Photo: Shakhtar.com
Darijo Srna scored an impressive free kick in garbage time Monday night as his Shakhtar Donetsk club cruised by Zorya 5-1 to keep up with Dynamo Kiev atop the Ukrainian table. Srna stepped up to to the dead ball from, 29 yards out, and curled it over the wall and into the net without much effort from the Zorya keeper. This is the right time for Srna and his right boot to be heating up. Eduardo remains sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Here’ what Srna had to say after the match:
– Your free kicks are almost as dangerous as penalty kicks. How much time do you spend on polishing this element of your game? Well, I could have scored even more goals. I have such opportunities in almost every game. I also had a chance to score against Dynamo. The main things are concentration and confidence. Today the team was confident that it would take three points in Lugansk. We showed character and a quality game. But we must look ahead, as remaining matches are very difficult.
– Can Shakhtar and Dynamo lose points in the remaining fixtures or will they have to play the Golden Match? Shakhtar and Dynamo have a very difficult schedule. We are hosting Tavria, whom we should beat. Then, we travel to Kharkiv to face Metalist, a team which showed a top performance in the Europa League. We are also playing in the Ukrainian Cup semi-finals. Shakhtar must try to win the league and the Cup.
O.K. boys and men. Show respect to Ana.
You have no idea how many ladies visit this site daily.
Srna is considered a “God” at Shakhtar and will never leave the club… they treat him like gold there, and he is loved by everybody there.. it’s not likely he would leave. Yeah it be pretty cool to see him in the Premier League but I don’t think it’s happening, he has everything he wants in Ukraine.. money, titles, champions league, women probably too lol. If anything I’d like to see him at Bayern, would be his best fit.. maybe even Chelsea as well.
^^Ana – if that’s really you…God damn haha
I obviously underestimate pro athletes mentality on the subject. I can’t disagree with you though.
Don’t forget about the Igor Stimac tax.
King of Shaktar may be better than being the King of London at a club like Spurs, Fulham, etc….
I am sure Srna would have left for a top-tier team, but he never received any offers. Making $5 million tax free in the Ukraine is much better than having the same salary of $5 million in England and having to pay taxes on that $5 million. You guys do realize what the tax rate is in England. Over 40% is gone after taxes.
Over the course of his career Srna will make anywhere from 5-10 million more by having stayed in the Ukraine than playing somewhere else. Love it how people will say he should take less when its not your money that you are throwing away. Maybe Srna wants 3 Ferraris instead of 2. I have no clue, but if that is his choice nobody can rip him for it.
So do people actually have “cushy lifestyles” living in Ukraine? I know a lot of people who now live here who would say no. Could be different for pro athletes I suppose, but there’s only so much you can compare living in London and living in Donetsk. Who here wouldn’t take a pay cut to live in London? Oh no, now I’m only making 5 million a year instead of 6 million. Guess I’ll settle for 2 Ferraris instead of 3. But like Ante said “He’s a King at Shakhtar” Maybe that’s what he doesn’t want to give up and end up like our friend Niko.
@dukic
*facepalm*
that is all.
@allen,
bahaha smisan si!
Jarac oh god haha. Honestly at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Ziva istina is a woman. I’d picture her to have a stache and to still be a virgin with the way Miss Ziva’s attitude is.
@Dukic
I think Ana is really some fat ugly dude who put up a hot picture and Ziva is the hot chick hiding behing the computer, bahahaha, J/k. NOT
Ana,
As I said, Bayern gave him the most money. The Juve interest was rumor and he was never going to Liverpool. He would have made less money going to England because of the higher taxes. I’m sure he also figured in playing opportunity and other factors as well.
good money making idea for croatiansports.com
auction off ana for a date. you can make 10 gs. these guys love her.
Speaking of croatian soccer, the Pittsburgh Penguins scored 10 on the Flyers tonight. Just wanted to share.
Ok, as you were
uhg cant find the article anymore, too old, but some of his other offers were from juventus and liverpool who have deep pockets and olic was viewed as just a cheap utility striker & support for robben, muller & ribery since gomez & klose were stuggling w. injuries at the time if memory serves
@ziva
yeah he did, free transfer and lower per week salary then what other clubs were offering
Ivica….great points.
My only point is the following…..it all comes down to individual choices for these guys. Most people/fans are unaware of what goes on with a player and his family when making these decisions.
What the hell r you smoking. Olic did not take less money to play at bayern.
oh yeah ziva i make it sound like that because one of our own has, olic to b specific, when he made the move to bayern
he took a pay cut when many other clubs were making him better offers because he wanted to play for die bayern and had a point to prove
@ IvicA,
I don’t count money. I bring in business. How do you think I got all of you here? 🙂
I’m a connector. Thank me later.
(sorry, that last line was the Ziva Istina in me)
Happens every so often.
Don’t you have some money to count or something?
😉
…or maybe he’s scared of failure at a bigger club. Food for thought.
If anything, I think it’s Kranjcar who’s a little too comfortable. He recently had a kid and he is in a world class city. I doubt he was ever interested in going to a place like Dnipropetrovsk.
A guy who wasn’t comfortable was Corluka, who left posh London to go play in plain ol’ Leverkusen (and had to beg Redknapp to let him go). Corluka is a dude who wasn’t happy with his role at Spurs, and probably won’t make nearly as much money at Leverkusen if he decides to extend when his contract expires.
Now we’re getting somewhere.
I’m a banker and I make pretty decent money for a 25 year-old. However, if someone approached me to write sports/soccer for them full time and cover games, I would absolutely jump at the opportunity, even though I’d have to take a 40-50% pay cut.
I’m not comfortable working the 9-5. It’s not in my personality. Everyone is different. For some people it’s all about $$$$ and for other’s it’s about the experience. Some people just like being comfortable.
that’s where I put Srna, comfortable. He’sa King at Shakhtar. If he really wanted to take his talents elsewhere, he could have. He’s living the life, playing ball, will have money after his career is over.
He’s happy and that’s what’s most important for him. He obviously doesn’t want to risk what he has in Donetsk for what Kranjcar has in London.
Ziva, I don’t know what happened to your soul but many professional athletes turn down better financial offers for the prize of playing on what they see as a better team, a better city, or even a better role on a new team. I don’t know why you seemed so convinced otherwise.
You ask the question if anyone here would ever take a 25%-40% pay cut to go to another job, but you’re not factoring in the differences between the career of a sports athlete and a regular Joe.
An average Joe’s salary dropping from $75K to a $45K is a little different than, say, an athlete’s salary dropping from $4.5M to $3.5M. The salary of an athlete is exponentially higher, and the salary change is of a much lower impact to their lifestyle than to that of an average joe’s (especially if they are long established). Also, a professional athlete has the misfortune of having to (in many cases) play away from their home country, sometimes in an undesirable city, which makes the choice of city or league something they would factor in over the money.
I don’t see why it’s so proposterous to believe that a player would leave such a world class city like Donetsk (in Eastern Ukraine) and forfeit $1M of their $4.5M salary in exchange for playing in a city like London, for a team like Chelsea, in the EPL.
Not saying Srna would do it, but a lot of athletes do. Even regular joes (like you) have taken smaller offers to work for what they believe are better companies or in a better role in the firm. I, personally, took a job that paid me less (I’ll admit it was only about 7% less money) to work for what I percieved as a better company to work for. Many players dream of playing in the top leagues for the top teams, and they definitely have taken paycuts to play for them.
@Black Zodiac……..ahh, but sometimes the basement mold is all-powerful and all-knowing……actually, I do have a very good idea what Srna makes. That is why he wont be leaving.
The problem with youth is that it is wasted by the young.
Darijo Srna is going no where he has a realistate nekretine prodava sorry for my english, hes happy in ukraine and he 30 next month if he was going to leave it would have been 2009 when he won the uefa cup but he stayed no point in leaving th ukraine league is 7 strongest leaug in europe.
@Ziva Istina
“Again, how many of you would take 25-40% less in salary to go work at another job?”
By such statement you must know how much Srna earns in a month, or better yet you must be his personal financial adviser?
I fail to understand when basement mold gives ill informed information.
@Dukic
haha, to brate!
ziva is a woman. we were all fooled.
Ana is the best thing that happened to this board since Andrej disappeared. I could understand what Ziva is saying, but the fact is that Srna should test himself to greater heights on a weekly basis. It would be great to see if he can play on that level but we all know about that life style thing that Ziva loves to talk about. Ugh thank god for other sports.
but, you make it sound like others have.
For anyone to knock a player for not wanting to leave his club team is insane, escpecially when you consider what Srna is paid, what he has accomplsihed and how he is treated. One day he may leave, but that is his choice.
I find no fault in his career. When it is all said and done, Srna can enjoy having 3 villas scattered throughout the world instead of one or two.
what u cant read english? im not saying he would, in fact id bet he wouldnt, im saying hypothetically it would b ‘nice’ if he played in a league w. a higher level of competition, but its not happening is it, so chill
Please list the players who take less money to “challenge” themselves. They are minimal.
Again, how many of you would take 25-40% less in salary to go work at another job?
@ziva
exaclty, hes done so many things in his career and hes still only 29, hes not old yet, hes got fuel in the tank left so i dont think he should b resigning himself to a life of cushy comfort just yet, thats what retirement is for.
and yeah some players do take less money to challenge themselves (been over this) but hes not one of em is he?
and obv hes going to b challenged by CL appearances but im referring to being challenged by the league, hes not playing in CL everyday
and as far as impacting his play on the field, u dont know that, u dont know what his level of play would b right now if he was at a better club in a more competitive league
Challening himself for what????? Who goes and takes less money to “challenge” themselves.
The guy has done more on the club scene than any other croatian player in this generation. UEFA Cup medal and a UEFA Super Cup runner up medal. Quartefinal appearance in the CL, multiple group stage appearances in the CL and a few knockout stage appearances. Seems like he is challanged.
It sure has not impacted his play on the field.
Unless a big club (Man U, Chelsea, Barca, Real Madrid, Bayern) come knocking on his door, there is no reason for him to leave.
The Ukranian leage is not top 5, nobody is saying it is, but it is miles ahead of the HNL.
Ana, please return to the kitchen.
@ziva
so you’re saying being pushed to be better by greater difficulty and striving for wins wont improve your level of play? opposed to pretty much being handed wins and being lazy? ….yeah thats how it works…(not)
and i get the whole cushy lifestyle thing, i mean theres a reason why srna is in ukraine he wants that fat paycheck
but dont delude yourselves, the ukranian league isnt that good and neither is shaktar, sure they got some exposure in europe…the top clubs of every shitty league in europe do…dinamo did and thats not saying much
the ukranian league isnt much better then prva liga they just have more money due to the ukranian mob giving them backing
would u want the boys to play in prva liga? yeah i wouldnt either
also im not saying the repka should factor into their decision making process, im just stating a fact you took that out of context
either way those 2 arent going anywhere anytime soon as far as i can see, i dont see them as being the types to gain happiness from challenging themselves, its all about the ‘lifestyle’ (god we sound like a bunch of bickering mob wives w. this lifestyle crap haha)
I’m 19 years old just to clarify. I’d love to meet Joey Barton as well. Mali Hrvati or whatever the hell that means sure stinks at taking shots at people.
@Ana……why would it be better for the repka if srna and the brazilian-born hrvat went to a league with better competition??? At this point in their careers, they are about as good as they will ever be. Playing in a better league might increase their visibility, not their level of play or salary. Shaktar routinely plays in Europe and has made deep runs in Europe, so the level of competition is not the problem Plus, when it comes to making a decision where to play their club ball, the status of the repka should not be a major reason in their thinking. It’s great if it is, but their obligation is not to the repka, there obligation is to make themselves happy and to take care of their family. Srna playing in the Ukraine gives him the chance to have a 45-meter yacht instead of a 30-meter yacht. Sometimes, it is about lifestyle. I wonder how many of you would be willing to take a 25-40% reduction in salary moving to another job?
Regarding the Brazilian-born hrvat, I would argue that a league like the one in the Ukraine is perfect for him now. He can never stay healthy and might have even more trouble in a tougher league. The guy has not done much in the last year. Not a bad gig to keep collecting a paycheck while not producing at all.
srna knows whats good for him. he is pretty much a superhero in that town. and how much untaxed under the table money he gets. we will never know.
Maybe he should go to QPR so he can have the privilege of meeting Joey Barton.
If srna left shaktar, he might have to give up smoking!
He has a consistant spot and he gets a very generous salary.
You would be absolutely crazy to leave that.
@Allen:
Do you still live in your parent’s basement?
Liverpool (Everton)is a burnt out casualty of industry. The weather is warmer than the Ukraine, but not spectacular.
Back to this whole lifestyle thing, I’ve given up hope conversing with some of you old Croatian men.
I agree with Ziva. The Ukrainian league is not that bad. He gets Champion’s League exposure and is always fit for Croatia.
i dont think we need to worry about darijo cpha. he is always big time for us. true captain.
@ Mishko
I agree, we need to get srna (&dudu) out of the ukranian league and into the EPL or Bundesliga
@Anonymous & Ziva
money isnt everything, not all players base their next transfer on who is willing to pay top dollar (i.e. olic) but srna just might b one of those guys… although it would b better for the repka if both srna & dudu went to play in a league with a higher level of competition
@Anonymous
did i miss something? Pranjic isnt leaving bayern olic is…last i heard pranjic had some offers from other clubs and wanted to leave but bayern refused to let him go
@radenko
look its a troll! or are u just lost and confused..this is no place for you, the real trolls on here (i.e. ziva) will eat u alive
It makes perfect sense. I’d love to meet the people that are your finaical advisors.
Srna makes more money playing in Ukraine than he could ever make with an average club like Everton.
If Srna were to ever leave Shaktar, he would leave it for a much bigger club than Everton.
You guys can piss all you want about the league in the Ukraine, but Srna has been able to play deep into european competition with Shaktar. When was the last time a club like Everton did anything meaningful in Europe.
Srna has nothing to apologize for by playing the bulk of his prime in the Ukraine. There is nothing wrong in being able to craft a nice lifestyle for yourself, still be able to play games at a high level, and when you are done playing being able to enjoy yourself .
@ allen Srna i going no where hes turning 30 when he turns 34 he will come to the HNL if it even is there in 4 years.
Everton would be a HUGE upgrade. Every game is likely competitive compared to absolute stinkers in the Ukraine league. Sure Srna will miss UCL but Shathkar rarely goes that far.
Once again there is your brilliant Ziva Istina saying things that make zero sense once again. VINTAGE!
@poglavnik i agree! i would love to see Srna in the epl…
Any consistant EPL team is better to play for than a top 3 Ukrainian League team. European cup opportunities or not…
Srna leaving Shaktar and going to Everton is not one step down, its 4 steps down.
I hope for one like this in Euro Cup.
Srna is well paid and has bonuses with Shakhtar that few clubs can match or beat.
Pranjic will be leaving Bayern after the season. It would be cool to see him at Everton.
Srna needs to play in the EPL. I think Everton with Jelavic makes a lot of sense.
Any thoughts?
.
Rumor has it professor Zuti Robert Prosinecki will be the next izbornik for Hrvatska sounds good to me I think he would keep the boys in line -U-
Dinamo and the rest of Ukraine are accusing Shakhtar of match fixing. Nonsense yellow cards for opposing teams etc.
Well done -U-