Dejan Lovren was supposed to be Liverpool’s anchor at defense this season. In his first year in England last season, Lovren was a beast in the back for Southampton. Following his success, a requested move to Liverpool in the summer of 2014 was finally granted. But instead of success, Lovren has only received criticism in these times of turmoil for the 25 year-old Croatian defender.
Lovren has been left on the bench numerous times in Premier League matches by manager Brendan Rodgers and has not delivered to full capacity when given the chance to shine.
On Thursday, Lovren was given the start in Turkey against Slaven Bilić’s Besiktas side in the second leg of their Europa League Round of 32 encounter. With Besiktas scoring late in the second half, leveling the aggregate score to one goal a piece, the game eventually ended with a penalty shoot out after a scoreless extra time.
All nine shooters in front of Lovren scored before he stepped up in the fifth round of penalty kicks, needing a goal to prolong the shootout. But after a solid 120 minutes on the pitch, Lovren missed the frame and sent Bilić’s Besiktas into the final 16.
Is Lovren cursed for wanting to leave so early from Southampton or is Liverpool too big a club for him?
Lovren had a solid game yesterday and the fan are pleased.
why didn’t he kick the ball under the crossbar?
Maybe so son,but the thing that you have in common with them is that being a Croatian wanker,you are also a Pulisic.
Those two US brothers are not cro. ….. they can’t speak or understand the language. Don’t live “za dom….spremni” lifestyle
And my offer still stands after the Colin win, anyone who wants to know can ask via me through twitter.
Ziva says”Do I get credit from everyone for questioning the wisdom in signing Lovren,or do you guys only focus on when I get it wrong??”
Sure son,Tata and all the other guys will give you credit on that if you like.None of us,even myself arent just here for when you get it wrong,believe it or not.I have stated many times that I am not simply a scalding type dad.I am firm ,yet fair.You did state that it wasnt wise for Liverpool.Then again,it wouldnt have taken Nostradamus to see that he was always a bit risky.Its a shame,I dont want to see him fail,I thought he may mature(Like you one day),but he will probably never realise his full potential.Like Poglavnik said,he seems good for atleast 1 major error per game.Shame for the NT.
Sure son,credit to you on Lovren.Why dont you try owning up a bit more to your errors and poor ways at times,maybe then we will get on your nuts less.We are after all generally a pretty forgiving bunch.Live and learn son,dont be like Lovren and never really amount to what we hope you could be through too many head and maturity issues.
@Ziva Didn’t you make some outrageous offer that you would come out if Cilic won a major.
I thought you were safe on that one. Personally, I couldn’t care less what your true identity is….However it is fun to see you backpedal on this one.
Still can’t believe he won a major.
One brother playing for BVB via Croatian passport according to transfermarkt
Pulisic brothers playing for U-17 US national team right now. Croatian decent. Pretty cool.
He’s got most of the tools.
Everything but the mozak.
Not a lot of yolk in that egg.
More like Lovren’s play for years has been disappointing!
He’s good for at least one noticeable mistake a game.
He has the look and athleticism but has more mental lapses than just about any Croatian defender I’ve ever seen.
Granted this pressure hasn’t helped him but he’s dug his own grave.
Don’t lie…….you would go to the EPL because they pay much more. More of our players will be going to England, especially when that new TV money contract kicks in shortly. Now, does it compliment their game???? Probably not, but if they EPL clubs are willing to pay more, that is where they will go.
Lovren’s play this year -as a whole- has been disappointing. Will he get better???? No idea. I can only judge a player based on what I have seen.
I don’t need highlights. I watch full matches and judge him by that. Give me a highlight video of him saving goals and getting tough into tackles. He made 2 big mistakes so did Chris Smalling in the Manchester derby getting a red, but guess what nobody scrutinized him and he scored a brace a few weeks later. Two worst places for a Croatian to play his football is France and England because the media crucify big money foreign players. When did a German talk crap about their players or foreign players? Every Croatian player in Germany is respected, along with any foreign player. BVB are in bottom half of table and media is praising their mentality. The English in my personal opinion are a bunch of inbred twats and as a player I would never go there. Modric was scrutinized also when he first came to England but the media forgot about that real fast when he finally started playing well.
I actually thought he has been solid the last few games he has played. This will rock his confidence but you can see his talent, if he is on his game, he is still our best option as a central defender along with Corluka. Tin is way to young to be a center back for the national team.
Loveran just needs to regain his confidence and i think when he gets into his late 20s he will become more composed and an excellent center back.
@Dukic….correct, he played well yesterday if you discountthe PK. But, his season has been a disaster. There is a reason he was benched. It wasn’t one mistake. It was multiple mistakes. Hell, it was mistakes in consecutive games. Someone needs to help you out and post video of Lovren’s season so far. Remember, he shit the bed in big games at Lyon as well. He played well against the minnows.
@Nk Kraljevčan 38’…….what was my claim on Cilic???? I thought he would never win a major. I was wrong and proud to be wrong. Although, I will say this. Seeing how he is still out with an “injury”, I respectfully ask to have my previous statements about him reviewed. Last time he claimed an “injury” he was actually suspended for doping. So, we shall see what happens. Or is he off the juice now and that is the reason he is “injured”. Have to see how he performs when he comes back.
He started his first 10 games and played well. He made one mistake and has just been battered from fans and media. Then of course he feels the stress. He is 25 years old. I bet you guys couldn’t even control your erection at 25.
England has no chemistry on their NT. They can’t play together and they over hype themselves every year.
As for Lovren, I want him to be played because he has shown he can be relied on but everyone keeps trashing him. That entire back-line is a mess. I also want him on the NT over Vida.
He has played horribly!
You guys are crazy-
Its not a talent issue its a matter of Dejan trying too damn hard. He is mentally stressed because he feels the pressure ……..Because HE is playing poorly…
Preferred Back three for Liverpool-
Emre Can Skrtal Sakho – and Can is a midfielder…what does that tell you-
@Ziva. You get credit for the Lovern call but still need to come clean on the Cilic claim…US Open Championship…
@dukic
He hasn’t played that bad and I actually like lovren and what he can potentially offer however with a price tag of 35 million I think it was people expected perfection I guess. Like you said if he was English no one would ever talk about him.
soccer version of pete carroll, ….everyone loves him
are you crazy, people are still confused and hate him for his play calling and dont forget the bone head moves he did in college
as for bilic, easy with the celebration, remember how he awful he did in lokomotive moscow and they canned him soon after, not our best coach and hopefully he stays away from the nt team
He hasn’t even played that bad. I don’t know what everybody is talking about.
The thing is……Lovren was not purchased to play against the QPRs of the world.
Agreed with Ziva. I thought another year with Southampton would’ve helped development
I like Lovern, but he needs some help. Play him against bottom feeder teams and let him build confidence. Eventually let him start against better teams etc. When he had some confidence last season, he was a rock. And I’ve watched him play a few times this Champions League/Europa. He’s not even playing bad. Seems like a case of blaming the new guy.
I didn’t see any post-match reports, but was anything mentioned about the other Liverpool players refusing to take the kick. if so, end of story. If others didn’t want to kick and he did, whatelse can you do. He is not the first or last person to sky a PK.
Quesick question for all of you…………..do I get credit for questioning Liverpool’s wisdom back in the summer for signing Lovren (or do you guys only focus on when I get it wrong)?
You can’t blame Lovren for wanting to leave and being approched by a bigger club. More salary, bonuses. Not many people are willing to leave $$$ on the table. Plus, this was probably better for his fledgling clothing line. And lets not forget, Liverpool has a much more tolerable and acceptable LGBT community. I’m sure all of that factored in.
How does Brenden Rogers let a player who has been under so much scrutiny take the 5th penalty in this situation? He hasn’t even played that bad since he came to Liverpool. He had two mistakes and the media has been crucifying him. It is obviously affecting his performance. You can see when he sets the ball on the penalty spot he turns his back to the ball and the ball rolls from the spot in a ditch. If you have played even a little bit of competitive soccer you would know that you set that ball perfectly like you want it with your hands. I think he is mentally stressed out. If he was English, I can guarantee you that the media wouldn’t be doing this to him. Look at Chris Smalling and Phil Jones. They are on Lovren’s level for sure.
Bilic is the story here- I’m done with Lovern.
Bilic is by far the best Croatian coach we have right now-
He is a soccer version of Pete Carroll. Everybody loves him.
He is lining up for a big job. After 5 or 6 years come back and coach the National Team again.
@Faux Cro
Good point about the Southampton players.
Even Chambers at Arsenal isn’t showing his worth but he’s still quite young.
Good for the Saints.
I like seeing the smaller clubs doing good business.
interesting choice having him even take it but whatever… i agree with poglavnik… i remember hearing about his inconsistency when younger and thought just that he was young but he seems way too inconsistent
i got my hopes on jedvaj maybe stepping in for euro
I thought he had a decent game.
Shouldn’t have taken a penalty.
All three Southampton refugees are having a less than stellar season. Rickie Lambert almost never sees daylight.
Pathetic. At least force a save.
The biggest question is why is he taking this penalty in the first place!?
Did he pull a Balotelli and demand the spot kick?
I don’t want this guy anywhere near the National Team, especially around the pool!
“Is Lovren cursed for wanting to leave so early from Southampton or is Liverpool too big a club for him?”
Both. Credit it to him though. He had one good season and cashed in.