swirling around quite a few of their top players. Dinamo are looking to bolster their squad on the defensive end, with both signings supporting the center-back department. Dinamo’s first signing was Mauro Perković from Istra, a 20-year-old purchased for only 2M euros. Perković was loaned to Dinamo for the second half of the season, recording one assist in 8 appearances for the club. He made 17 appearances for Istra in the first half of the season and was a crucial part of Istra’s backline. Perković is also a member of Croatia’s U-21 squad and can potentially be an essential youngster for Dinamo this campaign. Dinamo’s second singing was Paris FC’s Maxime Bernauer, a 25-year-old French center-back who recorded 35 league appearances for the French side last season in Ligue 2. Bernauer was signed for a fee of 1.2M euros, a seemingly good deal for the caliber player Dinamo is receiving. Bernauer boasts an 86% pass success rate, winning 57% of his duels and averaging 71 touches per match. These stats show that Bernauer is a defender who can handle himself well on the ball and be reliable while playing from the back.
Hajduk Split
After winning last season’s Croatian Cup and finishing second in the HNL, Ivan Leko and his Hajduk side will have tons of momentum going into their next campaign. Despite only bringing in two players so far, Hajduk are looking to strengthen themselves with top-level players from all across Europe. First, let’s talk about Zvonimir Šarlija, a Croatian-born center-back who arrived at Poljud on a free transfer and back into the HNL, where he previously played for his hometown club Slaven Belupo in Koprivnica. Šarlija arrived from Greek side Panathinaikos, where he had 21 league appearances this season. Šarlija excels at creating momentum from long balls out of the back and bringing a solid 90% successful pass rate to the table. Hajduk’s other big signing is from EFL Championship side Sunderland – striker Leon Dajaku. Dajaku has 10 appearances in the Championship this season before being loaned out to Swiss club St. Gallen, where he made an additional 12 appearances in the Super League. Hajduk fans might be questioning what type of player they are receiving in Dajaku, as he scored 0 goals for both clubs this season. However, Hajduk fans should not be deterred from the signing yet, as he recorded four goals and three assists in League One in the season prior when the Black Cats were promoted back to the Championship. This signing is a wild card, as Dajaku may boost their season or ride the bench all year long.
NK Osijek
After finally completing their brand-new stadium and selling a large chunk of their squad to afford harsh bills and player fees, Osijek manager Stjepan Tomas is presented with the challenge of rebuilding his squad while remaining in the top four. Tomas has a complex task ahead of him, as the Kohorta have high expectations for the club after a few rough seasons. Tomas’ approach has been to bring in players who played under him during his time at Sheriff Tiraspol. Those players include Renan Guedes, a Brazilian right-back, and Stefanos Evangelou, a Greek center-back. Guedes played six European matches last season for his previous side. Four appearances came in the Europa League and the remaining two were in Conference League action. Guedes’ European experience will be invaluable to the Bijelo-Plavi next season as they look to qualify for the Conference League and fight for a domestic league title. However, Evangelou’s background may seem a bit more sketchy at first glance. After making only four appearances in the Moldovan Super Liga last season, many Osijek fans question if Evangelou will be match-fit before the season kicks off. On another note, Osijek also brought in Oleksandr Drambayev, a 22-year-old left-back from Ukraine on loan from his parent club, Shakhtar Donetsk. The season prior, the Ukrainian youngster performed very well on loan for Zulte Waregem in the Belgian Pro League. He recorded a goal and an assist last season and has the Osijek faithful hopeful that he can dominate the left side of the pitch.
HNK Rijeka
After falling short last season due to woeful results throughout their entire campaign, Rijeka hit the transfer market hard this summer. As of now, they are looking prepared to reverse last season’s results and get back to where they feel they belong. Despite rumors that star player Matija Frigan is leaving the club, Rijeka remain focused on the upcoming season and have made some significant moves. Rijeka started by buying two players from two Bundesliga clubs’ second teams. These players were Franjo Ivanović from Augsburg II and Marco Pasalić from Dortmund II. Marco Pasalić is the more notable of the two Bundesliga signings as he had previously represented our Vatreni at the U-17 level and later the U-21 squad. With Frigan being his teammate on the U-21 squad, Rijeka fans can look forward to possible chemistry built between the players if the youngster chooses to stay at Rijeka. Outside the Bundesliga, Rijeka strengthened themselves with a class signing of Marijan Čabraja from Scottish Premiership side Hibernian. While at Hibernian, Čabraja had 26 appearances across all competitions and will bring needed experience to Rijeka’s backline. Last season alone, Čabraja clocked 1,764 minutes playing for the Scottish side. His experience in a demanding Scottish league will transfer well to a similarly competitive environment at Rijeka. Lastly, two new midfielders will also arrive at Rujevica. Those players are Slovenian Dejan Petrović and Croatian Niko Janković. Petrović arrived at Rijeka’s camp from Austrian club Rapid Vienna, while Janković came from fellow HNL competitor Dinamo. With strength in multiple positions, it will be up to Sergej Jakirović to see what he can do with his new talent.
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb
After a subpar season finishing 7th place in the HNL and seeing Sandro Kulenović head back to Dinamo, the Lokosi needed to get their train back on track, and that is just what they did. Signing the most players so far this window, Lokomotiva are looking to improve with both veteran and young players for their next campaign in the HNL. After bringing in Croatian veteran Marin Leovac, a former Vatreni player with five caps and an HNL legend with 125 league appearances, Lokomotiva will bring skill and experience into their squad on the left side of the pitch. However, that is not the only defensive signing from the Lokosi – Ilija Mašić, a Bosnian center-back from Široki Brijeg who played lights-out football in the Bosnian league. Mašić recorded 31 appearances, three goals, one assist, and a giant tally of 4,036 minutes total in three seasons for Brijeg. Minutes like that show signs that Lokomotiva might have a reliable player on their hands. The Lokosi also brought in 18 year-old goalkeeper, Luka Savotić, from NK Jarun in the 1.NL. He played 16 games for the second-tier side and had four clean sheets. The Lokosi, however, did not ignore the attacking side of their game either, bringing in Montenegrin striker Ivan Bulatović, who made 33 appearances for Arsenal and netted six goals for the club as they reached a 3rd place finish. Another player is 18-year-old Macedonian attacking midfielder Feta Fetai of the Macedonian U-18 team. He recorded 13 league appearances at his old club, Rabotnicki, while having three caps for the U-18 Macedonia squad. Lastly, Lokomotiva picked up Dinamo Zagreb U-19 left winger Viktor Kanižaj on a free transfer. These signings could pay off for the Lokosi as they push back to their standard mid-table finishes.
NK Istra Pula
Last season, Istra rallied for an impressive 5th-place finish under manager Gonzalo Garcia, but with his departure, it will be up to Mislav Karoglan to replicate last season’s success. Despite losing key players from Garcia’s Istra side, Karoglan and the Istra board have brought in new players to combat the players leaving Aldo Drosina this summer. Istra introduced three new midfielders into their camp: Sebastian Nebyla from DAC in Slovakia, Unai Naviera from Athletic Bilbao, and Ivan Ćalušić from HNL competitor Hajduk Split. These players all arrived in Pula on free transfers. The most promising of the three midfielders lies in the Slovak, Sebastian Nebyla, who had five goals and one assist for DAC last season as they reached a second-place finish. Istra are also looking to build on their wide play by bringing in two wingers. Irfan Ramić, a Bosnian-born right winger of 18 years of age, joined Istra from FK Sarajevo, where he played 13 games for FK Sarajevo’s U-19 side and scored one goal in those 13 appearances. The other winger, the most random transfer so far in the HNL, is 24-year-old, Chovanie Amatkarijo, from Sint Maarten. He played for Swedish side Ostersunds in the Swedish second division and was able to find the net four times in his 12 appearances for the club. After declaring his allegiance to Sint Maarten, Amatkarijo scored and had two assists in his debut against Bonaire.
Slaven Belupo
The Farmaceuti have been relatively active on the defensive side of the ball this window, bringing in three new center-backs this June. The first of the center-back trio is Luka Racic, a 24-year-old who formerly played for the Danish U-20 and U-19 teams. He left Sonderjyske in the Danish second tier with 28 games played and two goals. The next center-back is Bujar Pllana from Kosovo, who was an impressive asset to FC Prishtina last season. Coming in with 26 games played in the IPKO Superliga and scoring four times while having an assist to his name, Pllana is an athlete that Slaven will utilize on their backline next season. Lastly, the Farmaceuti will be excited to welcome back Vinko Medjimorec, a homegrown talent born in the Koprivnica area. Last season he played in the Cypriot first tier for Akritas in the second half of the season but on loan. During the first half of the season, Medjimorec played for fellow Cypriot club Karmiotissa. Medjimorec had 32 league appearances across both clubs this season and scored once. The Farmaceuti talent should have Slaven fans happy to have him back, as he could be vital in this new trio of center-backs arriving in Koprivnica.
HNK Gorica
Last season Gorica pulled off the unexpected – surviving the drop to the 1.NL when no one believed they would. Despite this remarkable achievement, Gorica have been quiet this window, only bringing in one reinforcement. The Goričani have brought in a Dutch winger, Sven Blummel, this summer from Dutch second-division club MVV Maastricht. Blummel is considered a talented play-maker and brings high intensity and pressing to any side that he plays for. In his last season with MVV Maastricht, he scored four goals and had six assists. Gorica fans can look forward to a well-rounded attacking player joining their ranks.
NK Rudeš
Rudeš have bounced back to the HNL for the first time since the 18/19 season but have been relatively inactive this summer. After landing Vatreni legend Robert Prosinečki as their manager, many assumed Rudeš would begin making some serious moves. However, they have only introduced two new players into the first team. Riad Masala of Bosnia and Vilim Kruslin from Croatia were promoted from Rudeš’s U-19 team to the first team. After almost losing the 1.NL title to Slavonian side Vukovar, Rudeš fans can wonder if these call-ups will be enough to keep them up in a competitive Croatian First Division.
NK Varaždin
Varaždin are the only side in this window to not bring any players into their squad. This approach is bold, as complacency can sometimes lead clubs down a slippery slope. However, another reason for their silence may be that they are patiently waiting for the right move to arise.
A fun season awaits. Who do you see lifting the trophy next year?
Does anyone know where to watch hnl matches this year? Perhaps a subscription will be available on this site or are there other options for those who are outside of Croatia?
I am starting to think that a good front lineup for Croatia is Orsic on the left, Perisic up front, and Krama on the right.
I know this was mentioned by someone before and I k ow Dalic tinkered with this a bit. Realistically Perisic is one of the few players who had consistently scored for us every tournament and big matches.
With Musa, Beljo and potentially others to sub in.
At this point we have noone else to score. I know Perisic is not a true number 9 but I don’t see any other option other than waiting for the younger players to step up which could take some time to happen.
I dunno is Livaja and Petko are in the equation or not, maybe substitutes as well depending on whether or not Livaja gets another call up which may happen.
Maybe by freeing Perisic to play a front man role that can start to be his focus.
He is getting older and this could free someone like Orsic to play that left winger role, in my view Orsic seems quite dangerous for opponents in that position.
I’ve been campaigning to try Perisic as striker for a while now
Perisic/krama?
Orsic Godric. Kova JJ
Broz
Gvardiol sutalo stanisic
Or something along these lines
Or 4 at the back or however you do it then add JJ. Heck let gvardiol play lb. I don’t know but wouldn’t hurt
We have the capable guys at cb right now to try different stuff I feel
But ya I think Perisic has a great header and can jump still He can run and push defence while still not running as much on the left side. He half running at striker will have more press then Bruno and livaja combined
Perisic is 34 and I think that his spot is at Left back as was the case in recent matches and that is where I would play him at EURO. He is not a striker and never was. Our defence looks so much stronger with Perisic at LB instead of Sosa. If Orsic is playing regularly he can play up front on the left. Unfortunately, we are stuck with Petkovic, Livaja and Kramaric as our #9. Musa and Beljo have a long way to go before getting a starting spot in the national team.
Maybe that is true Mart. But I thought Perisic was tied for international goals with Mandzukic. Granted Perisic had had a lot more caps than Mandzukic it still says something about his knack for goal.
Could be worth a try in one game atleast just to see how it pans out.
I think the petko and orsic thing as super subs are good and much better if they go together
Both know how to play off each other and it’s like an added punch then each by themselves
Sounds like it could work. Maybe Sosa and Orsic would be more compatible somehow.
https://getfootballnewsspain.com/luka-modric-wants-to-give-arda-guler-his-shirt-at-real-madrid/
Here’s the important part😪
There will be discussions over the coming weeks about where the Turkish youth international will fit in. Los Blancos might deem Güler as the long-term successor for Luka Modrić and, according to Turkish journalist Volkan Demir, the Croatian midfielder contacted the teenager to say: “I’m gone next season and I want to give my jersey to you”.
Rumours of Perisic “coming home” to Hajduk are out there again. Do these reporters just fabricate stories for clicks? It would be awesome for Hajduk, but how can anyone actually believe this is true?
Why insist on calling them rumours if he’s on the record as saying that he’ll finish his career there? I’m not saying when that will be, just that it will.
I just assume it’s a rumour, maybe I’m wrong. It wouldn’t surprise me if he does end his career at Hajduk, but his career is far from over. How can you expect him to come from a place where he earns £9,270,000 annually, and settle for whatever Hajduk can afford to offer?
Like Becar has mentioned Ivan Perisic did say he wants to finish his career in Hajduk, so it is a likely possibility this transfer will happen and that the sources got their information correct.
The only thing Hajduk needs to do now is beef up the midfield a bit I think. In some of their matches against tougher opponents their biggest fault/or weakest link I thought was the midfield. They didn’t have the best stats in possession from what I was able to read. They have an aggressive forward line. If they are going to compete on an international scale as well, the midfield area needs to be a focus I believe.
I am not sure how well there midfield is currently, as I haven’t caught all of the games I am wondering if Slavonac has an opinion here or if he has managed to gather an opinion on this subject as well. How are the midfield players in Hajduk and how do they stack up against other teams??? From what I could tell in most matches Dinamo outplayed Hajduk on possession, I believe.
Hajduk have a really decent midfield, several good options defensively and they’re decent offensively as well. My only concern is regarding Krovinovic! He was brought in to be “the playmaker” and he’s super inconsistent….always decent against lower tiered teams and in games where Hajduk walks through the game with ease…then in tougher games he’s never relevant at all, I’d say he’s a disappointment!
in order to be the team that can give some EXTRA, you have to have at least one play maker that rules on the field and Krovinovic doesn’t have that “dominant” factor, where he bosses the midfield in any of the tougher games…and he flops non stop…its very annoying to watch him flop as soon as someone breathes on him!
this looks like a solid option for Perisic and I think it may happen.
Look at his situation…he’s 34 and turning 35 in 6 months, Tottenham coach says he’s not interested in Perisic (what an idiot coach) and at this point in his career, its not going to be easy for him to find a place that’ll invest is him for a season so to me, this is a no-brainer!
with regards to his play…I’m actually happy if he does go to Hajduk although I do think there could be some surprises…things can go great OR they can go poorly, it’ll all depend on how the team embraces this situation.
at the moment, Livaja is a GOD at Hajduk. once Perisic arrives and the honeymoon period is over, life will take its course. if Hajduk come out “guns a blazin” then this will probably be one of the best seasons for the HNL BUT, if things are not as golden as we might have hoped, I can see things could get hairy.
Perisic is a true professional, he lives and professional athletes life and he really takes care of himself. I can’t imagine Livaja will behave the same today as he might when Perisic arrives because I doubt Perisic will tolerate a guy skipping practices while sitting at a cafe, drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes. NEW SHERRIFF IN TOWN and he’s going to demand better from everyone so this is why I think things can go extremely well for Hajduk…OR, things can get hairy if Livaja doesn’t change some of his ways!
In that sense it may be a good thing for Livaja if Perisic joins Hajduk again. It may push Livaja to better himself. Livaja needs a bit of a push I think. He did not demonstrate much of a contribution for the National Team side.
The rakitic europa final highlights showed up on my feed this morning
Man he still looked dominant…..
I think this next year or two will be the time majer really steps up or doesn’t make the grade
I hope for the best
I’m sure Sucic is recovering fine. He is young. But as others say it’s a hard injury to truly recover to original form from
Keep seeing online Perisic is heading back to hajduk
Maybe his last couple of years??
I’m sure him and luka will go out together after euro:(
May they go out as champions
I was also wondering if there was any recent news on Sucic and his possible recovery?? If anyone has heard anything…
I personally think it’s too early to write off Majer as an option in midfield I would like to see how he does this season and if he can bounce back. Given that he is an offensive midfielder primarily, atleast from what I have seen, I don’t think it is a good idea for Dalic to write him off as some people seem to be suggesting here.
I think Majer is aware that he hasn’t had the best of seasons, but I think he has it in him to be a good midfielder. Maybe alongside someone like Broz, Kovacic or Baturina in the future I think Majer can thrive well alongside them.
The stats he had previous this season show too much promise to take him off the team and give minimal minutes. I prefer to be patient and wait to see how he does this season around that may give us a better idea of what this guy is capable of.
Nobody’s writing him off.
I like his offensive skills and I think he will bounce back for sure and become at least on par with Kovacic in terms of impact for us.
He’s just not a complete midfielder, due to his defensive deficiencies (similar to how Kovacic is sometimes the opposite).
Baturina has higher potential. But we’ll have to see if he actually hits that potential.
I agree with you Maminjo.
However, with the F grade he was given and the way that many of the people here are constantly badgering the guy for a missed penalty (which can happen to anyone) gives me the impression that people feel he shouldn’t be selected for the Euro Qualifiers or the main tournament.
I could be misreading comments, but like Baturina I think Majer has a lot of promise which I hope this season he delivers on. With the right transfer he could do even better than his first season with Rennes.
More to the point, given that he is offensive midfielder which the team is lacking, we cannot afford to give up on him.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CuT8GSJxIak/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
Looks like we need a fast and aggressive striker more than ever with this rule change. No more slugs like Petkovic. Thankfully our fast and young defenders will probably cope better than most. This will definitely increase scoring.
Whew.
It’s a damn good thing we have Gvardiol and Sutalo as a fast CB duo.
I can’t imagine what this would have done to us considering how heavily relied on slow defenders like Lovren, Vida, Schifo, Simunic, etc in the past.
This should make the games, to the advantage of the offense, and higher scoring games. Seems like a good idea. Less parity though.
I hate this constant tinkering with the rules. With today’s VAR technology, you can’t dispute an offside decision. Once you see the lines drawn on the replay screen, there’s no argument.
LOL, of course you can dispute it. VAR is a complete scam. When “they” need a call, VAR can create one. When “they” need to reverse a call, presto magico! Why do you trust a still image with lines drawn over it? Who hits the pause button on the video? When is it hit? The still image can actually be as the ball is approaching the foot, not leaving it. That fraction of a second can be the difference. Sure, no argument🤣
One thing is likely going to turn out to be true: more scoring.
That’s not a bad thing.
I love the sketchy CGI replay animation they post for all of us to see (so we just assume that it simply must be accurate).
So, they use AI which uses a sensor in the ball and cameras on the stadium ceiling to create an automatic offside call and alert the VAR team…but it’s actually this VAR team that decides if it’s offside via “manual verification” and they inform the ref of their decision.
What’s the point of using AI and all these sensors to automatically capture an offside…if it still requires a “VAR team” to verify it?
What could their human eyes verify that a 500 Hz sensor and 12 tracking cameras can’t? LOL
The CGI animation is actually created AFTER the VAR team makes their decision, even if they decide to go against the AI automated offside call.
It’s a fake animation.
Agreed. VAR has added more BS. See Majer in Nations League final. Oh we won’t VAR that…..
Going to be interesting to see who Hajduk’s playing up top… a lot of options
Interesting on the baturina overtaking majer
It’s definitely possible
He needs to get back on track but I think as a whole he doesn’t have that killer attitude to run our midfield
Does baturina have this in him??
Vuskovic needs to make himself into a striker
Big body
Impose his way….
We’ll see how Baturina goes at Dinamo this year. When coaching U21 national youth team Biscan hardly ever used Baturina during the qualifiers.
More often than not Baturina was not even in the squad, and when he was, he was on the bench.
Baturina is a very gifted player technically at 20 years of age. However, I’m worried about his speed and his defensive capabilities. These two factors will determine how far he goes as a player. Defensive tactics and responsibilities you can learn, however at 20 you should be already at your optimal speed. We’ll know by this time next year if we have a star in the making or just another average player destined for mediocrity.
Speed is hard to gain but it can be improved
Hopefully he has some of that superior football mind which can help a lot
The old adage that the ball is faster then the feet is hopefully applied to him
he always has the ball…the kid is usually involved more than anyone else on the field!
As a Dinamo fan, I always want them to win. However, it would be more exciting, good for the league and Croatian Football overall, if we have a close race. I’d also love to see Rijeka, Osijek, and Hajduk make a good run in Europe this season.
Agreed. I think it would be amazing if someone other than the big 4 win the title like Leicester City a few years back. That was awesome.
I would like a small club out of nowhere to win it. That would be something
The possibility of competition in the league is a lot better now considering Jakirovic from Rijeka is looking to stay for this season after being offered in a role in BiH NT.
It looks like it will only be Rijeka, Osijek and Dinamo in europe don’t know anything about Hajduk being in europe for this season but could be wrong.
Excellent information U14!
I think this season is the beginning of the end for Dinamo and their Dynasty in the HNL. I see too much inactivity at the club…the cart seems to be pulling the horse. Simic as one of the decision makers doesn’t give me any hope…what exactly has he done in life (other than have a good career) to be considered a “decision maker” at the biggest club in Croatia? so far Dinamo hasn’t secured anything significant as far as goal scoring is considered and the comments above that U14 mentioned is addressing defence, not offense. are we suggesting Ivanusec is going to be scoring goals for Dinamo? if this is the plan, they’re gonna be out of Champions League within a week and the club is going to enter into dark times…without results comes in fighting and issues that could be irreparable just like shit happened at Juventus when the club fired Allegri to bring in Sarri and then try to fix the problems by then bringing Allegri back!
if you ask me…and if this is really going to happen as I think it MIGHT…I really do hope one of our other clubs steps up BIG TIME and makes a few leaps in their overall quality as a club. some teams are cash strapped…ie…Osijek, others are picking up the pieces from last season and trying to be competitive with local talent and little money. maybe there’s going to be a good surprise this season, who knows…either way, I want our league in better shape than it was last season!
Simic seems like a likeable guy…which clouds people’s judgement.
Modric is also very likeable and everyone assumes he will be a good coach. I’m not so convinced.
As much as we hated Mamic, the guy knew how to run a club.
You can claim corruption all you want, but every football league has this same corruption. It’s actually far worse in Italy, Spain and even Germany than it is in Croatia when it comes to locking up kids into contracts, referees taking payoffs, and clubs/players doing what they can to avoid taxes.
We can even look at the most successful GMs in our North American leagues here.
Pat Riley from Miami Heat, Danny Ainge on the Celtics, etc. These guys were very aggressive and cut throat and delivered championships.
Not sure if Dario Simic and the gang have it in them to really play this game.
I see Simic as a really good example to people in our society, a great family man, husband and a decent business mind but cautious.
I see Modric as a person that’ll do the necessary things in life even if its a bit hard to do. he’s lived through some really tough times…ie…being a refugee, living in a hotel, his grandfather being murdered…getting passed on by Hajduk and then going to the enemy club Dinamo….getting sent to Mostar with Zrinjski (very tough league…super dirty and you either swim or sink) and then his first years outside of Croatia where he was a journeyman and gaining experience. Imagine going to Real Madrid and being called a flop…the mental torment and the amount of stress that puts on you.
today, Modric could be on a plane plummeting towards the ground and I feel he’s the type of guy that’ll somehow survive! he’s mentally far more superior to most humans because he’s experienced loss, tragedy, brutal life situations in life and it shaped who he is today! I believe he’d put friendships and relationships aside when it comes to leading…because he’s had to protect himself his entire life…and he’s never walked an easy path so people like him understand sacrifice and they don’t deviate from seeing their end goal!
….and I could add some other hardships like going home to play in dalmacija and listening to a group of people singing “Luka Modric, govno maleno”…can you imagine how that would affect a person? the entire chemistry in his body must completely change, getting a burst of cortisol that overwhelms your body during a game in front of your countrymen.
Nah, I feel like Modric has life experience to make him great in anything he wants to do. he’s lived through lots of hardships, recently regarding the Mamic fiasco and tons before…but he’s still the best we’ve ever had!
Hello Slavonac, I am glad to hear you liked my article. I think overall we have been seeing a trend of Dinamo getting weaker in the league too. Last season I think we saw two big clubs, Osijek and Rijeka, in a very bad state and next season will be much different. Dinamo are still probably favorites for many to win the league but they definitely seem behind the ball in getting attacking players. Especially after losing out on getting Bakrar. It’s very likely one of the other top four clubs will leave the pack and go onto challenge with Dinamo. The only questions left are what club will step up and can they take the throne from Dinamo?
I think it was yesterday where I read that Osijek has to see to pay for their stadium so I don’t know how Stjepan Tomas is gonna manage that team…looks like a tough situation for him.
with regards to Rijeka, I really don’t know what they’re gonna look like? I wish they push hard and manage games better than they did last season…they lost too many points in games they shouldn’t have.
one team I really enjoyed watching last season was Istra. they’re quite the Jeckyl and Hyde but usually exciting to watch. I gotta be honest, I’m kinda sad to see Sibenik out, I like them as well, they can stir things up but damn do they mismanage their games far too often!
***has to sell
Looking forward to see how Slaven does with the new Dutch manager Moniz. Should be an interesting season.
Looks like a young Gilbert Gottfried
Who in the hnl can come from relative obscurity and be an impact for the repka
JJ type guy
Anyone this year?
There has to be some random young kid who can score, just wake up and take the world by storm….
Frigan maybe if he doesn’t go to mls?
Martin Baturina is one…but he’s not coming from relative obscurity. He’s the biggest talent in the HNL right now.
But I think he has the potential to grow faster than people anticipate.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he is called up to the Senior National Team and surpasses Luka Sucic and Lovro Majer in the midfield pecking order for the National Team within a couple of years from now.
A more proactive coach would probably call him up to the squad for these upcoming Euros as an end-of-the-bench callup to gain experience, but Dalic is more of a veteran’s coach, so he will probably wait a bit until his calls him up.
But I think Baturina has the potential to have a great 2023/24 season and get included in the senior team setup for World Cup qualifying already.
Baturina’s weakness is that he loses possession too easily at times, and that he’s not a physical fitness machine like Brozovic and Modric. But a lot of that can be chalked up to inexperience and his young age.
Majer has these exact same weaknesses and he’s already 25.
Baturina being as young as he is, still has room to grow in these areas.
Another one is Luka Vušković. He’s got a bit of a “star or bust” career potential to him.
We have a lot of CBs already, and he has a lot of competition…but if he pans out with that combination of technical ability and size, he could be a scary defender in Europe. It’s just a matter of how good his defensive abilities truly are and how disciplined he is in that backline.
But Baturina and Vušković aren’t really obscure. They’re pretty notable prospects.
I also like Roko Brajkovic from Hajduk’s U19 team. He looks like he has elite winger skills. He’s a player that I could see doing really well for us, but again, it’s way too early since he just turned 18 yesterday. It’s hard to gauge young Croats because so much happens between age 18-20 with them. Plus, I don’t know if Hajduk will even give him playing time this season. We’ll see.
you might think I’m nuts but I already see Baturina as having the MUCH better potential than Majer. I was big on Majer until I saw enough of him…and I do feel he’s just not someone that imposes himself in games while Baturina is always looking to make “the difference” in each game he plays.
Players like Baturina can sometimes hang on to the ball too long…trying to assess the situation and over thinking while holding the ball but I know Baturina has gotten better and he’s losing the ball less and less.
Vuskovic is a massive kid but he’s a little slower than most attackers… so he better be phenomenal at positioning. I really like how he plays and I enjoy seeing him on the ball, he’s comfortable and see’s the play well. my only concern with him at this point is how he can get caught off-guard and out of position. I know it’ll take experience and time to get himself settled and with confidence…these next 3-4 years are going to be crucial for his development.
Oh, I don’t think anyone doubts that Baturina’s potential is higher than Majer’s.
I was just saying that we may end up seeing Baturina make serious strides in the next 12 months, similar to how Gvardiol did in 2021 (where he went from relative nobody to becoming a 20 million Euro prospect and automatic starter in our backline).
I already consider Baturina a bigger prospect than Luka Sucic, and I think the injury to Sucic will set him back.
Majer “should” be the next starter in the midfield (if Modric were to retire) but I think Baturina could end up jumping the line early, and steal it in World Cup 2026 (assuming all goes well with his development and Modric actually does retire before the World Cup).
Re: Luka Vuskovic…
I haven’t seen enough of him to assess his speed. If he’s half a step too slow, then it will be too hard for him to ever usurp Gvardiol or Sutalo for a starting role.
It’ll all be about how good his defensive abilities are, and that includes positioning, discipline, timing, etc.
His odd combination of freakish size and very good technical ability, makes him a very interesting prospect that could go either way.
Nice piece but a few things on the details.
“After falling short last season due to woeful results throughout their entire campaign.” – Would disagree on this. Rijeka had an awful first half but were one of the better teams after the break.
Lastly, Istra Pula is a team in the Istrian zupanija liga. When using the teams full name from the team in Pula in the HNL, it’s Istra 1961. Minor change.
When’s Rijeka gonna complete Kantrida already?
Looks like they’re actually going to renovate Stadion Kranjčevićeva and turn it into a nice little stadium, and have Dinamo and Lokomotiva play there (while the completely rebuild Maksimir).
Osijek’s new Pampas stadium looks really good too.
Having a couple of new stadiums in Zagreb, plus Osijek is long overdue. Rijeka needs to get one.
No National Stadium needed. Having them rotate between these new stadiums is a lot better.
Here’s the concept of the renovated kranjceviceva:
VIDEO Gradi se novi stadion u Zagrebu, Tomašević sve potvrdio, kapacitet 12 tisuća, Maksimir će srušiti
https://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/rubrika/nogomet/obnavlja-se-stadion-u-kranjcevicevoj-ulici-u-zagrebu—785709.html
No idea on Kantrida. I have family in and around Rijeka and they don’t have her anything solid about the issue. Some Chinese firm took control of building it, but it’s been delayed for years now. I think there’s an issue around investors still and working that into what Grad Rijeka wants to do…
Is Miskovic still running things there?
He’s like the Mamic of Kvarner, lol.
NK babas selo signed your favourite crazy ujac “Rico”
Rumour has it he can kick the ball a quarter mile;)
Awesome update guys
Dinamo once again??