Oh boy!
Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren have definitely received criticism from fans over the years for doing dumb things on the field – but remember – they always make up for it. Vida embraced his inner Zlatan on Sunday with a ridiculous “mid-air, behind the back, heel kick” for a Besiktas goal in a 4-0 win over Erzurum. Simply amazing that some players can still surprise you, especially at 31 years old.
Vida scores the best goal of his entire career!
Modrić scored the game winning goal for Real Madrid on Sunday in a 3-1 win over Eibar and should have had an assist but Benzema missed the open header. Lukita got an 8/10 rating from 90min.com, “There’s absolutely no way this man is 35 years old, but apparently he is. Still glides around effortlessly, pulls up silky bits of skill and nets wonderful goals. From BEIN football commentator Ray Hudson, Modrić is “hotter than the hinges of hell’s gate.” (Thank you gbvh)
Modrić may be playing the best football of his life right now and has Real Madrid tied with Atletico atop the La Liga table. Absolutely amazing what Luka has been doing this year at age 35.
Modrić Goal
Andrej Kramarić had a fantastic game on Saturday and earned ‘Man of the Match’ honors in Hoffenheim’s 2-1 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach. Krama ripped a shot from 25 yards off the left post in the 1st half before equalizing the game in the 75′ with a well-placed volley from the middle of the box. Kramarić has been absolutely clinical in 2020 even though he did not play much for Croatia (injuries). If he keeps up this form for EURO 2021, we’re in for a treat.
Kramarić Hits Post, Scores @ 3:28
Josip Brekalo scored the lone goal of the game Sunday as his free kick ‘double doinked’ off the Stuttgart wall in a 1-0 victory. With the win, Wolfsburg now find themselves fourth in the Bundesliga; in contention for a Champions League berth 13 matches into the campaign. At 22 years old, it can only boost Brekalo’s confidence that he’s regularly taking free kicks for a top-5 Bundesliga side.
Brekalo Free Kick
In other news around Europe, Marcelo Brozović got the start for Inter Milan while Ivan Perišić came off the bench in the 80′ in a 2-1 win over Spezia. Inter remain one point behind leaders AC Milan, who defeated Sassuolo 2-1. Ante Rebić did not feature in this match. Domagoj Bradarić returned from injury for Lille but remained on the bench as they played out a scoreless draw with mighty PSG. Lille currently lead the French Ligue 1 standings, level on points with Lyon and one point ahead of PSG.
great goal by Vida…but ffs, lets not get carried away, he is finished for us…and it is the Turkish league which is about on par with the slovenian league though with better kebabs.
Guys, great goal by Vida. Let’s remember though, even a blind squirrel will find a nut.
VIda scored a big one for us in the World Cup- pretty good on corner kicks and knows how to get open- great goal – shows the skill these guys have – I’m sure he’ll have a little vino to celebrate wherever he is
Vida?!? …goal of the year.
Who would have predicted that?
Fak, that was sexual.
Time for Vlasic to move on.
Accomplished enough in Russia. Well done. Where should he go next? Italy, Spain, Germany, or England?
Nikola Vlasic just awarded Player of the Year for the Russian League.
https://www.croatiaweek.com/nikola-vlasic-wins-player-of-year-title-in-russia/
Vida’s amazing goal getting all the buzz (deservedly). Meanwhile, Pongračić made a decisive clearance to save the win for Wolfsburg with solid shutout defense in what looks to have been a very open game. If Croatia’s defenders can handle a game like that, we’ll be in good shape for the Euro.
Real Modrić takes a well earned and much needed rest!!
Let him groove his legs into alignment at Valdebas.
They are many over paid scrubs that need to earn their keep.
Modrić should taper down to see out 2020.
He got Real back into contention and now he needs to recharge for the business end of ‘21.
Modric “muscle overload” …
https://www.marca.com/en/football/real-madrid/2020/12/21/5fe091efca47418a238b45ac.html
Rebic is hurt and brekalo’s goal should that even count as a goal seriously?
Yo BZ, where u at? Hiding becauz your boy Brekalo scored a beauty? it was against a winning team so dontcha dare give us that BS that he can’t score v good teams. Yea bitch
while we talking about bitches rebitch didn’t even start this weekend
This racist guy is so dumb.
Look I don’t think kovac is a bad technical coach and would admit that he is probably better than bilic in this regard
However I strongly believe that bilic is a better player management operator and takes an interest in his players well being as well
Remember the reactions of the players when we were bundled out of euro 08 and contrast that with how we exited Brazil 14
A world of difference where there was real incriminations going on after the Mexico loss
It was a game we should have won and kovac was tactically to blame
At club level I think bilic has arguably not not done better than kovac so my real assessment is with their respective times wife the repka where my real motivation is
I completed understand if someone thinks kovac is a better coach but that is my view on this topic
@Suba
Why is Bilic a better coach than Kovac in your opinion?
Anon that’s ok we got the main point of your message
Cruyff probably banged his mom while visiting
It’s frightening how much they look alike.
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Somebody needs to check Cryuff’s old passport stamps to confirm if he ever visited Zadar in 1984.
Another comparison that nobody is talking about
If Modric continues with banging in goals like he has in the last couple of years he will become cruyff like
Scary
What would be the chances the Luka heads to Barca and links up with Messi
That would be awesome
It takes real training and coaching to produce NBA lead guards.
It seems we focus too much on rukamet?
Regardless, I’ll focus on this dude from Zadar:
“It was another masterful performance from the Croatian, he just keeps getting better and better. At Ipurua, he was decisive in the opposing box, guiding Benzema’s pass into the roof of the net to score Real Madrid’s second goal.”
Nice goals from vida
Why can’t he do that for the repka
In a game for us he would have fluffed that hahaha
To be fair they have produced decent footballers and red star won most championships compared to Dinamo pathetic 4 titles
Hajduk for a very long time was Croatia’s footballing bastion during these dark times of Croatia political history
That’s why it irkes me that people on this site bash Hajduk they way they do
Short memories and lack of respect
Even those current players who were cut by Hajduk still have a profound love and respect for Hajduk
Look at this…
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https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/-/EDN-20190923-1
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Croatia is ranked LAST in money spent on all sports, both in total dollars and % of government budget.
Serbs are good because they dump infinitely more money into their basketball program than we do.
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Oddly enough, they dump more money into their football than we do (plus they have double our population), so it’s odd that they’re not even close to us in that sport.
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Then again, Serbs have historically been poor footballers. All of Yugo’s success was us. Not even more money and people can fix that.
True it was a real shame we didn’t snap up bogut
Lazy on our feet with that one
Soul champ I am curious
What makes a great baller and why can’t we produce doncic type players
Last time I checked Croats are big and tall
No excuse for it really
It seems like we did a deal with the Serbs where we said we will be good at football and they can have basketball
Everyone in Australia at youth levels think it speed or size or someone who can drive to the hole
They don’t care for anyone who has skill especially with a jump shot which I think they have back to front
The Serbs are good because they are accurate shooters like doncic even though it kills me saying that
For sure Suba.
Like MJ making up that story about that Washington Bullet taking a dig at him after lighting him up. Just to piss himself off. Superstars look for that fuel.
I agree Soul Champ “this guy, that guy, blah blah” Luka is such a fuckin gem! He’s like our Pirlo or Zizou. He makes everything go. I fear the day we lose our 1 true world class player.
Bogut should have been snapped up at 19 for HKS.
We had dark days back then.
Before all his freak injuries, Bogut was a defensive beast and could finish in traffic with either hand.
I remember rapping with Rudy Tomjanovic at MSG and he was telling me that they are all “experts” in Zagreb.
HKS is embarrassingly mediocre.
When are we going to produce a legit lead guard?
After that CSR interview with Hezonja, where he got his panties in a bunch he has fell off a cliff.
Just because you can run and jump a bit doesn’t make you a ball player.
See Dončić for reference of what a Real ball player looks like.
Maybe it was these rejections that spurred each of those players in an odd way
I am from Australia and bogut always recall being cut from the under 16 Victorian state team
He still talks about it to this day
Probably the same group of idiots who didn’t care for Pršo, Perišić, Jelavić, etc etc…
If the euros were on right now
We would be steamrolling it to the semis at least
Za dom spremni and Jure i Bobane
Seriously does anyone know who at Hajduk cut Modric
The guy who cut modric probably committed suicide
Wtf vida!
That’s gonna go down as one of the best Croat goals of all time.
He just saying I ain’t going no where boys
Isus ..
Luka Modrić!!
Forget all the fringe conversations.
What is the strategic plan to keep Modrić relevant for us for the next 23 months.
This guy, that guy .. blah blah
It’s like he is in Zadar at a mali nogomet village tournament?!
This is Real Madrid!!
La liga!!
Champions league!!
35!!
10th match in a month!
Season on the line!!
Luka now has that Prosinečki swag to go with his world class game.
He expresses every ounce of football genius out of a play.
Our guys have to step up these next 23 months.
You are playing with a living legend.
No ‘98 nostalgia necessary any more.
These dude is #1.
We can debate 2-10, of the best nogometaši of all time.
#1 = Luka Modrić.
Love to know the coach that cut him at Hajduk when he was teenager on trial?
Budala.
Luka is the man!
Modric gol….. and playing, as Ray Hudson just said, “hotter than the hinges of hell’s gate.”
would anybody mind if Jeremy Toljan got a call up for a friendly? He plays regularly for Sassulo.
@CroatiaU14 gud to know Basic got that rating…srry am not a fan of the French Ligue 1.
The crazy thing about Vida’s goal is that he meant to do exactly that, and scored it.
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It’s not like one of those goals where a player gets lucky, closes his eyes and cranks it (and it just happens to be a great goal)
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Vida actually jumped over the ball and backheeled it with his right leg, when he could have easily just tapped it into goal with his left, but took the chance to make it look awesome (with the risk of looking like a complete idiot if he missed the ball, lol).
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Give the man his starting spot back. Pay no mind to the younger, better players in our lineup. 😉
Wow. Vida, lol.
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Where did this come from?!
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oKbj4FOFXs
I see Brekalo scored today. It’s 1-0 for Wolfsburg so far.
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How did Pongracic play? Did he do something special and that’s why you’re praising him?
Check out vidas goal from today. Wow…
Wow….
Pongračić is something special. He’s so solid in the back, almost always in the right place at the right time. Him and Sosa give us a lot of depth, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pongra starting from now on for us!!
Our defensive future is amazing.
@caine Bašić played the whole game today, 7.2 rating according to FOTMOB. He’s one talented lad!
@Suba
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Sosa has been starting at Stuttgart, and they are having a good season so far.
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The kid has a legitimate claim…it’s just a matter of calling him up and seeing how well he actually plays for us in that spot.
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We’ve got a lot of LBs right now in Bradaric, Sosa, and Barisic. Gvardiol has been playing there this season too (despite being a CB).
@Simon
How many fishes did u catch for Jesus lol..I stayed in England n skooled abit overthere…I know where u drivin towards Simon.
WAS I SUPPORTING ENGLAND IN THE SEMIS? HELL NO, the VATRENI till I die
Anyways did Basic impressed tday? Because Bordeux won 2-0. I have big hopes on Toma Basic,the next Brozo
Caine I m kurious 2 were u went t skool were u Abel 2 graduate
Hi guys…well I told u guys b4 that we need to play multiple attackers( 2 or 3 CF/ CF n SS strikers). we need to play an improvised formation for Kramaric to excel. no doubt abt it,Krama is simply gud.
we sometimes play one-directional futbal,get the ball to ur wingers(SB or WF) to send in croses to ur tall strikers n teams r vry aware of this tactics.
i say it again,we need to explore the lone CB formation,multi-role midfielders (DFM,CMF,AMF).
Kramarić is a very dynamic player. He covers a lot of ground. Definitely a 9, but he relies on deceiving the opposition by changing his positioning, often falling behind his teammates. Brilliant how he used his teammates’ runs to just lose his man on that goal. If Kramarić gets space, he does amazing things. He cleans up rebounds and takes PKs clinically too. Very cool in the head. If we play a formation with Kramarić, Rebić, and Vlašić all rotating around the false 9 spot, it’ll give opposing defenses a wild and chaotic ride.
Lovren has a few things to get off his chest!!
Cigan
You have Sosa in front of Bradaric
That’s interesting
4-4-2:
…………………………..petkovic……………….
……………………kramaric……………………..
……………………………………………………….
Perisic………Brozo……..Modric…….Rebic
……………………………………………………….
..Sosa………..Car…….Lovren……vrsaljko..
………………………………………………………..
…………………….livakovic……………………..
Petkovic and Kramaric should never see the pitch at the same time, unless at end of a game in which we are losing.
If we must start Kramaric, it should look exactly like how Petkovic thrived for us:
1) Start as striker but come back to receive the ball OFTEN, so basically playing as a 2nd #10. This worked beautifully with Rebic- Petkovic-Vlasic-Perisic. Pasalic played a similar role in our last game vs Portugal. Kramaric can play it better than Pasalic.
Rebic should only move to striker at the end of games. Waaay to valuable on the wing.
Our best results in the postman era (Post-Mandzukic) we have basically played 4 across up top, I think Kramaric can play well in that role. Only probablem is the other guys are tremendous passers, and Kramaric likes to hold the ball too much.
Barring injury or World War, Dalic will definitely play Rebic-Kramaric-Vlasic-Perisic several times.
I think he needs a mrcina up top like Emile Heskey or Alen Boksic to do all the dirty work, so he can pop in the easy goals.
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Maybe a formation where Rebic plays up top with Kramaric next to him. Or maybe alongside Bruno, assuming Bruno can mix it up and do the dirty work.
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Hoffenheim are a weird team that rotates their strikers a lot (and none of them score really, just Krama does). They either play Krama next to a strike partner, or right behind the lone striker.
Kramaric is NEVER the lone striker himself.
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Since Dalic generally likes having a single striker up top, that’s how he’s been using Krama…but I guess this is why he hasn’t been as efficient with us as he has been with Hoffenheim.
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We need to either try him out with a strike partner (i.e. Rebic or Bruno)…or we (gasp) put him behind Bruno in Vlasic’s role (which at this point should be considered blasphemy and out of the question).
Kramaric is a pure finisher.
Need to get him up and running in March.
What is his favored deployment?
Krama scores, Hoffenheim win 2-1
Croatia has 2 friendlies in June
Croatia vs Armenia in Osijek
Belgium vs Cro in Belgium
Antonio Plazibat is fighting tomorrow. Glory 76.