Our favorite 20 year-old Croatian striker, Ante Rebić, scored his first Italian goal Wednesday as Fiorentina defeated Chievo Verona 2-0 in the Coppa Italia Round of 16. As a free kick sailed off the crossbar in first half injury time, Rebić found the ball in the air and headed home with the Chievo goalie well out of position. It was Rebić’s first goal in Italy as he has yet to see the scoresheet in limited Serie A action.
The kid that impressed us all during the Iceland playoffs with his energy and speed still needs to show his worth in Italy every second he receives on the pitch. He can become a viable scorer, not only in Italy, but in Europe later in his career if he keeps his work ethic up. The former Rnk Split striker has set himself up for a great future. Let’s see if Rebić can produce both at club level and internationally.
Fiorentina will face the winner of Catania-Siena tie in the Coppa Italia quarterfinals and currently sit in fourth place on the Serie A table.
http://radioimotski.hr/naslovnica/ante-rebic-bozicne-blagdane-proveo-u-imotskom/
I M O T S K I
@Karadzic je Peder
See you in Brazil! Ooooops, never mind….
Kramaric just came to Rijeka but if he was a Mamic player he would have played for Cro long ago instead we have sammir kalinic antitalent getting called up. Sto ces. I am sure NK will know what to do.
Serbia will never be better than Croatia in nogomet or futbal Karadicu please name a serb starting 11 in 2016-2018 please lets compare
i’m also curious in kramaric. any bid for him to move to an actual league? the guys seems to score goals wherever he plays
you know what’s funny, back in euro 2012, we seemed like we were overloaded with decent looking strikers! mandzo and olic were both playing well in germany, and jelavic was coming off player of the month in the epl scoring something like 10 goals in 11 games. and eduardo was still scoring goals for the nt. jelavic was the lock to start. it’s funny how things have changed since
@Kara
Over by 2016? Why?
Did the Serbian National Team finally give up on their historically untalented ethnic Serbs and turned the focus on filling their roster with the much more talented muslimani instead?
scored a goal fucking auto correct godadmn piece of shit
Aww look at that a Croatian player scored a girl. Enjoy the superiority over Serbia in soccer for now Croats, it will be OVER by 2016 as the Serbs have began to abandon basketball
@ armada I Chupe
See where you are coming from but…
I am looking to see how Kovac can impact the performance possibilities of guys like Vida who can play but need some real coaching.
Vida played well in Brussels.
I still want to see Lovren at DM.
He is too aggressive a ball winner to be CB.
Need to be open at this stage of the WC prep process.
We’ll see.
I think Mandžukić, Olić, and Rebić are a lock to make the squad this summer. Eduardo is pretty much guaranteed, helped a lot by the fact that he’s Brazilian.
They’ll probably call up a fifth striker and call up Jelavić as well (or count Rebić as a midfielder). I’d like to see Benko, but I think him being 30 and playing in HNL will hurt him. Same with Petrić. Those two will have to work twice as hard to make the team.
Is anyone else having the strange problem that I am? I can access this website from my cell phone but not from my laptop…I tried both chrome and ie both didn’t work…my provider is Rogers in Toronto…
Ill just say maybe raketa will be better under kovac since kovac will treat national team as a club i hope and make player fight for an 11 spot. Raketa ia a 6 8 10 player but Bilic and neznalica kept putting him to play the 3 and 2 thats not his position
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1675175/ivan-rakitic-proud-paris-saint-germain-link-happy-sevilla?cc=5901
@ armada just caught that too hell no to vida. I think carli lovren sifo will fight for cb spots maybe NK likes some else who knows but vida no vida as a dm maybe. 3 spots NK will look at as us same problems we have had find a cb partnership lb dm and wings.
@ Soul Champ
whoa, just caught this…you want VIDA as your starting CB?!?! I thought you were better than that, co…
A bit depressing when some are throwing out Petric, Benko and Kramaric. I would rather go with Rebic.
Does Petric still have something left in the tank? I guess will see. I will never forget his goal against England in Wembley. Priceless.
Its my opinion thats all why not lets be real at the moment strikers who are vets and playing well in all games and are at a age that NK can count on you have Mandzo ola dudu jelavic petric kalinic benko kramaric rebic cop(i put him in because i read that NK will look at him.) santini perica(long shot but i read is playin in Holland. livaja.
I thought he was sent down to the B team?
.
My kramaric debate i just mentioned someone young and who is good hes 22 and if he signed with mamic hed be on national team trust me long time ago. Why not id give that spot to young player why not if we are gonna play 4-2-3-1 NK might just call 3 strikers plus rebic who counts a wing and striker.
http://www.24sata.hr/nogomet/petric-u-grckoj-potpisao-na-godinu-i-pol-za-panathinaikos-348556
Croathinaikos – Petric joins Pranjic and Schildenfeld. As bad as our forward options are outside of Mandzukic, don’t be surprised if Petric moves back into our top 5. Easily can see this happening, if he gets the playing time.
kramaric lol
i guess someone is a bigger Rijeka homer than me!? who knew…
really? goal.com is THE WORST
looks like kovacic takes home flop of the match honors on goal.com in inter 0-1 loss
petric to panathinaikos officially
Kramaric?????????? based on what?
My strikers id take
Mandzukic,Olic,Rebic,Eduardo,Kramaric.
well, I’ll take credit for criticizing Rakitic’s shit head ball during the Euro’s…and he agrees with me…
““That experience will stay with me forever. I failed, just like I failed at times before. But you have to make mistakes in order to improve and I think that particular one helped shape me into the player I am today, because somehow my career really kicked off from there.”
Stream for Inter’s game with Kovacic starting:
http://www.rojadirecta.me/goto/extremotv.me/capodeportes.php
@IvicA If Petric plays well in Greece I would actually take him over Benko over Jelavic for the last spot. And I think Rebic makes the squad too for reasons Armada mentions
Ivica- I agree with you, its true…coaches help certain players and then they sometimes feel they have to stick by them even when its detrimental to the entire team. I just want more attacking/goal scoring options on this team, I really don’t care who provides it.
@Slavonac
Old habits die hard, I guess.
A football player’s career can change drastically within a period of one or two years (look at Kranjcar for example). But, once a coach develops with a player, they tend to put too much trust in them to deliver (even during their off years). Look how long we’ve relied on players like Simunic, Petric, and Eduardo. Bilic brought in guys like Petric and Eduardo, developed a strong relationship with them, but it was impossible for him not to play those two even after their careers declined post-2008.
I only hope Niko Kovac doesn’t rely too heavily on players like Olic and Pranjic on that left side (due to his previous NT relationship with them) and dismiss a player like Rebic as being too green for a start.
It’ll be a toss up with Jelavic and Benko for that last spot. I think if we go into the summer where Benko stays hot and Jelavic is still riding the pine (at Everton or where he moves) I’d go with Benko. Benko was pumping in goals during EL vs. quality european teams, leading the HNL in scoring is not a big deal to me; look at past scoring leaders – Beciraq, Krstanovic, Terkes, etc. you get my point.
But if Rebic can get some time and score some goals, i’d bump him over Jelavic/Benko due to the intangeliables he brings (speed, running at defenses, not hesitant to pull the trigger from the outside, etc.) over the other two
nepoznat- I meant he’s on the roster and yes I know he’s on the fringe but at least he’s now been given the opportunity…something he never got before.
as for Rebic, I’ve only seen him play on a few occasions and I’m sold…he runs at players and we need guys that 1st) demand the ball and 2nd) take guys on! I don’t see that from Jelavic, Da Silva or Mandzukic so I think its a great fit.
Benko playing in 1 friendly and 3min vs Iceland hardly means he is on the team. He is on the fringe at best
that being said I would take him over Jelavic to Brazil for the 5th forward (or 4th if you are counting Rebic as a winger instead)… unless Jelavic goes on another tear and has a hot foot at the time
Luka- great comments, I agree.
@Slavonac from Canada
“on another note, he agreed that Rakitic hasn’t performed well with the NT team but says he’s watched him live several times”
He has played good and poorly. Consistency is the issue with his national team performance. This is what happens when we ask him to fill the RM role due to our lack of depth at that spot. Our wing play is something that we have to turn around!
“…and that he thinks he has incredible potential…”
He does.
“I’ve seen his talent here and there but I find he’s not consistent enough…”
Consistency is his main issue with his national team performance without a doubt. He has the tools and the skills.
“maybe there aren’t many options for his position?”
We have many options at central midfield. We need “prolific” options at DM, LB, and we need to improve our wing play as it is nonexistent.
nepoznat-Benko is on the team so I guess the comment you are making is that you’d play Benko first over Jelavic? both guys are on the roster so far.
Ziva if I’m Kovac I dump Jelavic for Benko unless he goes on a tear like he did when he joined the EPL
…on another note, he agreed that Rakitic hasn’t performed well with the NT team but says he’s watched him live several times…and that he thinks he has incredible potential…I’ve seen his talent here and there but I find he’s not consistent enough…maybe there aren’t many options for his position?
I mentioned this to you before, I don’t really get a lot of exposure to some of these younger guys but often wonder why there is so much talk about them and yet they aren’t a key element to the NT…Vrsaljko, Rebic, Badelj…Kovacic has just recently become a part of the lineup but its just odd that the younger guys have attention all over Europe and not much from the senior NT!
You know it’s slow in Croatian soccer when a player gets a write up for himself for scoring a goal. Being his first goal or not.
Oh, I agree. I doubt they will be replaced. But, if you look at their production this club season, they have not done anythign that warrants a spot on the roster for the WC.
It may well come down to jelavic for the final forward spot. Kovac will have to make a call and go with Jelavic, a guy who has done nothing but plays in a top league, over a guy like Benko who is producing, but in a shit league. I am sure there will be other sopts up for grabs like that as well.
http://tinyurl.com/l8xh5mb
4:45
well, according to him, Jovanovic is on a lot of people’s radar in a negative way and they want him out!
he says the Kovac bros are very disciplined guys that seem very structured so I hope they stand behind their words!
in order for Jelavic, Da Silva and so on to lose their spot on the team someone has to rise and challenge their position. I can’t imagine any coach anywhere in the world substituting one of them for someone that isn’t performing well or that doesn’t have the experience!
Jovanovic is a nobody in reality. He would be replaced by someobody just like him.
We shall see if Kovac lives up to that motto…….work, discipline and performance.
Because there are some older guys who may not meet that criteria: Jelavic, Da Silva, Vukojevic come to mind.
Rakitic would have made a good effort, but fallen short of scoring!
Ziva-I was talking to my friend last night, he’s in town but lives in ZG. His family are friends with Robert Kovac and his wife (their kids go to school together)…according to him, he thinks Jovanovic should be fired and that many people are trying to get him fired…he also said Kovac signed on as coach and although he as a little nervous because of his lack of experience he took the job with the condition that even if they didn’t qualify he’d get a 2 year contract. also, apparently anyone that has a Croatian passport is definitely going to be an option for the team, no favorites…work, discipline and performance is their motto!
Lets give credit where credit is due.
Does anyone think Rakitic would have scored that goal in the same situation.
I mean, fantastic that he scored a goal and is now on the radar for Fiorentina…
but it really wasn’t that spectacular of a goal….?
@ Mail Ante
Great point about playing Kovacic on a wing to balance out Rebic in support of SMM.
Both players are mature enough now to hang on the wings and wreak attack on the defense. Providing the space for our world-class midfield to create the magic.
I pray Kovac at least tries this against Swiss.
Rebic is a 20 year old young man, His speed and physicality is sorely needed on the wing. He needs to play for us this summer.
Cameroon and Mexico will be epic :
SMM
Rebic-Rakitic – Kovacic
Modric
Lovren
Pranjic-Corluka -vida-Srna
Pleti
Subs – Eduardo, Kranjcar, Vrsaljko
U Boj !
modric named employee of the month according to Marca
http://www.marca.com/2014/01/09/en/football/real_madrid/1389255842.html
Hvala Nepoznat!
Bravo Ante!