Franjo Ivanović scored two goals for USG on Saturday in a 5-1 win over Royal Antwerp. He received a 9.0 rating and MOTM honors. Ivanović made his international debut for Croatia this past week against France. Although he skied his penalty kick shot into the 14th row, he has been nothing but stellar in the Belgian league this year: 13G6A in 25 matches. Surely he will be moving to a larger club in Europe this summer. We must keep an eye on his progress at only 21 years old.
Ivan Rakitić scored the lone goal of the game in Hajduk’s 1-0 win over Šibenik Sunday off a 2nd half free kick. The win propels Hajduk back atop the HNL table by one point over Rijeka with only nine matches remaining in the season. Is it going to happen?
Mateo Kovačić and Joško Gvardiol both got the start for Manchester City Sunday in their 2-1 FA Cup quarterfinal victory over Bournemouth. City will now play Nottingham Forest in the Wembley semifinal in April. Gvardiol received a 6/10 match rating from Goal.com as he was “One of City’s more comfortable defenders in the first half then shifted to centre-back for the second and looked even more assured.” Kovačić received a 6/10 as well for he “Was key to City having a vice-like grip on the second half.”
Luka Modrić got the start for Real Madrid in a come-from-behind 3-2 win over Leganes Saturday. He received a 6/10 score from ManagingMadrid as he was “Vertical passing and on-ball IQ never in doubt, but is easily sprinted past in midfield when in transition or trying to track runners.”
Andrej Kramarić scored from the penalty spot at Hoffenheim play out a 1-1 draw vs. Augsburg
Jagusic / Slaven 90 min away from qualifying for Europa !
u know it
Actually – 180 min over 2-legs – May 14 and 29
Slaven betting odds have shortened significantly while Osijek have drifted…
Anyone following 2nd tier – in particular to battle for promotion between Vukovar (49 points) and Opatija (47 points) ?
If stays close final match-day 33 (May 31st) will be interesting as they face each other in Vukovar
Vukovar scored in extra-time last game w/ winner scored by Keke Simmonds
Keke Simmonds was at Man City academy from age 8 until 19 – while he never made it to first-team – he was scoring hat-tricks for their U18 – at 19 signed for Championship side Birmingham – and a year later loaned to Grimsby Town – his contract was never renewed by Birmingham – so signed for Vukovar – but even at Vukovar he isn’t playing many games and mostly coming up as a sub (believe this was his first goal)
***.mancity.com/news/academy/academy-news/2018/april/man-city-u18s-keke-simmonds-everton-reaction-post-match-interview
The take-away – while Anonymous is first to look optimistically at prospects/young players – the reality most won’t make it at a very high-level – and many will end up like Keke Simmonds (making 100 p.w. or 5200 p.a.) and fall completely off the map
salarysport.com/football/player/keyendrah-simmonds/
It would be great if Vukovar could win promotion, however they would need to find another ground to play on. Their ground is a cow paddock and when it rains it’s a mud heap.
They would probably need to play their home matches in Vinkovci, Cibalija’s home ground or even at Gradski Vrt in Osijek?
lol
Opatija playing at Kantdrida already instead of “Igralište Opatije” right ?
Wait till Maminjo finds out Gordon Schildenfeld is Vukovar manager and if they get promoted no doubt rumours will surface that his name should be thrown in the ring as next to take over from Dalic
Like it or not we are in mini rebuild
Goalkeepers are fine
Backline looks set for next 10 years
Midfield need to get experience and find new way to play we dont have mbk anymore..
Attack is a problem dont have modern players to play modern football imo
Because we dont have generaltional wing players.
We need to find new system of play
Like 3 5 2 maybe
Livakovic Gvardiol Sutalo And a third cb(Stanisic CC Erlic Stanisic Vuskovic.
Wing backs Sosa Juranovic Bradaric Jakic Stansic Perisic
Midfield Sucic Sucic Baturina Kovacic Modric
2 strikers Matanovic Ivanovic
The only wingers for a 4 2 3 1 and they all dont play for big clubs or teams
Potential Soticek Matkovic Stojkovic
Players that are close to done but have something left in tank Perisic Pjaca Oršić
Pasalic is in mls i doubt dalic calls him up
So we are back to 2006 world cup phase where we are a average team that dont have too high expectations from us 2008 to 2022 was a good ride
Just throw in Belinho on the left, and Brajković on the right… and we good
🙂
Are we fine at goalkeeping? Livakovic is very good with angles and shots. But, everyone plays from the back and he throws away possession because he cant connect on passes longer than 20 meters.
Still have hope with Crnac, and Im liking what im seeing from Vinko Rozic (nk istra). Hes built like a house and seems like a guy who’ll work his way up rather depend on talent
Real Madrid and Sociedad appear to on the wire, 4-4 on aggregate and second extra time.
Will be interesting to see who wins.
Sucic on back nary a minute after loss, Modric over to chat and help him up.
Real Madrid v. Real Sociedad, leg 2 of Copa del Rey semifinal today (Tuesday)… Sucic starting for Sociedad, Modric on bench to start.
perisic retired 🙁
No chance ha ha
Is this an April Fools prank?
AI is suggesting he did this as a joke.
It would be terrible for us if he did. I couldn’t find anything in Slobodna Dalmacija or Jutarnji List. There is nothing as well on Croatia Week so I think it’s a prank.
To be honest though, this should make Dalic think what do I do when he and Modrić do retire? He is gonna have to start thinking about how to replace these players or how to develop a system when they are gone. If Perisic wasn’t around we would literally have no wingers.
At least in the eyes of Dalic there would be none, but that’s why give these young players a shot and help them develop so you have a replacement when shit happens. Plus, Perišić could use some support from the other side.
Then your 4-2-3-1 system will will actually continue to work. To be fair I don’t see the 3-5-2 doing anything for us, he has to stick with the system above but start developing the youth. Given that the result we have was one clear victory over France in the first match, he should continue with it but find additional players (player combinations) to work with.
This could work with a Budimir/Matanović/Ivanović option up front. With Some of the players suggested on these threads on the wings, along with Perišić. Then players like Kramarić, L Sucic can play on a more suitable role rather than being thrown somewhere where they will not be as efficient. Same goes for Baturina and P Sučić.
I will give Dalic some credit though, the 4-2-3-1 is the way to go, he just has to put more trust in the youth and bench or substitute veterans when necessary. If he can do these things then, Ante’s comments I think will reign true and we will then be fine.
Tuesday schedule – U19 QFs
10:00 EDT Salzburg U19 vs. Olympiacos [18 y.o. Oliver Lukic starting]
11:00 EDT Inter U19 vs. Trabzonspor U19 [TBD if 19 y.o. Luka Topalovic starts]
Jagusic market value (he posted it on IG with a rocket ship emoji)
850k – Today
350k – Dec 2024
150k – Jun 2024
50k – Dec 2023
Rocket ship indeed
🖐 🎤 ⬇️
On March 17 Anonymous posted
#####
Ironically, Gattuso helping Jelicic career by giving him this reaction/attention
Any attention is good attention – just imagine how many clicks this received in Croatia, Italy, etc – SN running stories what Miletic was thinking, etc
sportske.jutarnji.hr/sn/nogomet/hnl/klubovi/rijeka/valentina-miletic-u-potpunom-soku-nakon-svade-o-kojoj-bruji-hrvatska-moj-izraz-lica-dok-razmisljam-15563732
#####
Today Jelicic states
“I thank Gattuso for catapulting me beyond the borders of our beautiful country. I am the only figure in Croatian football whose value Gattuso has actually increased.”
Throwing Ivanovic against France for his outing is the stuff Dalić can not be given slack for
I get it
We needed a striker and one who is in form
But we have to work them in a little easier then that
Not everyone is gvardiol bro
Im glad his confidence is ok
He has promise
Luka needs to be coming off Bench for a hard 45 mins
Maybe 60 I don’t know
I’m not a couch
We know he wants to play but we need to use him the best way possible
Brother dalic call pasalic
Give him 45 mins
Man the kid can obviously work
He’s maybe not World class
But call me crazy. But i faith he will show up for the checkers
Ivanović didn’t have a great game, but it was the right call.
Jebiga… Modrić didn’t have a great game either. It’s just how it goes.
I’m just glad that we didn’t revert to Krama up top, and I’m glad that we failed to recall Livaja (because Dalić most certainly would have subbed him in for Budimir instead of Ivanović).
Dinamo lost points today with a draw vs Varazdin…they simply can’t afford any more mistakes this season.
Neither can Hajduk, or Rijeka. Its a close race.
Hajduk was once again awful today but won 1 – 0 at home against lowly placed Sibenik thanks to a wonderful free kick form Rakitic in the 57 minute when Sibenik had a player red carded for denying a goal scoring opportunity on the edge of the box.
For the rest of the match Hajduk failed to break down a resolute defence and did not create one clear cut chance against 10 men.
Rakitic did score another headed goal shortly after, but VAR intervened, and the goal was disallowed for offside.
That was Rakitic’s second goal for Hajduk and incidentally second against Sibenik. Despite his goal I thought that his general play was poor again.
With nine rounds left and Dinamo slowly closing the gap on Hajduk and Rijeka it’s hard to say who will win the title? hopefully Hajduk or Rijeka can do it ? but I still reckon that Dinamo in the end will win it again.
Nonsense. Sibenik was the awful team. Another day and it could have been 4-0. Hajduk was clearly the dominant team.
What about dinamo? Why dont you write about how dinamo was struggling and looking like a 1-0 defeat until a penalty at the end of the game came to the rescue.
At the end of the day, the ‘gap’ just got bigger.
Yes, you are right Sibenik was awful and that is why they at the bottom of HNL. But the point is Hajduk won 1 – 0 against a poor side at home.
Not sure if you watched the match ? Being a supporter of Hajduk since 1960’s I did and watch all their matches and Hajduk was terrible in the second half in particular playing against 10 and unable to create any clear-cut chances.
If you do not believe me watch post match analysis of the match on Maxsport and Stadion on HRT 2 and listen to their experts and how critical they are of Hajduk and their performances all year.
What Hajduk is dishing out week in week out is what is called anti nogomet – turning people away from watching the game except for us the hard-core supporters who watch on TV or turn up in person at the Poljud Stadium.
Despite playing ugly they lead the comp, and I guess that is what matters in the end and if Gattuso can pull it off and win the title all will be forgotten.
Dinamo is struggling and not playing well despite having the strongest squad of players and that is good for Hajduk and Rijeka. I have written before on here how Dinamo is struggling and that this was the year that Hajduk or Rijeka have an opportunity to win the title. However, both are faltering and dropping points against some lesser teams in the HNL as is Dinamo.
If Hajduk had more quality in the squad and with Dinamo struggling the gap at the top should be 10 points and the title race effectively all over. But as we oldies say, “da je posrano do potoka”‘.
no need to write an essay, its not that deep. Gattuso is italian and Hajduk have the players they have. Some players; diallo, durdov, elez, rusyn, etc cant make a two yard pass.
Hajduk had many chances in the 2nd half, stop trying to make it seem like they were bunkering all 11 players in their own half.
Gvardiol and Kovacic both solid today for Manchester City in 2-1 FA Cup win over Bournemouth. The announcer said Kovacic (along with Gundogan and Debruyne) did a good job taking control in the midfield in the second half, and that was a fair assessment.
Of interest, when Pep subbed out Khusanov at the half, who had been playing at center-right back, he brought in Nico O’Reilly and played O’Reilly at left back……it seemed Pep slid the defence along, which moved Gvardiol from left back to the left-center back, with O’Reilly then playing to Gvardiol’s left on the outside. O’Reilly played great, joining the City attack down the left flank, and one wonders whether Pep’s long term plan is perhaps to bring Gvardiol back into the middle of the field….
Manchester City rounded into form as the game went on, they dominated the second half…. it looks like they have a shot to go all the way in the FA Cup, which would be a good cup win for Gvardiol and Kovacic after the tough season their club has had.
Sutalo and Ajax beat PSV 2-0. They now have a solid lead in Eredivisie league play. Sutalo will play in Champions league next season with a rejuvenated Ajax side. A big turn around for Sutalo and his club from the disaster of last season.
Moj Ivanovic 2 goals today ❤️❤️❤️
He copied Krama’s penalty vs. Maignan, but luckily he scored
2 of 3 this season from the penalty spot for his club
However, he needs to watch Krama vs. Maignan AGAIN so he learns (once and for all – as clearly he hasn’t absorbed it yet – despite seeing it live) that if you go down the middle you need to have height on it i.e. a better/taller keeper’s feet could have saved it based on where he shot it – in fact he should watch Mbappe’s penalty today (as the gold-standard)
MOTM both FOTMOB (9.0) and Sofascore (8.4)
Good on him, I didn’t like how some people on here were bashing the kid it was his first F-ing match in checkers what do you expect.
Calling him up and playing him a few minutes off the bench was the right thing to do.
This will pay dividends in a year.
We need to do this with a few others.
I just wished if he was going to miss a PK Sunday, let the goalie save it. His shot was Roberto Baggio 1994 WC finals ugly.
Meh. You may as well go big or go home. Domagoj Vida style!
Nothing worse than seeing a weak PK that easily falls into the keeper’s hands.
Oh Rijeka..
Massive loss in the race.
Ita gonna be a great finish to the season!
Mario Kovacevic’s reputation as a coach will rise if he manages to hold onto this top-4 position for Slaven Belupo.
They sold off whatever talent they had over the past couple of years, and they’re probably going to finish with their best-ever season.
Good for him!
Gorica managed to get a point in their draw with Lokosi…but I hope Sibenik catches them and Gorica gets relegated.
Gorica is a fabricated team with no fanbase. Sibenik have a real fanbase with the Funcuti and should stay in the first league with teams like Dinamo, Hajduk, Rijeka, Istra and Osijek.
I like seeing teams with good fanbases (like Cibalia, Dragovoljac, Vukovar) move up in the ranks and get into the first league.
Jagusic won the game for them
On the 2nd goal – he was 10 yards behind Dolcek when he received the ball from Grgic – but ran full-speed to create the option on the right-wing (imagine if Baturina ran like this) – as such Devetak had to position himself leaning towards Jagusic – as it was logical Dolcek would pass it to him – this created SPACE for Dolcek to cut in to the centre and shoot
Yo .. Kramarić just executed the same penalty he took in Split.
Respect.
It was bad luck, he felt the nerves and hit the ball the wrong way. He is still our best spot taker at the end of the day.
I am sure that even Lewi, Ronaldo, Messi and all.thenbig names have off days when taking penalties.
@Maminjo, Mate1, MART and TGAD
croatiansports.com/2025-wish-list-a-right-winger/#comments/516741
croatiansports.com/2025-wish-list-a-right-winger/#comments/516748
croatiansports.com/croatia-vs-france-reaction-were-fine/#comments/516599
croatiansports.com/croatia-0-france-0-nations-league-2nd-leg-quarterfinal-245pm-et-kickoff/#comments/516541
It’s been bothering me all week since watching the 2nd France game. I’ve been wondering, how is Dalic going to manage the situation in WC2026 (let’s assume we qualify) since we have so many veterans or oldies starting in the midfield and forward lines. Below are their respective ages at the start of the tournament on June 11, 2026. WC games are played every 3 to 4 days, aren’t they? And we tend to play 120 minutes in the knockout rounds. If the vets have trouble playing two high intensity games in the space of 3-4 days, doesn’t that mean Dalic would have to rotate players and set a precedent by benching vets for an important game. Has he got the balls to do that..? I’m aware that potential opponents in the group stage and Round of 32 can be more manageable than the likes of France. I dunno, am I worrying too much?
Age of player in parentheses at the start of WC on June 11, 2026:
MIDFIELD
Modric (40)
Kovacic (32)
Petar or Luka Sucic (22 or 23)
FORWARD
Kramaric (34, will turn 35 eight days later)
Perisic (37)
Budimir (34, will turn 35 the following month)
To be frank, these ageing players are not only proven but they are also more on form than other younger players..based on form, if i were the manager, i will call them up.
But we still got to blood and integrate a few younger players.
Dont count the chicken before it hatch..qualify for world cup first. We are already 6 points behind czech and monte. Do note if czech and mont need last min goals to secure victory against faroe island..but its never easy..plus we have to play back to back games within 3 days against these teams given we are 2 games behind..so we cannot rely entirely on veterans for 90min in both matches.
Oh, stanisic ito and boey are on bench despite upe and davis getting long term injuries.
Modric is in form, but he plays off the bench at club level (which is a strong argument to have him do the same for us).
Krama, Budimir, Perisic are also all in form and absolutely deserve to be called up.
I don’t think anyone is against these vets being called up, it’s just Dalic refuses to managed their minutes (even when they are out of form).
Luka Sucic, Petar Sucic and Martin Baturina were all in great form during different parts of the season…but still had to take a back seat and either play off the bench or in a role that is not best suited to them.
Budimir (as a vet) was also oddly taking a back seat to other vets (like Krama), despite being a top scorer in Spain. Dalic would rather start Krama (up top in a not-so-ideal role) than to bench him over Budimir in that spot. This hurt us badly during the Euros.
Vuskovic is currently taking a back seat to guys like Duje, Pong, Erlic, Jakic, etc. despite having a far better season than them.
I keep hearing about us lacking the “depth” to compete…but I don’t buy any of it.
We have several in-form defenders, midfielders, and even a striker. We have Perisic as our in-form winger and a few other in-form role player types (Marco Pasalic, Pjaca, Stojkovic) who are in great form and could fill in as the opposite wing as well.
We refused to call up or play at least 5-6 very capable and in-form players who could have relieved our veterans and allowed us to manage their in-game minutes.
Modric started again today. Real Madrid is perhaps the biggest team in the world? If not, top three? Not sure I would draw any comparison at all to his minutes there as to what he gets for Hrvatska.
But I don’t disagree that Dalic should be wiser. I would have taken him/Kovacic off at about the 60th on Sunday etc., especially having played France a few days earlier.
Modrić isn’t playing consistently for Madrid though. You have to be keep that in mind. He never starts two games in a row with Madrid like he did in the Nations League.
So I think Maminjo’s comparison makes sense here.
Noone is saying the veteran players can’t start, but should it be every game that they start? And for the full game?
That’s kinda the problem here if I am reading things right.
We all know that Dalic is gonna start the veteran players, but he has to start tweaking things a bit. Coaches are starting to figure him out very easily.
That’s simply false. Luka started two games in a row this month, the second of which was the decisive UCL tie vs Atletico. He started 3 of 4 in that stretch, came off the bench in the match before the international break, started 2 matches for us, and then returned to the starting 11 yesterday. Madrid has a wealth of depth that a national team could only dream of, and every player needs their minutes managed to some extent. They’re not resting him because he’s broken down or ineffective. Granted, that can’t last forever, but right now he’s an asset.
Fine. Yeah there will be times, but like I said above “like the Nations League”! So I should have said the the phrase played a match in duration like the Nations League to better state the point. Dude is often substituted at the 60″ minute in many matches that he plays at club level, and doesn’t often ( lest you jump down my throat again) play the full 90. Dalic always plays him with no breaks so that he is running on 180 minutes. You can clearly see that Ancelotti gives breaks, and he does in fact bench him on many occasions. This is more so the case this season than the last. For example both games against Man City Modrić did not start (UCL). He may have been substituted later in the match, but he did not start.
I never said he was broken, or inefficient dude, don’t put words in my mouth!!! You keep building a straw man here bud. All I was trying to point out is that naturally, he is getting old and 3 days between games back to back consistently is too much for a dude that age. Club games are typically weekly, with exception of club tournaments played for the trophy.
If you look back at the second match: Kovačić, Stanišić, and Gvardiol barely held out, let alone Modrić. Modrić had so many turnovers in that match bud it is clearly a sign, the dude never does that. Now it’s not a sign he is not an asset, it is a sign he is getting older and in that instance should have been benched before the second half started.
The key is that Ancelotti is substituting at like the 60″ minute in almost every match ( key word is rest here). Dalic doesn’t seem to believe in that. Unfortunately, yes, there should be times even Modrić is sitting out of a match. I’m sorry, but that game against France proved as much.
In every match he plays that is.
I doubt that Dalic will change much for the WC qualifiers or the WC assuming we qualify. He will stick with all our veterans and after this WC campaign will accept a job somewhere in Qatar or some other gulf country.
If our veterans are playing well by all means play them, but he needs to manage their playing time better. Modric cannot play full 180 minutes in 3 days, and he is not the only one. He needs to rotate more and have belief in the players he calls up.
What he should do when announcing 23 men squad lists for the upcoming WC qualifiers is to include minimum 5 or even 6 forwards on the list instead of his usual 4. This would allow him to call up players like Marco Pasalic and Pjaca and actually give them a chance to play against the likes of Gibraltar and Faroes.
Calling up 8 defenders and 8 midfielders is silly when we know that some of them will just be sitting on the bench.
Dalic has stated many times that it is hard to get into the representative squad but even harder to be dropped from it.
Players called up should be based on merit, form and not on past performances.
Well that’s the biggest issue with Dalić.
He doesn’t believe in meritocracy.
He’s all about seniority.
His overly-generalized rule about it being hard to get into the team is based entirely on seniority and who was there first (rather than who is currently the best player).
I agree with you that our vets will always start, and will always play close to 90 minutes every game.
I don’t agree that he’s looking to leave after the World Cup.
I think he’s gotten too comfortable as our coach and is trying to get a contract extension (and that the Qatar talk is just a pressure tactic to push the HNS into re-signing him).
Bartolec1912
I don’t know what the answer is.
I do know you bring up a good point, because the degree to which Dalic is able and willing to rest the veterans will probably dictate how deep we can go in WC2026, assuming we qualify….
As you say, he can’t play Modric full minutes in back to back games, and perhaps not even one full game. I expect that Majer and Kovacic will be able to take more minutes than Modric, but you have to rest them as well.
I suppose it depends in part on injuries and who is in form at WC2026. If Majer can get back to the form he had at the start of this Bundesliga season before the injury, he will be a real force for us and give Dalic some options.
One thing I would like to see in WCQ, where it makes sense, is for Dalic to go with a full youth lineup in the midfield. I would like to see Sucic-Sucic-Baturina on the field together, so that they build some chemistry and start to gel. Petar and Baturina already have their Dinamo history, so that is a good start. I hope that these three midfielders can even start one or two WCQ games together. Let’s see what they can do playing together…because it looks like that is the future…
@Maminjo, Mate1, MART and TGAD
https://croatiansports.com/2025-wish-list-a-right-winger/#comments/516741
https://croatiansports.com/2025-wish-list-a-right-winger/#comments/516748
https://croatiansports.com/croatia-vs-france-reaction-were-fine/#comments/516599
https://croatiansports.com/croatia-0-france-0-nations-league-2nd-leg-quarterfinal-245pm-et-kickoff/#comments/516541
It’s been bothering me all week since watching the 2nd France game. I’ve been wondering, how is Dalic going to manage the situation in WC2026 (let’s assume we qualify) since we have so many veterans or oldies starting in the midfield and forward lines. Below are their respective ages at the start of the tournament on June 11, 2026. WC games are played every 3 to 4 days, aren’t they? And we tend to play 120 minutes in the knockout rounds. If the vets have trouble playing two high intensity games in the space of 3-4 days, doesn’t that mean Dalic would have to rotate players and set a precedent by benching vets for an important game. Has he got the balls to do that..? I’m aware that potential opponents in the group stage and Round of 32 can be more manageable than the likes of France. I dunno, am I worrying too much?
Age of player in parentheses at the start of WC on June 11, 2026:
MIDFIELD
Modric (40)
Kovacic (32)
Petar or Luka Sucic (22 or 23)
FORWARD
Kramaric (34, will turn 35 eight days later)
Perisic (37)
Budimir (34, will turn 35 the following month)
Bartolić
Its highly likely he will play a similar strategy to what we just saw in the games against France. He may try and pawn it off as France was simply the stronger side that second game. To be fair, they were better than us since the second half of the first game really. But Dalic may use this as leverage to play the same kind of strategy. He is not keen on changing, or if he does it’s only done incrementally.
The one thing that may push him in the opposite direction is Croatian media. There are articles out there from I think either Slobodna Dalmacija or Jutarnji List (or both) that are calling into question the idea of continuously playing (starting) the vets. Now that is not from all of the articles, but some of them. Dalic tends to get pressed by media outlets and it’s the one thing that may make him jump to an new idea or solution. The problem tho, even in the last few tournaments, is that he pretty much out right said that he has full trust in his veteran players and will never start without them. The trust think is fine but you have to sometimes now when to sit them even if they don’t like it, and he does not like resistance from his players, especially the vets.
So Dalic will pretty much never start a game without the vets that much is certain. The question is is he willing to see that substituting them early is a good resolution like it was for France in the first game. A resolution that for example Real has been applying with Modric, and how he is performing exceptionally with that resolution.
This is the question I think.
I meant Bartolec the autocorrect here is a damn nightmare lol.
The one thing I will add, whether or not I could be wrong, is that if he can develop I think Matanović will be good for us.
He has the right ball possession skills, a bit of flare, and his positioning and ability to find open space is exceptional (at least for Croatia)
Its just a question of finding the right club and developing his game at this stage and working on his precision and goal scoring capacity. I think he will be great when the time comes. Out of all the youth players (and otherwise) he seems like the one with most potential, to me, as a true striker (#9). That’s just based on what I saw in such a short time frame.
Now if Dalic could learn to take a damn risk, sometimes it’s success on the international stage that sets the temp of a players career before they even reach that point at club level. All they need is a breakthrough.
Tempo of a players career**