Dejan Lovren did’t have the season he expected to at Anfield this year. After making a £20 million move from Southampton to Liverpool in the summer, and with Champions League on the horizon, Lovren and his new Merseyside club crashed and burned.
Liverpool never made it out of the Champions League group stage, a quartet which included Basel and Ludogorets, and never came close to competing for an English Premier League crown. Liverpool will finish outside the top four in England with a more than likely return to Europa League.
Lovren was not a fan favorite this season due to lazy efforts and mental blunders on more than one occasion. The 25 year-old can be a beast on defense and score off set pieces, but it was rare to see this from Lovren this campaign,
However, in a poll conducted by the CIES Football Observatory, Lovren was ranked the #1 defender in England; and #12 in Europe. How can this be?
The study took into account six categories: shooting, chance creation, take on, distribution, recovery and rigor.
It’s encouraging to say the least, but stats compiled on a computer program don’t win championships. If Lovren can play like he did for Southampton last year and gel with the Croatian defense and Niko Kovac’s tactics, the Vatreni will be a force to reckon with come Euro 2016.
Mandzukic will join him soon hopefully. AM sucks.
@Ziva:
I think Lovren is a very good defender.
Is he top four EPL worthy? Probably not,but he definitely belongs in a top league.
Everton, Spurs type club in the EPL.
Any club besides Bayern in Bundesliga.
LOL at the Hercegovac wedding chatter… poor Hercegovici get a bad rap on this site….
@Aussie Kreso………what is a hercegovac wedding and how different is it compared to a croatian wedding? Does everyone show up driving a 1980’s model Mercedes?
@Faux Cro……true, losing the biter was going to hurt them. I just dont think Lovren is anything more than an above average defender. Plays great against the minnows and form dips against the better teams or players.
@Rob I ,If you can get a hold of him I would like his band to sing at my Hercegovac wedding, as long as he speaks the language.
In Lovren’s defense.
Liverpool were horrible defensively last year. Does anyone remember how their season ended?
They bled goals, but it wasn’t as important because Suarez would score or assist 2-4 times per game.
They have been more solid defensively this year,but they can’t score goals.
Good thing for Lovren is that he and his lifestyle have been accepted in Liverpool. At least it has made things easier.
Watch Lovren when he’s in close quarters to his opponent, he looks like “happy feet”….he looks like he’s running in the same spot!
Him and David Luiz best defenders in the world.
I don’t remember Modric being a weekly punchline like Lovren was through late 2014.
I think he’ll be fine next year. Kinda like how Modric had an “off” year with real madrid. They have a lot of money invested in him, they won’t let him go.
he will if he goes to a smaller club. He has always played well when there is no pressure on him. Once he steps up in competition, he falls apart.
Re: Lovren….
Who here thinks that he’ll suddenly have a bounce back season next year?
That crnac has been in Cro for a while. He’s friends with Marko Tomas. Goes by the name Max Mara or something. He’s tall, so I assume he came to Cro for basketball, and decided to stick around.
That guy is awesome. I’ve seen him in a few different vids with the šatoraši.
The vid is also in Zagreb btw.
I haven’t been to Herzegovina for a few years, things have certainly changed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNAFXFh6uNE
Best centerback in England LOL! Sure….
I’m a supporter of Lovren and still have expectations for him. He’s improved over the past few months, but Palace (Bolaise specifically) tore him apart. What hasn’t helped Lovren is the lack of support at the left back spot. Moreno is one of the worst left backs I’ve seen in recent memory. He makes Pranjic look like an asset.
Lovren shouldn’t be asked to defend wingers one on one consistently, yet he has to because of Rodgers’ flawed system of playing with wing backs. Moreno doesn’t give the back three any support. That has to change next year. The three centerback system at Liverpool has been exposed in recent weeks.
You still have to start Lovren against Italy. Jedvaj wouldn’t be a bad option, but it’s obvious that Kovac doesn’t take many risks. Schifo can’t be depended on at this point for 90 minutes.
I think he is a natural CDM, same thing David Luiz.
That’s why they both constantly f’up.
They are way too skilled and athletic to be stuck in the back line.
I just don’t feel Lovren really wants to play cb.
If he is #1, cant wait to see who else is in the top 5.
Loren was abysmal on the weekend against Crystal Palace. He’s really athletic but the angles he takes and his timing can be way off. I always notice him getting dragged out wide into space and getting his bad timing exposed.
Hope he hasn’t peaked with his “defender of the year” season.