One of the most anticipated matches of the season quickly became a snooze-fest Tuesday evening in Munich. With Bayern Munich down 1-0 in aggregate after a first leg loss, all was still to play for in the return. However, two quick Sergio Ramos headers (16′, 20′) would put the game out of reach early. Ronaldo would add two of his own, sliding one past Manuel Neuer in the 34th minute and putting one under the wall in the waning minutes of the match. The 4-0 defeat (5-0 agg) means that there will be a new European champion this season. Real Madrid has not played in the Final since 2002.
Luka Modrić played the full 90 minutes and had little to do in the match offensively as Bayern controlled 69% ball possession. However, Modrić assisted on Ramos’ first goal, swinging in a corner kick in the 16th minute. Mario Mandžukić started for Bayern but only played the first half as he received no service in the opening 45 minutes and had Pepe on his back every cross attempt. Manager Pep Guardiola looked for more of a ground game in the second half, which does not suit Mandza, but it was not Bayern’s night as they could not find the back of the net even on one occasion.
Real Madrid will play the winner of the Chelsea/Atletico Madrid tie in the Final on May 24th.
the difference between a win and a loss is discipline and concentration…Real showed what a team can do when they play the system, stay patient and play with discipline. its not easy defending for long periods of time but you will always get your chances.
@dannyj……true, but we we’re still unable to beat either team and just as close as we were to winning both, we were closer to losing both. Much easier to play those games when you are considered the underdog. No underdog this time around, only against Brazil. In the other two games we will be favored to win or at least draw. So, we have to see how they handle that role.
Agreed about Schildenfeld. Has never had a bad performance, unless I am missing a game.
@dannyj
My thoughts exactly. Gordon is your reliable type of player and he has shown he can get the job done. Nothing flashy but we don’t need that for the d. As you mention he has been solid in the greece and the few games I caught of him he played really well. Niko has him as an option
big gordon schildenfeld needs to be there… he has not dissapointed playing for us at all and still really doesn’t get to play much
from what i gather he had a solid season in greece and is fit to play… he ain’t a stud but he gets the job done in the middle
remember everyone panicking before euro how we had no d, and they played plenty solid… they will be fine again, lets just find a way to get our offense working the right way… we all know we have the tools to score some goals, no one can deny that.. just has to be meshed right
we are arguably better then 2012, last i checked spain and italy were in the finals and for sure we could have won both of those games against them… spain and italy are quality enough to be in the final of the world cup so let’s think positive, hope the boys stay healthy and leave it all out on the field like in euro… we are bound to get a couple of breaks and calls our way!!
Forget the above back four line. As we saw it is a disaster and we can’t keep blaming Stimac for that. Players have to take responsibility.
@Soul Champ
Not a bad lineup, but I’m not sure about Kovacic being able to satisfy the defensive requirements for that DM role. That Belgium game in ZG showed it when he was outmuscled by a stronger opponent. I could see some Cameroonian doing the same thing to him. But I think in the future (when he’s closer to his prime) he’ll be able to play that role a little bit better.
I’m curious to see more Vrsaljko at the RW spot for us. He’s had a solid season in Serie A, yet we’ve only seen him play about 45 minutes for the repka in the entire 2012/13 year. IMO, it’s either him or Kovacic that we should be testing on that side right now prior to this World Cup. I don’t want to see Rakitic or Perisic there, when we need them elsewhere.
Re: Strinic, Lovren, Corluka and Srna…
That SHOULD be our back four line, but that Scotland game really showed us how poorly they played together. I’m hoping it’s all Stimac, but man, Lovren and Strinic just don’t seem to like each other. Corluka doesn’t seem to work with Lovren either. I love Lovren and all, and he’s way too good not to start, but he seems to just not work with these dudes (which is why I seem to keep pushing the Lovren at DM dream). Hopefully he steps up this summer and is at least motivated for that new contract from a top-tier EPL club that he is destined to get.
Rebic is injured
Strinic is a left back.
Pranjić is a left winger.
Brazil:
Olić
Perišić – Rakitić – Vrsajlko
____Kovačić____Modric
Strinic-Lovren-Corluka-Srna
Pletikosa
Subs- Pranjić, Rebić, Halilovic
Spremni
slavonac
you are not wrong, more along everyone has their own opinion, at the end of the day really no here knows or is correct or is the coach,
NK is the one who will decide with his staff.
woops…I meant left back!
I’m still curious and want someone to let me know if I’m wrong about Strinic…nepoznat seems to think he was “at fault for all our goals up to that point!” while I think he’s a solid player that is very good defensively and may be a better solution that Pranjic at right back!
Shouldn’t we be applauding Strinic for the fuck up against Scotland. Without that fuck up we might still have Strucnjak Stimac as coach. Remember, that was the much-needed short-term pain for long-term gain era that will go down in Croatain soccer history.
…Or I play Lovren at DM.
Za DM Spremni!
http://www.croatiaweek.com/germany-lose-talented-teen-to-croatia/
Strinić played well at Euro 2012. He actually assisted on that Mandžukić goal against Italy.
During qualifying, the only major mistake I recall is his poor clearance header against Belgium in our 1-1 draw with them (which I believe is the reason Štimac called him out in the media). I don’t recall him playing much after that.
The Scotland fuck up between him and Lovren (with that poor penalty follow up) was hard to tell (I remember looking at the replay a couple of times). Lovren shouldn’t really be talking, as he let a short, fat, unathletic Scot jump over him on a header for that opening goal.
I do agree that if we plan on playing both Strinić and Lovren, that they shouldn’t play side by side. I’d play Schifo at LCB between them.
From an injury perspective, I rather not have Rakitic and Modric playing in the Europa Cup and Champions League finals. If the World Cup wasn’t this year, I wouldn’t care. Even though the odds are minimal, last thing I want to see is them getting injured a few weeks before the World Cup.
Also, this means Modric wont join the Cro national team until very late in May. Probably doesnt impact the team too much, but could be a bit of a handicap because we do have a new coach and it is valuable to have your main playmaker with you as you out in a new system or are trying something that is new with a first-time coach.
…just found out they were both on the bench at the time – idiots. Markovic out for the final.
Sevilla will be playing Benfica in the final. Anybody catch why Mirko Vucinic and Lazar Markovic were both red carded in the 89th minute of the Juventus – Benfica game?
Would have loved to heard what the were saying to each other and whether it has anything to do with Vucinic choosing to play for Montenegro rather than Serbia.
ok…no worries
@Slavonac I think he is talking to me but I believe the injury was after he was already yanked for poor performance and infighting with Lovren
full time Raketa and Sevilla move on to Europa League Final!
Last minute away goal! Sevilla is through if they can hang on last couple min in extra time!
Armada….making up what?
uhhh pretty sure Strinic was also injured…. Let’s not go making stuff up momci
nepoznat-“Strinic got pulled from the qualifiers because he stunk and conceded/been at fault for all our goals up to that point!”
I watch all the games I can, many times from work, as I do regularly in my office on some site atdhe offers, so its not always easy to concentrate and watch the game clearly…with all that said, I read comments from here and Croatian sites…I can hardly remember an occasion, maybe 1 where he was called out by the media or anyone else. I watched him play in the Euro’s, every game…and I thought he was solid! He is a standard player at his club…and under Bilic, I never remember him or anyone else singling him out so I can only assume you saw what I didn’t (because I wasn’t able to fully concentrate on the game while I flip back from work to soccer)….or you are somewhat blaming him for something he isn’t solely responsible for!
the entire team played like shit in 2013 but they didn’t lose a single qualifying game at the end of 2012….we lost 1-0 to Scotland…not sure if the goal was Strinic’s fault but the scoreline sure doesn’t impress me…they then tied Serbia and he didn’t play that game…he didn’t play against Belgium when we lost 2-1…and then he goes in against Scotland when we lost 2-0…
dude, I’m not trying to be argumentative, I recall Mandzukic saying “they didn’t understand Stimac’s strategy”…they lost without him and with him…to Scotland, so maybe he was at fault for the second Scotland loss, I can’t remember but for the love of God, how could you blame him when the entire team looked like a bunch of 3rd division players?
Bobby V: “Croatians were Asian and/or Black in 100 A.D.”
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Bobby V,
Is that how you justify White GENOCIDE?
Meanwhile back on planet earth, the only threatened race under present conditions is the doomed Whites, the only prediction is the end of the White race.
If you can’t identify who is White, then what’s a minority? Who “stole America” from the Indians? What’s “White privilege”? How does “affirmative action” work? ETC. You anti-whites define who is White all the time & then claim there’s no such thing as the White race = DOUBLETHINK.
So you admit White Genocide is happening, but you have no problem w/ it, right TRAITOR?
God does not make FORCED integration laws and immigration policies, anti-whites like you who want to turn the whole world into a 3rd world hell hole do.
Now Croatian sports will erase my pro-white comment, but not your anti-white comment, and then claim they aren’t anti-white.
still 2-2 agg at the half
Sevilla down 0-2, agg is now 2-2 and it’s only 26th minute or so of the first half in Valencia
Wow Seville is getting schooled right now. 2 – 2 on aggregate.
Come on Slavonac, Strinic got pulled from the qualifiers because he stunk and conceded/been at fault for all our goals up to that point!
I already said that last time he played well was June 2012, ever since he’s been a liability with nothing to offer defensively or offensively
Stream for Sevilla Europa League Semi-Final:
http://sportskatvnethnl.blogspot.com/2014/04/f2c.html
he only played 2 out of 6 qualifying games in 2013….remember a few months back when I sad Stimac should not have called him out publicly…and the team was basically the same or better than the Euro squad but Stimac was fucking with strategy and players? He wasn’t the only one that sucked, he only played 2 qualifying games in ’13…confidence can be a bitch, especially when your coach disrupts the team environment…they were a united team in the Euro’s…how did he play in the Euro’s?
someone wrote the following about her under that article, love it
“NE za ovu Jugoslovenku!”
I thought Strinic was responsible for almost all goals scored on us this qualifying round until the June 2013 and on collapse? And that’s also the reason for the Strinic – Lovren blow out right?
Strinic is almost as bad as Pranjic defensively, so maybe Pranjic will allow 1 maybe 2 more opportunities than Strinic but he would create at least 3-5 more chances than Strinic. Again the positives outway the negatives, especially with so many of our guys back defensively Pranjic won’t have to cover a large area of the field defensively and any opportunity created won’t have much room to get anywhere (if everyone holds their shape and we have 8-9 behind the ball)
Severina just cant leave them serbs alone!
http://dnevno.hr/sport/nogomet/121668-peticijom-protiv-severine-ne-zelimo-da-nas-predstavlja-u-brazilu.html
really nepoznat?
here’s my thought on this. playing defensive should be priority when playing Brazil, they have several options…all of them can attack and we will be held in our half for a good portion of the game…this will lead to Pranjic having to do his part. I like him and always support him as a player, my thought on this isn’t anti Pranjic, its more-so to contain Brazil and ensure we are defensively sound….maybe my memory is poor but I can hardly remember when Strinic has not performed well defensively and if we do come out with a tie, I think thats a BIG positive for us. If we are down, I can see us moving to a more attacking style and bring in Pranjic, but I think he will be exposed…
attacking players hate to play against tough and solid defenders that can frustrate them… attacker’s are opportunist’s…they wait for that 1 chance to pounce…who will give more of those opportunities…Strinic or Pranjic?
you mentioned about “dupliranje igrace”…players covering for each other…well, when that happens you end up having one man left unmarked…it becomes an advantage…Brazil can play counter as well…and with speed…if Pranjic cheats to get forward we can be hurt.
@Slavonac I would counter your argument by saying, even while defending more than attacking we will have more men back and covering to Pranjic’s slightly less defensive prowess will be protected by the 7-8 other bodies back behind/near the ball… but then when we break and we need some speed and a nice through ball or cross Pranjic can help deliver that if need be.
Also having Pranjic makes Hulk or the other RF/RW have to play honest and worry about defending, where-as Strinic does no such thing. Otherwise Pranjic will make you pay for not covering him, ala Atleti absuing Eden Hazard for not playing Defense on the full back
That being said Strinic does match up better size wise for Hulk.
Still give me Pranjic any day over Strinic (note: I was one of Strinic’s biggest supporters on this site through 2012, but not we have Pranjic back and Strinic hasn’t played well in a long time)
…I forgot to mention that since we will be defending more than attacking, Strinic would be the better option…just my opinion.
Ziva- Yes, we will play counter and will most likely have far less possession and require far better defensive coverage…so although I do agree Pranjic is a better and faster option to get forward, I think we will have to attack with our midfields and possible long through balls to our forward…similair to how Real countered Bayern
@Ziva technically fall / autumn until the very end of the group stage and knock out rounds 😀
on Corluka as Zenit & Lokomotiv meet in Russian title showdown:
http://www.fifa.com/world-match-centre/nationalleagues/nationalleague=russia-russian-football-premier-league-2000000024/news/newsid/233/217/5/
Meanwhile, Lokomotiv coach Leonid Kuchuk will be without their influential Croatian defender Vedran Corluka, who is suspended after collecting an eighth yellow card of the season in the 3-1 victory at FC Krasnodar last week.
“It’s true that Corluka’s absence will cause trouble for Lokomotiv, but they have other players too,” Villas-Boas added. “There has to be rotation in the team, and naturally Loko will be able to fill his position, even though Corluka is very important. The situation is such now that everything depends on us. And we’re hoping to get the corresponding result, in other words to win.”
@nepoznat
Valid points you bring up regarding Pranjic. Good post.
Playing Pranjic at LB gives us more reasons to be worried than playing Strinic from a defensive point of view. We are going to play for the counter against Brazil and Pranjic is better in that aspect. So, it will come down to that.
I agree with the suggestion above that Olic will be the lone forward, Perisic will be at LW and then Strinic/Pranjic at LB.
@Mishko……our second game in is the jungle. it may be winter (technically), but it will be hot and humid.
Strinic? LOL no thanks… the last time that guy played well for us was in 2012! Pranjic’s last time he played well was November
Both are poor defensively, Strinic slightly better… but Pranjic is actually a positive going forward where Strinic is again a negative. So Strinic brings negative/poor play offensively and defensively, and Pranjic brings good play offensively and negative/poor play defensively… in this case you have to go with the player who at least brings something positive to the field and that is Pranjic. Plus it avoids the whole Lovren – Strinic drama
I think it’s great that Niko was able to bring Pranjic back into the fold
it would have been an option a few years ago, Pranjic was used in that role but was often exposed…just my opinion
I was just making a suggestion. Worht pondering i suppose
Mishko…I think, regardless of if the weather will be ideal or not…Pranjic and Srna do not have the capacity to provide service both offensively and defensively in the 5-3-2…actually its… 3-5 2
@ Slavonac remember that they’re south of the equator and June and July is their winter time.
Temperature
The month of June is characterized by essentially constant daily high temperatures, with daily highs around 72°F throughout the month, exceeding 80°F or dropping below 64°F only one day in ten.
Precipitation
The average probability that some form of precipitation will be observed in a given day is 30%, with little variation over the course of the month.
.
I think Croatia plays terrible when they setup a defensive formation…5-3-2 is a very offensive formation and a great formation, but you need the right players… the outside players have a HUGE responsibility to go from 18 to 18…I just don’t see Pranjic and Srna able to provide that type of field coverage and do it well at this point in their careers
Do you think we are more vulnerable with that or with 2 cbs and strinic and srna without an adequate dm for cover? I was just trying to figure out how to throw on an extra defender lol
IvicaA- I agree with you!
Croatia is going to shock the world!!! I have a gut feeling…Brazil with the riots pressure etc…Please God no injuries…
dude, I totally get the wingbacks formation and think with Srna and Pranjic we’d get slaughtered…thats why I asked you. Pranjic cannot play that defensively, Srna is getting older and the humidity and heat will affect him.
google 5-3-2 with 2 wingbacks and youll get the idea.
srna and pranjic out wide lol but the format on this site wont let me put them in as wingbacks.
@slavonac. what about this
Srna Pranjic
corluka schildy lovren
We’d be fools not to play Strinić as LB.
He’s currently our only player who actually plays that position for his club (and Dnipro is a solid club). He’s actually pretty decent defensively, but I would not allow him to push forward. If I’m Kovač, I make this clear to him. He’s nothing special offensively, and we don’t have the cover in the back for him.
I like what Pranjić brings offensively, but I’d only play him on the wing as a midfielder and not at LB.
Since we have Perišić playing well, I’d probably start Perišić at LW and Olić as our striker in our first match against Brazil. Since we have Mandžukić back for Cameroon and Mexico, Olić will probably be moved to LW (or we keep Perišić there if continues to play well).
In all three games I would bring Pranjić on as a substitute for LW. He actually plays amazing for us off the bench, with his darting moves and technical savvy against tired defenders who are slow footed after having played almost a whole match.
Ernest- what do you mean? what formation are you talking about?
Strinic would have to have perisic on that side to double up. I feel like an extra cb like lovren is better cover. thats just my opinion though.
I dont mind strinic but i think the wingback option gives us proper cover for srna and pranjic to fly forward too. Strinic when he goes forward looks like a krava eating grass lol
would you use Strinic if you had the coach’s job? if not, what would you do?
I think Strinic is an option. It will be him or Pranjic. I think they will go with Strinic for the Brazil game because he is the better defender than Pranjic.
Vrsaljko……….I could be wrong because I don’t follow him or his team much, but I think he is coming back from an injury.
Badelj……on a bad team.
Corluka……..steady in Russia.
Schildenfeld…..playing well in Greece.
Strinic……playing and starting most games. I think his team is near the top of the standings.
why isn’t Strinic considered an option for left back? I thought he did very well defensively…and he seemed composed…maybe I’m wrong, I don’t watch his club soccer but I always thought he did well for the NT.
Ziva- thanks…as I said, I don’t watch Croatian league but I used to see his name a lot.
as of the last few weeks I’ve seen some decent reports on a few of our players…we are only 42 days away from the first game against Brazil, that isn’t a long time. I’m curious to hear some analysis leading into the final weeks of club league play and getting into preparation for the tournament.
finally, as of the last two weeks, Kovacic has been given some playing time, Jelavic is scoring the odd goal here and there, so is Olic and Perisic…even Eduardo has had a few goals…I’ve never really followed Vrsaljko or Badelj so in all honesty I couldn’t comment on their overall style of play and value they could bring to the NT…anyone care to fill me in on their current form and if they could bring anything to the team?
how are Corluka, Schindenfield and Strinic playing recently?
Since we are thin at left back (understatement) what about the possibility of playing with 3 cbs (corulka, schildy, lovren) and 2 wingbacks srna and pranjic? at that point we could play luka or raketa deep with kova and the other on in midfield? just tossing some ideas out. I feel like that would solidify us defensively.
The sick thing is, Stico is so ignorant that he would actually say something like that. Knowing damn well that he mostly got his tactics wrong as manager. Remember when he said we would play tika taka? lol
Imagine this scenerio……………
We lose to Brail 2-0 or 3-0 and one of the goals is because we used a player out of position. Assume Corluka was at left back and got beaten badly a few times that led to a goal or an assist.
Stimac is on air as the analyst and says something like…..”Corluka na lijevi bek je ogromna greska, pogotovo protiv Brazila. Pa, ja ne znam o cemu Kovac misli. Ovo je cisto samoubojstvo!”
Those remarks are told back to Kovac during his postgame sit down with HRT. Man, could you imagine that unfolding on tv. it would be fun to watch and very uncomfortable for those invloved, but it would be awesome tv.
@Slavonac……….Sharbini is not national team material in my opinion. He is a strange dude, along with his father, but that is another story for another day. He has some skill. He’ll put in a great game and make some amazing individual plays and then he will go 3 or 4 games of doing nothing. Very lazy player.
Well he was doing the “analysis” with Zuti yesterday during the UCL and I read they would keep him on for the World Cup. It was awesome to listed to honestly. Zuti is a DR. of Football compared to Stico.
personally I would not have Sharbini near the final 23 man squad, I already can’t bring all the players I would like to bring and he’s no where near my top 30 even
nepoznat- interesting article.
I’ve never seen Sharbini play although I used to read about him a lot….anyone know if he would be a good sub or is he another Livaja “look at me” type of player?
Niko may need to bring some youth from Prva HNL, Brozovic/Halilovic/Palasic/etc:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/croatia/10800687/World-Cup-2014-Croatia-manager-Niko-Kova-could-be-forced-to-consider-Prva-HNL-talents-to-cover-key-positions.html
Wait a minute, is his confirmed. I sure hope so because nothing would be better tv than Strucnjak Stimac criticizing the team and Kovac after a loss and then having Kovac listen to it and respond. That would be good tv and very uncomfortable.
Has anyone commented on how Stimac will be an analyst for HRT during the world cup? Im too lazy to read through but it not, this is awesome hahaha legendary
bravo ziva
@anyone else
when does this appeal decision come down on big joe, doubt it will be overturned but hope it does, love to see him in brazil
Ahh my bust comments……..so, he was playing great last year????
Modric is playing great right now. This is fact.
Modric did not play we’ll first half of last season. This is also fact. Nothing worse than blind jock sniffer.
And as for Modric signature goals……he scores so few of them (not what he is paid to do), that isn’t any goal he scores a signature goal.
Ohh, I’ll be in Dalmacija this summer after the World Cup. He’ll, I’ll even visit my friends in bjezigrad.
Modrić is due for one of his signature goals in the final!
As always he will be the X factor as his creativity transcends tactics.
Ramos shot his load against Bayern and probably would have gotten a red card in the final. Alonso is tired and puts more defensive pressure on Modrić.
Varane comes in for Ramos and some young legs for Alonso.
I pray for that defining moment for Modrić that will be remembered for years to come.
@ all Pep Guardiola SNIFFERS.
Your manager has failed you.
Ancelotti + Modrić = La Decima.
Invitation to atone for your Modric “bust” comments and enjoy the festivities in Lisbon. You may also come to Dalmacija this summer for some swimming and sladoled.
Now you still have some time to rescind your Šarić “bust” comments and also enjoy the maturation of Hezonja, who will go top five in ’15 NBA draft.
C’mon Brate, RISE out from the “basement” and enjoy being a Hrvat !
Now it’s time for Modric to go into Ballon D’Or mode. He needs to step up big.
If he wants to be one of the best midfielders of his generation, he needs to win some trophies. And the CL is a good place to start.
Zan Tabak === legenda haha
RAPTORS !!!
FUCK BROOKLYN !!!
Haet does not like to use his real name,but Ante can reveal that it is Donald Stirling.
Ante can also reveal that Karadzic je Heroj is the real guy writing from his prison cell.He is certainly dopey enough and obsessed enough.Check out the photo,he almost escaped recently disguised as a owl !!
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/Evstafiev-Radovan_Karadzic_3MAR94.jpg
Hey Arjen Robben, were you “expecting more” from Real Madrid in the second game too, or was 4-0 good enough for you?
How about Mourinho fielding 6 defenders at home in today’s semi-final? Mr. Anti-Soccer.
Chelsea is about to have the same last few weeks of the year as Barcelona just had.
Horvat,thanks! I travel there often…have a driver etc..slavonac love Mexico and Slp is a great little city..Beautiful cathedral.
San Luis Potosí is a nice little place…if you haven’t been there before I think it’s a great place. Mexico City is fun dude, but just know where you’re going…it can be crazy!
Karadzic,why are all serbs obsessed with Croats? Dream on you fucking goof!
Slavonac,Mexico city and slp.
“@HAET – If you were able to view your family tree going back to 100AD, you probably have people from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa as your predecesors.”
HAHA. a croat admitting that he has turkish and vlach blood hahahahahaha do not worry we serbs know that truth but usually croats deny it but i guess it has become to obvious
Nevermind!…
WEEEEEE!!! 🙂
Fly, Eagles Fly!!!
^ ^
Bah!
They got rid of my joke…
Whoops, wrong football. 😉
Favourite team: Villareal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylMfERo60jc
Favourite footballer: Riley Cooper
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebBPdfRSXjY
…I mean, somewhere out there, there is a 100% racially pure Black HAET, a racially pure Asian HAET, a racially pure Hispanic HAET who is equally pissed about inter-racial babies ruining bloodlines (as if this is just starting to happen).
Do you relaize their are many white people living in African, Asian and Hispanic countriies?
And what is your ultimate goal? Where do you want pure Whites to live, to have, and to do?
What if you are 75% White? Should they have their own country next to the people who are 74% White?
You seem obsessed, paranoid and upset that you do not know who everybody is and where they came from. As if we are hiding it all from you.
I feel bad for you .How about talking more about soccer when you visit this website.. Do you have a favorite team or player?
@HAET – If you were able to view your family tree going back to 100AD, you probably have people from all over Europe, Asia, and Africa as your predecesors.
So, what’s your point with all this bullshit?
You want us to pick a nationality/race based only on the past few hundred years that you might know about and hate the rest?
You are probably blood related to many of the same people you rant against.
Even Obama and Dick Cheney are related. Hell, you might be cousins with Mario Balotelli, Redd Fox, and Nipsy Russell.
You forgot my favorite
FOR SHAME !!!
Not just Mamic.
ARROGANT MAMIC and his DINAMO INTERNATIONAL TEAM.
People, if you want to quote Cico, let’s not disappoint him here – let’s quote him correctly. BOG!
Re: Atletico
http://www.espnfc.com/blog/_/name/laliga/id/1518?cc=5901
Sid Lowe is an awesome writer btw.
Recommend this book written by him
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/0224091786
@Armada and Poglavnik
Come on guys you know the excuse that Cico will have. First the refs are from Zagreb and Mamic…..of course. Blame it on Mamic. That is it.
Arrogant fans, etc.
from wikipedia:
Historically, Real Madrid have long been seen as the establishment club. On the other side, Atlético was always characterized by a “sentimiento de rebeldía” — “a sense of rebellion” — although during the early Francisco Franco years, it was Atlético that was the preferred team of the regime, being associated with the military airforce until the regime’s preferences moved towards Real Madrid in the 1950s.
Anyone know the breakdown of the supports in Madrid. I realize Real is the bigger club, but who supports Atletico in that town. Is a certain part of the city? Lower class, middle Class, upper class? I know in other big cities with two or more prominent teams it breaks down by class segment a lot of times.
Is Pavisic still in prison?
Fricken fraud.
Shame on the boys who run this site for advertising with him for a short while. They were warned.
So last year it was 2 German teams in the final, this year 2 Spanish teams in the final.
I think it’s safe to say La Liga is the top league in the world again.
Not that I ever thought the Bundesliga was worthy.
They’ve never been better than 3rd to me…
@ nepoznat
right, right, right
got my teams crossed – and I know the ‘Garden State’ have family in Cliffside Park
What does it matter what screen name I use? What’s the difference? anyways, do you see the “no to racism” slogan incessantly being plastered on the side boards? I’ve trained my mind not to see it. Like a good doublethinking zombie, I’m aware & not aware of my doublethink at the same time.
On another note, shouldn’t the aggregate read Chelsea 1, Atl Madrid 1.1 ?
@Anonymous or is that HAET? anyways log in if you want me to reply to you
@Slavonac cool keep me posted! Faux Cro is also in NJ and we haven’t had a chance to meet up yet (although now my baby boy is 15 months and we’re caught up on sleep so this year should be better). Matesic Method may be able to meet up too, he’s in NY state outside of NYC I believe
@Armada That guy, Marijan Pavisic, is not affiliated with Croatia New York or New York Croatia but rather a team that used to be called Garden State Croatia (NJ being the Garden State), but it is now called NJ Gladiators.
Is it “racist” to say that Mexico is the product of Mexicans? What about: Germany is the product of Germans?
Not yawning at the regulars…
YAAAAWN….
So how about those Montreal ‘rippers?! 🙂
lima Joey,
Just a word of caution!
A few years ago, a 6 foot 4 Croatian friend of mine went on a business trip to Mexico City with another Croatian guy.
To make a long story short, they were convinced they were never going to make it home alive.
They said they could see hunger on the peoples faces.
There was one guy who was following them around wherever they went. They could not lose this guy.
They couldn’t trust anyone including the police.
Be careful down there, especially if you are a North American who sticks out like a sore thumb.
Anonymous- I also never knew about Islam, Mormons, Buddhists…that doesn’t mean anyone is hating on anyone…
on the other hand, why do Serbs hate Croats so much, why do they burn our flag at a soccer game?
nepoznat: “@Slavonac I too remember when I first found out about that strange Orthodox Christmas and I called it Fake Christmas… I still do to this day!”
Why do you HATE Orthodox Christian people? You’re the same guy who admitted to “training your mind” not to see things that everybody can see – i.e. you admitted to being a doublethinking bullshit artist. Just as Ziva Istina once said “I don’t see skin color” – ya think you’d pass a lie detector test? How courageous Croats are repeating Political Correctness party lines.
speaking of NY Croatia, what happened to that scumbag who was on this site and ended up being a fraud?
nepoznat- I’m not sure, but I might be headed there end of summer…if so, maybe we can meet for lunch…coffee…beer…
@Slavonac I’m in New Jersey just outside of NYC. I’m like 15 min away from the Hrvatska Zemlja: https://foursquare.com/v/hrvatska-zemlja-boonton-nj/4c15108577cea5939687d160
Really good hiking around there and my lake club is just down stream @ 1 mile from the Zemlja so we are around there a lot.
The New York Croatia FC has their home games there too
I have a question for everybody on this site who spend there days talking useless gibberish here: Why do you HATE Serbian babies?
Kreso’s answer: @Anonymous,
I love serbian babies, you fuken dickhead!
Lovro’s answer: Because they will be taught to hate/kill Croats.
Of course I don’t believe you Kreso considering the question upset you so much you resorted to childish name calling.
And Lovro admits to hating ALL innocent Serbian babies b/c he assumes ALL of them “will be taught to hate/kill Croats.” Very interesting. Is it similar to black children being taught to hate Whites?
Bosanci get around, huh? Charlotte?
When I was in the military in the Norfolk area, I went to a spaghetti house owned by Bosanci… went the night they had some singers come in, me and my buddy were part of an audience of 10 people…. weird as shit.. and no way was i eating spaghetti ala Bosanac… left 15 minutes into this ‘concert’
“Uniting Croatian John’s Around The World…”
I lived two blocks down from the NBI…it was a fun place!
YES!
That was a classic!
Definitely H.A. owned too.
So you’re a Burnaby North kid, huh?
Tons of Hrvati up there.
Poglavnik how bout the good ole “NBI” shit we used to go there during lunch in high school for power hour!!
I’ve been to Brandy’s once and didn’t notice any.
I think they own it too but I don’t think they’re as visible there.
I walk by it all the time and the crowds seem much more touristy and business-like there.
They’re all over The No. 5 though.
Oh, and the No. 5 Orange is still around of course!
That’s the best middle of the road peeler bar.
It’s right across from the Vancouver Police station, filled with Hells Angels (who also own it) and right in the middle of one of the seediest neighbourhoods in North America.
It’s good but I used to prefer some of the smaller ones that are now gone.
isnt Brandy’s an H A hangout?
lika Joey- what city you going to…Ciudad?
Slavonac,I have a business trip to mexico on monday.Can’t wait to hear what they think about Modric.
Vancouver used to be world class for peeler bars about 15 years ago.
Even Motley Crue name dropped Marble Arch and filmed the video for Girls, Girls, Girls there.
Since then The Marble Arch, Muggs & Juggs, The Fraser Arms, Club Paradise, The Cecil, The Drake, Casey’s, and I’m sure I’m missing a couple of others, have all closed down.
All thats left now is Brandy’s which is pretty high-end and the Penthouse which is really low-end.
God, what ever happened to the middle-class strippers of Vancouver?!… 🙂
Anyway, It’s significantly pricier here and the girls don’t have French Canadian accents. These two things in particular make Montreal #1 for me.
nepoznat-did you say you’re in NYC?
I hear you on that! my uncle lives in Charlotte and that’s the best/closest option he can get. Bit too Turkish but to be expected with Bosna connection and all
nepoznat-thanks buddy, I normally don’t go to Bosnian/Balkan…we have them here also. trust me, I’m super desperate to eat some good Croatian food, unfortunately, my wife cooks great and she cooks good Croatian food, just not enough dishes…so I miss our food a lot!
in case you want to buy/give them some oblatne or prsut or whatever
and the other one:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bosna-market-charlotte
not that you should take your customer but there are a couple of Bosna/Balkan market/cafe type places in Charlotte:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/euro-grill-and-cafe-charlotte
Vegas is fun on the whole, don’t get me wrong …
BUT
Vegas is pretty lame / tame when it comes to partying. I think it’s more fun for Americans that haven’t been anywhere else, don’t know what it’s like in other parts of the world.
better than Vancouver? if I recall, No 5 Orange had some pretty good talent….they weren’t shy either!
^ ^
Montreal blows Vegas away for strippers!
Quality, price and rules are better than anywhere I’ve been.
@Slavonac……depends where you are at. Some cities have some crazy laws where a stripper has to be a certain number of feet away from the patron. It wont be Vegas, but then again nothing is Vegas.
^ ^
Shit Armada you beat me to it! 🙂
@Cico
What’s up with that Doofust, Tudor ! ? !
Greatest coach of the Greatest Most Beloved Team is no good anymore ! ! !
Disgrace ! ! !
hahahaha…do the strip clubs in the US do the full show…I haven’t been to a strip club here in at least 12 years but here ,they take it all off, we can drink alcohol and they do more than lap dances…apparently…wink wink…;)
@ Cico
I’m waiting patiently for your commentary on your savior, trener Tudor.
bog, tudor, mali i jadan, DOOFUST, FAIRNESS, i HNS!!!!
Luka will hopefully be the 10th Croatian player participating in a CL-Final since 1993 (after Boksic, Boban, Suker, Zivkovic, Babic, Tudor, Prso, Olic and Mandzukic).
I think everything is possible at the World Cup. The team from 98 was better, but they actually were past their best at that time. I remember that I didn’t have high expectations before the tournament started back then. If everything goes well, we can go far at the 2014 World Cup, but we can also be eliminated early.
No clue about the restaurants. The restaurants in the hotels I stayed at were OK, but some good strip joints out there.
any Hrvati in Charlotte, NC…I’m going there on business in a couple of weeks…wondering if you can recommend a good restaurant for me to take out a customer?
I read about Tudor on the weekend and just shoke my head. he is a joke and some were saying he is the coach of the year. Sramota. This type of behavior a good suspension is required.
Poor joe simunic as you say Ziva his own government went against him, hope this works out for him. He did nothing wrong.
Sorry, Luka is a bust, just kidding!
@Ziva, can you drive toBrasil with a car, just asking. JJoking .
Yep, Tudor was one of the most disliked personalities who ever played for the national team. A hell of a player when he was healthy and injuries cut his career, but a typical headcase from Split.
Although, to be fair. I think he has done a good job with jadan i mali hajduk. The management finally appears committed to playing the young guys. In previous years, jadan i mali hajduk would have already been on their third coach this season. I rather finish in second or third place with homegrown kids then finish in second place with overpriced has beens.
hahaha…a week ago he’s crying with joy for getting a new contract….and then…the same type of idiot behavior shows up as when he was a player….lets not forget, Tudor was a menace in the changing room and caused a lot of shit with his teammates…great job mali i jadan hajduk!
@nepoznat…….I really hope it works out for Suspension Joey and that he could get the ban reduced or eliminated. But, I just don’t see how considering none of his support or help is coming from the savez or the Cro govt. We all know the Cro govt. went against him.
If the suspension was lifted, I can’t wait to hear from the serbs apologists in Cro.
Friends,
Often I am asked why am I so harsh on some topics. Well, there is a reason and a lot of truth behind my satire or attempt at it . I refer to hajduk (remember, they don’t deserve a capital ‘H’) as jadan i mali hajduk because they are jadan i mali in everything they do as a club.
Here is more example of them being jadan i mali. Tudor acts likes an idiot on the sidelines and here is his penalty.
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/igoru-tudoru-sest-utakmica-suspenzije-zbog-cirkusa-u-koprivnici–prijavljen-i-brbic-/1187726/
My beloved jadan i mali hajduk used to be a big club. But, those days are no longer here.
More on Josip Za Dom Simunic:
http://www.vecernji.hr/nogomet/simunic-odustao-od-ministara-sudenje-ce-biti-zavrseno-u-cetiri-dana-935847
True, I just found it funny that the savez has an issue an appeal. I really doubt there will be any problems. One, there are not many hrvati going to Brazil. And, two, those who are going are not from Cro and usually don’t cause trouble. The trouble makers are those with little money who get to the games by taking 36-hour car trips.
@Anonymous,
I love serbian babies, you fuken dickhead!
i9ts never a good thing for our people to present themselves as ‘primitive”, especially in another country…not even at Suker’s expense. I don’t want the world to perceive Croatians as backwards idiots, let the Serbs keep that title….we should have some integrity….Suker is our problem, we dont have to bring our problem somewhere else!
i was thinking about Kramer, fuken Newman!
@nepoznat
is that Kvarner from seinfeld?
invite sent my fellow Kvarner brate
Nepoznat
could you send me the torrent links for the croatian soccer games please
nkzagon@gmail.com
Things are looking good for Simunic!!!
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/fifa-odustala-od-dokazivanja-da-je-za-dom–spremni-fasisticki-pozdrav/742779.aspx
Because they will be taught to hate/kill Croats.
I have a question for everybody on this site who spend there days talking useless gibberish here: Why do you HATE Serbian babies?
This is for the LA-based guys……..What type of person is an actual Clippers fan and why? I mean, with the success of the Lakers throughout the years, how does one become a Clippers fans. Its like being an NK Split fan instead of my beloved jadan i mali hajduk. Or being a Jets fan with the success of the Giants.
you have it all wrong…….Long term is having Mama Istina cook and clean for you. I got it made. I go upstairs to eat and the bitch cleans up after me. Not a bad life
Ziva might have found a way out of his basement. If he does something really dumb and upsets his Mom, she might kick him out. Short term pain (getting his ass kicked and having to move out) for long-term gain ( having his own place and maybe getting laid).
Ohhhh Sinko,you are reducing me to tears as your tata.I am really starting to think of you as a lost cause nut job.I know what you are saying to a degree.Before the short term pain was to lose some games and stimac would go.Fair enough if that got rid of him.Now you are proposing for the fans to do something really dumb to affect Suker.If our fans do something dumb at the WC and its enough to stop Sukers progress,the pain from this would not be short term my fine feathered friend.It would be really bad for us for a long time.I am not a critic of what Simunic essentially did,but there are those who twisted it and can continue to do so.Imagine that we back it with crowd trouble in brazil.There will be no short term pain there.Ohhhh Sinko,I am crying right now about your mental state.Its a sad day for Tata.Mama will be hearbroken.Where did we fail you????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Actually, maybe it is a good thing of our fans do something dumb in Brazil if it possibly means Puppet Suker wouldn’t get on the FIFA executive committee. Last thing FIFA needs is that idiot in a position of influence.
Remember when it was a good thing to root for the repka to lose to Belgium and then lose to Scotland because it was going to leave to Strucnjak Stimac’s exit as coach. This could be the same. Short term pain/embarassment for longer term success.
But do they not have a duty to call for this to be the case simply as part of due diligence?You are right that we will not have huge numbers in Brazil.Dont know about you,but I dont want to see anyone embarrass the efforts of the team.I dont see the fun in watching that type of a meltdown.
You got to love our savez……asking the fans, more like begging, not to do anything to embarrass the team in Brazil. Not sure what they are worried about considering there won’t be many of us in Brazil. We will be outnumbered by a wide margin by the Brazilian fans and Mexican fans in the first and third game. And not many going up to the jungle for the Cameroon game.
@Ri12-I have somewhat tongue in cheek described Pep as a bust but have also pretty clearly described him as one of the worlds top coaches ,but one who is more suited to a Barcelona rather than a Bayern.Hardly a huge insult at the end of the day.Mandzukic for example has been a perfect fit for the way Bayern had been playing last year for example and even though things have SO Far not changed dramatically for him this season,surely it has bee harder for him to remain settled and on focus.
As for Kovac,unless he really stuffs it in Brazil and afterwards,I would not be too quick to call him a bust
(Some will)He is pretty much our best current option and seems a good fit.We dont have $ to buy top foreign coaches,which I dont really like the idea of anyway.Kovac would be a bust if he stuffs it and keeps someone else (Croatian) out of the job who would be better suited.
Wow if some of you think Pep is a bust I would hate to see what you have to say about N. Kovac if we fail to progress.
Save your breath Ziva.You will need it to blow up your basement girlfriend doll.
What negativity to you speak of?
Ziva,
Thinking you know it all + Negetivity = Blindness
Brazil and Spain are favourites, however, people who are not miserably negative and pessimistic do have hope that our team can upset either one.
The better team does not always win brother!
Thank God our players and coaches are not negative pessimists or they would throw in the towel right now and not even go to Brazil.
Corrupt forces??????? Yeah, it’s not like Brazil or Spain are considered favorites.
The team we have now may not be “THE” golden generation of Croatian football but it is a great generation.
If everyone stays healthy, I think our boys can make a good run in Brazil.
My biggest concern is that corrupt forces behind the scenes will push for Brazil and Spain to advance.
I’m also concerned about the hot and humid weather our players don’t thrive in.
The guys brilliant but for some reason I don’t see his attitude mixing well with the Bayern hierarchy.
They should just take Klopp.
They’ve already taken all that’s good from Dortmund!
@Poglavnik-all true.At the end of the day,Mourinho is not perfect,but he is one of the worlds top soccer minds and personalities.The style of the coach needs to suit the club culture cwhere they are.If they are bigger than the club,they can be more imposing.If the Clubs culture and style is as huge as Bayerns,the coach really needs to fit the club more.Bring in a German to Bayern.Its not V2 rocket science ,is it??
Mourinho would be great for road games.
The man knows how to organise and defend (and waste a shit load of time).
You know Mourinho’s Chelsea have given up zero goals at Man. U, Man. City, Arsenal, and Liverpool this year?
Impressive but he’s not a very progressive coach.
Who thinks Mourinho should come in as the next Bayern coach??He is the “Chosen one”.Surely his style would suit the Bavarian giants and he could get them playing well.FFS,get another German in there!
Ok,the Pep bust comment was premature,but I didnt really mean bust when I said bust,I just meant he had a really bad day today.He is really still a top flight coach,so even though I said bust,it doesnt really matter.He was bust,now hes not.If anyone has a issue about it…….
Anyhow,I never really saw Pep as being the right fit for a Bayern.They were dominating,things were working well and he imposed his style which is not quite what was already working brilliantly.Mandzukic is a classic example.He does not quite suit his style and was starting to lose favour .This hardly would have helped him stay settled even though CURRENTLY he was still getting playing time.Look at what Ancelotti has done for Modric.Pep belongs at Barcelona etc,not Bayern.Thats not really such a great insult at the end of the day ,is it?? To say he is a bust is a bit silly at the end of the day.Pherhaps not best suited to Bayern is more fitting.
They Shoulda done whatever they could to keep Jupp. Seems like Pep Boys Guardiola ruined the squad.
Bayern had a good thing goin’ before Pep came along. This is what happens when you hire the guy ya beat 7-0.
They should’ve kept that direct Blitzkrieg style. None of this Tiki-Waka-Taka nonsense!
Pep schmep.Pep is a bust.You heard it here first.
@ivica……the way they went out is a humiliation and failure. Them not repeating and getting to the semis and maybe losing to the eventual champs is not a failure.
As for my comments about not winning La Liga or the CL being a failure for Real is based on their club history and culture and how they fire coaches even after winning titles. Even now, Ancelotti is being tied with the Man U job regardless of what takes place in the next three weeks with Real. Plus, with Barca behind them in both competitions, it would be a failure for them not winning one of the titles. It is more to do with the environment around Real.
@split…..agreed on Mandza. He wasted more energy sprinting over to confront Real players after dives or exchanges with his teammates. Nobody from Bayern had a good game. Credit to Real for that.
in local news…..
a story similar to the movie “falling down” with Michael Douglas……
a local San Pedro Croatian American, goes apeshit.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/general-news/20140429/retired-longshoreman-78-is-suspect-in-san-pedro-elks-lodge-arson-fire
.
I was not impressed with Mandzukic game plus he seemed to spend more time arguing with the Madrid players. Luka was outstanding.
@Ziva
Re: Juup’s departure
I think Bayern had already commenced discussions with Pep during last season BEFORE Juup managed to win the treble for them.
I think they were planning on moving on without Juup after their disappointment in Bayern failing to win any trophies during the previous season.
Maybe it was a decision made in haste.
@Ziva
Re: your comment…
“Although I don’t consider this a pass/fail on them winning the CL. I think its hard to repeat in any sport, even if you have the best team on paper.”
How can you not consider this a pass/fail but you consider it a pass/fail for Real?
This is definitely a fail for Bayern. Bayern brought in Pep and gave him a boatload of cash to sustain the dominance they already had, and they bow out in flames with a 4-0 loss at home.
If it was via penalties or something much closer, it’s understandable. But this was humiliation.
It’s been exposed.
You still need to find ways to penetrate and create chances.
It took like a 3rd of the game for Munich to have a shot at net even with all that possession. If you don’t have that final bit of creativity and killer ball it ends up looking like 8 or 9 Michael Carricks out there passing the ball sideways and backwards.
Ziva- the subliminal message isnt so subliminal
teams, players and coaches have to evolve, as i have said many times before, other than Braca B…Pep has had incredible players and he always got what he wanted ie…getting rid of those he didn’t and the club buying those he did…
All valid points….
Although I don’t consider this a pass/fail on them winning the CL. I think its hard to repeat in any sport, even if you have the best team on paper.
Back to Jupp Heynckes for a second. Was he forced out at Bayern? I never understood why the Pep decision was made a year in advance.
Is tika-taka dead? All systems have a shelf life. Barca was dominant with it (or was it becuase of Messi, Iniesta, Xavi) and Spain won a World Cup and multiple Euros with ti.
Yes…he totally outsmarted Pep in both games.
^ ^
Always hated the tiki-taka.
It’s about as exciting as a team that parks the bus.
Great job Ancelotti!
this sums it up very well…from Goal.com:
The Catalan had claimed after his side’s first-leg defeat in the Spanish capital that he was proud of his players’ performance. He felt that they deserved credit for having a 78-percent share of possession. It immediately evoked memories of Xavi pathetically clinging to possession stats after Barcelona had been humiliated 7-0 on aggregate by Bayern in the semifinals of last year’s Champions League. Keeping the ball should be a means to an end. For Xavi and former Barca boss Guardiola, it seems, possession has become the end in itself.
Serious questions must now be asked of Guardiola’s footballing philosophy. ‘Tika-taka’ was a revolutionary style of play. It transformed Barcelona into one of the most aesthetically pleasing sides the game has ever seen. They were also incredibly successful – until teams worked out how to play against the Blaugrana; how to shut them down, how to isolate Lionel Messi. When Guardiola left Camp Nou in 2012, Barca had become predictable, one-dimensional. Just like Bayern in recent weeks and months.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this. After taking over Jupp Heynckes’ treble-winners last summer, Guardiola was supposed to take Bayern Munich to the next level. Instead, he has taken them backwards.
And now his CV will come under review. Once again, the role of La Masia in his success at Camp Nou will be highlighted. As will Barca’s overreliance on Messi. The critics will argue that it’s easy to stick to one’s principles when arguably the greatest player of all time is always there to defend them.
There’s also the fact that Guardiola failed embarrassingly during his time at Camp Nou to adequately address Barcelona’s glaring defensive deficiencies (Dmytro Chygrynskiy, anyone?).
Worryingly, during his one-year sabbatical, Guardiola does not seem to have improved, developed, evolved. The same failings and flaws are still there. The same oversights are being made. All season long, it has been clear that Bayern is vulnerable in the centre of defense. All season long, the club has held a ludicrously high line. Both were brutally exposed by Madrid over the course of 180 excruciating minutes for Bayern fans, who now know how their Barcelona counterparts felt just 12 months ago.
Having already claimed the Bundesliga in record-breaking time, and with a DFB-Pokal final against Borussia Dortmund to come, Guardiola could yet claim a double in his first season in Bavaria. However, as Die Welt made clear on Tuesday morning, “Only the Champions League counts.” Guardiola took over one of the strongest squads the European game has ever seen and Bayern did not just fail to defend it title, it did so spectacularly.
Indeed, the Munich daily Abendzeitung had told Bayern’s players, “You are the kings,” ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with Madrid. The fans had also come to the Allianz Arena expecting to see an inauguration. Instead they experienced humiliation. And Guardiola must take all of the blame for that.
Mandzukic needs to get off that shite team asap! 😉
Moment of the match for me was seeing Robben complain about Pepe flopping.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVYSJTuDvSs
this Severina song is fucking horrible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KIU9cgRaxc
that Ante Cash song blows too, I bet some of you Bosanci like it though
Don’t worry. Lewandowski will make it all better. 😉
Mandzo really struggled this CL under this crap system aslong a he plays well for Cro good luck in the end of the day they are all millionares DA.
As a can of Croatia like to see our players do well in world football come on NK upset Brazil so we the bums can make easy money at the Supersport kladionica,
Real was the better team. Plain and simple doesn’t matter what Pep or BM did.
Wow, CR7 scored again.
.
the better story line is the Pep failure…he was flying on all cylinders, decided to be himself and start controversy even the Bayern execs could see…I dont feel sorry for him one bit…arrogance will get you nowhere!
this is setting up for Real-Mourinho final.
Well done by Ancelotti and Real. Terrible dending on the first two goal by the Bayern defenders. And mandza’s marking on the second goal was good either.
Don’t know what i want to see tomorrow. I think Real-Atletico final would have better soccer. But, the Mourinho storyline coming back against Real would be a fun one.
@Iggy yes.
was mandzu subbed off at half time
Mario out.
.
@dannyj, I was thinking the same thing. What it Mario broke Lukas leg.
.
xabi alonso just booked… will miss finals… shit… i kind of hope luka is subbed off so he doesn’t get hurt…
I love it…tiki taka can lick my balls…Ancellotti is schooling Pep today…giving him a lesson on how to keep Bayern on the perimeter and counter…
wow what a smashing
Wow, now CR7 just scored. 4 – 0 on aggregate
Currently 3 – 0 on aggregate with 64 minutes left.
HOLY SHIT. Ramos just scored a SECOND header.
.
holy shit
I’m happy for Luka and Real….
Ramos just scored a header.
.
looks like it’s luka’s game fellas
Anyone watching. Mario and Ramos getting into it. Mario is a big guy I wonder if he can fight.
11 minutes in 0 – 0 better possession by Real. Good game so far.
.
same place as always, firstrow?
http://gofirstrow.eu/watch/257194/1/watch-bayern-munchen-vs-real-madrid.html
anyone know where the bayern madrid game is being broadcast?
@ nepoznat thanks a lot !
Ziva- “we were better after the red card. before the red card, we were lucky not to be losing”
I agree 100% but to make my point…Germany was almost never under pressure and the one time we had a chance, they lost composure….the game is 90 minutes…not 30.
if mandzu gets a yellow i spose i’ll be going for madrid : )
Good teams create their own luck!
We were playing Germany well enough, and we dominated Romania!
ok I’m thinking back some more about this and perhaps I am mixing up our play vs Germany in 1996 vs 1998. Also that may be a reverse where we were outplaying them until our red card (Stimac?) and then Germany went through
But I still have to go back and watch the 98 game again, hopefully on Thurs I will have some free time to watch it, as I just don’t recall it being so one sided pre-red
@jm sure what’s your email? or if you don’t want to post it you can get it to Svircic/Kvartuc and then can forward it to me
this is the link for the Swiss game torrent for once you join:
https://www.torrenthr.org/details.php?id=103428
Doktor Prle says:
Call me crazy, overly pessimistic, negative – whatever you’d like –
Doktore,
Will “Hrvat” do?
@ nepoznat. any way i can access that? i’ve been looking to watch the cro-swiss friendly recently which i missed
And Real-Bayern last week was completely different. Bayern had all that possession and did nothing; no chances.
Germany in 98 had a great # of chances in the first 30 minutes, but ran into a hot goalie.
@Slavonac…….we were better after the red card. before the red card, we were lucky not to be losing. Ladic made saves he never made before in his career. The red card possibly saved us. Although, you are right. Germany lost concentration and we did not.
I hope people don’t attack me for this comment because I’m not saying I believe it to be true. But I’ve heard a couple of Croats in my life talk about the 98 game against France being thrown aswell as Brazil throwing the final too France. Brazil was promised an easier group next World Cup (which they got in 2002) and a future hosting of a World Cup (which they got now). Also the Ronaldo seizure/nike story. But to even have the idea of Brazil throwing the final means croatia first had to throw the semi final. So I was just wondering and curious about people’s opinions and ideas about this. Pretty interesting topic
nepoznat- “I don’t remember Germany match being so one sided pre-red card”
did you see Real vs Bayern last week? who won?
Germany was pressing, Ladic stood on his head and then when Suker went in on goal and was taken down like a beast…it showed the lack of concentration and poor judgement from the German…after that, we played very smart….this is a sport, the game is played on the field…we were patient, disciplined and overall better…Ziva is wrong on this one!
a great team has to ply properly when they are attacking and defending…Germany lost their composure the first time they were challenged….I know I’m right….its too bad you keep repeating the same thing Ziva…better teams calculate every scenario…Germany looked good while they pressured and fell apart defending!
hmm… maybe I’ll change my audio background in Plex for nogomet to be Josip’s Za Dom heard round the world
hmm I don’t remember Germany match being so one sided pre-red card. I’m going to have to go back and watch it again this week
Speaking of the old games, I have finally collected a copy of ALL tournament games Croatia has played in. Also I have a bunch of qualifiers, playoffs and even friendlies. If anyone has any interest in the games let me know I can invite you to TorrentHR.org and you can download them from me and the other guys. Also after the World Cup I will write an article for CSR on my nogomet collection and how I use Plex to organize and watch it. It’s awesome, when you navigate to my Nogomet collection in Plex you are greated with a hearty “u boj, u boj… za narod svoj”. The menus have great background pictures from each game (where I could find an image online for) and mini-writeups on each game. I think it’s very cool and I can’t wait to show it off and hopefully help some of you add or start your collection
Svircic is getting a copy of the full collection as he had the last 2 games I was missing (Portugal 1996 and Switzerland 2004)
“98 was flukey”
not a chance dude….not a chance!
Call me crazy, overly pessimistic, negative – whatever you’d like – but I’d be surprised if Croatia wins one match.
jm – don’t get me wrong. I hope they will perform at the level that was displayed euro 96 and wc 98 but it is still yet to be seen. Daj Boze
98 was flukey.
One of the easiest groups in World Cup history with Jamaica and Japan.
A dive by Asanovic to get a BS PK call in a our favor to knockout Romania
A very one-sided game until Germany gets the red card. We were lucky Germany didn’t score 2 or 3 times in the first 30 minutes.
Semis we were unlucky as the French has the luck that game.
@ nije
i take it back actually. looking at the records, you stil ldefiniltey have to give the 98 team the edge. although this and the 08 team are teams that have come the closest to comparing. although i think the 3rd place result was flukey (read flukey not undeserved, as in if you play the tournament 20 times its tough to repeat), the team of that genration went 7-0-2 in euro 96 qualificaitons and made the knock out round there. went 5-1-4 in world cup qulaifiying with the obvious 3rd place finish. so you are right. it is undeserved on my part to say the ’14 team is up there in talent with them (although it imght still prove to be the case)
Severina?
Just one more reason not to take the HNS too seriously. Been a long time since anything’s been sacred.
Had Serbia qualified she’d be singing songs about them. Had Serbia qualified along with Croatia, she’d sing about Yugoslavia.
All this shit is normal now. Well, at least since he mass-lobotomy of Croats perpetrated in 2000.
Take the current squad, add in a few up and coming youngsters from this list:
Brozovic
Halilovic
Palasic
Vrsaljko
Jedvaj
Radosevic
Rebic
Perica
Basic
etc
and then if they live up to their potential, get some results at Euro 2016 and WC 2018 and then we may have ourselves a 2nd Golden (Bronze?) Generation!
Mark my words-like my Dinamo, the NT will become bastardized within 3 years.
This team cannot even be compared to 98 until they produce at a world tournament. Will see in June.
@ Luka – i had a good laugh at it as well
@nije bitno
Thanks for ruining my day. Now I read this crap about that kurva Severina and her connection with the savez for the official song. If they had balls they would of picked Thompson. 🙂
As Ziva said why not go all out and basterize the repka.
The current squad would have a tough time scoring on the 98 team. Jarni and Stanic would shut down our play on the wings and force everything in the middle. And a healthy MF of Boban, Zuti and Asanovic is better than this current group.
This current group we have watched play well individually at the club level. Have not witnessed it with the repka. The potential is there, but we have not watched it with the repka.
We should calm down on comparing this team to the 98 squad. Why????? because no team since 98 has even won a knockout round game. The comparisons can begin when or if we make the knockout round and can actually win a game.
As far as club play u may have point but as far as the repka goes I strongly disagree. We had solid players in every position that played well for the repka. Who’s our DM? Who are our wingers? Who’s our left back? Nobody knows lol back then we were so damn stacked that solid players couldn’t start and had to wait for their chance off the bench.
@ nije bitno
i think you’re wrong that the talent is not as high as 98. modric and rarkitic are playing world class soccer right now. there is nothing based on there play that says they are less than the boban-prosinecki combo in 98. mandzukic is scoring like a world class striker (although suker was still better). other pieces around are playing very solidly (olic, perisic, kovacic, srna, corluka) . the overall quality and maturation of the defense though is less
lets not confuse results with actual quality of the team. the 98 team results were excellent and had some terrific players. but you play that 98 tournament 20 times and it would be very difficult for 98 croatia to replicate that result based on the talent level . if 98 cro plays 2014 cro right now, it’s a pretty close match
u porazu i pobjedi is also great
Those two are probably the best. there have been more bombs than good ones.
Tough one. It’s a toss up between srce vatreno and samo je jedno for me
Switching gears…best Cro World Cup/Euro song ever?
Neka pati koga smeta by Baruni was iconic but I think Nered’s Srce Vatreno takes the cake as number one.
Ciro and Niko Kovac are on the Severina wagon. Anybody else?
“Ti si naša sudbina, uvijek smo postizali rezultate uz tebe. Nek nam i Brazil donese sreću”, rekao je Ćiro koji tvrdi da je novu pjesmu već naučio kao i prijašnje hitove.
‘Ako budemo igrali u ritmu nove Severinine pjesme, bit će jako, jako dobro’, dodao je i izbornik Niko Kovač.
nepoznat- I am the same generation as Boban and Prosinecki…saw them play many times…they were very different types of players. and both extremely great! Boban was always responsible, which is why he played so long for one of the best teams in Europe during that time…Prosinecki could win a game on his own but he didn’t live a sportsmans life…kinda irresponsible at times!
@Slavonac only Serb I ever met in High School was a substitute teacher who recognized my last name as “Jugo”. I said no it’s Croatian, she said oh I’m Serbian!
To which I replied “Oh wow, I’m sorry!” and even a couple of my friends who knew the history of the recent breakup of Jugo and how proud Croat I am had a big laugh with me 😀
U ime Oca
I know some Croatians here with mixed…they’ve always been involved with Croatian school, church, soccer…I don’t see them as “covert Serbs”…but then there were those that were Yugo’s turned Croats by ’91…I would never want to sit and have a beer with them….they dont know what they are!
dude political or emotional rational being used to determine which nogomet player is/was better IS bullshit, hence calling it that… it has no validity in determining talent level and therefore has no use in this discussion
also certainly no offense / slight meant towards those who fought in the war… I’m only talking about it in a nogomet & talent context for the players themselves
nepoznat- in high school there were a few Serbs that told me, I asked my dad…he just said it was their way not ours!
Not for you, but I am sure for some it would be different. All depends how the parents raised and if they did or did not fail you. In your case, they did not.
All I am saying is that many from mixed marriages dont have the same emotional attachment to the national team as others.
O,o,o,o
heej
osjeti ritam taj
pleši i uživaj
Brazil i samba
Copacabana
Rio i karneval
Pijesak pod nogama
ludi smo do vraga
pije se, zna se
u ritmu salse
kad igra Hrvatska
hahahahahahahahahaha
@Slavonac I too remember when I first found out about that strange Orthodox Christmas and I called it Fake Christmas… I still do to this day! 😀
btw what’s up with all you girlie men only caring about emotions and political nonsense when we are talking about nogomet?!?
Because they are directly related in that area of the world. Are you just realizing this?
Ziva- as I mentioned before, my mother was half Croatian…my dad 100%…I grew up Croatian, our customs, traditions, I never was ever introduced to a Serbian way….never spoken about in my house…never knew anything different…had no idea they celebrated Christmas on Jan 7th until I was older….are you saying “playing for Hrvatska wouldn’t mean the same for me as it does you”? do you feel the same about Drazen Petrovic as well?
Show a little more respect to that please. Stop calling it that. Please remember that because of that kick (or political/bullshit emotional bullshit as you call it) is the reason many went to fight for Croatia and never came back. Thank you in advance
@Ziva so maybe because I am from a mixed marriage (American from England / Germany if you go back far enough on moms side and Hrvatska on dad’s side) I can relate to Zuti better? hehe
nah to me it’s not about relating to the players (that’s heart based emotional stuff), I just value / rate his skill on the ball as I care more about the nogomet aspect than the political/emotional aspect
btw what’s up with all you girlie men only caring about emotions and political nonsense when we are talking about nogomet?!? 😉
wow 98 talk?
All i have to say is i wish we had the same problems today as we did back then for our repka. I wish today we could be as deep (talent wise) where we could debate about who should have been in and who shouldn’t be even if the players are injured! Today we don’t even know who should be in and nobody is injured. Our talent isn’t as high as that era was.
That game against france killed me more then the game against turkey in 08. It was definitely bitter sweet and i personally think that if we had 11 maradonas on the field that day we would have lost. It was just frances turn to win the cuo. Almost as if it was written that way and nobody was going to change it.
Because nobody could ever figure out Ciro. He thought Boban could play through the pain.
Hell, Bilic did. Bilic fucked the rest of his career up because he didn’t listen to doctor’s orders and continued to play in the World Cup. He took all sorts of painkillers and screwed up the rest of his career.
If we are going to say Boban should have been out, so should have Bilic. But, Bilic was able to perform even though his injury was really bad.
I didn`t know Boban asked to be taken out…but as a former player myself and a person that understand`s the responsibility to my teammates, he has to be taken out…Boban was a very credible person…if he felt he couldn`t do his job why keep him in the game….it doesnt make sense!
@nepoznat…..I don’t disagree that he was our most gifted technical player. Great talent. Just couldn’t stay healthy. Plus, and this is not his fault, he is from a mixed marriage, so playing for Hrvatska never meant the same to him as it did to Boban and many of us. We have a much easier time relating to Boban than Prosinecki because of that.
@nije……thanks for the link. Pathetic by Puppet Suker and the savez to have her song considered the official song of the team. Hell, when you look deeper into it, why not. We already have bastardized the repka, why not go all out.
@Ante B you value kicking cops, I value kicking soccer balls… what’s more relevant to nogomet??
@Ziva Yeah and Zuti was always injured for his club too… and yet even while always being nicked up he was still a better technical player than Boban or Luka etc. Can you imagine if he took better care of himself and was fully fit? Dude was already amazing, he would’ve/could’ve been our most famous player ever by far!
Apples and oranges in terms of talent
Not a contradiction at all. Zuti had better technical skills but that’s like saying Cheerios is better than Honey Nut Cheerios. We’re not talking about apples and oranges. Ciro’s beef with Zuti started way before 98. My beef with Zuti is him going back to Zvezda.
Who knows if we would have been in the final or not. It’s not like Zuti was 100% fit either for that World Cup. Where Ciro did fuck up was bringing him in so late in the semi. Should have came in much earlier.
Ciro got a lot of things right at the 98 World Cup. Can you imagine the uproar that would have taken place if Boban did not start the semi and we still loss. As bad as Boban was that game, Jarni didn’t help him.
This Zuti v Boban debate is interesting. Two different players who were asked to do different things for the repka. Plus, we never really saw a fully fit Zuti for the repka. He always had minor injuries.
Let’s also not take away from Thuram’s goals. They were beauties. Ciro kept him in because he was the captain and not because he high kicked the cop. You know, what you categorize as “stuff.” I swear I’m always amazed at the posters of this site. It’s so sad sometimes.
@Ante B you just contradicted yourself. You admit that Zuti is more talented, and yet Ciro didn’t play him until final minute. Yet he played Boban who was injured and that was only because of political/emotional BS like how could we not have Zvonimir out there in biggest game Croatia has ever played?
So how could he have played the best talent without Zuti?? Zuti’s hamstring or whatever was recovered after resting for Germany right?
So if it weren’t for that emotional/political connection & reasoning Boban wouldn’t have played, wouldn’t have cost us the equalizer, and then wouldn’t have cost us the game… and we would’ve been in the Final at the very least, and quite likely we would’ve won in our very first FIFA World Cup appearance!
No he played him because of your keep the best talent on the field diarrhea.
Don’t forget he shouldn’t have played in the first half either, and that is before he told Ciro to sub him out. And his mistake cost us on the equalizer right after we scored, no? Sounds like he’s culpable (as is Ciro).
Funny thing is only reason Ciro played him and kept him in was because of emotional/political BS that you are so fond of!
As usual, I disagree. Boban over Zuti. I will say that Zuti was more technically sound over Boban but there is no fair comparison. Also you can’t blame Boban for 98. He told Ciro to take him out and Ciro refused. You can’t be a nun and whore at the same time…unless you’re a porn site.
@dannyj In many ways I really only want our players in La Liga or Bundesliga so I like your Sevilla suggestion and I agree no to England and no to staying at Inter as well
@JM some issues I have with Holiga’s rankings are these 2 of 3 missing:
Soldo
Stanic
Babic
but Jurcic, Vukojevic make it?
http://soccerlens.com/liverpool-face-fight-for-e15m-youngster-after-standout-display-for-inter-milan/134140/
this article saying matteo will stay in inter… do we really want this… sure they might like him at the moment but we all know how italians change with the wind…
i’m not sure if england is the place for him but he would sure get more exposure there i’m thinking..
what do you guys think is the best league for him? his technical skills make me think he would suit the spanish league well?
heck if rakitic leaves seville, maybe he could go there;)
Boban and Zuti were different players who had different roles. Boban was a true professional and leader, you could always count on his, he was consistent, smart, played with discipline…Zuti was entertaining, exciting and unpredictable….he could beat 7 players and score…a little more selfish but incredible talent
that list was actually kind of sad. for supposedly a great midfield producing country, in 20 yrs to have kranjcar rate number 5 who’s done pretty much nothing for eyars. rakitic who’s only reaching his pirme as number 6. vukojevic on there period. perhaps cro doesn’t produce great midfielders as consistenlty as we think they do
@Nije Bitno the Suker singing bit was hilarious!
@Armada yes Boban certainly had the amazing leadership quality we are currently missing! And obviously his club accomplishments/stats were tremendous vs Zuti who had injuries and didn’t take good enough care of himself. But at the same time Boban’s play as far as the NT goes (which is more what I was getting at), I really think he cost us the 1998 World Cup after his mistake and injury vs France. Yes I mean without him in the France semi-final we would’ve made it to the Final and probably beaten Brazil.
Ziva you are going to have a good laugh at this one. Checkout severina answering croatian football questions and davor suker singing severinas songs lol too funny!
http://dnevnik.hr/showbuzz/celebrity/severina-i-davor-suker-predstavili-navijacku-pjesmu-brazil—333816.html
@majstore yeah I posted that yesterday, great read! 😀
@ nepoznat
good points… i think most would agree that technically, Zuti is the best player to ever put on the shirt. If he would of played a full career for the Croatian NT, I think he would of been our best player ever, up on the same level as Suker (politics and emotion aside).
But when you look at the complete package; leadership, stats, accomplishments, etc. Boban is head and shoulders above the rest in my book. Suker might have the goal record. Srna might have the cap record. But there is only one Zvonimir Boban.
Dunno if this has been posted here yet or not but …
http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11946/9288169/why-real-madrid-midfielder-luka-modric-is-a-key-man-for-the-spanish-side-as-they-go-in-search-of-la-decima
going back to the head vs heart or logic vs emotion based decision making conversation from yesterday, it got me thinking and I realized this is why I rate Zuti over Boban where-as I feel most Hrvati rate Boban over Zuti.
I’m looking at who played better and had more overall skill/talent, and ignoring the political/emotional stuff which is not football related… but most Hrvati don’t overlook the political/emotional aspect when it comes to judging these two.
Holiga’s new article on Luka:
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2045208-where-does-luka-modric-rank-among-croatias-greatest-midfielders
Friends,
What a morning for Cro soccer……..Look at some of the headlines……..
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/suker-necu-se-odreci-sirica-zasto-bi-suker-namjestao-utakmice-/742613.aspx…………….. in this one we have Puppet Suker defending a criminal. Classic!
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/vrbanovic-porucio-hajduku-necete-vise-ligu-nazivati-lakrdijom-/742641.aspx…………..For those of you not following at home, Vrbanovic is a yes man for Mamic and Puppet Suker.
http://sportske.jutarnji.hr/hns-naredio-sucima–u-slucaju-vrijedanja-s-tribina-utakmice-se-odmah-mora-prekinuti–/1187345/…………this will be selective, at best.
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/panika-prije-spa-savez-moli-navijace-da-nas-ne-osramote-zbog-hns-pederi-prekidat-ce-utakmice-/742626.aspx……………..LOL
And people wonder why there is little interest in the Cro league.
Mi smo Srećki !
I remember when this site first came out and nogometni were absence at the business end of the CL.
Olić brought us back, Mandžukić took us home and now Modric will win La Decima!
All three performing for the Repka.
Hvala Bogu .