There has been breaking news from Saudi Arabia that Croatia legend Ivan Rakitić is keen to leave Al-Shabab in the Saudi League; and his next stop very well may be Split. Hajduk are currently seen as the favorites to sign the 36-year old midfielder after just six months in the Saudi Pro League. According to Dnevnik, Rakitić has given a verbal commitment and desire to join Hajduk for the upcoming HNL season, but struggles with contract negotiations with his current club Al-Shabab. In order to complete the move to Hajduk, it seems Rakitić would have to give up money on his current contract, which could be upwards 15 million Euros. While negotiations are ongoing and nothing is concrete yet, Rakitić does seem to be a key target that Hajduk are willing to pursue agressively.
The signing of Rakitić would accompany a number of big name moves Hajduk has been attempting to pull off in the summer transfer window. With Hajduk legend Nikola Kalinić taking over the reign as the sporting director for Hajduk, he has put Hajduk into contention for many big name players and coaches. Kalinić was able to bring in Italian manager Gennaro Gattuso, who has managed massive clubs like Napoli, AC Milan, and Marseille over the years. Besides Rakitić, Hajduk are rumored to be attempting to make a move for two new strikers, one being Bosnian legend Edin Džeko. Džeko currently plays for Fenerbahce and has laced up his boots for clubs like Man City, Roma, and Inter Milan. The other stiker is Dion Drena Beljo, who recently left the HNL two seasons ago for a move to Augsburg in the Bundesliga. With Hajduk attempting to bring in high level players, it seems Kalinić is ready to take the club’s title fight to the next level this season. The only question left is: will Rakitić be on the squad come August when the HNL kicks off?
Kustosija rules
Slovenia beats New Zealand by 26, so Croatia gets 1st place. Croatia would have been second if Slovenia would have won by 29. Croatia likely play the Dominican Republic. If they win that, they would play the winner of Slovenia-Greece for a place in the Olympics.
Thanks for keeping us updated!
So, do we have any chance against Greece?
Always a chance, but first take care of the Dominicans. Slovenia-Greece should be close, could go either way. Not sure if I want Slovenia in the finals (looking for revenge) or Greece and Giannis at home. Can count on some sketchy officiating either way, as the Olympics would want Giannis or Luka there.
The good news is that we only have to play one of Greece/Slovenia and not both.
Winning against both would be very tough. Anything can happen in one game.
Let’s not take DR lightly, let’s win that one first. This would be akin to the Albania game in the Euro. You think you will win, but you never know.
Greece up 4 at the half vs Egypt. Giannis not playing because Greece can lose by up to 19 points and still win the group. If that happens, Croatia plays Egypt, which should be a much easier matchup that the DR.
Beljo to Rapid Vienna might happen. That would be a good move for him. No CL or Europa though, which isn’t great.
Lovro Zvonarek has been loaned for one year to SK Sturm Graz. (July 4 2024 to June 2025).
Thoughts on this move? Is this a good decision for his development?
At first I didn’t like it because it was Austrian league, but then again, it would guarantee him starting minutes … and Sturm is in the Champions League too.
I keep forgetting how young he is (he is born in 2005) and this same league is where Sučić plays and he’s our best midfielder right now.
This move likely pushes Zvonarek into the senior team,just i time for 2026 World Cup qualifying.
My only worry is that Olić will push Dalić to keep him for the U21s.
Hopefully the HNS doesn’t extend Dalić’s contract, so he feels the pressure of having to plan for 2026 and call up these youngsters now, in preparation for this tournament two years down the road.
If his plan is to continue to give 90 minutes to a 41 year-old Modrić, then we’ll fail at the World Cup and we csn move on to someone new (hopefully not Olić, haha).
Sturm pre-season already underway – 1st match is July 6th already
Sturm actually plays 5 pre-season games before Bayern plays their first (Bayern pre-season prep starts July 15th – first match 28th)
This moves tells us Bayern don’t think Lovro has a real chance to make the 1st team this year as e.g. Pavlovic did his pre-season w/ Bayern last yr and impressed enough to make first team (although only played in 25 games last year averaging 66 minutes per game he appeared)
It would have been nice for him to get a chance in pre-season against Spurs (they play each other twice in early August) to see how he does against Archie Gray 😉 and consider loaning him out later (like in a month) – but than he would miss pre-season and 8 games already at Sturm – so wouldn’t be integrated and would have to catch up – so “downside” in both scenarios – this scenario is less risky for him
But in terms of prospects of National Team – better that he logs serious game time at Sturm (who were 1st in the league last yr – but for some reason only one player on the National Team ?) – than ride the bench through end of Oct until he gets a chance w/ Bayern first team (like Pavlovic did)
And if he isn’t good enough to start every game on Sturm – than he definitely wouldn’t have started at Bayern every game either
I too hope he gets called up to the senior side – if we hold another player back at meaningless U21 level instead of senior side – it just does us a dis-service – Olic should focus on playing Luka Vuskovic in the U21s (he was announced – but than never went – to the two friendly back in May) – I saw that Luka already played a game behind closed doors for Westerloo last w/end – their first pre-season game (not behind close doors) is Sat
Source for Luka V closed doors performance last w/end
x.com/attacthespace/status/1807797452767957223
Lastly – there is no option to buy as part of the loan (Sturm wanted one – but Bayern said no)
Pjaca signs with Dinamo.
Terrible for the national team
Instead of paying up for Marin Soticek (apparently Basel now in pole position) they are wasting a potential feeder winger slot of 19 y.o. talent into the National team with a 29 y.o. Pjaca
It’s riskier, but if Sotiček secures first team football at Basel, then it’s fine.
But yes, Dinamo would have pretty much guaranteed him first team football.
For Olympic basketball qualification, Croatia just lost to New Zealand, but they have qualified for the semifinals in their section. If Slovenia beats New Zealand, or loses by 7 or less, Croatia wins the group. The semifinal will be against Greece or Dominican Republic. If we assume Greece wins the group (they’re playing at home), we would play the Dominican Republic if we win our group.
To clarify, Croatia wins the group if Slovenia wins over New Zealand by anything less than 29 points. If Slovenia loses by any score, Croatia gets second place, but still a playoff spot. Slovenia has to beat New Zealand by 10 points or more, or they are eliminated.
I think Croatia lost on purpose to eliminate Slovenia early and avoid having to play them in the deciding match
Croatia was leading 86-79, and New Zealand scored the last 11 points to win, so there may be something in that. If Croatia holds on, Slovenia just has to beat New Zealand. Now they basically start the game down 9-0 tomorrow. It will be tough for anyone to beat Greece playing at home with Giannis.
Dončić is better than Giannis. Not sure if Giannis has much of an impact on the International game. I would expect Slovenia to beat Greece in the semis, and set up a Croatia vs Slovenia elimination final…but we’ll see what happens.
Doncic is beat up from the playoffs, Giannis is fresher and playing at home. I would be surprised (but happy) if Greece doesn’t qualify.
I didn’t realize that KAT wasn’t playing for Dominican Republic, so they got demolished today by Greece.
It’s pretty much a guarantee that Croatia plays the winner of Greece vs Slovenia (unless New Zealand pulls off an upset and wins against Slovenia).
Hajduk went from having Dzeko, Rakitic, Erlic and Perisic….
To now having none of them, and Perisic possibly leaving for Inter Milan.
They never had any of them, let’s be serious, aside from Perisic.
People take rumours as fact these days, it’s brutal. Everyone has a pulpit (Twitter/X etc.) now so can throw shit at the wall willy nilly.
Don’t believe it till you see the press conference with the man holding the kit.
And yes I know you were being sarcastic about who Hajduk “had” — but it’s just pointless posting rumours unless they get past the rumour stage. Those who know, know.
lol
From Anonymous’ mouth to god’s ears 😉
It’s just Kalinic and his BIG MOUTH doing Kalinic things
He’s clearly one of those big bull sh*tter guys blah blah blah blabbing he’s going to bring this star, he’s going to bring that star (+ “leaking” it to press)
Not realizing w/ his pea brain that Dzeko, Rakitic and Perisic all know each other and would call each other to see if each other is actually going
When they figured it out (it took 5 seconds) they all denied it
Can’t stand him after he did this to our beloved Srna – I can’t think of another example when two National Team teammates got into this kind of spate in open public at their club teams – you don’t do that to your National Team captain if you love ur country (Kalinic only loves himself)
***.youtube.com/watch?v=Mx24Yycb1sw
Hopefully this is a big indicator to the club that they should be focused on promoting youth talent and constantly build around them.
Just a hunch but my prediction will Germany VS Holland in the final.
Germany wins via home field propaganda campaign.
What’s the deal with this olympic qualifying basketball thing? I see we beat Slovenia, what do we have to do to qualify; i dont know anything about basketball?
Only the top-4 teams in last year’s FIBA World Cup (Germany, Serbia, Canada, USA) automatically qualify for the Olympics.
France is the host nation, so they qualify as well.
The top-ranked Oceania, Asian and African teams from that World Cup got a few spots as well (Japan, Australia, Sudan)..so it brings the total to 8 spots.
There are 4 spots left that the remaining teams are playing for, and this is called the “Olympic Qualifying Tournament”.
So, teams like Greece, Slovenia, Lithuania, Italy, Puerto Rico, Spain, Croatia, etc…have not yet secured a qualifying spot and are fighting for these last spots.
There was already a round of this last summer, and Croatia managed to eliminate Turkey (in Istanbul) for one of the last spots to this Olympic qualifying tournament. I think we were ranked so low that we were given a wildcard to participate and then we ended up eliminating the hosts.
Croatia is actually extremely underrated right now, and have been playing amazing for the better part of a year with Josip Sesar as their coach.
Unfortunately, we were grouped with Greece, Slovenia, and Dominican Republic for one of those last qualifying spots (meaning that only one is going to qualify).
We just beat Slovenia (with Doncic) pretty badly. We have to play New Zealand (which should be a win)…but then it goes into an elimination semifinal battle (likely with Greece, Dominican, and Slovenia) for that final spot.
I like our chances since FIBA basketball isn’t an ‘isolation’ game, so players like Luka Doncic don’t have as much effect. I don’t think Greece plays much better with Giannis either.
If we qualify (which will still be tough), I expect us to make a medal run (believe it or not).
If we qualify we might make a medal run but we don’t stand a chance against the U.S. the Serbs or Canada I can only imagine the angst in you Maminjo if the Canucks blow out Dario&company & the maple syrup MOFO’s DO medal.
If we could eliminate Dončić and Giannis, then how would we “not stand a chance” against Serbia or Canada?
Neither team looked particularly strong or consistent at the World Cup.
The Serbs lost to Italy and Germany. Canada lost to Brazil.
I would only be worried about France and the USA (assuming the US actually bring their top players).
some good news. Croatia basketball started off their Olympic qualifying tournament with a big win vs Slovenia
Turkey making a deep run in the Euros wasn’t my expectation… it could’ve been us ????
Got second in their group as expected, and lucked out by playing Austria. Still got dominated and lucked out a win. That’s the Turkey way. And the Dutch got third place in Austria’s group and get Romania and Turkey to make the semis, must be nice. Wish there was a way to reseed the teams for the playoffs. I know that would be difficult with the calendar. And the best 4 of 6 third place teams is also stupid. Major advantage to 1) groups that play last, as they know what they need to do to get a third place spot and 2) teams in shitty groups like E and F, where it’s easy to get points than in harder groups. There is talk of expanding to 32 teams, which is absurd, but at least it would be linear with the top 2 in each group making the playoffs.
Yeah the one side of the bracket is night and day versus the other. There has to be a better way. Spain playing Germany this early is shit. If England wins it all I puke. They’ve yet to play a great team.
Turkey “deep run” geezus … they got to the next round in a chump group and beat Austria. Yay.
Germany is not that good.
They’re a quarterfinals team at best.
Not a top-4 team in Europe anyway.
Agreed. But they are at home. Spain is only a slight favourite on Friday. Definitely the better team, but who knows.
Hyped-up France/England have looked far more ho hum than Germany.
I had Croatia winning the tournament and beating Slovenia in the Semifinals.
I had Pasalic/Sucic 2 goals each, and Benjamin Sesko with 4 goals.
I won’t quit my day job, but I won’t quit dreaming either.
Archie Grey wearings lucky #14 @ Spurs
Previously worn by club legends Perisic and Modric
😉
Diogo Costa broke a Euro record for the most penalties saved by one goalkeeper in a shootout, as he saved all three that he faced
This is a good e.g. where stats need context – he only faced three penalties (and was completely zoned in on all three – knew exactly where the ball was going) – if he was allowed to receive another penalty (i.e. if Portugal missed their 3rd penalty) my money would have been he would have saved a 4th – thus surpassing Subasic and Livakovic WC record
This is why context is so important (bc in the record books it won’t say 3 of 3 saved, as opposed to 3 of 4 Livakovic/Japan or 3 of 5 Subasic/Denmark)
World Cup > Euro
Euro should have remained with the 16 team format.
Yes, much better tournament with 16 teams. It will eventually go to 32 teams, because it’s all about money. At least it will get rid of the stupid third place spots. World Cup will have that issue in 2026. 8 of 12 third place teams make it to the playoffs, and there are 5 playoff rounds. Get ready to watch a bunch of awful games. Looking forward to the Bahrain-Cuba match.
@kromiza
Here’s are the top speed stats (search by Croatia)
***.uefa.com/euro2024/statistics/players/?sortBy=top_speed&order=desc
Sucic did increase his top speed in 3rd game and was clocked @ 29.0 – he was 27.x after 2 games
But compare that to a 35 y.o. Perisic out 7 months with ACL @ 32.3 (they were both playing “wing” for us) or an almost 39 y.o. Modric @ 31.1
Only Petkovic 28.3 and Ivanusec (in his 20 minutes cameo) 25.5 were slower (Ivanusec should be banned from the National Team for this embarrassing effort)
Pongracic and Sutalo surprisingly fast 34.6 and 34.5 (which is respectable – as reference Mickey VDV was clocked at 37.4 vs. Brentford – being the fastest player ever in the PL)
People missing the pt – if at 21 y.o. (almost 22) ur slower than an almost 39 y.o. Modric – that says a lot – let’s say for argument he doesn’t need speed for his offensive game (but than I hope we’re talking about someone w/ a Bernando Silva or Bruno Fernandes type vision/passing/ceiling) – but says a lot about his work rate / lack of defensive effort- and no, bc his “positioning” is “good” offensively doesn’t avail him of defensive duties / efforts at all
Fun fact – the fastest player overall in the tournament has been Sesko @ 35.9
Sutalo @ 97.7 (186 of 191) highest passing accuracy of anyone in the tournament save Spain’s Vivian @ 98 (83 of 85)*
*Excludes players w/ 16 or less passes
So, according to your stats…
You could make an argument that Josip Sutalo was the best performing CB in the entire tournament.
Maminjo, he had some surprisingly good stats.
Here’s another one for you…most interceptions per game….top players….Euro….interesting…
Josip Šutalo
Croatia
Defender
4.3
João Neves
Portugal
Midfielder
2.5
Samet Akaydın
Turkey
Defender
2.3
Re: Sesko being the fastest in the tournament…
I like Sesko…but watching him play for Slovenia, I wouldn’t say he put in any more of a defensive effort than his peers, so I wouldn’t assume that his speed had that much of a correlation to defense than anyone else on his team who were clocked slower than him.
He also didn’t do the things a striker was supposed to do (score goals) especially with the chances that he had.
This is the danger with looking at stats without the context or the eye test.
Sure, he may have had a good sprint or two (which clocked him as the fastest in the tournament)…but what was he doing when he made that top-speed sprint?
Was he completely out of position, and desperately chasing a longball that he would have had (had he been positioned well) that ended up out of bounds?
At that point, who cares if he was clocked as running really fast, if it amounted to nothing.
Meanwhile, I’m seeing Sucic in the right position in the opponent’s third and scoring goals, setting up goals, making himself open to receive a pass in the right spot…and he didn’t have to sprint to get to these positions.
He was a better striker this tournament playing off the bench than Sesko was as a starter.
All I know is anytime Cole Palmer comes on the field for England all of a sudden, the dynamics change for the better and their prospects for winning get better.
When if a team had 3 Cole Palmers, and they didn’t play a single one during the whole tournaments.
That is how I feel about this tournament. Croatia had three Cole Palmers on this team: Luka Sucic, Marco Pasalic, and Miroslav Orsic. Between the three they got one game, Sucic in the last game, like Orsic in 2022, where Orsic literally opened the Nebo i more for Croatia, and he was not even considered for the team. Without Orsic there is no bronze medal. Pretty disgusting I say regarding all these decisions.
Sucic is having easily our best corner kicker for the last two years. We need 4 more of him, no matter how bad and slow he is to others on this site.
People go on and on regarding Majer and Pjaca. I don’t get it with the love affair with them. They have had their day in the sun, and have nothing to show.
I am not saying these 3 are the best in the world, but it is the best we have now. Hate how Sosa has been thrown to the curbside as well.
The organized approach Slovenia showed, reminded me of the Croatian teams of the 90’s, with their wicked counter attacks, but without a Suker to make sure very counterattack paid dividends.
Im confused seeing Orsic mentioned so much here… he played 60 combined minutes for club the last 2 years combined, and people are surprised he wasnt called?
Yes, I am very surprised, because of his excellent performance, every time he has been put on the pitch, those are most memorable moments we have in those few 60 minutes, in the last 2 years.
We’re more surprised at how quickly he was removed from the National team.
He was essentially cut from the team a couple if months after his excellent World Cup performance, where he played a pivotal role in securing us the bronze medal.
Dalić has said himself that once a player is on the team, it takes a long time to be removed from the team… but it seems Oršić is the exception.
We needed him for the Nations League final, especially since Perišić didn’t have the greatest game, and I think we would have beaten Spain with Oršić there.
Yes, he was injured this year and is only coming off the bench in Turkey… But it’s just odd how he has zero leeway given to him, especially when you consider how well he’s played for us. Perišić got his starting spot back immediately after he recovered and played sparingly in the weak HNL. You’d think we’d at least give Oršić a standby callup, especially since we’re starving for left wingers, but he didn’t even deserve that it seems.
If a HNL, National team player, gets a promotion to a more competitive European league, but subsequently gets less playing, due to the level of competition, this should not be a litmus test for being cut from the national team. The transfer worked against him.
My “eye test” is comparing what Sucic did this tournament to what Modric did at Euro 2008
Watch the match vs. Austria again and see how he was flying around the park (especially in 2nd half) – against Germany it was harder (better competition) but he was still imposing himself – and that’s w/ Modric playing much deeper as a DM w/ Niko Kovac but with freedom to roam forward (vs. Sucic starting higher up with less room to cover to get to the net)
Same ages when they competed (Modric signed for Tottenham in April 2008 – after being pursued by a bunch of big clubs) both 21/22
Sucic of course had bad luck with injuries recently – but if his performance is as good as your eyes are telling you – than we should see big $$$ rumours/bids for him this summer – so far it’s relatively quiet around him (and Baturina)
Still maintain by he didn’t do much defensively (beyond the initial press at this) and lacks defensive work rate (which is coming up in his top speed stat) – but in fairness neither did Pasalic on the other wing – so that could be Dalic instructions not to drop back and help defensively – but I would expect to see at least this type of effort (if a 38 y.o. Modric can do this in CL this yr – than Sucic should be doing it for the national team)
***.tiktok.com/@championsleague/video/7367341200799501600
Sučić isn’t Modrić (so you can’t compare them).
Also, Modrić was given the keys to our Euro2008 team. We did a proper rebuild and Modrić was our star midfielder, starting every qualifying game and Euro match.
Sučić, on the other hand, barely played in the qualifiers and was just recently thrown into the starting lineup (as a winger) in a panic-stricken move by Dalić.
Sučić has probably secured a starting role now, but Dalić will still keep his seniority of midfielders in place, with guys like Broz probably still ahead of him in that regard. Sučić needs to be our #10, but we’re probably still going to see him slotted out of position here and there (to satisfy a veteran player’s needs).
Fewer, not less.
Rakitic was slow……and look at he career he had. Speed isn’t everything.
Great battle for Slovenia, but they don’t have that experience in those huge moments like Portugal has
It would take a heroic effort from oblak
Ben Sesko never scored a goal the whole tournament. He had a breakway to win it without going into penalties. Albeit, Pepe was breathing down his back. Suker would have never missed that. He would have either chipped it or went around him.
Slovenia’s first time in a penalty shootout, got snuffed out.
Suker would have dragged that left, with the keeper helpless on the ground, and tapped it into the open net.
Honestly, I haven’t seen a striker with Suker’s style since he retired. I miss that.
Sesko will get better. He’s only 21, but Suker he is not.
Yeah, Sesko is strong on both feet so why not. He heard Pepe’s stomping feet behind him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3G6y6xBXMI
The Suker goal I liked most is from when they played Ireland in 1999.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwJm87ycY4
Slovene 4-4-2 disciplined defense to be admired.
Šeško with two breakaways, pissed em both away. Lake noć.
Oblak with a huge save on Ronaldo penalty in extra time
Apparently he was being a poor sport
I didn’t see it
But case in point luka with the miss and wills a massive goal
That alone should have been enough to get us through
Lots of beatable teams here
Didn’t fall right for us
Kova played huge. That’s a massive piece for us going forward
The jury is out on sucic and baturina
I thought sucic would be faster
Maybe it’s his knee
But he does have a blast
Maybe a poor man’s raketa if he continues to develop??
Like to see his cousin Petar
For those that watch Dinamo.. has he earned a shot?
Hmm I thought Sucic was okay, speedwise. But Anonymous was looking at the stats saying he’s the 2nd slowest after Petko. What do the others think?
Bartolec1912. I defer to the others, but here is what I can tell you: when I have read or come across the various comments from Austrians and/or people who have seen that Red Bull Salzburg team over the last couple of years, I have never heard them knock his speed or make a negative comment about it. Not in any way. Never once. However it is fair to say that when they talk about his quality, I have not seen them refer to his speed or acceleration either. When they talk about his quality, they generally comment on his vision, passing, dribbling and that he has a powerful and accurate shot.
I think we should keep in mind he has been knocked back three times by injuries in the last 18 months or so. He had that bad knee injury and then knee surgery, and was out March to September 2023, then he was injured again some time that fall 2023 and then again a few months back, maybe as recently as in March or April 2024. The 2023 surgery took a long recovery and each subsequent injury was something of a set back as he came back off the further injury. It has to have delayed his development some. If he gets a season of good health, we might all be very pleasantly surprised where he is in a year, what level he can reach over the next 12 months. Certainly, there has to be reason for optimism after his quality play in the Euro.
I’m interested to know where he is expected to play next year.
Some rumours seem to suggest the German Bundesliga, others suggest Serie A. I don’t know what league would be the best choice for him right now, but the consensus seems to be he will leave Red Bull Salzburg.
I think Anonymous probably never played the game at any sort of decent level. His comments show it.
Hej MART… re the draw for WC2026 UEFA qualifiers, I’m wondering what we have to do to be seeded in Pot 1.
If the teams were seeded in designated pots based on FIFA rankings, I’m guessing it will be based on the Nov or Dec 2024 rankings after the conclusion of the NL group phase. I see that we are currently #7 in Europe. The next FIFA ranking is released a few days after the end of the EURO tournament and I’m guessing teams like Germany and Italy will overtake us. And maybe Switzerland too if they make a deep run? Which means we will drop to #9 or #10 in Europe. So during the upcoming NL, we have to ensure we win a few games, in order to remain among the top 12 teams of Europe come December.
Am I getting it right— more or less?
If seedings are based on FIFA rankings we should be OK providing we win a few matches in the upcoming NL matches. However, if seedings are based ONLY on the results in the upcoming NL matches then we need to make sure that we come no lower than third in the group. NL – A has 4 groups of 4 = 16 countries meaning that top 3 from each group = 12 will be seeded.
From what I have read UEFA is yet to decide how will the seeding be determined? In the past it was always on the FIFA rankings. I hope it stays that way.
I’m not totally sold on sucic
In some ways, he reminds me of vlasic but perhaps with a better touch
But at sucic age, vlasic was tearing it up as mvp of Russia and putting up goals for Croatia
Similar to sucic, i always rated vlasic greatest strength his ability to quickly put the ball on target
The world is aflame from sucic strike vs Italy but that was only worth .02 expected goals…. Not something to build the new foundation of Croatian football on
And then there is the injury proneness
So he’s shown glimmers but far from confirming he is the new flag bearer of the Croatian midfield
Sucic didn’t get enough chances to make an impact for Croatia. We started playing him too late
What game were you watching?
Sucic created the Modric goal. Sent in a perfect forward cross that Budimir got his foot on, and Modric scored the rebound.
Even on that PK play (where the Italian defender blocked it with his hand) the right play was for Krama to pass it sideways to Sucic (who was wide open in front of goal) but he decided to swing it in, and luckily got that handball. If Krama passed it to Sucic, that’s a goal.
Add in that nice strike in the first half (our only decent chance) and Sucic pretty much had a monopoly on all of our goalscoring chances that game.
Actually, if you add in that goal he scored against Albania…I would challenge anyone to debate whether or not he was our best creator in this tournament (even better than Modric).
I don’t really care much for these xG stats and how fast Sucic runs. His positioning is perfect on every play and he always makes the right pass.
Actually, both Sucic and Budimir created a ton of chances and were always in the perfect positions.
It was our vets who were disappointing and only looking out for each other. Refusing to pass to Budimir or Sucic despite both always moving into the right positions.
I would easily consider Sucic as a current and long-term starting piece alongside Kovacic and Baturina. I would begin to start these three immediately, and reduce Modric’s time to 45 minutes per game (similar role as Real Madrid).
Kovacic and Sucic get the full 90 min. Baturina can split time with Modric for the third central midfield role. This is the way to go.
What frustrates me the most about our lacklustre performances is that this really was the tournament for us to win. Other than Spain none of the top “contenders” have played well and they all look beatable. Wouldn’t be surprised if a lesser-rated team like Switzerland or Austria make it to the final or even win it all.
So was Euro 2020 in my view. We should have won that one too.
It’s strange.
Ever since the tournament switched to a 24-team format, it’s kind of been a mess where any team can randomly win or lose (no matter how strong or weak they appear).
Czechs eliminated the Dutch last tournament after looking mediocre in three games. Wales took out Belgium went to the semis in 2016. Iceland took out England and went to the quarters too. Teams like Iceland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Austria, Georgia all had record breaking tournament performances, beating teams that they’ve never come close to beating in their history.
Then when it comes to World Cup…things come crashing back down to reality and all these teams end up in the trash again, ha ha.
Belgium golden generation 1 bronze. Croatia golden generation 2x Silver and 1 bronze. No need to be all gloom and doom my fellow Hrvati.
I saw a video and it said France made it out of the group without scoring a single goal in open play
I don’t know how they got their goals
But I think we really got a bit of bad luck with for sure not the best play
But I can argue we possibly played better as a total in all three games then group in World Cup Qatar
We will be back
England pulled an absolute stinker and only got out by skin of teeth
Could you imagine we actually had 80 mill Croats like Germany
We would make at least 3 killer squads
Anyways, just a reminder. We are just fine and will rebuild Maybe we won’t be at the final anytime soon but ya let’s see what nations league brings
Agreed. Croatia definitely didn’t look worse than ballyhooed England/France/Belgium etc., and those three had cakewalk groups so are still alive (well Belgium is not … as of just now).
If we had 80 million people we would have been World Cup champs twice over . Perhaps Croatia needs to announce that we are becoming a white sanctuary state. We would triple the population in no time .. Uruguay is in the same boat we are in . Us being small country works against us. Talent pool being small it’s difficult to build a soccer program. That why he are not consistent . The issue with young Croats leaving and some foreigners arriving and staying should be an issue of concern for us . Sadly we will no longer be vaterni . Croatia will play soccer but it won’t be the same . I don’t think that’s a bad thing to say . It’s the truth . Our culture will seek to exist .
Archie Grey vs. Man U
***.youtube.com/watch?v=QQqSnKhCJWs
Look at 17 y.o. shot @ 10 seconds (it just hits the side netting) with his WEAKER left-foot – this shot is much better than relatively geriatric almost 22 y.o. Luka Sucic vs. Italy (where everyone on here getting so excited by one shot on net, lol, it’s soccer ur supposed to be able to shot on net)
What was Baturina or Luka Sucic going at 17-18 y.o. ?
We’re miles behind in terms of midfield talent (and it’s not like Archie Grey is the best 18 y.o. England midfield out there)
Archie Grey vs. Chelsea F.A. cup
MOTM performance – he was only 17 y.o. – look how he is the boss in midfield (vs. Conor Gallaher who is an England int’l playing at the Euros right now)
Now compare / contrast this to relatively geriatric Baturina or Luka Sucic
****.youtube.com/watch?v=i1MCpizz1v4
Dear Dalic
I know u don’t think it matters if Kramaric plays a few yards here or a few yards there – and now it doesn’t matter if Gvardiol plays 5 yards here or 5 yards there
Well ur wrong
He is 18 y.o. Archie Grey explaining why 1/2 yard position on the field makes a massive difference (start vid @ 4:50)
***.youtube.com/watch?v=jPP13Btf-7U
Spurs just signed Archie Grey for 40m (£30m + Joe Rodon (£10))
He just turned 18 – can play RB, #6 or #8 (a PERFECT signing for Ange ball i.e. full-backs inverting into midfield)
Here is some highlights
***.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNXyDLzoI4
No compare / contrast that with limited work-rate / slow as a snail Luka Sucic (where Championship football > Austria league)
See the difference ?
Archie Grey is even better than Sucic in tight spaces (and everyone on here were fawning that he was some tight space guru – but didn’t manage anything vs. Italy) – but he also has pace going forward and excellent work rate
While we fawn over Sucic bc of one nice shot and one nice pass (look at Archie Grey’s passing range – he can pepper it all over the field from deep areas)
This isn’t a criticism of Luka Sucic – this is a criticism of our assessment of our own players – we need to be honest what they are (and what they are not)
Luka Sucic 2nd slowest after Petko – no pace – limited work rate – couldn’t keep the ball in tight spaces vs. Italy – the bar is MUCH higher if he wants to earn himself a big $$$ transfer to a top team
Leave aside Archie Grey is 3 years younger than Sucic
Beljo “rejects” Dinamo bc he wants guarantee playing time
lol
Based on what ? 5 goals in 45 games last season
He doesn’t think he is better than Petkovic (if he stays) and can EARN the starting role
What a loser – maybe a 2nd division club in Croatia can guarantee him the starting spot (that’s about all he deserves at this stage)
Who is this Andy Bara (agent) ?
In 2 days we have crazy stories about his players
First Marco no answer his phone (than Marco answer his phone and turned down 1m p.y. from Saudi club)
Than Belinho moving to Kustosija bc Dinamo only offering 400 p.m.
Both stories have him named and quoted
Can’t be a coincidence
He’s pretty much the biggest agent in Cro right now.
He was involved in bringing in Dani Olmo to Dinamo back when Dani was still at Barcelona.
I don’t know what his ties are to NK Kustošija, but he seems to bring in a lot of youth players to that team including that Brazilian kid (Belinho) and that American diaspora kid (Dino Klapija) there too.
Dani Olmo’s older brother (Carlos Olmo) was playing there for a while too, and I think there was a former Italian prospect that was brought in there too (which I think Andy Bara brought in as well).
This is the list of players that they represent:
https://www.transfermarkt.us/niagara-sports-company/beraterfirma/berater/7515
https://niagaraglobalsports.com/
It’s funny that the agency is based out of Gradiska in BiH.
I assume there is some tax benefit to be based off a border town just outside the EU.
But whatever, they represent Dani Olmo, Alvaro Morata, Lovro Majer…
Not a bad list.
He’s pretty much the biggest agent in Cro right now.
He was involved in bringing in Dani Olmo to Dinamo back when Dani was still at Barcelona.
I don’t know what his ties are to NK Kustošija, but he seems to bring in a lot of youth players to that team including that Brazilian kid (Belinho) and that American diaspora kid (Dino Klapija) there too.
Dani Olmo’s older brother (Carlos Olmo) was playing there for a while too, and I think there was a former Italian prospect that was brought in there too (which I think Andy Bara brought in as well).
[I pasted a link to their website and their Transfermarkt list of players, but my comment got moderated for it]
The agency is NiagaraGlobalSports.
It’s funny that the agency is based out of Gradiska in BiH.
I assume there is some tax benefit to be based off a border town just outside the EU.
But whatever, they represent Dani Olmo, Alvaro Morata, Lovro Majer…
Not a bad list.
Sadly nobody here was able to answer the question which Euro coach is a coach for a National Team as well as a club team at the same time
U’ve had more than 2 weeks – so once again, Anonymous will spoon-feed the answer
Slovakia coach Francesco Calzona (it was ex-Napoli player Marek Hamsik who got him the job with Slovakia) is also the coach of Napoli
Clearly Slovakia’s strong performance at the Euros (notably how well they were organized / tactics) were not hindered by his club commitments (including Napoli currently being very active in the transfer market during the Euros)
We could have offered the same w/ Edin Terzic
The double-salary argument is a bit silly (out of context) if we think about it – Croatia just earned >10m for appearing at the Euros (incl. the 2 draws) – the fees earned getting the these tournaments more than pays for the salary of the coach (never mind HNS just “wasted” 250k or 15% of Dalic salary paying “fines” over the 3 games…)
Does anyone read your missives?
First there is the non-stop dash (mis)use, and then there is the love affair with some Bowen dude no one here cares about. Tough sell.
I got through the first third of this one. Kudos.
Draw for WC 2026 UEFA qualifiers will take place in December. Previously for the draw teams were seeded in designated pots based on FIFA rankings. However, according to one media report this has not been confirmed by UEFA and may change i.e. seeding may be based on the upcoming NL matches.
If the change was to come about it would mean that we would need to be among top 12 teams based on the upcoming NL matches/results. With 4 groups of 4 in NL – A it would mean that we cannot afford to come last in a group with Portugal, Scotland and Poland.
Kuci. Spavati
Funny how six minutes appeared for England . In the end slovakia like us blew it. They need to hold the ball. You let a team keep having the ball eventually they will score . For the most part Slovakia out played them . England will not advance. The Swiss will beat them and England will have their hands full.
I cannot believe that Milan Skriniar, Slovakian captain and best player just kicked the ball out for a throw in, near their corner flag instead of trying to keep the ball or try kicking it further up field. It proved costly as England scored from a long thrown into the box. That was a big blunder for a world class defender and I’m sure that will be with him for the rest of his life.
England goalkeeper Pickford must have a low IQ because some of his on-field antics are very childish. In short, he is a an Id..t.
Pickford is a yob
Pickford is surely inbred with a face like that.
@z
You can dm me on Twitter but i have yet to fully embrace the platform
@anonymous
Sample size of 1 was going to be your convincing argument
In terms of pickford, he’s always seemed whiny and i didn’t enjoy him yelling over mandzukic in the semis ot
Momak, nemoj da si pravis pametan
65 (64 2022 WC + 1)
😉
Point – 75% possession told us nothing
Needs to be looked at alongside xG or shots on targets, etc
As e.g. b4 Jude scored England xG was 1.0 (vs. Slovakia 1.2)
So they didn’t do anything w/ all the possession
I hate Dani Olmo
why?
Just because.
I think i could live with Croatia never winning again as long as Jordan Pickford doesn’t either
Side note.. England showed how the bunker is done. Everyone behind the ball. One game up top working like an animal harassing the ball. Put pressure on the possible crossers
Different from Croatia’s formation of 6 defenders and 4 guys running back from midfield
Was going to msg u if Slovakia held on
They had 50% less possession (25% vs. 75%) just b4 Jude scored
But alas one for ur column (England win w/ 63% possession)
😉
I’ll DM you on your twitter account ok?
I remember at the 2018 WC when England got past Colombia in penalty kicks, in the post-game interview Prickford was like — I may not be tall … but I have power and agility!
Have despised him since, and (especially) loved seeing Hrvatska punt him out not long after.
Colombia was robbed in that game
Uruguay real good. I will add more to this shortly. Why are they real good? I will try to explain
England having all 11 men well behind the ball on Slovakia’s final attack, what an amazing tactic! If only we knew about this against Italy…
Bellingham may have saved south gates job
Ugh that one hurt
Let’s do this Slovakia!
Slovakian defender kicks the ball out for a throw in with three teammates he could have passed to and no pressure from an England player. Leads to the goal. He would fit right in on Croatia’s defense.
Lol. Soo true
Yeah I also saw them making our mistakes. Including players walking and strolling around with 3 minutes left.
Dalic really is the Croatia Southgate, playing players out of position and making terrible subs.
At least England will likely sack him after this terrible performance…
Orsic and pasalic to be our wingers in September!
Do you guys think it’s a package deal
Dalic with luka, Perisic, broz, krama and vida?
Like they leave together or we will see some retirements like vida now?
The little data we have on them, although slim, suggest yes. They outperform their low esteemed status every time. They are leaps and bounds above the common favorites of the person who decided Croatians fate. You can add Sucic at his natural position as well. This was the year though. Sucic should have played 90 minutes taking all corner kicks as well. Karmaric should have taken all penalty kicks.
It would have been like choosing Vivek R /Tulsi Gabbard as the president and Vice president for 2024. It is a no brainer from my perspective.
Ditto for Cole Palmer,
80 minute
1-0 Slovakia over England Oh man that’ would be sweet
Guys we can’t be so hard on us
We broke down but we are fine with some tweaks and some development of the youth
Simic we are all waiting for
Seems like matanovic may be our best thing to come or at least potentially in the next couple of years
Who is matanovic most resemble of repka strikers of past?
Really hoping the vuskovic brothers can be the central defenders to hold Down the middle Pipe dream maybe
And gvardi on the left side
We shall see
Agree with Danny J.
Some of our fans are too tough on our players and coach…..yes, expectations are very high…..we want to win. And that is a healthy attitude. We expect a lot of each other, our fellow Croats. And that is because of a winners mentality. But we should be a little more supportive of Dalic and the team and what they have accomplished. We have often come out ahead of countries 10x, 20x and 50x larger than our own. It has been awesome. We have to show a level of respect to the country, our people, our players and coach. We can disagree with choices they make, we can even believe it is time for them to retire or move on, but let’s not trash them.
I’d like to see some deeper discussion and input from our experts here….
I think one of the real questions right now is Sutalo. What do people think? I’d like some analysis from our gurus. He had some good stats coming out of this tournament but he didn’t look great.
He has had a very tough year at Ajax……of course the whole team there had a pretty brutal year. It was not a good situation. Sutalo looks to have the tools and potential to be a great defender. Can we call this a disappointing year? I think so. Was this year just an anomaly? Can we expect a bounce back year, where he will become one of the better defenders in the Eredivisie? If he becomes as good as some think he can be, you have him, Gvardiol and Stanisic. All young. All this talk of a rebuild isn’t necessary for the back line. If Vuskovic and one or two others emerge, you are in good shape for the next 2-3 World Cups. So what is the assessment of Sutalo, what will we be saying a year from now about his development? Does he have what it takes to eventually end up in the Premier League? To be a top, world class defender?
Another question is Sosa. A lot of hype, then a bit of a disappointing World Cup 2022. Played fairly well in Bundesliga but a brutal year at Ajax this past season. Just never really got off the ground for Ajax. Should be moving into prime years right now and seems he might be going backwards instead. Have we seen the best he can offer or can he take his game to a different level? Should he remain in the Dutch league? Is a move to Serie A or another league, and a change of scenery — finding the right coach? — going to lift him to a different level?
Thoughts on those two?
Šutalo has good ball skills, decent size, and athleticism, but needs seasoning. He reads a tick slow and can be fooled. Give him time, and he could start for a top club, not that Ajax are slouches.
Sosa, I’m afraid appears to have peaked short of becoming a top flight player. Serviceable player for a mid-table team, but not strong enough as a defender or fast enough for a winger. I appreciate having him as an option on the bench, or starting vs minnows. On the bright side, he’s only 26, and he wouldn’t be the first player ever to work through a mid career plateau.
Helpful insight. Much appreciated. Thanks d!
As Anonymous predicted weeks ago
Saka is playing LB (after Cole Palmer came on)
That’s where we could have/can played Marco Pasalic….
Cole Palmer should have played all 120 minutes if you ask me, he jumped started everything, Same goes with Marco Pasalic. Just what my eyes have witnessed sorry.
***.24sata.hr/sport/belinho-odlazi-u-kustosiju-bara-za-24sata-ne-mogu-dopustiti-da-igra-za-400-eura-mjesecno-991625
Dinamo (and his agent) are already f-ing it up with Belinho
Dinamo offered 400 p.m. (the same he was making as a 10 y.o. in Brazil)
His agent went to the press saying he’s taking him to Kustoshija (apparently also in 1st division w/ Dinamo in the “cadet” league ?)
Dinamo and his agent better not f*ck this up – otherwise he’ll end up back in (representing) Brazil in no time…
Southgate vs. Dalic analogy continues
Only change to starting line-up in 4 games is Trent –> Conor G –> Kobbie today
Foden still starting at “LW”, lol (while Anthony Gordon would be perfect)
Cole Palmer single-handedly carried Chelsea on his back last yr
Jarrod Bowen RW had a wonderful season
Jude has been anonymous last two games (that’s anonymous, not Anonymous)
Unreal
AC Milan are rumoured to be interested in Roko Simic.
Roko simic needs to prove himself in Austria first, he honestly hasn’t done much at all since he left liefering.
Anything resembling what he did last year again this year would be extremely discouraging for his prospects
Is Rocco getting enough playing time? That might’ve been Musa issue when he was over there in Porto. If he is not getting enough minutes this could lead to him losing form . We are all hoping Roko succeeds. If he crashes it be a huge blow to the dispora
The fact that RB Saltzburg doesn’t want to extend his contract (in order to increase his transfer value) speaks volume
They are worried / don’t want to be left holding the bag
“Rumours” = Dario making some calls to journalists (and including his former club to a made up lists)
Since 2018 you guys have had spirited performance, after spirited performance, and eventually it all becomes taxing, this is what happened to you guys this tournament, and of course, this is what happens when nothing is ever easy for a team that, besides Modric, are nothing more than a bunch o’ good ordinary players.
Dalic is amazing with what he has been able to extract from this good ordinary team!
And all you bozos that picked Croatia to win the title have no f****** idea, idiots lol!
The only football team you guys have ever had that looked like a side worthy of a title is that ’98 team.
Will boycott watching the National Team if either:
1) Marco Pasalic goes to Saudi (1m is okay – but Jarrod Bowen on 7+m right now i.e. he is selling himself short – but needs the right team/coach/platform to get to the next level)
2) If Olic is ever announced as National Team coach (remember when pointed out Austria’s 1st game their assistant coach had his laptop out feeding analytics and already in first minute he was feeding it back to head coach – that’s how u help urself come 1st in ur group (vs. France, Dutch) – what did our 3 nose pickers do over 3 games ? I mean other than Corluka getting a yellow card)
Also – some of Dalic’s comments have been silly as e.g.
Saying Pjaca and Marco P are not at the level to player competitive international match – so why take them ?
Discussing Gvardiol saying he plays 5 meters to the [right] on the National team vs. Man C – yeah that’s the reason – maybe he should look at the heat map of Gvardiol vs. West Ham and see how Pep played him inverted (vs. Dalic playing him sticking to the touch-line the entire game vs. Spain – which completely neutralized him)
Marin Soticek RW to Dinamo for 3 m (not sure it’s final yet)
Looks like an exciting winger (match some of his highlights/goals)
Goals w/ both feet
Some of his goals have come in injury time and he seems to have very good stamina to still make runs (after playing >90′)
Any opinions for those who closely follow HNL
If Dinamo is buying him – next step call up to the National Team ?
Come the next tournament it won’t be Dalic that’s coaching it’s going to be Modric as player/coach. An even bigger shitshow than we have now.
its easy to be an expert after a match or tournament. With that being said, Im sure we appreciate everything Dalic has done but we must be frustrated this tournament.
I’m still wondering, why bring Pjaca and Pasalic and not play them at all? If they are not competitive or fit ready, then why bring them? How is Perisic fit/competitive ready with him recovering from an injury? We could have played one of them against Albania?
We might have been in the group of death but if we were able to beat Albania it could have been a different story.
Also, it must hurt even more knowing that Italy knocked us out just to lose the next round. When we might have went further.
Yeah that’s a good point, comparing a barely recovered Perisic against Pjaca and Pasalic, who I’m really surprised to hear, are not competitively ready. Hard to make sense of it.
The worst Italy team I’ve seen in 40 years but I think the Swiss would have beaten us sorry boys and I see them upsetting the Limeys
Swiss are playing everyone well behind the half line. That’s how you defend a lead. We were stupidly pressing, which we were bad at all tournament, and did not bunker down. That’s on Dalic and his coaching incompetence.
Ugh I didn’t watch cause I can’t
But I think with the right tactics we could have beat Swiss too
I really hope we use nations league to explore some new guys and fits
I don’t think what we do is all that bad. Just these in game tweaks as you guys know
I can’t hate on dalic but we can be frustrated with him
@mixed grill, 100% correct. Against Albania Dalic brought on baturina when we are winning. It should have been Vida. Against Italy he takes off modric and kovacic who are the two players capable of holding the ball under pressure, again he should bring on Vida and bunker but brings on majer and ivanusec. No coach in the world does that, not even in kids football. Totally bizarre
And there were many other mistakes
Exactly ,he single handedly fked us in that very moment, so he ( dalic)needs to go and the HNS can just stop lining their own pockets and pay for a real coach .
Group of death really? Pile of crap better description and with any semblance of coaching we could have been 1st or 2nd- Dalic out. Replace him with a broken shovel-
No one was finishing ahead of Spain, the way they played.
Swiss would have murdered us today. Would be 3-0 at least by this point…
Nah Swiss are legit would’ve got worked. Italy sucks.
Lots of big signings/rumours from HNL clubs this summer, looks like a lot of them are trying to prove they’re serious about going for the title.
Happy to see it, Dinamo still looks the strongest by far but hopefully Osijek/Hajduk/Rijeka are able to challenge
Knockout’s today
How depressing seeing we had a legit shot going through and beating Swiss
Dragan Skocic our U21 coach got the sack today which in my opinion is about time after some thumping defeats in recent months. Ivica Olic taking over, I wonder if HNS are preparing Olic to take over from Dalic at the end of 2026 World Cup?
Please no
Good news.
Olić will get exposed like Bišćan and it will force the HNS to hire an actual coach when we eventually replace Dalić.
Can’t believe they’re still trying to push these former player losers into coaching positions by using the National Teams as a practice tool for them.
I can’t possibly imagine Rakitic playing for Hajduk.
In quitting the repka, Rakitic showed us that he cares greatly about life style, work-family balance, and also staying healthy and getting paid for club.
Saudi arabia isn’t providing him great lifestyle but it sure provides him with money.
Hajduk provides him with none of that. No lifestyle as he travels the bus to varazdin. His family will hate it there. And no money.
don’t think it’s happening.
also remember rakitic has never actually lived in croatia
From what I remember Barca was blaming him for poor form and some of their performances he panicked and left the national team to placate them and his wife had some input on it. Also, after that miserable World Cup performance against Mexico, him and his family were stoned by some hooligans.
Marin ljubicic kicking off the season with a goal today!
He has had two pretty decent seasons. He has been putting in about 10-15 goals a season. Plus there are rumours of a potential move to Italy, Lazio.
If he has the desire to play for Hajduk then I don’t see the big deal and why people are complaining about it.
He made a decision to retire from international, and maybe he didn’t have the ability to keep going on the way that Luka did. Plus his wife is Spanish so it may have been a difficult decision regarding his family.
his wife probably got sick of that syft%*le.
Heaps or rumors but I cannot see Rakitic or Dzeko playing for Hajduk. Despite their age I think they would still demand big money which is in short supply at Hajduk. Smart move would be to promote some of their youth players.
There is also talk that Martin Erlic might come to play for Hajduk on loan as his side got related to Seria B. This might be a good move for both parties.
If I’m Raketa I’m finishing out the contract then going on my way.
I agree! Washed up old timers are better off in Saudi and MLS. Hajduk is pathetic. Rather than looking for the next Dani Olmo they would rather have old timers that can drink with Kalinic.
It’s a shame that he gas left in the tank to go play there, but he didn’t have gas left in the tank to play for the Repka one last time and try to help them win the euro . he left Luca by himself shame on him
The issue of Dinamo and Hajduk loading up on oldies (Pjaca (loan DZ), Perisic, Rakitic, Dzeko, etc) is that these players are hindering/taking minutes away from Croatian youth to break thru to the first team
We know that Rijeka players don’t get even a minute at Euros (Pjaca, Marco P) – you have to play for Dinamo or Hajduk (when is the last player who got a cap on the national team from HNL that wasn’t from one of these clubs – never ?)
So this is a net negative for the national team (in terms of having youth come thru the ranks) – cuz if you’re a youth and not at either of these clubs the chances you call get called up is close to nil
If HNS is okay with Dinamo and Hajduk putting the league cup ahead of being a feeder for the national team – sadly, not sure much can be done (Spalletti was making similar comments v-a-v Serie A)
Actually I think bringing back former Croatian stars is the right way to go.
It’s not like you’re filling the entire squad with old vets. Just 3-4 spots… and you always need some vets on your team who will bring wins, and valuable experience to help develop the youth. They’re also Croatian star NT players who these kids look up to and they’re not just coming back for the money. This is home for them.
What I disagree with is signing random foreign players who eat up money and a roster spot, and give nothing back.
Guys like Theophile on Dinamo is a guy that sucks, has a high salary, doesn’t really have anything to offer youth players with his experience (as he had a mediocre career), and he’s only in Zagreb for the money.
Hajduk used to fill their entire midfield with random two-bit arabs and Africans… and for what? To maintain 5 th place in the standings? Better off dropping to 6th with your own youth players (and save yourself some money that you could use on a former NT player).
I’m glad to see Perišić back, and them pursuing Raketa and Džeko (even if they’re very likely going to fail getting them)…but they have the right idea.
Spaletti’s comments about Serie A alluded to the league not having Italian representation anymore.
Not even their primavera squads have Italians on the team.
I watched Hajduk U19s beat Milan’s U19s and the entire team was African with a few white guys from the Balkans. Maybe a couple of Italians. Hajduk’s team were almost entirely Croats (just Pukštas as a foreigner) and they were local Split kids too.
I don’t know why Italy doesn’t put in rules to limit foreigners in their youth ranks. That’s absolutely horrible for their National Team.
Interesting stuff.
But we also heard a lot of news about Ivan Juric coming to Hajduk too…and I don’t even think Ivan Juric was even aware of this, ha ha. Turned out to be BS.
Gennaro Gattuso is not some special “get” for Hajduk, so we can’t consider Hajduk getting big names until they actually land on one (since Gattuso is largely a bum that would sign for anyone).
Dzeko and Rakitic are big gets, but both are under contract and it’s very unlikely either of them leave money on the table to come to Hajduk.
Dion Drena Beljo would be good if they are committed to developing him.