Photo: sports.yahoo.com
After being rested this past weekend in a 9-2 drumming of Hamburg, Mario Mandžukić got the start for Bayern Munich Tuesday night in their first leg Champions League quarterfinal versus Serie A leaders Juventus. But before the seats could even get warm at Allianz Arena, Bayern’s David Alaba rifled a shot past Italian #1 Gigi Buffon from 30 yards out less than one minute into the match to give the home side a 1-0 lead.
It was a physical game where Croatia’s ‘Super’ Mario committed seven fouls in his 90 minutes on the pitch; picking up a yellow card in the 44th minute. Mandžukić was hounded by Juve’s Giorgio Chiellini in the second half but kept his cool, as well as Bayern’s momentum, firing his only shot on goal shortly after. In the 63rd minute, Mandžukić appeared to be offside, but the shot from outside the boz was deflected back to him by Buffon. With no panic, Mandza cooly looked for Thomas Muller in front of the net, instead of striking from a tight angle, to earn Bayern a 2-0 lead going into next week’s second leg in Italy.
Mandžukić has been a vital part of this Bayern Munich squad in his first year in Munich and is now 90 minutes away from a playing in the Champions League semifinals.
Mandžukić assist @ 1:40
@ZIVA
Who forced Prosnecki to play for us?
We more intel on Allens father to make a better guess as to who he will choose. Does his father pray five times a day? How many times has he been to Turkey? Where was his dad during the war?
Another Prosinecki is not a bad thing.
Or he could be someone like Prosinecki who played for the repka only because he forced to.
Who’s to say he wont go all out for the repka when (or if) he pulls on the shirt. I know when I play, I bust my ass for whoever i play for. Personal pride and heart kick-in and I’m sure the kids got tons of that. Look at Messi, CR7, Bale, Suarez, etc. The best ones usually have tons of heart.
I’m not offended either…..but, it also means the kid doesn’t consider himself to be croatian. Which is fine, he is a product of a mixed marriage (another lesson for all you kids at home not to marry a serb or mujo).
This kid doesn’t bleed for the checkered shirt. He will be a great player and he may pick, but he will never go all out for the repka. He will be a player that will produce more for club than country.
Why commit to anything you might regret if you have the option to hold out for a bit. It’s a huge decision for the kid. I’m not offended by him taking his time.
ended 3-0. Field was awful. Players changed their clothes at half because they were such a mess. Gotta say, best I’ve seen Sammir play in a while though.
Dinamo leading 2-0. Most loved team in Croatia. Field looks rough.
@Ziva any luck finding out who his agent is?!? hvala
Agreed on the part that hrvati can’t think straight when it comes to a decision being made that is unpopular.
But, to be fair and accurate, we never lost Zlatan. He wasn’t “ours” to begin with. His family down in Zadar can vouch for that. he never had an interest in playing for Cro and he was not brought up as a hrvat.
I have no clue or any inisde info on Halilovic. All I am doing with him is putting together the pieces. Right now, if someone asks I would put the odds more on him playing for BiH than Cro. I keep going back to one thing: what is preventing him from saying he would play for Cro right now???? Nothing. Which to me means he has not made his decision and he really is 50/50 (which I just find hard to believe) or it favors BiH.
@ Ziva
Our people have never been good at accepting things we dont like. When he chooses Little Turkey this site will light up with “I can’t belive it” or “shoot him”. Still, it is a bitter taste since Zlatan thinks he’s Swedish and we will lose another Mujo/Croat hybrid.
Mamic strong arm him?????? If the kid doesn’t want to play for Cro there is no need to strong arm him. At that point you let him go and play for BiH, if that is what the kids want.
Besides, Mamic’s influence has always been about getting his way within Cro soccer. Nothign he can do if this kid doesn’t want to play for Cro.
Shit, if I was his father, i would want my kid removed from anything Mamic or Suker touch.
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/gudelj-za-index-kako-sam-halilovicevu-generaciju-preko-dalmatinske-zagore-doveo-na-prag-europskog-trijumfa/671054.aspx
can’t mamic just strong arm him? i know his dad has strong influence but isn’t strong arming what mamic does best?
@ Anyone . Can somebody tell me when the Most Loved team in Croatia Hajduk will play Slaven B. in Cup play ? Thank U ! Bog , Hrvati , Hajduk , i HNS !!!
@Nepoznat, i like your scenario with the whore getting knocked up, i’m sure mamic has allready thought aboit it.
ok so I read every freaking article I could find on the kid through last Aug/Sept… from every Hrvati or Bosniak paper
I think it is 80% or more chance he goes with Bosna
If I was Stimac or Mamic I would have some whore get knocked up by him and then come in and say we will handle this situation for you, as long as you play for Hrvatska all will be taken care of
Wow that is terrible! What an asshole I am lol
mamic is behind halilovic so theres no way he choose bih. as much as i hate mamic its true.
Initially, I think Halilovic was dead set on playing for BiH and him constantly dodging the questions in the media was just a strategic move to avoid any backlash since he still lives and plays in Zagreb. If he actually said that he wanted to play for BiH, he would have be public enemy number one. Very rough thing to deal with at such a young age.
If he was sold when Real and all those teams came calling during that last transfer window, then it would all but guarantee that he plays for BiH as he wouldn’t be affected by such backlash once playing in a foreign nation.
However, with Halilovic staying put at Dinamo and now playing for our junior squad it’s been a good thing for Cro. The success of knocking out Spain and France and possibly even winning the Euros only adds to this. If Cro’s U17 team actually wins the Euros, it will be hard for Halilovic to turn down an eventual callup to the national team.
It doesn’t help that BiH is playing some beautiful soccer and will likely top their group. If BiH missed out on this World Cup, with Croatia topping their group, then I think Halilovic would not turn down a callup to Cro. But now, it’s very, very difficult to gauge as it looks like both teams will make it.
It could really all come down to whether Cro’s U17s win the Euros this June and if he develops a strong chemistry with key teammates like Basic and Roguljic. I’d say it’s 60/40 Bosna right now. But if Cro wins those Euros, then it’s 60/40 Cro.
@ Poglavnik nothing today the under 17 group came out thats why and transfers does playing international football get you sold for bigger money,
Nothing new counting down the day till EU LOL
Sammir,
Halilovic,
Yaaaaawn…
What else is going on?
@ Ziva
Well to be fair, the group doesn’t look too hard but what do I know about 16 year old footballers across Europe. France were supposedly the best in Europe and we took them out, Spain have a reputation thanks to their senior and youth team currently and we took them out too.
How hard can Russia, Ukraine and Italy (who we beat recently) be? If we get out the group then the next round is immediately the semi finals, let’s hope they can go all the way.
@ Ziva i think they can get out of the group imo. and i hope they win.
@Nepoznat…..It might look better on the resume, but has nothing to do with market value.
@CroatHrvat…..lets worry about getting out the group before talking about winning with Euros. I doubt you or anyone else knows much about the other team in the competition.
@ 19Miro50
If the only thing forcing Stimac to pick/play Sammir is getting HNL player of the year then that’s fair. I’m talking about Mamic force, someone behind the scenes telling Stimac play him or else!
Stimac is forced to put him beacuse Sammir got voted best HNL player has croatian citizenship and to 70% thats no ok but to 30% dont care, but thats just a business i personally dont like him to be on the team i loving seening when our home grown make it to the team like i am also against Sertic even if he is croatian roots.
This Sammir scenario…I would love to know exactly what goes on behind the scenes. A part of me refuses to believe that Stimac has been forced to play him.
If we the A reprezentacija team win the group against belgium aj boze we will be seeded at the WC 2014
Take Sammir for example… whatever your opinion of his eligibility to play for us (for me I have no problem with him playing if he meets UEFA/FIFAs rules for eligibility, as long as he has the talent to play), I think we can all agree that his playing time is less to do with talent and more to do with Mamic getting more $$$ when he sells him. And I think having HRV caps for Sammir makes him worth more than if he had BiH caps, because all things being equal it should be more difficult to get caps for HRV than for BiH and therefore require more talent/skills
Unfortunately in Sammir’s case it’s not about the talent, but the $$$ Mamic gets for selling him. And the $$$ he gets will be increased because Sammir has multiple caps for a 2nd tier NT
I think Halilovic will pick us. He plays with a talented bunch of 16 year olds, I fancy them to win the EUROs in May and then begin qualifying for the World Cup. He will have too many friends and relationships that he won’t be able to break from, they will want to recreate a golden generation within 8-10 years.
Lets not worry about that for now though, we are the favourites for each and every one of our remaining four games, lets win them all and maintain a ridiculously high FIFA ranking. All 28 points please boys.
@ Nepoznat We beat England twice n 2006-2007 and thats why people took notice of Us Modric dominated both games soe players need national team to get sold some dont like Kovacic got sold base on Dinamo europa CL games.
@Ziva I mean when in the beginning of their careers and trying to get noticed and getting their first caps. So yes I think if Modric was capped for BiH, then he would not have been bought for as much by Spurs vs being capped early by a higher ranked NT.
Croatia was top 15 when Luka got capped… BiH wasn’t even in the top 50! So a young kid getting playing time on a 2nd tier team like Croatia is more meaningful than a young kid getting a cap on a 4th tier team like Bosna, as it is more difficult to get capped on a top team then a shitty team.
Now BiH is much improved since 2008 but still they are not a top team, they have never qualified for a tourney (if my memory is correct) where Croatia has a lot of qualifications and success at the international level. So having played for the Vatreni is more meaningful and harder to do then for BiH and therefore looks better on ones resume
Halilovic will sell himself like Kovacic based on his europa play with Dinamo
i looked at the belgium team and 75% have belgium mothers but foreign fathers. the others pure belgium but they were all born in belgium.
what do you think? does halilovic look like he’s doing it like he means it???
http://slobodnadalmacija.hr/Nogomet/tabid/84/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/206679/Default.aspx
@ nepoznat
I could see Mourinho playing Modric, but in a game where Gala would need 3 goals at home and 5 if Real score one…I could see him playing Kaka instead. At that point they won’t know who they will have in the semifinals yet so a full squad would be ideal.
You don’t want Modric unavailable to you because he picks up a yellow card and an injury keeps someone out of the midfield.
@Nepoznat………so by your logic Modric would be worth less on the transfer market if he played for BiH and Dzeko would be worth more if he played for Cro. I just find that hard to believe.
Hvala Ante! I am guessing Luka will play for more minutes in the upcoming game, perhaps start and go the full 90 in place of Xabi… do you agree?
Alonso and Ramos picked up yellow cards late in the game against Gala on Tuesday, which means they are out for the return leg already up 3-0.
That means they will be fresh for the semifinals, whomever they face. UEFA is currently investigating this because any deliberate bookings to miss games could cause a 2-game suspension.
I believe Modric is clean. One more booking and he would miss the following game.
Ok according to the RM site he doesn’t have 3 in CL so he will be available to play in Turkey: http://www.realmadrid.com/cs/Satellite/en/1193041476158/1330114726644/jugador/Jugador/Modric.htm
I think a cap from a top ten team (and next week we will be a top 5 team, #4 I believe) is worth a hell of a lot more than a cap for a 20-25th ranked team!
Any word on Modric’s status? Does he have 2 other yellows in the CLs this season? If so then I believe he misses the game next week
A cap for Cro is worth the same as a cap for BiH. Gareth Bale is worth well over $50 million Euros and he plays for Wales. Every major club side in Europe has scouts that see these guys play. What country they play for is not a factor (unless they are English where EPL sides always overpay for Engligh players)
Now, what is worth more for Halilovic is his croatian citizenship. With Cro due to enter the EU this year he would not be counted as a non-EU citizen if an Italian club purchased him (I think same applies in Spain). So, that helps. But, that has no impact on the country he decides to play. Halilovic can decide to play for BiH and still use his Cro citizenship to avoid the non-EU rule in Serie A (if he went to a Serie side).
And I’m not so sure about the Mamic relationship with Halilovic. I have to check, but i don’t think Halilovic is part of Mamic’s agency. In fact, Mamic and Dinamo came close to suspending Halilovic about two years ago because Halilovic’s father didn’t like the terms of the contract being offered to his kid.
I read his birthday wrong, it’s June 18th so he will turn 18 AT the next World Cup so if he wants to play in it he will have to declare allegiances and accept a call up to one of the senior squads.
Also I read he turned down BiH u-21 team call up
so everything I’ve read says he will decide when he is adult/18, however that will be 1 week prior to the start of the WC in Brazil so I would think he would want to decide prior and get into some friendlies if not qualies in the fall as well as training prior to the WC. That is if he wants to get a cap at this WC
Being born in Croatia to a Croatian mother, growing up there in Zagreb, being at Dinamo under Mamic, and being in Croatia youth squads it would seem he has a lot of Croatian linkages as well. And we know Mamic likes to have his guys capped in the repka prior to selling them (to up their value) so I would think he would not sell until he is capped (And let’s be honest a Hrvatska cap is worth more than a BiH one!). For once perhaps Mamic’s control over Dinamo and the NT will be a positive!
If Kovacic didn’t last until the age of 20 at Dinamo, Halilovic sure wont.
Halilovic will choose BiH once he finishes school in Zagreb and signs with a foreign club. It will greatly minimize the backlash he would receive in Croatia, which can be hurtful for a kid his age.
Just my guess.
Yes, that is his younger brother. A lot of encouraging comments about him so far, but too young at this point to really know.
Regarding Halilovic’s decision………I would hope that his father has influence over him – afterall, he is his father. I’ve maintained the odds are slightly in favor of him selecting BiH only for this factor: there is no reason for him not to have already said he will play for Cro unless he really has not decided.
One thing that does help is his association with the youth squad. The more success they have will make it harder for him to say no to Cro. He can look at a couple of his teammates and think they could one day all play together on the senior side.
I definitely think he picks BiH….i mean, his dad played for them, and he has got to have a lot of influence over the kid, and now BIH will be a solid team for at least another 5 years I could even see them getting out of their group in the WC, whereas you never know with Hrvatska.
Any one know anything about Dino Halilovic? Alen’s younger brother? Plays for Dinamo’s youth.
@Nepoznat
He can still switch to whichever senior national team he wants. Unfortunately playing on a youth national team does not lock him in. If you look at Sammir, he played with Brazil U17 and U18, and now the guy plays for us.
Once he appears on the roster for a senior national team game he can no longer switch.
If Halilovic wanted to play for us he would have said so by now. Remember his father is a big Mujo and he has a big affect on him. Also it looks like Bosnia will win their group and make it to the World cup so picking them would look better now. A lot of us cannot accept the fact that we will lose him to Bosnia. If he choose Canada noone would care much.
Nepoznat : Rakitic played for Switzerland’s youth teams, then for Croatia in Senior; so we don’t know for who he’s gonna play Alen.
also on Halilovic hasn’t he played for our youth teams and therefore he will play for the Vatreni going forward?
does anyone know if Luka’s yellow card means he will miss the game in Turkey next week for Real?
Also when is Halilovic expected to decide?
That’s pretty funny.
This is what Kreso sounds like talking shit to Ziva. Funny enough, this is also what Ziva sounds like whenever we have a Kelava sighting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k3DoUe6LVfU
@IvicA
Never had any doubts about Kovacic. None whatsoever.
If Halilovic picks Cro, then our future midfield looks amazing.
Kovacic in the deep lying MF role, Halilovic pushed ahead as attacking mid/second striker role, and Josip Basic running up the right side a la Srna.
Inter is already looking to make a push for Halilovic next summer. That would be a good move for him since they are dedicated to a rebuild.
@19Miro
Kovacic is so smooth and calm with the ball. We all had our doubts about him (with even the mighty Ziva calling him the next Badelj at best) but it looks like Kova will make us eat our words.
@CousinBilo
I think the kits always come out in the Fall of the prior year of each major tournament, no?
In this case, it would be late 2013.
Future looks good for croatia
http://www.index.hr/sport/clanak/jesu-li-rodjeni-novi-cileanci-ovo-je-momcad-s-kojom-hrvatska-ide-po-naslov-prvaka-europe/669149.aspx
Kovacic super agiant sampdoria today man 18 and so good keep it up!
Modric getting some time against the Turks
Madrid handling Gala…maybe modric will get time.
Any of you guys know when these Nike cunts are gonna release the new Cro strips?
i have to say, to put Eduardo against Olic is a stupid argument, if one does great you put the other one down and yet they do the job.
For a Striker, his ability to “Post-Up” against defenders, win 50/50 challenges in the air, hold up the ball, and lay it off is un-matched.
They say the best defense is the best offense. This is so true applied to Mandzu. He’s often the first line of defense, and his tireless pressing often forces defenders to make poorer passes.
@Matesic method, he is so full of potential, that is a great thing haing ready to go!
Mandzukic is a beast around the box !
What a blessing to have a #9 who is physical and motors up and down the field.
Classic #9.
I pray he does the business against Belgium.
When need to sharpen our game a bit like the Bayern Benz.
I have not posted much in the last few days because there is nothing to post about.
HNL is dead
the repka doesn’t play again until June
If anyone wants to engage in a discussion feel free to contact me via twitter; @ziva_istina.
I have yet to fully embrace twitter, but I will have time to answer any and all questions.
Ziva will say something when it is worthwhile.
I have no clue what you are referring to. what party are you talking about?????
I actually don’t mind your comments ziva
mandza played extremely well
@Ziva, you have been quiet for a while like a little btich since the party, say what you gota say say!
@Kreso…………………what??? No clue what you are trying to say.
@T.O. Cro
Thank you for article.
@Ziva, je si peder, you backing out due to opinion?
The blokes on fire, keep going Mario!
off topic, but a great article..
http://sportski.net.hr/nogomet/reprezentacija/ivan-gudelj-u-jedan-na-jedan-do-26-godine-su-mi-se-ostvarili-svi-snovi-a-onda-sam-u-sekundi-izgubio-sve