Photo: USA Today
June 22nd will mark the seven-year anniversary of Croatia’s last match played at a FIFA World Cup.
It was quite simple for Croatia on that warm, German day: beat Australia and move onto the Round of 16 vs. Italy. But it was not meant to be as Croatia would squander, not one, but two leads in the match after Darijo Srna would whip a free kick over the wall and into the back of the net in just the second minute before captain Niko Kovač’s shot in the 56th minute rolled past Aussie goalkeeper Željko Kalac. However, Harry Kewell, who appeared to be offside, struck home late to force a 2-2 draw and see the Socceroos finish ahead of Croatia in Group F.
It was the infamous game which saw Croatian defender Josip Šimunić receive three yellow cards from English referee Graham Poll before finally being sent off the pitch. The question is: will it be his last?
Unless Belgium completely implode and drop points against Wales or Scotland, even if Croatia wins at home, the Belgians should win the group on goal differential. This means Croatia heads back to a two-legged playoff where anything can happen.
Surely Croatia will not miss two straight World Cups, right? A team that is currently ranked #4 in the world, which will change on July 4th, is in danger of missing the world’s biggest sporting event. Should fans be worried or is this just the usual cardiac Croatia we are used to seeing?
Croatia’s 2-2 draw against Australia
Apparently tattoo’s and a gym pass are all thats required to make someone tough these days…
I agree with the tats. To many people have ugly tattoos and I think it’s a sign of self-hatred when a person has so many. I am old enough to remember the time before there was a tatoo shop on every corner. Just ugly really. Thank God I never got one.
Ziva u should see the AFL (local football league – not soccer different type of game) in aus every 2nd cunt is covered with tattoos it isnt the xexception anymore its actually the rule !
@Ante B.
Overalls and Docs who wore that look? For most of the 1990s I had my hair in a number one crop, flight and getta Gripps. Good for stomping on emo kids.
Back to Livaja…….the guy looks like a fricken punk……20 years old and that many tats shows me a he has some real issues. Again, attention starved kid. I can handle if a kid wants to frost his hair with some dressing, but add that with the ink to both his arms and I see a kid seeking attention.
@dannyj……..yes, guys like Halilovic and Jedvaj could play, but Dinamo refused to release them.
@poglavnik……outside of Turkey and maybe neighoring countries (if they made), these early games draw zero interest.
Sorry about not putting something up ahead of time, its hard to gauge what people care about sometimes
hahaha the serb video was hilarious FUCKING HILARIOUS man how can u not laugh ???
im not getting carried away but consieerign we were missing our 4 best players at that age, i dont think its an overstatement to say we’re the #1 team un the universe at u20 level KTHX BAI
@Poglavnik:
I thought I saw Kovac and Jozak in the crowd, but it did look thin.
On a side note I thought Pjaca looked pretty solid.
Not true Iggy!
It was in Canada in ’07 and I went to all the games in Vancouver,
The Brazil/Spain quarter final was sold out and tickets were going for $200 outside the stadium.
The group stage games were nearly all sold out too and their were some shitty teams in our group.
Did get to see Uruguay with Suarez and Cavani.
Spain had Pique, and Brazil had Pato.
It was an awesome tourney!
@igg
calm down buddy, it’s a under 20 game, don’t get carried away, and statistics show Uruguay had the better game
and what on earth was that retarded serbian video you posted the link to, and how do you even come across something like that, that’s retarded in itself
the crowd is always non existeant for youth world cup mans it doesnt matter where its hjosted there is never anybody there
the kid jedvaj from Dinamo is reportedly going to Roma for about 10 million Euro’s and i only 17 years old.
Has anyone seen him play? is he that good?
I hope so, we are crying out for a gun center back.
The crowd in Turkey was pathetic!
These are 2 of the better footballing countries in the world and the support looked worse than a Dinamo game at Maksimir.
Wow.
Can we please stop pretending like we are some footballing powerhouse and celebrate a big win!
Without Kovacic, Halilovic, Radosevic and Jedvaj we put a solid footballing nation in Uruguay.
If Rebic can run at defenders and give us that 20 meter burst on the wing then Hvala Bogu!
I am gonna check out the Uzbekistan match this Wed to see if we can get on a roll.
I feel since ’98 we have not had the real depth to compete with the big boys.
We ran out of gas against Spain when they went to their bench and brought on Navas.
I want to see all these young studs in the squad this summer against Lichenstein.
We need to play like Bayern Munich. With width on the flanks, quick counter when we gain possession.
Bog I Hrvatska!
All that’s sacred comes from youth
Dedication, naive and true
With no power, nothing to do
I still remember, why don’t you?
🙂
also lovely goal to rebic.. whoever said he made it harder rthan it shouldve been is correct but.. u know how kids tourneys are they are showing off to try get contracts so its no surprise at least he showed good skills
also when i wasa kid i had long hair much longer than dado prso and wasw a goth kid so i cant blame these guys give em a break they are only funny lil fellas lol
ok i just wokre up and FYUCK YEAH WE WON FUCKING DSMASHED THEM SUCK ON IT UR A GAY
!!!
i ddint see the game jusrt watched the 2 minute highlights on the fifa site
also to people saying no link are u really not familiar with first row ?
it was on first row wasnt it? i checked and it had a placemarker before i went to bed but obviously i didnt stay up anyway surely we will smash new zealand since they are lesser class aussies so that should be an easy win and then we are into the what quarters?
WORLD CUP VICTORY coming up DUDES LOLOL!!!!
its funny they are little kidlets !!! LOOK AT THE LIL KIDS… LOOK AT THEM !!!!!
uzhekisstan look pretty good but thankfully we’ll get thrhu even if we lose to those scumbags now
Only one strap buckled on the overalls- for real-
Mohawks are out of control seems like every team has a player with one.
I’m more of a Zubaz and Hypercolor kinda guy.
NK Drava,
What look did you rock in the early 90’s? Please tell me overalls, Doc Martens and either Stussy or Morrisey or Body Glove.
I don’t care how they win, as long as they win.
I can forgive Rebric for his ugly Mohawk, he’s a good guy.
But Livaja, man, that guy is a punk who gets suspended by his club team. And the Mohawk and tattoos just add to a poor rep.
so how does it work when you have these under 19 under 20 under 21 world cups or however many they have. could a guy like halilovic in theory play for all the teams since he is young enough, or do the guys have to be born in that year to play on that team?
would be nice to make some waves there without our best players
the time wasting is pathetic and embarrassing. Our 2 strikers went down like they were shot with machine guns. Lucky to come away with 3 points. we sat back most of the second half and absorbed all sorts of pressure.
Getting ugly- the announcers sure our kind to our players…
haha man were really putting on a soap opera
typical hrvati, out of shape, lay of the prsut and pecenica
@Ziva. You are that typical Uncle.
In fact: You are our old Uncle on this board- Uncle Ziva… Hope you drink like the typical Uncle.
attention starved youth by frosting hair and gets tats…….shame on them.
we deserve to loose playing like pussies, wasting the clock for 30 minutes
I was the same way in the early 90’s –
And I thought I looked sweet – looking back now- not so sweet-
Same for them in 20 years… For now rock it-
They look like typical 20 year old footballers!
And they are playing well…
@Ziva
while I agree with u that livaja does look like a homo, lets remember the age of the seljaci are over. Many good footballers have tats and weird hair. Quality is what matters not look. Look at Mandza, Stanic dyed his har as well, I’m sure u dont need for me to list the players.
Ante B: “why the fuck do these idiots have Mohawks, frosted tips and wannabe thug tattoos?!”
Mrs. BBB: “because they’re under 20 and idiots. Remember when that was you and you did stupid shit like that? Dumb ass.”
Point taken.
The only thing that worries me about Rebic is that he has that tendency to try to do too much by himself. Halilovic has the same habit. Hes talented and has the ability to play the ball with his feet, unlike most of our A-team strikers.
Nicely surprised withe first half and the possession we had.
As for Livaja…….he is a guy I hope fails. He is a me first person. Me first type of people add frosting to their hair and decide to get full arm tats…….
Rebic reminds me of that Winger/Forward Type like Neymar.
Rebic has some potential not the typical Croat player. A traditional winger type player.
Rebic definitely made that goal harder then it should have been. Not sure why he didn’t pump it in the first chance he got.
When Livaja went to take the penalty, I immediately had this uneasy feeling. And lo and behold he missed. He shouldn’t be taking them–he can’t keep his cool.
Rebic bravo majstore! Let’s take care of business in the second half.
what a goal by rebic, bravo 1-0
Rebic with a decent goal. Up 1-0 before halftime
LOLOL………Livaja’s PK miss. Maybe his next tatoo should an instructional guide how to kick a PK on his left arm since it appears his right arm is all inked up.
Livaja picks up a yellow 14 seconds in than hits the post with a PK 20 minutes later.
@jure…..not a word because nothing is expected from this team. The savez sure doesn’t give a shit about this competition, if they did they would have forced the clubs teams to release their best players. Plus, Inter didn’t release Kovacic and Napoli didn’t release Radosevic.
If you’re not in the states and you don’t have cable then out of luck there.
espn3 has the game
http://espn.go.com/watchespn/index#sport/soccer-futbol/
fukn shit site, u 20 to kick off and not a word here
Anyone got link for u20 game????
LOL
For some reason that reminds me of this,
http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?client=mv-google&layout=tablet&feature=plpp&ipadtype=2&utcoffset=-420&v=tQ_fnYhI1HU&has_verified=1
this is like the best music video to come out of serbia i n years lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MuyLraUsh4
@ ziva thanks for the info. my vision has always been when i have kids some day to vicariously live my failed sports dreams through them by tieing a soccer ball to them (just joking…maybe). but living in the states, i figure the big issue with that is that the american youth system is probably at a big disadvantage of over school youth academies around the world where they might be training soccer all day long and very little school. perhaps a risky proposition to have you kid just play soccer rather than go to school
No idea on how many kids are at the youth levels of the clubs…..you can do the math. They have teams from age 11 and up. Some will have two or three teams in the lower age levels.
Yes, some kids live in housing provided by the club or with “guest” parents. Depends if they are from out of town and brought in. They do go to school but training takes place each day, especially once at the U15 level.
hey how do the soccer academies work? for example, how many players are there at dinamo at each youth level? do these kids actually live in housing provided by the club? do they actually go to school or just train? i’m curious. i got no idea
F**kin’ Ziva!
You totally remember me of my Uncle sometimes.
Although I’m sure most of us have an Uncle like you!
So sad. Can only imagine what his father and family are feeling right now. R.I.P. Alen…
@Juan Juric……Chile impressed be in 2010 at the WC more than any other team not named Spain and Germany……they didn’t change up anything in their game against Spain and for that I give them credit.
Regarding Pamic……………I think now would be a good time for the “he had no heart” quote that some of you use judging a team or player based on what you see from a computer screen. Too soon?????
RIP
@Colin
Those specialists should be ashamed. The kid should never had been cleared to play. I was unaware he collapsed THREE Times. Hopefully his brother does not go to the same specialists.
he- he- he- eh- eh- eh- VIVA CHILE!
ziva & jack
Chile play good futbol and have good team 98, i like team 2010 when we play espana we play better. what you think?
I like for Chile & Croatia in Brazil for next year, Croatia have good team but need belive.
It’s a shame, becuase his condition was no secret. He collapsed THREE TIMES before yesterday, and saw several specialists who all cleared him to resume play (with an exception for the one in February). When he played in Belgium, he collapsed and then did it again in 2011, then this past February. I hope they give his brother a check up before this season incase this is hereditary. This should be monitered better, and not happen in professional sports. he’s also the 22nd player to die due to a heart condidtion in the last five yeras.
Tragedy indeed. If he collpased in February he should not have been playing now, not even pick up soccer. Should of been doing cardiac rehab instead.
Problem with testing is sometimes it is unable to pick up many things. For example perfectly healthy player has a ruptured plaque which causes a heart attack. Problem also when you are this young most people think they are indestructible and if they have chest pain they dismiss it and do not seek medical attention or ignore medical advice and keep playing. Regardless like “anonymous” posted they have to put in better standards for testing and follow them.
RIP Alen
They need to do a better job of screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy over there. Shit like this should not still be happening to a professional athletes anymore.
RI.P Alen Pamic
Its always a tragedy to die so young.
Alen Pamic, son of Igor Pamic, brother of Dinamo’s Zvonko Pamic, and midfileder for Istra 1961 passed away yesterday during a small pickup on the field. He suffered a heart attack. He mised most of the season after collapsing on the field during a match against Lokomotiva in February, and was diagnosed with a heart problem that kept him from playing. He was 23 years old. RIP
@Mate:
I did not buy them yet. I looked at them and they seem very similar to the footskills drills he already does at the various clinics I pay for.
I will probably buy them when he is a little older and has the ability/desire to put the DVD in and watch it on his own.
He always wants to play what he calls “foyer soccer” with me or my wife in my foyer. I wished there were more kids for him to have organic playing time with, but that doesn’t seem to happen in my neck of the woods.
He is still young and I am trying to keep it fun.
oh nvm couple of days awat
http://www.fifa.com/u20worldcup/matches/index.html
ugh.. i would watch but 3am and 4am games.. fuck my juicy fat cunt full of piss that’s a bit difficult..
coerver they used to go on about that all the time in aus
what happened with the youth world cup thing that we are in ? did we play yet or win or lose or what??
By the way, you buy those coerver coaching CDs jack for your kid. I’m telling you I learned from those CDs all the ball skills I needed
Nobody’s depth is on par with brazil or Argentina, even France is having problems fielding a solid forward, bout time they turn the reins over to gomis
If coached in Croatia yes. Niko nije jace od mamica. But for real. It’s honest shame to have a foreign coach, same shame to celebrate against your old club. That’s what differentiates Europe and especially Croatia from America, our people have solid class. If Croatia can’t produce a strong enough coach to lead us to the World Cup, I don’t want to go
I blame the coach if Croatia does not make it to Brazil.
You can’t get rid of most of these players.
Croatia’s depth is not on par with Brazil or Argentina.
No shame in a foreign coach.
Although can you picture L Van Gaal or another foreign coach playing an underserving player to appease hidden forces?
Barem mi je tata tako rekao
Gledajte, ako ne idemo na SP svi su krivi ne samo trener. Na kraju krajeva igrači igraju a ne trener
Ako mi me ide u Brazil, Stimac ce biti krivi
Sad na bitniju temu, sta mislite za jedvaja, jel moguće da bude sljedeći Maldini ili nas novine lazu
Svi ovdje su izgubili vjeru u našu ekipu,nemojte se brinut, nastavit cemo dalje i kvalificirat se za SP
Stipe ne zelim ti prigovarat ali najveća sramota ti je kad imas stranog trenera
Stimac is a crappy coach. I said since he became manager. We need a manager who knows something about tactics and doesn’t rely on modric all the time. I don’t know why we don’t get any interest from any foreign coaches, I don’t know about the politics but I guess we are cheap
Taylor Twellman makes me yearn for the days of Big Red Lalas.
@Ziva:
I just caught the 1st half of the U20 US vs Spain.
UGHH.
I don’t have stats, but average touches per possession for Spain is significantly less. Finishing quality is nowhere near parity for the sides.
@TGC
I think he is coaching an Academy team at the Galaxy.
Still plenty of English trainers. Some are good, some aren’t.
Since we’re on the youth squads, I’m pretty sure Razov is coaching US under 15 or 16.
I remember back in the day when clubs used to hire coaches just because they had an English accent. It looks like they actually require you to play a couple games these days.
I agree about Chile. Argentina as well goes without saying.
I bought a Dinamo training DVD to use with my son.
It had U6,8,10 drills. I am not saying that the DVD is the best thing since sliced bread, but the drills were different in nature than what I have seen in the US for U6.
Most drills I have seen in America are either 1v1 or ball skills for that age group. The Dinamo video introduces the age appropriate fundamental elements of team play and field awareness.
I’ve read about the 10-month academy system but by the time these kids enter it they are already years behind the rest of the world.
It is a step in the right direction.
Copying Uruguay is not a bad thing. Even though the are struggling now, I enjoyed Chile and their style going back to 1998.
The US is pushing the 10 month academy system to emulate Europe. I don’t think its anywhere near there, but it beats playing for a high school for 3 months out of the year.
@Ziva:
I hope the US doesn’t start playing like Mexico or Central America. That would be as bad as the poor man’s long ball tactics they tried in the past.
Too many midget dribbler ball hogs in central america.
I would rather them try to emulate Uruguay or another South American NT.
I agree, my point about Hispanic players is that their style of play leads to more creative players. I don’t think it is a coincidence that the two most creative playmakers for the US in this generation are Donovan and Dempsey and both of them grew up playing in the youth ranks with Hispanic club teams.
Also, I watched the US-Spain U20 game today and the difference in development is huge. The best Spanish players have been with clubs like Barca, Real and Atletico since they were 11 or 12. The best US players at age 11 or 12 are still at local youth teams.
@Ziva:
I agree, but I think coming up with a consistent playing style and sticking to a training program is more important than ancestry.
The US could go to Minnesota and develop a top notch program using 4th generation Viking/German stock if they wanted to.
RE: Scotland loss – There is one fact about the vatreni which has been plaguing their play ( and us supporters ) and that is – ill discipline. Losing to the bottom placed weakest team in the group and throwing away 3 points at home and possible goal difference points is just slack and complacent.
Until complete professionalism and discipline enters there national psyche, they will never reach the top. Playing at the top level requires confidence that comes from winning when you are expected.
Throwing games, and lets face it they threw away 3 points against scotland ( which is why Belguim where laughing at us ) is just a loser mentality. Period!!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=611466558885930&set=vb.406471442759744&type=2&theater
I was forwarded this link.
This kid isn’t on a USMNT but plays in Croatia’s bush leagues.
Have any of you seen this kid play? He speaks well of Croatia.
I guess Dinamo is looking for the next Sammir. At least this kid doesn’t seem like an asshole.
Sammir is an ebola monkey!
The only thing some of these guys are catching in Brazil is the monster, if you don’t know what that is, it’s AIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If the US ever wants to improve on the world stage they will need to use more Latino players.
Man, just looked at USA’s U20 WC roster. You guys are finally getting some contributions from all the Beaners that live down there.
@Feech
Can you believe these broads shave their bushes these days?
@Croatia vs. Antwerp
What will their protests bring? Nothing.
More socialist idealists.
First let me tell you a couple of three things.
First I would bang that Brazil chick in that youtube and second birth control and planned parenthood. The cure to hunger and poverty is responsible reproduction. This is somehing that the third world has not learned yet.
The protesting is, for the most part, not that violent. Of course the world media seems to focus more on the violence than the actual message. Love to see this passion from Brazil, and Turkey too!
@Cro v Ant
Never thought about the next 3 WC’s like that…
Still would love to go to Russia.
Not sure if my liver or penis would come back in one piece though.
While the people have used the Confederations Cup to draw attention and voice their greviances, they are only going to get more radicalized during a much bigger event next year.
The people will fight back. And who the hell knows what’s going to happen. They have moved World Cups in the past.
I’m gonna have to take a rain check and not go to the next three world cups:
Brasil: Civil Unrest, a likely Police State.
Russia: High crime, and Chechnians can go ape shit.
Qatar: 120 heat and no alcohol.
Thank God they invented HDTV!
Belgium aint losing any games…we get second, hopefully, then we hopefully get drawed with the siptari or norway or some bullshit team, our luck, we will get france or portugual
I doubt the WC will be pulled from Brazil. I’m sure plenty of Brazilian money was given under the table to FIFA members and they wont do anything to move the cup from Brazil. You’ll see a mini-police state during the WC and leadup to it next year.
Props to the people of Brazil for using the Confed Cup to draw this attention to their cause.
Further info on the finances of the WC
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZApBgNQgKPU
Confederations cup is in danger of being cancelled, not that any of those players would much mind. This all started last week. Cops have been cleaning out the gang violence in the favellas, and the government is trying it’s hardest to put on a good exterior while the rest of the country rots. The World Cup brings money for a very short period of time, and most (if not all) countries end up losing money when they host the WC.
Here is a video that’s become pretty popular regarding why people are fighting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZApBgNQgKPU
Even the Spanish Team has been robbed, and they were staying in a luxury hotel.
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/1481073/brazil-police-probe-spain-team-hotel-robbery?cc=5901
When Vatreni qualify, they are going to one fucked up country. No way this Tourney is gonna run smooth.
Well, regarding the World Cup. There is chaos in Brasil as over a million took to the street last night. And the protestors have turned violent.
You got a whole under-class of people suffering, and now things are imploding. And the infrastructure for the tourney is far from complete!
There is talk of moving the Tourney to USA or England. It will be safer for the teams and fans.
@Croat
At 17, Tin looks better than Lovren. Joking…kinda
Lol, at the njemac, that vid is to funny
Reports in the UK suggest that Tin Jedvaj may be joining Arsenal with Wenger making a £6m bid, probably not very realistic or likely to be factual but still interesting.
Regarding our next qualifier, only the most optimistic can expect us to beat Serbia. I would say they played better than us in our own ground, I remember a couple of good chances they created, whereas our two goals, both from set pieces were our only chances in the game. Sigh. We desperately need a 24 year old, potential fulfilled, Halilovic.
rofl.. that german dude either sat on something wet or shat his pants i think
Anon: I think we’re worried about serbia too it will be hard but.. tbh we’re set for second arent we? I mean does it really matter? Obviously we dont want to lose to serbia thatsw for sure, i’d be very happy with a draw over there and a win would be fantabulous, if we win my cock will be hard for days !
But lets be honest, even if we lose every game 10-0 from here we are going to finish 2nd so who cares really? Prolly more important to get some form and combinations going for the playoffs that will come after ?
Winning the group isnt OUT of the question.. if we beat belgium and they fuck up another game then we can win, it’s not impossible but looks slightly unlikely.. I’d rather lose to belgium at home and beat those fucking cuntrag serbs away tbh .. i really dont want to lose to those motherfucking scumcunts
@TheGoldenChild
true
hahaha the German dude is 1 funny dude, that’s a typical Croatian Shindig right there
@Raptore
Got a good laugh off of that one.
We have nobody but ourselves to blame for the lose to other Croatian team lol. We cant complain about the offside, if that was us scoring that goal in that kind of offside position, we wouldn’t be complaining, would we? We had two leads and blew it, that is the game.
Everyone is worried about Belgium, I’m worried about Serbia, there going to do everything possible to make life extremely difficult for us in that game, nothing will be better for them than to tie us or even beat us, even if they tie, they win bragging rights, if we tie against the cetnici, we are screwed, Mihahlovic will do anything possible to motivate his team to knock us out. I don’t know why serbia isnt playing well. There defence is world class, Kolorav, Natasic, Ivanovic, and Subotic. I dont know, they cant score, just like us.
svabo je Pijan ko majka
& if Hrvatska qualify for WC 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khq0fqNliT8
..
THE FIX WAS IN !!!!! 2006 WORLD CUP
Croatia vs. Australia
Stjepan Tomas was clearly on the take in that game.
He thought he was playing volleyball the whole match.
Gave away a PK and could have easily given away another.
Further evidence of his shady play was the fact he never played for the national team again after that game despite the fact he was a very good D man in those days.
Finally the Ref as we can all see allowed a goal that was clearly offside by a mile.
On another note that wasn’t the only game that was fixed that world cup.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/3260610/Match-fixing-How-2006-World-Cup-fell-prey-to-organised-crime-Football.html
http://www.thespoiler.co.uk/2008/09/04/sepp-blatter-responds-to-world-cup-2006-match-fixing-scandal/
http://goal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/q-a-on-match-fixing-with-declan-hill-author-of-the-fix/?_r=0
hey, i know this is off topic, but this is basically what a lot of Croats would have been feeling like after the Snodgrass goal..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKjVi44aUDs
hahaha
We should be worried.
Anytime 1 team has to count on one player is problems (here’s looking at you Luka Modric).
Can’t beat Scotland at home? Coach should be fired and replaced immediately. Those kind of results for a top 10 team are horrendous. I can’t see them qualifying and don’t even deserve it.
If Stimac’s players moved as fast as his mouth we would be ok.
He’s playing against Ljubicic’s apprentice. That should be an interesting watch.
fuck my cunt.. Dodig lol
http://www.atpworldtour.com/Share/Event-Draws.aspx?EventId=741&Year=2013
yeah.., the guy who said if u bet against your team u get some consolation for losing is right i have often thought that.. its a slight slight consolation for being upset over the loss
also to the aussie who said he knew aus would draw cro – SAME ! i knew as soon as both were qualified they woukd be in the same group and i really didnt expect cro to beat aus. It would just be too good and i dont expect good things to happen in life, besides our repka is so ill-fated, dont you think ?
There is a tragic feel to them that u know is going to come out at every qualy/tourney stage its just a matter of time i really feel an ill-fated vibe about them sadly : (
When they start falling apart and have to squeak in they’re not doing much
Hrvatska plays Lichtenstein and Bosna plays US… we almost always book the shittiest friendlies
@ Ziva
What will they miss out on? The $$$ they would see from just playing a round or two in the EL. I forget the number, but doesn’t every team that makes it to CL/EL get some type of prize money, depending on the round they make it to?
For a mickey mouse Croatian teams like Hajduk and my beloved Rijeka, those few hundred thousand euro could go a long way.
I think all us realistic HNL fans hope our teams make it out the first round. Anything after that was a gift. Hell, I was ecstatic when Rijeka beat Differdange in 2009 and made it to the next round. As soon as we drawed Metalist, everyone knew we weren’t going to advance, but it was nice just to make it to 3rd round and Rijeka didn’t get destroyed either in that tie, suprisingly.
Mujos v Yankees! Should be a beaut!
BiH will win that friendly. Not sure how the US will look, but BiH doesn’t play too many games in Sarajevo anymore, so that crowd will be up for it.
When you look at the BiH starting 11, they have more than just one or two guys on that roster that could start for Cro. Very good starting 11……depth is an issue for them.
@ARMADA87….could hajduk miss out on a spot for Europe?????….sure. But, what will they miss out on? Hajduk usually goes out in one of the qualifying rounds anyway.
betting against your team is not an issue. I have no problem betting against Cro if i think they will lose or tie. I usually put money down at the start of every tourney to see if a team will advance out of the group stage.
I doubt this will take Mamic down because he’ll pay off somebody along the way but if it does, that’s a step in the right direction. We shall see
@Bobby V
Hopefully that will be a massacre.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/usa-meet-bosnia-herzegovina-august-181900898–sow.html
Haven’t seen this posted today so here it is. Mamic indicted for ethnic hatred. “If this is what finally takes him down, it’ll be like Al Capone being taken down for tax fraud”
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/soccer-dinamo-zagreb-chief-indicted-ethnic-hatred-105857085.html
Yeah tbh I don’t think I have ever bet against the repka, I do like taking them on double chance / draw no bet type bets though when they are big underdogs. They are useless as a favorite though the majority of time.
I have bet against dinamo / hajduk alot in European play quite a bit though, and it has worked for me quite well (ESP in recent years).
Don’t feel badly about it at all either …
Hajduk will be competitive next season, no question. Maloca, Vukovic, Blazevic, and oremus are replaceable.
and they’re adding Galesic, Andjelovic, maybe milic; plus kis/dzoni, bradaric, mikanovic, pasalic, basic will all step up
and lokomotiva wont be as good as last year with the loss of antolic and kramaric
@Ziva and Majstore
That would be “blood money” in my eyes.
In terms of betting …
Worst thing you can ever do is bet for your favorite team (unless its a sound, rational play). Usually not the case when Croatia is involved, they are always pure sketch.
If anything you should bet against them. So if they win you are happy they won, and if they lose, at least you get a few bucks out of it and aren’t mega depressed.
It’s great that Hajduk is rolling out a team composed completely of youngsters and hey, I hope some of them do great things, transfer out of Hajduk and become serviceable NT players. But if they do in fact have a fire sale this summer…
doesn’t this have a chance of backfiring, at least for the HNL season? I mean if you just send out a bunch of kids, I feel like there is a decent chance Hajduk don’t make it to Europe, especially with teams like Rijeka, RNK Split, Lokomotiva all getting better…
if that’s the case, fear not jadan Hajduk faithfull – Dinamo will only will win from Rijeka by a 10-15 point margin, not 20+ 😉
he signed till 2016, but most likely they will sell him next year at full price because teams won’t give low ball offers because hes on the last year of his contract. so don’t worry 1 more year with him, but you can’t deny he has talent
great, wedding boy for a few more years at my beloved jadan hajduk.
Key subs…
Kis/Dzoni,
Galesic/Andjelkovic/Lustica/Caktas/Basic/Bradaric/Pasalic
Mikanovic/Elez/Lucic
Franko Andrijasevic extended his contract with Hajduk…
Now they have to extend the Basic and Elez contracts and the team will be set.(possible purchase of H.Milic)
Sell off Vukovic, Maloca, Blazevic, and Oremus
and the team will look like this…
………………Maglica………………..
…H.Milic..Andrijasevic..Kouassi.
…………..Milic……Susic……………
…Jozinovic.Jonjic.Milovic.Vrsajevic
……………….Kalinic………………..
Mamic has been indicted today for inciting racism against the Serbs. Good ol’ Mamic…
Croatia was ranked in the top ten when they finished third in their group for qualifing for South Africa 2010. As I have watched this group, I noticed they have a habit of playing to the level of their competion. They had some brilant performances such England 2007, Germany 2008, Turkey 2011, and even the games against Spain and Italy in 2012, the NT showed their class. Then you see the NT lose to Georgia and Scottland and even tie a team like Ukraine. That leaves me screaming at the TV!
@Igor Rukovic…………..I must not have won much and I rolled it over into a another parlay because I can’t rememebr how much i actually won. I’ve bet for and against Croatian teams and athletes all the time. That is never an issue to me. As things stand right now, I plan to put money on a tie between Cro-Serbia when they play in BG in Sept.
@Ziva
So you put money against Croatia?
I know it was a good bet, but making money of Croatia to fail is just not right.
It’s like betting against your family.
How much did you win anyway?
scored offside*
Sure Australia scored to tie the match, however Stjepan Tomas’ second hand ball was not called for a penalty and we all know how many yellows Simunic received that fixture…
Tat game was bittersweet for me. I hate seeing Cro lose, but I had money on Australia advancing out of the group and into the knockout stage.
Australia shouldn’t have advanced, they only did due to a very clear offsides goal!
If anyone wishes to watch the last World Cup games of Croatia, they can be see here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_F112mJTMw – Brazil
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKGchwzsoTk – Australia part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1H99E7g4WEM – Australia part 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHrdXITsQbI – Japan part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9xjdBcfFwA – Japan part 2
I was in Jersey watching this game with my family. I punched my recliner like a dozen times.
RIP Tony Soprano.
I thought going in Belgium was the best team in the group and they would win the group. That said, almost every team (even Spain) has a hick up in qualifying and Belgium has yet to have one.
Australia has again qualified for the 2014 world cup in Brazil. They beat Iraq 1-0 the other night and finished second in the group behind Japan. However I think Croatia will now struggle to qualify. That loss against scotland at home was embarrassing to say the least. Even without Modric they should have one that game easily. Anyway I hope Croatia do somehow make it and you never know we can have another Croatia V Australia game at the 2014 world cup.
It all depends on who Cro draws in the knockout round.
If they draw a team like France or Sweden, they could be knocked out very easily.
I use Sweden as an example because they have Ibrahimovic, who can bring down even the best teams on a good day.
It was a tough one to swallow, and i knew that as soon as australia qualified for the world cup that croatia and australia would be placed in the same group.
I waited all those years for australia to be at the big dance and now i was placed in a position where they were the enemy.
I was in hrvatska in 05 and watched the sweden-croatia match at maksimir with my cousins and i said to them, now i hope that australia will qualify. My cousins laughed and laughed when i said that australia are not that bad of a team.
They said “je dobri su, dobri ko govno.”
Then the world cup rolled around and i decided to call those cousins and see what they thought of the group and australia as a challenge.
Arrogant as ever they told me this group is a breeze and only brazil is a threat.
Croatia played their first game against brazil and played well only kaka’s goal seperated them.
At the same time the aussies won their first game against Japan with a come from behind thriller. CAHILL! 2 Aloisi 1
Still confident my cousins insisted that it will still be a cakewalk, because croatia will cruise past their next opponents.
When they could only manage a draw against japan. Thanks to srna’s penalty miss, it set up a must win game against australia.
Now i thought croatia were in trouble since we didnt handle the last World cup well with a must win game against ecuador.
My cousins shared some of my concerns, but still thought it’s Australia how much of a threat can they be?
well it was found out on june 22nd 2006. Australia deservedly advanced and croatia were on their way home.
I remember the shit i copped from all my aussie friends after that game.
But i also had to remind my cocky cousins of their statements before that 2006 World Cup.
Even though Croatia didn’t advance to the knockout stage of said world cup and the grief we all suffered from that failure.
Its much better to watch them fail and be there(World Cup) than not be there at all.
Yes it’s been 7 long years since Croatia last appeared in the WC….
But we don’t have to wait until next year to see Croatia in a World Cup. Alas, on June 23rd Hrvatska U-20 kicks off it’s WC against Uruguay. And you can watch it on ESPN3.com. Let’s see what our young guns got.
i cannot stand seeing my fellow hrvati lose at anything
i couldnt watch the match i turned it off and went away towards the end i HATE seeing us lose.. its upsetting to iggy :_(__
Yeah this shit is gutting!
June 20th will be 15 years since we beat Japan in Nantes (I was there!). I prefer those memories.
i dont even want to look at this
delete post IMMEDIATELY
With an amateur coach in charge anything can happen. I still think they will qualify via the playoffs but they won’t do anything of not in Brazil…most likely another group exit where they play two shit games but get one unexpected result…the norm for Croatia at most tournaments
We will make it ! I think the last game woke them up , & they will not let it happen again ! Like my Hajduk Brother Jarac Said , our Best Player was not out there in the loss . With Luka back , & our team knowing no game is a gimmie , we Will be just Fine ! KUP JE NAŠ !! Bog , Hrvati , Hajduk , i HNS !!!
nothing to freak out about i said it before and I’ll say it again, this squad is our most talented since ’98. We layed an egg against scottland, shit happens. That wasnt suppose to happen but it did, our best team wasnt out there, our best player wasnt on the field. We will qualify for the WC, question is can we get out of knockout stage?