Joško Gvardiol ( 19 year old) is one of the few bright spots on a disappointing RB Leipzig squad this season. Lately, he’s been the best player on his team and arguably the best defender in the Bundesliga. Let’s take a look at his last three games:
Leipzig vs. Borussia Monchengladbach:
- 1 goal
- 1 blocked shot, 2 interceptions
- 4/8 ground duels won
- 63 accurate passes (88.7%)
- 4/4 long balls
- 3/4 successful dribbles
Leipzig vs. Augsburg:
- 1 clearance, 1 blocked shot, 1 interception
- 6/8 ground duels won
- Fouled 3 times
- 113 touches, 90 accurate passes (90.9%)
- 2 key passes
- 6/8 long balls
- 3/3 successful dribbles
Leipzig vs. Arminia Bielefeld:
- 1 clearance, 1 interception
- 6 tackles
- 8/8 ground duels won, 1/1 aerial duels won
- 133 touches, 103 accurate passes (90%)
- 1 shot on target
- 3/8 long balls
Gvardiol’s excellent performances have been catching the eyes of some European football giants, which includes Real Madrid. Real have been enjoying a great start to the season, currently sitting atop the La Liga table and having already booked a spot in the Champions League Round of 16 after clinching 1st place in their group.
In my opinion, this move would come way too soon for Gvardiol, and I’m sure he is aware of this. He’s had an amazing transition into the Bundesliga and shouldn’t leave for at least another year, or until he’s established himself as one of football’s best defenders.
Los Blancos have also expressed interest in another Croatian footballer as well: Lovro Majer. We are all well aware of the attacking midfielder’s success at French club, Rennes, and he is now considered a true asset to the National Team squad. His versatility up front is an added bonus to his silky dribbling, amazing distribution and nose for goal. Majer has recorded one goal, five assists and three pre-assists in just 795 minutes of play (8.8 games).
It isn’t hard to see why Real would be interested in Majer. After all, he has long blonde hair, wears a headband, and has the initials “LM”.
https://youtu.be/b6HFLNZS0vI
NEVER was a bust !!
Real Madrid should just get that nogometaši pipeline poppin.
Bog i Hrvati
I’m looking forward to the nations league. Denmark & France will both be contenders for the World Cup and a test for us. I hear we’ll have two friendly games in March too. We’ll have 8-10 games to prepare for Qatar. Dalic should strictly play the youth. Vlasic looked good today with a decent assist. Unfortunately I don’t think he’s playing enough at West Ham to crack a spot with the national team. This will be a long winter for anyone who lives in the west. No hockey Winter Olympics, games in NHL, NFL, NBA are being postponed and cancelled.
Great to see interest in these two Dinamo products as they seems to have become legitimate starters for their clubs in a short amount of time. Obviously no one wants to see them sit on the bench like Kovacic did when he moved to Real Madrid, so hopefully this doesn’t happen. That said, Gvardiol’s ability to create and overall passing range is clearly on another level. I could see him playing under Guardiola’s possession system at some point.
It’s surprising to me to see them playing so much better at Leipzig and Rennes, than they did at Dinamo.
Is the HNL simply just a better league than the Bundesliga and Ligue1?
Maybe they just don’t find it challenging over there, and are killing the competition.
😉
Perhaps it’s just that they are progressively getting better?
Its possible that its partially due to them being on a hot streak?
It could also be that the HNL is underrated?
My guess is that it’s a combination of all of the above.
Croatian football can be harsh and critical, it doesn’t help when someone calls you Magarac and Majmun when you lose the ball….
….So when prospects such as Majer and Gvardiol moved to Western Leagues, they found themselves in a more supportive and nurturing environment–which has enabled them to excel.
It would be difficult for Gvardiol to get into the team now. Not criticizing his ability, but Alaba is currently there at LCB.
But this is largely going to depend on how Ancelotti can solve the dilemma. The question is would he move Alaba to LB and slot Gvardiol at Centre-half with Militao?
I believe he should stay put
I think gvardiol knows what he is and for sure he could be young and a bit naive
But they will all want him after another good year
It’s amazing to think we could possibly have another beat defender in the world, of course after lovren claimed the title;)
Anyways if you are reading this young man. Slow and steady
Dominate Germany and then go from there
I know Croats are always fairly sought after but I do feel the luka effect is a real thing
There were always great Croat players but Madrid is basically relying on an old man Croat now as literally their best player
Look at Barcelona without Messi
Look at a psg with Messi
Ronaldo screwed up juventus
Yet luka and real keep on trucking
The matchup with psg Gonna be epic
I’m also all aboard the new LM train but let him really establish himself as the man in France and go from there
Madrid should go back after kova and go for broz!
Should have made the Croatian triangle in midfield
The Luka effect is definitely a real thing.
The biggest beneficiary of this effect so far is Luka Jović.
Hahaha!
Honestly, I don’t think those Spanish knuckleheads would have bought Jovic if his name was Aleksandar or Cedomir.
That’s what you get for trying to go with a poor mans Croat
Think bout this they pick up jovic and hazard only to sell arguably one of the better midfielders in England in kova the past two season