Photo: FIFA
After a 1-0 win over Uruguay to open up Group F action at the U-20 World Cup in Turkey, Croatia took on Uzbekistan Wednesday night with sole control of the group up for grabs. After a scoreless first 20 minutes, Uzbekistan’s Rahmanov broke the deadlock, getting a piece off the ball to deflect off his shin following a curling free kick from the sideline. Croatian goalkeeper Oliver Zelenika stayed put in goal and the defense could not block the incoming ball after it was deflected by an Uzbeki player. Croatian players were caught flat footed on the play and it would see them go into the locker room down 1-0 even though they controlled possession 55% of the time and outshot Uzbekistan 7-0 from corner kicks.
Uzbekistan goal
But Croatia would not be denied as 19 year-old Atalanta striker Marko Livaja would score an almost identical goal to Uzbekistan’s in the 65′, tapping in a free kick from the sideline after being left unmarked in front of goal. The match would end 1-1 with Croatia and Uzbekistan now sharing the spoils atop the group, both with four points through the first two matches. Croatia will play New Zealand on Saturday, who are stuck on zero points, while Uzbekistan face Uruguay. All Croatia needs is a point to book their place in the round of 16 but first place is still up for grabs.
Inter Milan’s Mateo Kovačić and Dinamo Zagreb’s Alen Halilović were not released by their clubs to participate in the U-20 World Cup. These results might be a bit more lopsided in Croatia’s favor if the two wunder-kids were playing. Look for the Mali Vatreni to make the knockout stages after a humiliating group stage exit at the 2011 tournament in Columbia.
Livaja equalizer
From what I heard, Bosko married a Dinamo call girl. Bosko’s girl danced on everyones lap and Bosko picked her up off the clearance rack.
iggy this is a great video for you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQFmKPA-iAg&feature
yeah america is a piece of shit
anyway what happened with bosko’s wife ???
@Iggy
The people get the blame for being stupid and the banks and especially Wall Street gets the blame for being criminals.
Iggy, just think of all the shit that went down and all the fraud that occurred, and not 1 single person went to prison or was brought to trial for it or paid the price.
Yet some schlub who does minor insider trading will get thrown to the wolves. What a joke of country!!!! LOL!!!!!
Yeah I knew about gorans lady but what is the talk of boskos ? Still in befuddlement here fellas
And I KNEW u would defend the banks ziva u capitalist fatcat cuntzilla !
Never thought Iva Maric was anything special. Nor was Dario Simic or Robi Kovac’s wives…
nothing re: Balaban’s wife……the rumor is Ivanisevic’s wife hooked up with Kranjcar (who denied it).
It’s rare in Cro when a guy doesn’t cheat on his wife……
@Iggy…..It wasn’t all on the banks. How about the public putting mortgages down on homes that were way out of their price range. They also get some of the blame. Don’t buy what you cant afford.
What happ with balabans wife ? Idk plz inform me
@Denis
I’m not up on my Croatian gossip. I guess the wife banged someone. Maybe Kranjcar?
@ Ziva & Nepoznat:
I think you both have valid points. Spurs did pay them well and met their contractual obligations.
However, Levy’s word is worthless, and I have no doubt he was not forthright or honest in discussions with players.
Shame on Real Madrid for capitulating to Tottenham’s last minute antics to squeeze more cash out of the deal.
It is the equivalent of rewarding a misbehaving child.
It ultimately made Modric more expensive with less value as he would not have a proper preseason.
Re: Corluka
Given the choice of Corluka or Walker, I would choose Corluka.
Walker is fast and athletic but IMHO does not have a high enough game IQ and is technically inferior to Corluka.
Re: Corluka @Leverkusen
Leverkusen was never going to pay Tottenham’s asking price, however I thought it was a good fit for Corluka.
Re: Kranjcar
He was seen as a quick and cheap replacement for Modric when Luka broke his leg.
When both played together as central midfielders it was disastrous. A Man City game comes to mind where they got torn apart.
Once VDV was signed and Modric was healthy, Kranjcar was never going to see much playing time.
It was shrewd business for Spurs as bankrupt Portsmouth had a fire sale.
Re: Pletikosa:
I don’t know what to think of this one. They probably just wanted a decent 3rd goalkeeper at a reasonable price and they said what he wanted to hear.
Hell, Gomes still rots on the bench and is a solid GK despite an occasional/bizarre howler.
@Nepoznat
You’re telling us the Jets have had a better option at QB during Sanchez’s years?
You’re gonna lose a lot of credibility if you say Tim Tebow… 🙂
I have no ill feeling towards Tottenham as well. Yes, they kind of dicked Modric over, however, they do whats best for them just like any business.
Poor Bosko Balaban….. ha ha. ha.. I heard the story about his wife. I wouldnt be surprised if Ziva poked her as well.
Horvat don’t be so naive to think that always happens! The coach always plays the best player? what about Sammir on the NT? Mark Sanchez playing QB for NY Jets? Vitaly Petrov’s multi year drive in the Renault F1 team? Etc, etc, etc
BTW looking ahead it looks like the round of 16 and beyond games will be aired on TV on ESPN U here in the states
Ziva time and time again you show yourself as the most abject of capitalist pig apologists on this site, all you ever do is defend big business etc i’ll bet u were on the side of the banks when the GFC happened to you greedy materialist cunt
Sorry I misspelled Redknapp.
It’s nobody but Kranjcar, Corluka and Pletikosa’s fault that they didn’t succeed in Totenham.
The coach plays the best players and they were not the best at the time. It has nothing to do with them being Croatian.
As a matter of fact Rednap has always esteemed croatian players highly.
You shouldn’t care what Spurs do, but you sure seem to care.
It is a business. That’s why I don’t get emotionally attached to any of our players.
Ziva has officially been marked as a Daniel Levy jock sniffer. Watch out brate you might have to even pay him for that 😉
no shit, I already said I get all that… but that doesn’t mean I have to like how that results in their treatment of our players and that I shouldn’t want our guys to steer clear of that ‘smart’ but shitty business/club
exactly why should I give a shit if Loserham Coldspurs makes ‘smart business’ decisions? I’m not a fan of that pathetic team, I am a fan of Hrvatska and it’s players and want them best for them… I could not care any less about that terrible club, the only reason to think about the Spurs is in order to hope/pray that none of our boys don’t wind up there!
That’s called smart business if they are able to get an extra few million from Real. They did regarding Modric. Man, I’d hate to see how you run a soccer club.
watch them this year, they will likely screw Bale over and hold him until the last day in August before transferring him to Madrid
I’m not saying they just try to screw with the Hrvati… they might treat all their players super shitty regardless of what country the player comes from. Either way it’s clear our guys should stay away from that pathetic club as it’s going no-where and only trys to screw you when you finally move to a real club (or ANY club if you’re not a star)
If you honeslty think Levi and Spurs are going out of their way to fuck with croatian players (while the evidence says the opposite) then I really have nothing to tell you.
I can understanding wanting the best for croatian players. Some of you guys feel that way, which is fine. But, do so objectively and take off the homer glasses. You lose credibility when you write things like that are untrue.
Have you ever seen me complain about other club’s treatment of our players? Hammering on Dortmund for Perisic, etc?
NO… because while they did what was best for their respective clubs, they did so without electing to jebi nasu Hrvati as much as possible like Levi/Spurs who IMHO have gone out of their way to mistreat our players, repeatedly
Therefore IMHO it’s not a club that is worthy of our boys talents and they should steer clear of it or expect the same rotten treatment
I think Villa fans did rate it as the worst transfer deal in club history. But, fear not for Bosko. The half serb did quite well in marriage.
We should all wish to be treated (and paid) as poorly as Spurs treated the four players you mentioned. it’s big boy soccer. Not local youth recreational leagues where everyone needs to play and parents need an explanation why their kid is not playing…..
and Pletikosa signing with Spurs was indeed a favor to his agent (Naletilic) by Spurs.
wasn’t Bosko rated one of the biggest EPL busts in its history!? lol
Also, @nepoznat think Liverpool is to blame for Igor Biscan’s decline.
Modric – I agree the club did what is best for them, but only for them and not the player nor the other club. Obviously I get that it’s not their reason to exist, however that doesn’t make the handling of it any better! My point is that hopefully Alen & Tin learn from the shabby treatment of Luka and head elsewhere, or else they can expect the same treatment by Levi/Spurs
Corluka – He played well enough to get contract purchased, and they wanted to however the club was (is?) having financial issues and could not afford to bring him in. You admit he is better than Walker, yet he was still benched. I.e. treated poorly, again by Levi/Spurs
Kranjcar – I kinda agree with everything except ‘chasing the top of EPL’ bit as Spurs are a shitty feeder club that is chasing the 4th spot at best (and when they lose Bale to Madrid they’ll be shooting for 6th and Europa League). And I would add he should’ve been transferred sooner as he wasn’t even a bench warmer at times. Again treated poorly (although not as bad as Vedran or Luka or Stipe)
Stipe – You don’t know if he was outplayed or not in practice, we only know that he claims he was promised a chance to be the #1 keeper and it’s clear he was not given that chance. You’re also making shit up about a favor to his agent. And as for Rostov, it’s not so remote it’s just in Southern Russia and it’s in the top 10 cities of Russia. It’s actually in a really nice spot on the Don River and in a touristy area
Spurs are in the winning business?!? since when? always was and will be a shitty feeder team
And how am I a fan boy jock sniffer just because I want and hope for the best for the Hrvati players?!?
Im sorry but Walker is twice the athlete that Corluka ever will be and fullbacks have to be very athletic.
I’ve got nothing against Spurs.
What they do is no different than any other club full of internationals.
It’s just standard footballing politics.
I think @nepoznat also thinks Bosko Balaban got a bad deal at Aston Villa and Newcastle United screwed over Silvio Maric.
@nepoznat…….time for school I guess…..I’ll go in order……
Modric – what promise????? Only promise that means anything is the signed contract. Spurs is in business to do what is best for their football club, not what is in the best interest of a player. Circumstances change. What is spoken about one year can change after time. Blame Modric and his agent for what took place. Spurs handled it well and got the money they wanted. Again, I don’t see what Spurs did wrong. They protected their own interests first. Would you not????
Corluka – was loaned out to Germany and he didn’t do shit that would lead him to have his contract purchased. Had to go to Russia. Spurs actually played well without him. Is he better than Walker>>. Yes, but he made his mistakes at Spurs as well.
Kranjcar – He gave them depth on the bench. He is not a 90-minute player for clubs chasing the top of the EPL.
Pletikosa – he was outplayed in practice and did nothing to deserve a spot as the top GK. Dude plays for a team in Russia in remote location. never was given any assurances he would play. He was brought in as a favor to his agent.
No need to be a fan boy for the players on repka. They have enough jock sniffers. Take off the homer glases and everything is much more clear. Spurs is in the winning business, not in the “lets make sure the hrvati are treated well” business.
@anonymous
LMFAO
Really? Walker better option. The guy is a liability every time he is on the field. Corluka any day over Walker but as Nepoznat pointed out he’s not Croatian.
I know the same as all of you about it! If you bothered to read the public comments by both Luka AND Stipe you would see that both of them truly felt screwed by that shit team
I don’t care about that shitty club’s pathetic business, I care about our players, their treatment & development and opportunities… and that club and that loser jewish manager Levi screwed over at least 2 Hrvati in the past few years alone! They are at best a feeder team and when Bale leaves for Madrid it seems they’ll be hard pressed to sniff the Top 5
ps my Luka will only be changed when I have a good shot of him AND my new little one, Sebastijan, both wearing their custom jerseys! And only complains on this site about avatars should be about people NOT using them
@nepoznat
What do know about spurs?
The a a football club that is a business and a business that wants to succeed.
They done what they thought was the best for their football club.
They didn’t intentionally wanna screw the hrvati players as you think.
With modric they played their cards right and got the most out of the transfer.
Corluka was benched because walker was the better option not because he’s English.
Niko, well it’s niko and his laziness and disinterest is to blame. He was happy riding the pine for paychecks.
Stipe was played and got 4 goals scored on him, so maybe the risk was to great to play him and they felt gomez was more reliable and he played well for the most part minus some laughable errors. Cudicini was there first and he had dibs on that 2nd keeper role. Stipe obviously didn’t earn a call up. You didn’t watch them train so you don’t know nothing.
And ps. Please change the avatar I’m sick and tired of seeing that kids mug everytime I come here.
*sigh* again I have to spell this out for you?
Modric – Clearly was wronged and repeatedly. Told that he would be allowed to leave when a big club came calling. Then was not allowed to leave when Chelsea was after him. Then promised he would be allowed to go to Real Madrid, but was held hostage until the last day of the transfer window and missed all the pre-season training with his new team and wound up missing a ton of playing time for months until he was finally up to speed at Real.
Corluka – unfairly benched not due to performance but to put an English player on the pitch. Then not allowed to transfer out for like 2 seasons, 1 of which they loaned him out
Kranjcar – Benched but he kinda sucks due to having zero speed so not surprising but was not used for basically 2 seasons before finally being allowed a transfer
Pletikosa – WTF are you talking about?!? Stipe was totally screwed by Spurs! He was NOT brought in as the 3rd keeper, he was promised he would compete with Gomes for the #1 job!!! Then he got to play in a whopping 1 game while Gomes was stinking up the joint and letting in some of the softest/easiest to save goals anyone has ever seen!
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/05/06/2473832/stipe-pletikosa-admits-tottenham-move-was-a-mistake
yes, the players are doing the work and are paid for their work by the club. At no point in time did Spurs ever not pay the players. As such, they didn’t do anything wrong.
You act like you are sticking up for underpayed and overused factory workers. These guys are millionaire soccer players.
How was Modric wronged????
How was Corluka wronged???
How was Kranjcar wronged???
How was Pletikosa wronged (he was brought in as the third string keeper)???? he was lucky to be collecting a paycheck.
Answer: they were not wronged.
@ Denis Svirčić
I will be at Split from tomorrow to the 23th of july.
@Ziva, we’ve been over this a hundred times (or at least it seems like it), you always side with that shitty pathetic club, and I always side with our players.
In every sport, even for teams I hate, I always side with the players, not the owners/management… the players after all are the ones who are doing the WORK
mate we are winning our group for sure and we are playing 2nd from iraq england group
http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/kostage.html
^^ theres the brackets
What did Spurs do that you think was so bad to Modric, Corluka, Kranjcar and Pletikosa????? This is another case of having the homer glasses on.
Spurs treated those guys pretty good if you ask me.
Or do you think a football club is made to please their player instead of getting most dollar value for them (Modric case).
Come on, take of the homer glasses.
TERRIBLE TERRIBLE TERRIBLE move for Alen and Tin if they ship off to Spurs. That is a shit organization and that GM will surely screw them both just like he/they did with Luka… and Vedran… and Niko… and Stipe!
I would prefer they play in Luxembourg or Andorra league over playing for Spurs, hopefully they have heard from the guys how bad Spurs treats their Hrvati
ok with Group A & B finished today we know a little more about Hrvatska progressing to the next round. Our group’s 3rd place goes up against Group A&B’s 3rd place team so: Ghana in 3rd in A with 3 pts is no competition, South Korea however finished with 4pts and 4 goals in B. 3rd place team in our group gets a chance to progress against those to, and Ghana would already be out of the mix. Even with a loss (say 2-3) we may be able progress over South Korea if we score 2 goals, depending on the tie breakers.
The second set of groups we could face off with for progressing as 3rd place team are B & E, so South Korea again but we’ll have to wait for group E’s results to know how we stack up here as all four teams (Chile, Iraq, England, Egypt) could all possibly be the 3rd place team. Checking the schedule it appears group E plays later then us on Saturday so we could potentially be sweating it out even after our game.
All that being said, I think we comfortably progress in 1st or 2nd place in the group!
Potential opponent in Round of 16:
If we are 1st in our group, then the 2nd place team from Iraq, Chile, England, Egypt (that is their current order)
If we are 2nd in our group, then we would face Nigeria who came in 2nd in B with wins over South Korea and the worst team of the tournament in Cuba
If we are 3rd in the group and qualify, it depends on which 3rd place slot we qualify in. For 3rd of ABF we would play 1st place team from C or Columbia, Turkey, El Salvador (current order). For 3rd of BEF we would play 1st place team from D or Greece, Paraguay, Mali (current order)
@Luka,
thanks
@Matesic,
2014 is right around the corner.
Yesterday in Dubrovnik, I met big John Braovic from Milwaukee. Dude forgot my name but remembered my face. Looking forward to meeting some more CSR people.
@Ante B,
fiance’s birthday on Aug 5th and she’s not the Thompson type. I do want to hit Cavoglave one day.
@Ivan Malilug,
How long will you be in Split? I will try to catch the Hajduk-HRD game on aug 2nd. Shoot me an email, maybe we can meet up in Split.
@ante
Just celebrate, never mind about this silly talk about torcida.
Jarac,
I’m not too worried about that. There will be a ton of Hercegovci there and I’m sure Purgeri too.
Ante B,
becareful going to cavoglave with that dinamo shit, as u should know cavoglave is a torcida supporter. u r forewarned.
@Mate
http://is.gd/c6kmSi
Ivica, where did you hear that about halilovic and jedvaj.
HNS, sucks doesn’t it man. I’ve been going for the last few years every year, but my career isn’t really allowing for it any more. Everyone gets bamboozled when you take a vacation longer than one week. Maybe they don’t realize a one week trip to Europe isn’t worth it; probably do just don’t care….corporate america
In other news…
Torcida and Nas Hajduk are vehemouthly against a sale to these American investors.
Tottenham are apparently offering 20 million Euros for a package deal of Halilovic and Jedvaj.
@anonymous
Sramota that you hide behind that name. Some people have careers unlike you. They go when they can.
@ARMADA…Do yourself a favour and buy yourself a ticket to Cro this summer. Then do it again next summer. Rinse and repeat. I cant belive how many diaspora Croats there are, that follow Croatian sports and politcs etc, but go back maybe once per decade. Sramota.
@Ziva
Hey, Im in my mid thirties and smoke weed every day! I am from BC though… Thats my excuse. 🙂
@bee……art and self expression!!!!!! Let me guess, you are 35 yrs old and still smoking weed, huh????? It’s nothing more than “hey, look at me” from these guys.
It’s definitely not a timeless look. People will be able to look at those photos in about 30 years and say “that was from about 2012-2014.”
Maybe its not “publically mutilating” their bodies, maybe its a thing called art and self expression, and btw this is what 2013 i think? not 1931 🙂
@Ziva:
I bet you rocked a mullet back in the day.
I agree about the tats and hair. Looks like shit. Young and dumb.
Livaja, Beckham, Mandzukic……..all are attention-starved people. No other way to explain why they would publically mutilate their bodies.
Visiting Osljak (island between Zadar and Preko, Ugljan) where my parents live July 16-29. Hope to catch a game in Split.
Armada,
The only reason I went so often is because I had gotten out of a very long relationship and the world was at my balls. I too was and still responsible but you have to have those carpe diem moments. I once flew to Zagreb just to watch Dinamo play against Slaven Belupo and Inter Zapresic. Now that I’m older and married and more financially stable, I can go whenever. That is of course after I ask for permission like a pizda. You need to go back.
I hate all of you who get to go this summer. You’re all bitches.
Haven’t been to the domovina since summer of 2007 and I only got to visit that dump known as Grad Split 😉 hehe KIDDDDDDDING beautiful city! Not so beautiful nogomet team hehe
Haven’t been to Istra/Kvarner since the early 2000’s. Fuckin shame.. Sucks being a semi responsible adult
shit david beckham had sleeves and “frosty hair” and he was a failure too right? and danielle de rossi and the list goes on.. irritates me when some one calls someone a failure when he himself hasnt accomplished as much as the “failure”
it was livaja’s fault we got scored on. stupid unnecessary foul to give up. thats why i love in-swingers, anything can happen. livaja scored a nice goal as well. in my opinion he needs to work more off the ball, and get his feet on the ground a little bit. calling him a failure because he has a sleeve and what you consider funny hair is a bit stupid ziva. the kid probably makes more money than you ever will soooo… inter milan owns him so i hardly see him as a failure anddddd… mandza has a sleeve and the guy plays for bayern so id hardly say failure..
I’m staying with family near Zadar at the moment. Getting a car next week think im going to do the whole croatia!
@Ante B.
“Still don’t know whether to go with the Deseti Travanj shirt or Dinamo top.”
Svaka ti cast.
Looks like you will have a hell of a party back home. Enjoy
Ziva are 60years old??? Who gives a shit what the kid looks like, I personally like the tats and hairdo, gives us a badasss look!
Hopefully I’ll see some of you at Cavoglave for my birthday this year. Still don’t know whether to go with the Deseti Travanj shirt or Dinamo top. Decisions, decisions. I’ll be there throughout August.
oh shit Igggggggggg y!!!!
allensteven told you to shut the fuck up!!!! !! !!!!
u gonna take that from pajama boy?!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!?! lmaoooo
Iggy can you calm down? You post like a 15 year old that eats and drinks too much sugar. Stop posting like an idiot and start actually talking properly.
We’ll see how he turns out. I think he is a headcase. I don’t root for headcases/
@ Ziva
His looks don’t guarantee him a corporate job if things don’t work out. But I don’t think he cares about that anyway. And was never the corporate type to begin with.
Regardless, right now he’s a footballer and let’s he how he turns out.
@ Denis Svirčić : I will at Split in 2 days, during the month of july; maybe we will meet in a game of Hajduk! 😉
u ddint answer as to cock and cunt p[iercings man!!
GO DODIG !! HES WINNING
@peter…….piercings are fine for women and ears….not so much for men mutilating their bodies.
@adame……..tats, ink on skin and haircuts have nothing to do with how a person plays. But, they are a very good indicator about a person and shows they are attention starved and have a “look at me” agenda to them. If you are an unreal athlete then it doesnt matter what you look like, but if sports doesn’t work out and if you cant work for yourself and you need a job in corporate america, well then looking like a cartoon character doesn’t work.
The fuck does tattoos and haircuts have to do with anything? i dont see any of u fat fucks out there.
Despite the fact the results have been decent the performances have been overall poor minus a good first half against Uruguay. Same problem as most Croatian teams, possession but can’t create clear cut chances, depend way too much on individual ability rather than team play. I like Jelicic as a coach, one of the better ones Croatia have developed in recent years, but our play is so outdated yet our media and HNS are blinded.
what about dick piercings??? and clit piercings?? ZIVA WHAT ABOUT THEM CMON WE ARE ALL DYING TO HEAR
What about body pierceings are they ok.
remember folks……….. sleeves of tattoos + frosted hair = failure
@Poglavnik
It is the new American man. Hipster doofus homos who have to comment on other guys looks.
@Ziva Istina
The world has changed tons of people have sleeves of tattoos. We even have fags betting married.
@Denis
Sretan put.
@ Denis
Sretan put!
Will take the family in 2014.
You have presenced to me to why I check into the site so much. I miss being in Dalmacija!
@ Ziva NIJE ISTINA!
I call BS on the sanctimonious crap about Livaja.
He is a 19 year old footballer. Who is getting better in this tournament. How should he look?
Have you walked a mile in his mocassins?
@ Svima.
Can we talk about the Modric-Ancelotti synergy!
I am beyond hype about this. Modric will get even better!
He will grow into more of a field general to lead us to the next level as a national side.
I pray we qualify for 2014.
Also excited to see Kovacic at Met Life, August 3rd with Inter.
anyone in Croatia? I will be in Dubrovnik for the next week or so then 2 weeks in Sibenik. Shoot me an email at
denis@croatiansports,com
haha weee
http://i.minus.com/ibjjxORMIE4Qjj.gif
looks better than that aussie kid brillante , still dont understand how an u20 kid can have a beard that big, growth hormones me think
God you all you fags care about is what he looks like. I’m sure most of you look like dorks too!
i hate his hair.
HATE IT.
Just because you’re telling the truth doesn’t mean you’re not hating or a hater.
Although I completely agree about the other job thing, I think he has professional soccer as a bit of a certainity at this point (knock on wood baring any injuries)
“look at me” Livaja with his crazy ass tats and frosted hair. Hope soccer works out for this kid because not too many other jobs he would get looking light that.
I feel bad for the attention-straved kid and those like him.