Luka Sućić is 20 years old.
Let me repeat that. Luka Sučič is ONLY 20 years old.
Yet, I received texts from Croatian buddies yesterday during the Dinamo-Salzburg match saying: “How has Sučič not scored against Dinamo in 2 games?”
“Sučić didn’t take the game over versus Dinamo.”
“How did Sučić not score that?” (after rocking the crossbar)
The kid is starting in Champions League matches for the Austrian title holders. He already has great poise, and most importantly, makes a difference. Sučić is still maturing his game but in the years to come, he will offer Croatian football something it has not seen in decades: FIREPOWER UP THE MIDDLE.
Luka Sučić is not afraid to shoot the ball. He’s also not afraid to dribble. There’s a certain confidence which borders arrogance that goes with his game. But that’s what we say about all the greats. He reminds me a lot of Ivan Perišić if Perišić played in the center of the field. Look at the clip below vs. Dinamo where Sučić dances through two defenders before rocketing a shot from 18 yards out off the crossbar. He was within three inches of winning the game for Salzburg at Maksimir Tuesday night and nearly did it all by himself.
Sučić is going to offer the Croatian offense a predator-like look. He will run at opposing defenses and shoot at will. Whether it’s from 13 or 33 yards out, he’s simply not afraid.
And for those of you saying he should have scored a goal this week. I would rather see him whip through the Dinamo defense and rattle shots off the crossbar than score easy tap-in goals.
Sučić is going to be great. This is only the tip of the iceberg. He’s also going to be selfish. But most importantly, he’s going to fun to watch!
I still think Colak deserves some minutes personally. Along with Sucic and some of the other names we have been mentioning these players need some minutes of play to prove their worth. They are not getting enough time on the field.
I think Dalic had a chance to try these things out and see but failed to catch on quick enough to those players who were in form.
I felt like Sucic deserved a bit more time in the Nations League, along with Majer.
I think Dalic went into the last Nations League games going for the result and in doing that, Sucic was the odd man out. Also, Majer was coming back from injury and Colak for some reason that I don’t know enough about just isn’t lighting a fire under Dalic’s ass. I watched a bit of Colak the other day and it was hard to really get much of an opinion…he got no service at all and if we are going to say he presses like Mandzukic than Colak failed miserably at that. Mandzukic was always scarey for defenders, right on their heels and he’d slide tackle and anticipate the play far better than I saw Colak do.
I wouldn’t say he is Mandzukic, but he is definitely scoring goals. Colak is worth a try atleast off of the bench.
I dunno that the comparison with Mandzukic is a fair one personally. I don’t think that we have a forward of that ilk right now, the closest we have to that is Perisic.
Well hopefully in 3-4 years from now, Roko Simic can become something along the lines of what Mandzo provided.
Perišić has been excellent for Spurs.
I love to see him rested.
That wing back role is no joke on the legs and lungs.
He takes both left footed and right footed corners.
Broke ass Inter not paying him is the reason he left.
Kevin De Bruyne at 20 was a poor man’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Sučić is the goods. RBS is the best young player development club on the planet.
Erling Haaland wasn’t bad either.
“Kevin De Bruyne at 20 was a poor man’s Kevin De Bruyne” – Thanks for pouring some realism in the discussion!
Luka sucic at 20 is a rich man’s Luka sucic
I think we can all agree, if sucic could be in the range of raketa, broz and even remotely close to luka we will be in good shape
Broz in the his tail end of career with sucic and majer I think we will be just fine
Modric to replace dalic as player/coach for next euro!
We won’t know who the next trio of mids will be.
There is always someone new.
Guys like Vlasic and Ivanusec looked great two years ago, but it doesn’t look like they’ll be critical to our success anymore.
Majer is a start in France, and Sucic is looking very good.
But even if these two fall asleep, we have a truckload of quality young mids coming up the pipeline (Vidovic, Baturina, Zvonarek, Brkljaca, Kacavenda, etc). Many we will have never heard of before, will probably surprise us and become stars.
I kind of see sucic as a poor man’s Kevin De Brunye at this point,and not only because both are lefties.
Both have cannons,great vision and play with an upright strong body which is hard to knock off the ball.
Just a word on Ivan Perisic.
I know he’s got a couple of assists for Spurs earlier this season but seems to have cooled off a bit lately..? In the last 2 games, Conte didn’t really use him.
At times like these, I wish he had stayed on at Inter where he was established in the first team and played so well. A plus of his current situation is that he gets to rest more and is less likely to be injured.
Hope Ivan will click into gear again soon!
Ivanje brings it for Croatia – no worries B1912. He’s a gamer for the checkers and his goal against England in 2018 should go down as super clutch goal of all time for HNS. I say Ivanje will be key to success coming down the left side ripping them across the goal into the far corner- AJMO IVANJE
Don’t forget he also assisted on the game winning goal with a brilliant backwards header. Not to mention he almost won the game in regulation off the inside of the post. – off of which went right to Rebic in the middle of the box; I’m a Rebic fan but he panicked there. Rebic seemed to fade a bit in that tournament but I’d still like to see him as an option off the bench. Why almost everyone on this site wants to keep depleting Croatia’s depth is beyond me.
Most of us just don’t see how Rebic adds any depth really, he doesn’t score enough goals even in form for that to be an argument in favour of a call up. If he was able to score 20 goals a season I would be in favour, but he simply doesn’t and more than likely never will. Plus he is a coach’s nightmare he has caused many issues in the dressing room for the different teams he has played on, including AC Milan. And he cannot seem to retain the ball very well, so it’s a huge ask in my opinion for someone who doesn’t really cut it.
But that’s just me. Plus he has had a slew of injury problems in the past couple years which means that he won’t be in form for this world cup just like how he wasn’t in form for the Nations League either.
I would much rather Petkovic or Livaja who have shown they can produce within a short period of time. I would even give Colak a chance before I do that and he hasn’t had that call up yet. As Colak is scoring tons of goals right now and more goals than any Croatian right now.
As should Ivan’s goal against France in 2018.
We can only pray 🙏🏼 he rides the Pine with limited minutes until the WC.
Fresh hungry and injury free there is ZERO chance he will be “Rusty!” We all know he’s a beast come tournament time,and he will be again very shortly.. you can book it!!
ISTINA !!!!
If he rides the pine, he won’t be match fit / able to go 90.
I would prefer that Perisic has a falling out with Conte and he gets kicked off the team.
Then, I would wrap him in styrofoam and unpackage him right before kickoff at the World Cup.
I agree
Cause he will stay in shape and light up the World Cup with Croatian pride and anger. Which sometimes are the same thing;)
And there are people on this site saying the kid is a bust lol! Sucic is an incredible player for his age and he will get even better with time. One hundred percent deserved a call up and some playing time minutes.
I do not see any similarity between Sucic and Perisic nor does Sucic remind me of Perisic as they play different positions on the field. Two totally different type of players. Sucic even at 20 is far superior technically to Ivan Perisic, hence the reason why Perisic is not suited to play in the central midfield and as far as I know never has and never will. However, Perisic is far superior to Sucic in physicality, hence his ability to contribute to the attack and defence on the left flank.
Sucic looks the goods, however next couple of years are going to be critical.
He first of all needs to improve physically, bulk up a bit and secondly, he needs to make the right decision when choosing his next club? At his age and for his development it is important that he plays regularly rather than warming the bench.
I’m comparing Perisic to Sucic in terms of firepower and taking shots at net. Not position. I have had this issue with the national team for 20 years. I don’t think we’re aggressive enough with ripping shots from 20-25 yards out.
Perisic is the only consistent player who rips shots…on target.
Even though Modric scores some bangers from 25 yards out, half his shots bounce 2-3 times before they get to the goalie.
Vlasic has power. Majer is getting there but he is more finesse. Orsic can bang them in but he hasn’t cemented himself in a starting role.
Rakitic took lots of shots, but my point is we aren’t aggressive enough from outside the box. And Sucic will absolutely be that animal we need.
Ante agree with you Sucic has the potential to be that player. Like you I like the fact that he is prepared to shoot on goal from any position at any given time. That is something that we have been lacking since gaining independence. Prosinecki was good at taking free kicks in the 90’s and Srna later on, but I cannot recall that we ever had someone who was consistently good at scoring from long range.
I might be giving away my age with the next comment, but there was one guy that was exceptional from distance and that was Blaz Sliskovic for Hajduk in the early 80’s. He was the best player that I saw at long distance shots on goal including scoring goals directly from corner kicks. Sliskovic was some player and I remember Zinedine Zidane stating that Sliskovic was his idol.
Mart, I wouldn’t go as far as to say he is superior to Perisic. That doesn’t make sense to me as an argument, Perisic is not a central midfielder but he has been consistently scoring for us and creating opportunities on the wing. It was his pass/cross to Livaja that help us score on-top of the group in the Nations league. He scored the most for us in 2018 out of any player, and that includes Mandzukic. He has even scored the most onwards throughout tournaments for us from that point. His importance should never be downplayed.
I would agree with Ante that as a prospect he has shown an incredible amount of value and worth as a player and as a midfielder as well. I would also agree with you Mart, that his technical ability really shows. He just hasn’t had the greatest amount of luck this season with scoring goals it just hasn’t gone his way.
Well I don’t know Sliskovic very well but I’ll certainly be looking up that information and thanks for sharing.
Yes I agree, Sliskovic has an amazing shot and he did score from corner kicks…he started his career at Velez and was a hero there, then went to Hajduk and then France!
Honestly…
I was expecting you to give us a “back in my day” story about your time at Velez with Sliskovic and how you two would walk 100 miles in the WW2 mine-riddled snow to practice every day.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuTYYl-oqL4
Sucic is a direct player and definitely has a great shot…you’re bang on Kvartuc!
Any keepers out there?
LOL- maybe Sucic can play goal – we have never gone into a WC with such weak goalmen – God help us -maybe Livo has a facing with a burning bush and God tells him to stop the bloody ball
Livakovic is just staying in character (as a ghost) for Halloween.
Honestly, that Salzburg goal just went through him.
Maminjo, the harder part is, and I am starting to agree with Slavonac, who do you replace Livakovic with??
I don’t think anyone has a solid answer other a long term project in someone new. At this stage, that is not beneficial to us one month prior to the world cup.
But yes, he definitely has his weaknesses. Personally, I don’t fault Dalic for the goaltender position because we really don’t have someone we can count on fully.
The future is looking bright!
The new young studs are already taking over our defence, lots of midfielders ready to step-in after Modrić and company retire, and some promising young strikers will hopefully emerge 👍
Can’t be impatient with him.
Brozović and Rakitić weren’t at his level at the same age.
Kovačić was playing on big teams but was largely sheltered throughout his career. He’s still largely a role player for us.
If Sučić continues to work hard, he’ll make that typical Croat “jump” in his career around the age of 24 (like Raketa, Broz and Majer all did) and he’ll be our main central midfielder.
Rakitic in 07/08 for shalke: 29 starts and 3 goals, in 08/09 for shalke 23 starts 1 goal (i think injuries), in 09/10 for shalke 29 starts 7 goals.
kovacic for inter in 14/15 season i think was like 19 or 20 and started 35 games and scored 5 goals.
Brozo for inter in 15/16 season 32 starts 4 goals. Brozo is CDM and completely different playstyle than sucic.
“Brozović and Rakitić weren’t at his level at the same age.”
You’re right, so far sucic is below there level. Sucic is playing in a league equivalent to the hnl, I don’t mind calling him up or letting him play the last 5 mins of games, but until he puts up consistent minutes in a top 5 league theres no point of hyping him.
Your stats are wrong.
Luka literally just turned 20 last month, and although you’re not impressed with the Austrian league (which you think is ranked at HNL level) he’s leading his team in Champions League against top clubs.
I’ll admit that perhaps Rakitic was better at the same age, but both Kovacic and Brozovic were definitely NOT.
Rakitic was a huge prospect for Schalke at age 19 and scored 3 goals (starting in most games for them)…but then he took a step back at age 20 and ended up on the bench for 15 of his 23 games that season (scoring one goal). He did really well the following season at age 21 (turning 22) and was a regular starter for them.
So, yea, I guess you could argue that Rakitic at age 20 was a hiccup year and overall he was ahead of Sucic…but this is Raketa we’re talking about (our second best ever midfielder).
But Broz and Kova were not there at age 20.
Brozovic at age 20 was still a Lokomotiva player, and not yet good enough to play at Dinamo Zagreb. He made his transfer to Inter when he was 23 and he wasn’t a consistent starter for them until he was 26.
At age 20 Kovacic was playing at Inter, and scored 0 goals in 32 games (and he came off the bench in 23 of those 32 games).
He was bought by Inter when he was still 19 (during the winter transfer window) and was forced into the starting eleven because this was when Inter had their collapse and became a mid-table Serie A club (finishing 9th) .
They were hoping that he could develop into a start if they started him early, but he didn’t do well, and they suffered for it in the standings. Speak to Inter fans about him. They all didn’t feel like he deserved to be their automatic starter and the results showed. He was then relegated to the bench, and luckily got better when he was 21/22 years old and they jumped on the transfer to Real Madrid when he was being hyped (again) as the Luka successor.
“Your stats are wrong. ”
Haha, they’re not ‘my stats’, theyre the facts that are listed on every single soccer website.
You misinterpreted my argument. I’m not arguing about age, comparing age is completely idiotic, ppl develop physically and mentally at different ages some faster and some slower, rather what they achieved in their first few seasons at a top 5 league. Comparing sucic to these other guys makes absolutely no sense as hes playing in a feeder league. IF, sucic made a move next season to a team in a top 5 league, and IF throughout the year started like 30 games and scored 3 goals, he would be like almost 22, then yeah, we could then say he is comparable to rakitic, kova, etc. But until he shows something in a good league there is no point in the hype.
Coric, balic, halilovic, etc were also good in feeder leagues, but entering an actual league exposed them as weaklings. I’m rooting for the kid and i predict he will be decent but, unfortunately, he is physically weak and not aggressive which are good indicators he might struggle.
Okay, then don’t post stats from different age ranges as a comparison then.
I agree that age isn’t everything, but I was saying that “at the same age” he’s ahead of them because Broz was still in the HNL with Lokomotiva and Kovacic was a big disappointment in Serie A. Sucic may be on what you think is a feeder team, but he’s playing Champions League football (which you are completely dismissing).
Also, Coric, Balic, and Halilovic were never good. They did nothing, even in the HNL.
Sucic is playing against Milan and Chelsea and the team he is leading just took points off these two clubs.
“Okay, then don’t post stats from different age ranges as a comparison then.”
I posted what these midfielders did in their first few seasons in a top 5 league and pointing out that comparisons are pointless rn because sucic isnt in a top five league. atm sucic is below these guys until he proves more in a better league.
“he’s playing Champions League football (which you are completely dismissing)”
ik ive watched the games lol.
So, halilovic “did nothing”, and barca ended up buying him? ok dude.
@”CiganJeCigan”
1) “Maminjo” compared players to Sucic AT THE SAME YOUNG AGE of 20. You then “countered” that by comparing players to Sucic who were at different older ages. Dude, there’s a reason there’s ‘Under 20’ etc competitions.
2) You say “comparing age is completely idiotic, ppl develop physically and mentally at different ages some faster and some slower” but at the same time you say “he is physically weak and not aggressive which are good indicators he might struggle.” < you are contradicting yourself.
Comparing players at the same young age is not "completely idiotic", it is often (but not always) a good indicator of what the future might hold – especially when comparing similar peoples <if Sucic was of Mongolian descent but had a croatian passport I'd say maybe Croatians shouldn't invest their resources into developing Sucic over other actual Croats of the same or similar age. <know what I'm sayin bro?
Also, you named the two things (physical strength and aggressiveness) that usually increase with age in the age range we're talking about here yet you basically have given up on Sucic becoming great b/c he's not strong in those categories while at the same time you say "players develop physically and mentally at different ages".
3) You said twice that Sucic "plays in a feeder league". He just turned 20 and as "Maminjo" reminded you twice: Sucic is also playing WELL in the best LEAGUE in the world: The Champions League.
CiganJeCigan.
Excellent post and points regarding the feeder leagues and bringing up solid examples. Maminjo talks crap too often and always good when someone puts him in his place.
Okay Sucic is Overrated guy. Strange name. The Austrian League is not a feeder league. It’s just not a top 5 league. Would then the HNL be considered a feeder league?? By that premise a lot players on the team shouldn’t be called up, potentially half the players.
I’m not sure I agree with this thinking, or that it’s worth consideration really.
I also wouldn’t be so quick to judge Maminjo he has had some pretty good points in the past even if you disagree with this one.
I would have to agree with Maminjo on this one. By your logic CiganJe Cigan, we would have to discount Petkovic, Livaja, Orsic and all these players because they haven’t moved out of the Croatian league. With exception of Livaja who had some success at AEK Athens but again not a strong league. I don’t personally think that makes sense because each of the players mentioned has had a positive impact on the NT. Sucic has not been given enough playing time to demonstrate this for us. He almost banged one on the Nations League, just to point out his strengths even with very little playing time.
We would also be discounting Sutalo as well among other players who again has and a great impact on our defense. The logic doesn’t really work in my view.
Sucic is doing really well even against more difficult teams in the Champions League,and as Maminjo is stating (correctly I think) you cannot discount that as part of why he is showing greater promise now than many others have.
Sure the kid has a way to go, but even still he is proving his worth as a player.
I don’t believe that Sucic is overrated at all, I think he is a great player even at this stage.
Physically weak and not aggressive??
He’s the complete opposite!
I wouldn’t classify Rakitic as our second best midfielder ever. He’s top 5 for sure, maybe top 4.
Remember, e used to have some guys in the midfield named Boban and Prosinecki (who was allegedly Rakitic’s hero).
Rakitic was ahead of Sucic at the same age.;)