Ivan Rakitić scored one of the best goals of his career Saturday night as he captained Sevilla to a 2-1 victory over Atletico Madrid. In the 7th minute, Rakitić collected the ball 30 yards from goal and sent an absolute rocket into the corner of the net. It couldn’t have been placed any better and beat arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in Jan Oblak. Rakitić still has the goods and this goal will 100% make CroatianSports.com’s Top 10 “Goals of 2021”.
Ivan Perišić scored the opening goal for Inter Milan Friday night when he headed home a corner kick in the 11th minute. Inter Milan would thump newly promoted side, Salernitana, 5-0 to remain top dog in Serie A for a second straight week. Inter is absolutely rolling and both Perišić and Brozović are having solid seasons for the reigning Italian champions. Broz played 71 minutes in the clean sheet victory while Perišić was taken off in the 78th.
Luka Modrić was not able to play on Sunday in Real Madrid’s 0-0 draw against Cadiz due to COVID protocols
Mateo Kovačić returned from injury/COVID Sunday in the 64th minute as Chelsea drew Wolverhampton 0-0; dropping points for the 4th time in 5 matches
Slabo vidis robert
Chelsea are not as strong without Kovacic.
Real Madrid are not as strong without Modric.
AC Milan are not as strong without Rebic.
Etc.
Without Modric… Real Madrid (1st place) couldn’t beat Cadiz (19th place). Don’t expect much rest for Luka for the rest of this season. They are simply not the same team without him.
I watched the Hajduk vs Osijek game today. Poljud was packed and the environment was very tense…both teams looking for the win and the game had a lot of stoppages.
Overall decent game although Osijek didn’t capitalize on their penalty…0-0 was a fair result but each team had their chances.
One thing I’ll make a point if saying today. Osijek had their game plan and they stuck to it. Very compact and aggressive all game long. Hajduk had very few chances to do anything at all in the first half.
In the second half Hajduk were finding ways and although they really didn’t have any massive chances, Livaja made his own chances out of almost nothing. I can see a major difference between him and most others…he was barely involved in the game because he was marked soo closely so he started to pull way back and receive the ball further from the goal and he really did make a difference.
I’m still not sure he’s National Team quality but in this league, he’s dangerous and very relevant!
On the flip side, I’ve watched Krovinovic play on several occasions and in my opinion, he’s more hype than quality. It may have been a big deal he played in Portugal but really, he’s nothing special at all.
I can see big potential in Ljubicic and Biuk although they’re spotty…on and off throughout the game whereas a guy like Livaja will destroy defenders by making a play himself or passing off the ball while drawing players towards him.
Osijek was the better coached team but far less talented. They played with tons of aggression, slower build ups and Mierez was always alone and really didn’t create much by himself.
And just like that, Dinamo is 5 points ahead of hadjuk…lol
Little vlasic and livaja are quiet like Church mice again.
(little brothers eternally) 😉
Watched the match and thought it was poor quality. Hajduk very disappointing playing in front of 30 K at Poljud. They tried to win it in the last 15 minutes and almost did, when Livaja hit the post from an acute angle and 4-5 metres out.
I cannot see them winning the title on this performance. They do not have creative players in midfield to supply the forwards with quality balls.
Livaja by far the best player on the field.
Bjelica got red carded again for arguing with the ref. I would never have him in charge of the National Team because of this, as some media were suggesting a while back that he should replace Dalic.
Regarding Bjelica’s red card:
He was arguing the fact that Lovrencsics went in on a late tackle and he already had a yellow card. I do see his point, he was frustrated and it was a very clear late foul.
Even so, what good did the arguing achieve ? The ref did not issue a second yellow card and Bjelica will be suspended for a match or two.
For this reason you don’t want him as national team coach?
Seems like an odd reason, if that is the main reason.
On the other hand, it might actually be a good idea to have a hot headed coach for the National Team.
Someone needs to hold these referees (and VAR referees) accountable for their obvious bias against us.
It seems like every game we play, there is either a called back goal, incorrect offside, or other ridiculous reason we are robbed.
We need a some verbally abuse to come from our National Team coach.
I am in favour of an asserive coach that can speak honestly about how he sees the calls; however, in a kind manner.
Its often not so much what you say, but rather how you say it that gets you in trouble.
Can we all align that the veteran core NOT be involved in the UNL – 4 matches this June.
Let UNL be an opportunity for the next generation/fringe players to stake a claim for their World Cup spot.
I don’t want to see any tired legs out there June.
I want to see hungry motivated ballers fighting for the cause.
Ante Budimir and all these young strikers given a legit look.
That C team that bum rushed Mexico in LA is what I am talking about.
How does someone stake their claim for a tournament, if they’re put in a position that would never happen in a tournament?
I agree with trying out several players who are on the bubble, but not some full squad of C team players fighting it out for a role we would never use in a tournament.
I’d still play guys like Kovačić and Brozović, but maybe combine them with Sučić to see what he is capable of doing with them (while keeping Modrić on the bench).
Gives us some insight into life after Modrić, and if Sučić is capable of playing alongside first team players as early as the next World Cup.
I see this as more useful than embarrassing ourselves (yet again) against France by rolling out a C level midfield, that would be zero use for us in preparation for the World Cup, and to further validate the notion that our World Cup finals run was a fluke.
Also, just to add (since that Mexico game was brought up)…
What benefit did that game bring us?
Any player is capable of playing a great game at any point, and that’s what happened against Mexico in that 2017 game.
Duje Ćop and Fran Tudor were the scorers, and almost nobody else got another callup after that game.
It was a nice surprise, but essentially a waste of time too.
It seems like we’re all looking for another “Dado Pršo” situation, where some random callup suddenly becomes a star player for us… But it’s not 2003 anymore and we’re not suffering from post war talent drain.
We have a lot of talent in our 23-man squad and a lot of players have not even had a chance to show us what they can do in the first team yet, along with different strategies and formations we haven’t yet tried too.
Most of these first team guys play like 50+ games a season for their clubs. It won’t be an issue to play them a couple more games for their country, especially if it can help you win the World Cup.
I agree with Maminjo. It’s pretty clear that these matches will be about preparing for the world cup. Dalić will use the March friendlies to test a few questions. Who is the no. 1 keeper in 2022? Do we play with 3 center backs or 2 (and who are they)? Who plays right wing? Who plays striker? He’s already answered the midfield question: Brozović and Kovačić in the pivot with Modrić as the 10, with Jakić, Pasalić, and Majer available as alternative options. Left back is clearly Sosa, with Barisić as a strong option off the bench. Right back is Juranović, with Stanisić a defensive substitute, and maybe Vrsaljko a direct substitute if he returns well from the broken chin. If he can answer these questions in the march games, UNL will be about playing to win against good teams and getting results.
Yea, I’d rather see us rotate these 18-20 players to see what they can add to the World Cup.
I almost forgot about Vrsaljko, and what if he gets back to full fitness from now until the UNL games? That would be interesting to see, as “full form” Vrsaljko is better than Juranović.
I think alot of us want to see which keeper can impress us over these games (and I hope we rotate and give them all a chance) as a tryout for who gets the #1 spot for World Cup.
Lovro Majer on the right side (if we can’t find a true RW)?
Some won’t like it, but what if he impresses at the UNL?
Or what if Oršić or Brekalo continue their good seasons, and do well in this position during the UNL?
These are things that could really impact our World Cup results.
Would absolutely hate to see us waste these games by calling up guys who would never play at the World Cup.
Note that Pjaca is now a regular starter at Torino at LW. I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Brekalo both ended up starting for them in the near future. It’s good for us because they both can play either wing position.
Gvardiol’s the best defender in the Bundesliga. Look at these stats from his game today:
90’
1 clearance, 1 interception, 5 tackles
7/7 ground duels won, 1/1 aerial duels won
132 touches, 104 passes (90.4% accuracy)
4/8 long balls
1 shot on target
2/2 successful dribbles
And this was an average game for him… he’s been like this for weeks!
So do you think it will be gvardiol/lovren
Or will we see a gvardiol/cc combo next year?
No idea what’s going through Dalic’s mind right now. What I can be sure of, is that everyone can agree (including Dalic) that Gvardiol is the number 1 now. Hopefully DCC is beside him.
Unfortunately, right now, it’s probably Gvardiol/Lovren.
Not sure if Dalić will move on from Lovren before the World Cup.
It will be tough for Duje to take that spot from Lovren, despite being 26 at the next World Cup and in his prime.
I think Dalić has that old school mentality and misconception that Lovren is some savvy veteran presence in the backline, whereas having two younger CBs is a disadvantage.
Dalić already had the urge to kick Lovren off the team, so I see it being Gvardiol, DCC, Pongračić, with maybe even Jedvaj making a return as CB (also a veteran by now, even though he’s the same age as DCC). Lovren also has competition from Stanisić and Uremović and Vrsaljko, who was playing great in a 3-man defense before breaking his chin
Lovren is on an obvious decline in his career…
has had a bad season where he’s largely been a bench player…
Has had negative media attention on him for his poor play in Russia…
And he bitch slapped Dalić in front of the team over some late flight when they played in Russia…
… and yet, he still started in the crucial, deciding match for our World Cup qualifications.
I wish I could believe that Dalić would move on from Lovren on his own, but he won’t.
Lovren will need to get injured, or get blocked by the Qatari government (for not being vaxxed).
That’s the way I see it.
I’m not some big Dejan Lovren fan. I prefer the pairing of Gvardiol and DCC as well. However, as much it seems you think they are, your opinions are not facts.
Lovren has not at all been a bench player this season. He’s started almost all of Zenit’s matches. Here’s proof:
https://www.transfermarkt.us/dejan-lovren/leistungsdaten/spieler/37838
I don’t watch the Russian league, and I’m sure you don’t either. So based on his average match rating (6.91 in the league according to Sofascore), he hasn’t been good, but definitely not BAD. Yes I know you’re going to say 6.91 in the Russian league doesn’t make you good. That’s not the point. He’s a decent enough player to be an option for us. No need to constantly slander him every chance you get.
I don’t care what sofascore says.
I care about the eye test (when we all see him play for us) and I care about what the Russian fans and pundits are saying when he plays for them. He didn’t play in September and some of October because of this.
He should be killing the Russian league. Not struggling to hold his place in a team.
I will continue to slander him, as I know Dalić makes his decisions based off of some of my posts (like when he finally cut Melnjak and decided to suddenly start Gvardiol).
Yes, it may come very late, but better late than never.
😉
To be fair, playing defense is the one aspect of football that Russia seems to do very well, so Lovren’s competition for a spot at Zenit is stiffer than it would be at a lot of other places.
I still don’t want him on the repka anymore. If we are going to have players from the Russian league, I would prefer to see younger, faster guys: Jedvaj and Uremović
I trust sofascore A LOT
@Maminjo
I trust sofascore ratings more than I trust your eye test. They definitely don’t tell the whole story, but they are more accurate than your original comment.
It’s just that your love for certain players blinds you from the truth sometimes. Just like when you were all over Dalic for giving Pasalic minutes at all (not just when he would stupidly play him out of position). And now that it’s undeniable that he should at least be coming off the bench, you’ve changed your tone. He’s always been able to find himself in the right position. He’s just not the same technical player that we normally have in attacking midfield.
Anyone’s ‘eye test’ that has any knowledge of the sport can see Lovren has done just fine in his last few appearances for us. Also, not sure I would count missing a few games with an injury as “struggling for a place.” He is still the captain of Zenit and starts whenever he’s fit, so that doesn’t quite seem right. You keep saying the Russian media is slandering Lovren. That may be true, but I simply can’t find anything about it. Could you send some examples?
I’m not saying you’re always wrong. It’s usually about 50/50 whether your info is factual or heavily opinionated. And having an opinion is fine, but don’t try to bend the truth to try to make your opinion seem more accurate than it is.
One thing I can agree with is that Vlasic is still a valuable player, but needs to turn it around. He definitely shouldn’t be starting for us on current form, but I think he could definitely turn it around. I don’t rate him as highly as I did during Euro qualifying when Rakitic dipped, but he still does good things when in form and I’m not gonna hate on him simply because he said one stupid thing in the media.
I do respect you though. Anyone that’s passionate about Croatian soccer has my respect.
@The Great Anonymous Doom
Yes, for sure. I’m not against calling up other younger players, but I was just pointing out that Maminjo was using a false narrative to prove his point rather than just saying he’d prefer that those guys play as he likes their playstyles better. The only part of his comment that was probably true is that Lovren can be bad for the locker room. And if that is true and he is hurting morale then, yes, he should absolutely be dropped.
Re: Pasalic…
My love for certain players didn’t blind me from any truth when I was hating on Dalic playing Pasalic during the UNL.
Fact is, that Pasalic sucked in those games…and he sucked badly.
It was well deserved bashing. I even acknowledged that he was played out of position as a CDM (and winger in one game) and that he’s not a good enough defender to play that role. That still holds true.
The first time I gave him a lot of positive comments when he was playing in a friendly (I think it was Switzerland) where he did very well.
This is what you’re supposed to do. If a player is crap and shows nothing, then it’s not bias if you call that out.
I hated on Pasalic for the poor UNL performances, but when he started being played more in central midfield, he really showed what he could do for us.
The Spain game was good, and his role now as a backup central midfielder is solid.
I still don’t think he should start ahead of our very talented central midfield players, but he’s a good depth player who can come off the bench for us…but never as some winger or defensive midfielder.
Re: Lovren…
Yes, I do have bias against him for his playing style.
I like Vida, but his playing style is just hurting us too.
I don’t see what the benefit is of starting either of these two players are, when there is nothing either of them can do better than guys like Duje, Stanisic, Pongracic, etc.
I disagree that Lovren played just fine. He didn’t make any terrible mistakes, but his play still hurts us in that he needs a lot of support from our midfielders once he has the ball at his feet.
I don’t think Duje is perfect, but Lovren is not better than him at anything at all. No element of Lovren’s game is better. Even his speed is not better (despite it seeming like he can run faster due to being more lean/slender).
I just get angry that Dalic’s loyalty (toward a guy who has zero loyalty toward the National Team himself after he walked out on the team for Euro 2016) is what is keeping him as a starter.
I don’t mind him as a backup, but I think his ego and him thinking that the “young players have no respect” toward him, makes me think he’d just be a cancer in the locker room if he doesn’t get to play every minute.
He didn’t play well at the Euros, and I don’t think he will play much better at the World Cup.
I’ll change my tune if he surprises us, but I’d rather not take the chance and just rather play the better player who doesn’t add mileage to our midfield for added support.
See, now I can agree with you on almost all of what you just said there. I think we’re finally on the same page with the Lovren situation. Like I said, yes he should be a backup option and if he causes a fuss then cut him. I never had a problem with any of that. I just have a problem with creating a false narrative of him being a horrible bench player in Russia that everyone hates. I also don’t think his ball playing is as bad as you make it out to be, but can agree that DCC is better in that respect.
No, Pasalic did not play well in the Nations League. And I had already mentioned about the playing out of position. However, did anyone really play well in the Nations League? Maybe some had 1 good game or two, but no one truly played great overall. I do feel a lot of that was down to Dalic and the players not supporting him so no one was really up for the matches.
As for Dalic being loyal to older players, he has come out and said that was his problem and that he is working to improve that. So we will see what he does in the March friendlies and in the Nations League this time around.
I’m actually excited for the Nations League. I have a feeling that since there are 4 games in a span of around 2 weeks we will see a lot of different guys play as I’m hoping that Dalic calls up close to 30 guys for those matches to at least get a look at younger/fringe players in friendlies. Hopefully we can try a 3 CB formation with how many players play it at club level now. I’d like to see them mixed in with the starters and only play Modric in the 2 France games as I just really want to finally beat them.
It should be Gvardiol and DCC partnership when fit, no excuses
DCC has to show alot more- it’s embarrasing for DCC to be in the same conversation as Lovren but it says more about DCC than it does about Lovren- DCC has such a chance to show himself and he rarely does- Lovren was a good soldier but his time is up and DCC needs to take it -but I don’t see the fire with that guy- maybe it will come in 2022.
What can Duje do?
In the last couple of rounds of qualifiers, the guys gets a start against Cyprus and plays really well (as we win 3-0).
Then he gets benched for Vida in our game against Slovakia in Osijek, and we draw that match and lose crucial points.
Then, he starts again against Malta and scores.
Then, once again, he gets benched against Russia.
Dalic just doesn’t trust him for some reason. He plays fine when given the opportunity, but is still playing behind Lovren and Vida for the critical matches (despite those two having questionable form and status with their respective clubs during those callups).
In Dalic’s world…
It’s gonna be one of Gvardiol and Duje, and one of Lovren and Vida.
It seems like he’s just decided on picking one veteran and one young guy as the starting pair, and that’s that.
He may be superstitious or something about this, similar to his hometown player starting lineup selections.
Rakitic beauty strike from way out, 1-0 Sevilla early.
https://www.goalstube.online/2021/12/sevilla-atletico-madrid.html?m=1
It feels nice to know that he’s available as an emergency backup.
Agreed why can’t we have this problem with too many options at striker
Great news about Luka! Relief