What more can you ask from 18 year-old Luka Vušković??? He’s playing stellar defense week in and week out in the Bundesliga for Hamburg while on loan from Hamburg. He scored the 2025 Bundesliga goals”Goal of the Year” with his scorpion kick in December. And on Saturday, he struck again! Vušković climbed the ladder in the 53′ to head home the an equalizer to chop the points with Bayern Munich in a 2-2 draw.
It is Vušković’s fourth goal of the season which gives the teenage CB top goal scoring honors for Hamburg alongside Philippe and Lokonga.
Andrej Kramarić scored a brace in Hoffenheim’s 3-1 win over Union Berlin Saturday. The goals put Krama’s tally at eight for the season and five for the month of January. Krama has now scored a total of 134 Bundesliga goals in his career which moves him to #3 all-time foreign-born players; only behind Robert Lewandowski and Claudio Pizarro. The win keeps Hoffenheim in 3rd position and six points clear for a Champions League berth,
Martin Baturina earned 7.9 SOFAscore rating, creates three big chances and should have earned an assist in a 0–0 draw vs Mario Pašalić’s Atalanta. The 22 year-old former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder is absolutely cooking in Serie A after the new year. Hi stock is absolutely skyrocketing at the moment. Keep your eyes on him and all Como games the rest of the season, folks!
Nikola Vlašić assisted in Torino’s 1–0 win against Lecce and was voted MOTM.
Ante Budimir scored goal #10 on the season in a 2-2 draw vs. Villarreal. He has now scored in three straight matches.
I live in montreal and am so bummed that the ticket prices were so high for the toronto game… anyone else grieving not going? lol knew they’d be expensive but never imagined the price of a plane ticket expensive – it’s such a bummer
Kinda surprised that Ivanovic didn’t leave to go on loan… anyone heard anything? No chance he can be on the squad for the world cup with how little he’s been playing
Imagine if Kulenovic ends up killing it at Torino and ends up being called up lol
Looks like Luka Sucic had a better game today. Assisted on the winning goal.
Sandro Kulenovic was player of the match against Petar Sucic and Inter, he scored for Torino in a 2-1 loss.
We need to play England like it was 2007! Yeah baby! Where have all the years gone Niko Kanjcar, Ivica Olic, and Mladen Petric? The same old croatian sky, just new shooting stars. Feeling blessed to be croatian.
One if my favorite games, outside of Germany 1998, and Brazil 2022.
If Gvardiol and Stanisic end up both being” recovered and rested” rather than missing in action, in 4 months, and Kramaric, Baturina, Vuskovic, Sucic, Musa, Livakovic and others keep ascending, things could work out after all. What a different two weeks can make on the outlook.
4 months to go, so much can change.
Dalic is an egotistical maniac
https://www.24sata.hr/sport/dalic-kad-sam-ja-ucinio-sto-je-sigurdsson-nije-me-podrzao-nitko-a-sad-kad-je-stranac-1105331
Seems a very reasonable point for Dalic to make in my opinion.
We need gvardi and vuskovic to play at the same club
Cause that would be insane chemistry
I forget the two Wops that did the same
Chiellini And someone else ?
Vušković will join Gvardiol and Baturina at Real in a few years.
Spurs are a stubborn team who think they’re bigger than they are, so it might take some time.
Kushanov was weak vs. Solanke 1st goal y’day (he was easily pushed off the ball)
Guehi was weak vs. Solanke 2nd goal y’day (he meekly headed the ball out but landed to a Spurs player basically)
Neither of those errors happen w/ Luka on the field (he wouldn’t get pushed off the ball (would win the duel and clear the ball) and he can head the ball 50+ yards)
Anonymous will take Gvardiol x Vuskovic at Man City (to start with)
The only issues is Romero is complaining (again) Spurs didn’t sign anyone this window (despite having 12 first team members injured) – him and/or Micky VDV could easily leave in the summer (as no Europe next season) so unfortunately Spurs might make Luka play for them in the Premier League
Anonymous says this as a Spurs fan – they don’t want Luka anywhere near the club (last season and this season – like 10+ players get season ending injuries – it’s crazy) – Luka is too good for Spurs
I sure hope baturina keeps developing
Obviously he had some issues adjusting and realizing it’s not just gonna be given to him was a good thing
This competition now to make the World Cup squad and more importantly a starting position is driving some
Vlasic obviously stepping it up and is showing real leadership qualities
Kramaric again showing leader qualities
Luka is captain forever
This is all really good stuff
Leaders to take us into deeper depths again
No one can deny we have the experience now to go deep
We have many of the right pieces
As always we need some fortune
But I do feel the boys come to play and compete
God willing gvardiol heals
Let modern science hit him with the right peptides
Do you guys think Perišić at left back and baturina at right wing is not worth considering?
So if we did baturina on the right and put Perišić on left
We have mls pasalic swap on the right side, or dalic goes o.g. Pasalic even
Who swaps in on the left side?
We have pieces for sure
We have enough scoring if we get the lineups and tactics right
Anonymous was thinking Vuskovic could end up at Liverpool
Could have worked as Konate’s contract ends this summer and VVD getting older
But they just bought 20 y/o Jeremy Jacquet from Rennes for 63.5m (so Vuskovic must be worth at least that?) and also have 19 y/o Giovanni Leoni (who tore his ACL in September)
So doesn’t look likely, at least short-term
Jacquet might be the young CB in the world, not named Vuskovic. 😉
I hope to see ivanovic, juranovic back in NT.
Why is juranovic not playing again? He played well as LWB
Ivanovic is definitely stuck..benfica in need of goal but mourinho doesnt trust him at all.
I’ll be in Orlando for the Brazil friendly and bought tickets to the game… Can anyone recommend any good Croatian bars to go to before and after the game? And if there aren’t any good Croatian bars, then just general recommendations… Not just bars but even restaurants…
Where did you buy your tickets? And how much were they?
***.ticketmaster.com/road-to-26-croatia-v-brazil-orlando-florida-03-31-2026/event/2200642745A68E2C?currency-locale=en-ca
Assume the “blue” seats are original (meaning face value?) while the “pink/red” seats are verified resellers (at higher price than face?)
$124 USD each on Ticketmaster… Croatia fan section behind the goal
124$ is crazy for an exhibition game .GONE are the days when a working man could take his 2 kids to a sporting event it doesn’t matter the sport?
I paid 24$ for Brazil vs Sweden back in 84 and recall paying 4$ for bleacher seats for MLB games.
Corporate greed has destroyed the experience for almost all of us!
Anyone see how Luka Sucic did? I saw he started in their 1-1 draw that just finished.
Baturina with another good game (he’s looking a lot better than Nico Paz lately).
Baturina will likely be our starting LW at the World Cup (with Perisic on the opposite side).
I watched the game from the 25 minute mark forward and in my opinion, Baturina only started to look good when he moved more into a central role… He was non existent on the wing.
Doesn’t matter.
He likes to play his regulars, especially those who are in form at their clubs.
Dalić had no problems starting Mario Pašalić at RW for the longest time, even though he never plays there at his club.
Baturina was a regular call up, until he found himself on the bench at Como…but now that he’s back and playing great, Dalić will try to find him a spot in the starting eleven…unless Kovačić comes back, then we have a bit of an issue.
Kovačić has full seniority with Dalić, and with Modrić and Sučić cemented in the lineup…we may end up having to play Perišić and Krama on the wing positions again (to accommodate Kovačić).
On another note, always worthwhile to do the check of how many Croatian players are crossing themselves entering/exiting games or upon scoring goals. Suspensions for these players mixing sport and religion should be considered
Big culprits
Petar sucic. -deserving if possible multi game. This isn’t church
Lesser but standard offenders
Modric upon entering
Kovacic
Matanovic
Baturina
Players are mixing sport and religion all the time. All these muslim players are always praying before going on the field. If they can do it, then catholics can too.
Random
At least u should suggest starting with players WEARING a cross 24/7 – either via jewelry or ink – as opposed to a momentary cross on entering the field
looks like another sonic match from baturina
Here’s a fun stat : chances created per 90 minutes
Nico Paz: 1,8
Vitinha: 1,7
Cherki: 3,1
Joao Neves: 0,99
Kvaratskhelia: 2,15
Vinicius Jr: 2,2
Kylian Mbappe: 2,49
Arda Guler: 3,57
Lamine Yamal: 3,14
Pedri: 2,81
Raphinha: 2,78
MARTIN BATURINA 🇭🇷🇭🇷: 3,85
Baturina set up at least two clear goal scoring opportunities for Como in the first half.
Classic nogometaš intelligence.
Vlašić is at his peak 4 months out of World Cup.
He starts in March.
We need his drive in the middle.
Hey Dalic and nose-pickers –
Have you heard of Lothar Matthäus ?
This is what he said about Luka Vuskovic after the Bayern match yesterday
“At the age of 18, he plays as if he had already played three World Cups. Even when I was 30, I didn’t see what he saw at 18. He can organize the game and lead the defense. You rarely see something like that. This player is so intelligent.”
Here are the Luka vs. Bayern highlights
x.com/Killuagonfc/status/2017718212821909508
Any you MORONS are still sending him to U21 with Olic LMAO
World Cup 2030
LOL
Anyone want to watch Franko Kovacevic games live ?
There are all free LMAO
https://m4sport.hu/elo/mtv4live/
No clue what their biz model is (if they have zero subscription revenue)
@Mart: why doesn’t MaxSport do this for Croatia ??? Can you please ask them and kindly point them to this Hungarian precedent ?
Anyways, it’s HT now – lots of f*cking commercials in the hideous Hungarian language – yuck
99% chance of max fixing Como Atalanta
1% chance that was a red card
The most BS red card Anonymous has ever seen
Anyways, Baturina and Smolcic playing (also Paz)
Separate
Torino 1-0 MASSIVE win now 9 pts clear of relegation
Vlasic with the assist on the game-winning goal
Kule debut for Torino in the 78′ (Anonymous watched Kule’s 16 minutes)
Manager must already trust Kule to bring him on in such an important match where 3 points are life and death
He was a bit sloppy/weak on first two hold-up tries (understandably as he’s getting used to the pace and played Thursday) – but on third hold-up chance he did well and slick pass thru – at 87:00 he was free for a break-away (but the pass to him was terrible/behind him 10 yards) – in the 93:45 he was free on the right but his teammate didn’t pass to him for another break-away – Vlasic took to corner flag in 94:15 (Vlasic is so responsible – we need him on the NT – for his leadership qualities) and cut-back pass with Kule crashing the box but ball was intercepted by the defender
Overall – nice debut for Kule – while he was on – Lecce had one nice chance on net a shot outside the box which hit the post – but nothing else dangerous
Kind of funny a Dinamo “reject” slots in nicely in a mid-table Serie A club
Also, you got to know, given Vlasic is captain, they asked him about Kule (and probably Franko too) to vet his professionalism, work ethnic, etc – so if Mr. Professionalism i.e. Vlasic sanctioned the move for Kule – that speaks volume about the kind of footballer he is
P.S.
Look at Napoli first goal yesterday – long-ball from keeper to Hojlund with Pong covering him – but Pong was weak – couldn’t handle Rasmus – just had his hands on him – but Hojlund was able to fight him off and head the ball thru to teammate – and then Pong started running back but away from attacker towards free space – anyways, that’s the difference Pong vs. Vuskovic – teams are happy to shoot long-balls into him – bc he’s not great at aerial duels and relatively weak (despite his size) – while teams (like Bayern yesterday) don’t even bother trying long-balls anywhere near the box as they know Luka will easily win/head the ball away – that’s why Luka has to play for the NT – bc you already take long-balls out of the opposition arsenal before u even hit the field
I’m sure Dalic and nose-pickers has realized (not realized) this yet
73:05
Smolcic outside of the boot pass thru six players to Morata
WOW
Oh wow.
I had no idea Kulenović was already playing. That was fast. Good to see.
Hopefully he catches a stride, starts scoring goals and gets a call up.
He’s good for depth and he’s a hard worker too (similar to Vlašić).
Guys like that are always useful to have off the bench.
We need labravic, ivanovic, ivanusec and l. Sucic, pasalic, crnac back to form!
Do we?
We have other guys stepping in. It would be great if a couple of these guys turned it around right now (before the World Cup) but it’s not the end of the world if they don’t.
We’re likely just going to stick with the existing core, plus maybe work Baturina and Vušković into the starting lineup possibly.
It would be nice if one of our young strikers got hot (like Ivanović or Matanović)…but aside from that, everyone else will just be used for added depth.
I swear If they send luka to the u21s
I’m gonna find dalic and give him a proper baturina on his ass;)
MAN OF THE MATCH: LUKA VUŠKOVIĆ
The 18-year-old defender proved to be Hamburg’s hero at both ends of the pitch. Beyond scoring the crucial equaliser with a perfectly placed header, Vušković was a commanding presence in defence throughout the match. His goal-saving blocks, composed distribution under pressure, and aerial dominance were vital in helping the hosts withstand Bayern’s considerable attacking threat. The young Croatian demonstrated maturity beyond his years, particularly during Bayern’s late siege, and finished the match as the top fantasy points scorer with 298 points – a testament to his all-round contribution.
You would think Dalić would attend at least one of his games by now.
He’s probably there in disguise.
I can’t believe anonymous hasn’t pointed out kovacevic next tattoo
It says born to win tho
Let’s hope he can stay hot and can be like an orsic type who maybe is not in the best league but can perform at the top still
Kotarski looks like a prisoner extra from the Mayor of Kingstown – while Kovacevic’s is very Cara Delevingne-esque a discrete motivational booster you only see when up close
btw: his next tattoo will be in honour of his daughter (he already has one for his son)
I have hopes for kovacevic
He’s in prime break out for Croatia age
I don’t mind the tattoo at all
Shows a bit of im here but not like hey look at me everyone face tattoo
Yup
100%
U got it
Kotarski’s = primitive
vs.
Kovacevic’s = sophisticated
As Anonymous has mentioned before – Kotarski is obviously trying to portray he’s gangster with this neck ink – but unless u “live that thug life” (I mean really live it) it’s just contrived and thus silly – and the blooming flowers, clouds and flying doves are all derivative and unoriginal – I mean at least come up with something original that’s never been done if you’re going to plaster it on ur neck
As Mart has mentioned it’s just awful
How is there any question vuskovic doesn’t start at wc
He’s more ready then gvardi was at euro against England
Ironically both start tourneys against England
I can’t imagine what his fee will be if he keeps doing his thing and shows up at wc
Man him and gvardi back there
Even the English pundits can’t deny that quality
Literally two of the more exciting defenders in the world right now
Luka Vuskovic has already faced Harry Kane twice
How many times has Sutalo+Erlic+Pong+Duje faced him in their careers combined?
It’s a disgrace that the superior Vušković had not been fully integrated into the national team properly already
Another example of Dalic being slow on his feet
Dalic might be stubborn and old school. He will bring Vušković in.
I think so too, but he could have had at least 2-3 games under his belt by now (and it could’ve given us some insight into which CB partner he works best with).
If he doesn’t start in these upcom March friendlies, we’ll be going into the tournament blind and not knowing how well our CB partnership would fare.
We unfairly did this to Gvardiol at Euro2020.
Vuskovic is too good for Tttenham
He’s also too good for Bayern
Bayern were scared to do any long-balls today anywhere near the box as they knew Luka would win the header
The only clubs good enough for him at this point are Real Madrid or Barca
No cap
Quote from dalic on vuskovic performance so far. Looks like he’s counting on him to provide depth for the backline;
“Luka Vušković je ove godine pokazao puno potencijala i ozbiljan napredak. Riječ je o mladom igraču koji dobro razumije igru, fizički je snažan i ima mirnoću na lopti. Za nas je važno da imamo širinu u kadru, a Luka nam upravo to donosi. Ako dođe do ozljeda iskusnijih igrača, možemo biti mirni i imati povjerenje da će Luka kvalitetno uskočiti i odraditi svoju ulogu.”
Vuksovic with a banger goal today
Budimir had a goal
Kramaric popped in two goals
Pandur played great to bring Hull City now in 3rd in the Championship League
Stanisic is back from injury already.
Livaković back at Dinamo
What a great day. Lots going our way now. 4 months until World Cup time. A recovered and healthy Gvardiol and the way the squad is playing now would make it unreal.
I thought Stanišić was supposed to be out longer.
Vušković having a good game.
Yeah was checking the results this morning and pleasantly seeing all our guys on the scorers’ sheets. Another really good wknd !
All of the above . . . . AND a healthy and recovered Kovacic. We need a fantastic WC from Kova. At his best he is world class, and he is still in his prime. Sometimes forgotten, often underestimated. Healthy and at his best, he can be an explosive game changer at WC 2026.
What a goal from Vušković. He reads the game so well. Outrageous that he hasn’t had real opportunities to integrate with the senior team.
Hajduk chokes again.
Hajduk has not won a January match in THREE years!
and their last January win was a last-minute 2-1 victory over Sibenik in 2022/23 (which was then followed by a 0-3 beatdown by Istra).
Their record in February is not great either. It’s fascinating how bad they start the second half of every season.
Croatian women are in top eight for women’s water polo. They just beat Serbia and I think they play France next.
Are they still in contention for first place if the continue to win?
We have no chance of first place, when we get to play the top teams we will get thumped by a huge margin. We are improving but we are still a long way from being able to compete against the top teams.
How was Tomo Basic in the 3-2 win yesterday – anyone watch him? Played the 90′
Lovro Majer yanked at HT
The upside is he discovered a new way to generate a free kick – watch in the 22′ he kicks the ground by himself and flops and ref awards him a free-kick
Unfortunately Majer seems to be with the wrong team. He needs a change of scenery. He is stagnating at Wolfsburg. It is frustrating.
Wolfsburg can barely put three passes together in a row, the team on the whole lacks creativity, and Majer is rarely hit with a good pass when he is breaking to open space toward the opponent’s goal. He has made some good runs, creating opportunity, and no one can thread a ball through to him. Same story game in and game out.
When he makes a good pass, and creates opportunity, it is usually squandered.
I am still a believer in what our brother Majer has to offer at WC.
Vincent Kompany on Luka Vušković:
“He’s a big talent. The Bundesliga is a very difficult league to develop as a young centre-back. You need to be physically strong. Having an important role at HSV is ideal. He needs to listen well to his good coach there. He doesn’t need to do much more. I just hope he doesn’t play well against us at the weekend”
Frank scored on his debut last week – he could have had a hat-trick
***.youtube.com/watch?v=ro1Vb643cXA
Didn’t realized Ferencvos if coached by Tttenham LEGENDARY striker Robbie Keane – that’s awesome – he’ll pass all his knowledge to him (and if Robbie Keane sanctioned buying Franko he has to be decent or at least have the tools to be a good striker)
They played Lugorets on Feb 19 in Europa (Frank will be registered for that game obviously)
Great to see this kid score like a machine.
However, it’s pretty disappointing to see him move to a club that is still below our own league in coefficient rankings (since the Hungarian and Slovenian leagues are both below the HNL).
If you can’t transfer to a team in a top-5 or top-10 league, then at least try to go to a mid-tier league (like Austrian, Swiss or Greek league). Somewhere with a challenge.
Right now, it’s hard to gauge him in terms of calling him up for NT duty.
Even if he continues his goal streak (which is still a great sign, especially after switching clubs) it’s still just in a league that is ranked outside the top-20.
Can’t really justify a callup (with playing time) at the World Cup.
We now have Franko Kovacevic and Petar Musa scoring goals…but the quality of opponent becomes a serious question for us.
Agree Hungary isn’t a good league
But Ferencvaros is a good team and they are still in Europa
Maybe that’s the thinking – he gets at least two matches vs. Ludogorets plus more if they progress – whereas the other teams he had offers from (including Spain and Italy) are all in/near relegation zone (and presumably not in any Europe competition) – so he’s getting “better” exposure overall via the Europa
Not saying Anonymous agrees with that – but that could be the logic – the interview he gave w/ SN says his coach in Slovenia told him he can only leave for Ferencvaros as they are expected to win every game and compete for the title (not just survive) and that’s what Frank needs to thrive
Also – if I’m him – I’m looking at what/how my competitors are doing:
– DDB and Kule not even on call-up list (so behind Frank – he made his decision to go to Hungary b4 Kule went to Torino)
– Igor was struggling for minutes until recently (now getting minutes and goals)
– Franjo struggling for minutes and goals
– Musa is playing in crappy MLS
– Budimir doing Budimir things, but will be 35 y/o at the World Cup
Anyone else I missed ?
Meaning, it’s not impossible for Frank to make the WC squad from Ferencvaros – he has to be top 3 of the above list – doing well in Europa in particular could get him there (nb Dalic has said before he weighs playing in Europa very highly as opposed to domestic competition – I think he over-rates it – but maybe Frank picked up on that)