Hajduk’s U19 glory run comes to an abrupt end in the final against Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. Although the score-line is quite disappointing, this is in no way a disappointing European campaign from the young Bili, having beaten Shakhtar Donetsk, Manchester City, Borussia Dortmund and AC Milan on their road to the final. AZ possess an incredibly strong squad, and a mixture of that talent along with a mistake-ridden and uninspiring Hajduk performance caused the overwhelming score-line. Despite this, the silver medal is an excellent feat and over 10 000 Croatian fans showed their support for our youngsters. Names to keep an eye on in the future are Borna Buljan, Luka Vušković, Jere Vrčić and Roko Brajković.
The first half comprised of a Hajduk bunker soaking up tons of pressure and having difficulty stringing passes together to force a counter-attack, until AZ finally broke the seal in the 45th minute from the penalty spot. The young Luka Vušković showed some inexperience as he lacked composure and went in for a dumb tackle in his own box.
The last twenty minutes of the match were simply heartbreaking. Poku and Meerdink both recorded braces as everything just fell apart. At the end of the day, AZ’s talent shone and Hajduk just could not get it together.
~
Manchester City…Borussia Dortmund…AC Milan…all beaten.
Croatian football fans, we are witnessing history unfold right beneath our eyes. One more win, and Hajduk Split’s U19s will be the UEFA Youth Champions League winners! After an extremely tough road to the final match, the boys are set to face dutch side AZ Alkmaar’s U19s, who have defeated Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Sporting Portugal on their way. No doubt, it will be a tough final challenge for Hajduk to overcome, but with extraordinary talents such as Luka Vušković, Rokas Pukštas, and Roko Brajković, it’s hard to imagine that they won’t be the favorites entering the match. In fact, both SofaScore and FotMob have listed Hajduk as the final favorite ahead of Monday’s face-off.
Finally, a talented group of young Croatians has come together to achieve group success, rather than having pieces of the puzzle fall apart once put together. Credit to Hajduk’s outstanding coaching and their surreal fan support during the tournament. These Hajduk youngsters are projected to play a large role in the future of Croatian football as a whole – and a win tomorrow would contribute to much more than just the club itself.
Hajduk’s expected XI:
Buljan – Dolonga, Jurić-Petrašilo, Vušković, Hrgović – Kavelj, Capan, Pukštas – Vrcić, Brajković, Antunović
So allegedly, Manchester United prepared to pay the release clause for Livakovic. Thoughts?
David de Gea is still with the club and apparently signing a new contract.
Livakovic would have to compete with him for the starting job.
Man U don’t care, since they’ll gladly pay 10 million Euro for goalkeeper depth.
This is the problem with EPL. Transfer amount means nothing, and you’re at risk of being benched no matter how much they paid to bring you in (unless you’re at a Gvardiol-level transfer fee).
0% chance he goes there. Ten Hag has already apparently said he wants a keeper that is good with their feet. Liva is the complete opposite of that.
Real Madrid are playing terribly vs Girona. Modric is taken off in the 63rd minute…he wasn’t playing bad. I’m a bit concerned because he has an ice pack on his leg. Hopefully its nothing.
4-1 loss… He did get fouled and tripped up badly at one point, hopefully just a bruise
Was 4-2 final. From managingmadrid.com ratings (6 was one of the highest ones): Luka Modric—6: Managed 4 key passes in just under an hour. Did well to turn in midfield and try to play vertical passes, but Girona defended well.
Newcastle showing interest in Brozovic. Please don’t go there… Croatians don’t fare well in EPL
He might do well there I believe. Nothing gets to that guy. Brozovic will be fine wherever he lands.
His game is pretty well suited for EPL.
But yea, I would prefer he didn’t go there anyway.
I would prefer that he not go as well. But, if he decides it’s time to slide he’s unflappable and would succeed anywhere imo.
can we say this team was a bust? too early?
Can we give the team a break for having one really bad game…at this point instead…
They are young and there is no way one can ascertain this information in one tournament alone.
Maybe a congratulatory note instead for the results that they had this tournament would be more suitable to this conversation.
I feel like if this was Dinamo Mladi it would be a different story right now on how some.of the people would be responding here. It should be the same if either team made it.
mental midgets would be an appropriate name for them, no? given they’re a junior team?
Live by the sword die by the sword. As Kurt Westergaard could attest, Netherlands is a huge testing ground for counter attacking guerilla warfare soccer. Someone spoke to soon, we had to be bery bery quiet, we were hunting rabbids. Not a bad run for this small rag tag group of homeland warriors. A great Hajduk legacy and accomplishment just the same to go so far.
My two cents about the game. I only saw the second half so I didn’t see the PK or the foul committed to warrant it. And this is only my opinion based on my playing experience for Toronto and Mississauga Croatia as a kid in Canada in the 80’s and as an adult in organized rec leagues later on.
From what I saw they didn’t play too badly despite the score. The other team was bigger physically so they were outmuscled from the ball (size makes a difference as a teenager. Not so much later on). And I saw from their last match against AC that ball possession and slow build up is not their thing. With quick counter attacks you may not get many chances so clinical finishing is paramount. And AZ had a great goalie that stopped all our chances.
The ref made a bad call against Hajduk when Vricic was brought down by a Dutch player going in cleets up. That should have been a red card. Doesn’t matter if he got all ball. Cleets up is dangerous. But regardless, we were already 2 goals down.
Our biggest mistake was not putting a defensive player on Poko to shut him the fuck down. Within 5 minutes of watching the game I was saying to myself that they need to shut that kid down. The way Juranovic shut down Mbappe. I’ve done it many times as a player and it frustrates the opposition to no end.
I don’t think there was a huge quality gap between the teams. One mistake can change the direction of the match. Our boys did well in this tournament and are warriors. Now our NT men need to beat up on the Netherlands to avenge this loss. Curb stomp them Luka.
there is no mentality of champion in Croatian [o)
midget mentality always be ~ in us nowadays -0
only 96 – 98’s era we had this superb mentality! 1
Get fucked lubri
100%
What a shame!
Hope these young men learn a valuable lesson and forge ahead in the future moving forward
Real proud 🥲
Also, anyone who calls this loss embarrassing has no idea what this team has accomplished. They’re a group of 17-18 year old kids from Croatia who made it further than some of the best academies in the world (Real, Barca, etc). The score could have been 9-0 and it would still be a huge accomplishment.
Unfortunate that Hajduk fell apart like that. From their previous games I could tell they had a lot more to offer but AZ picked them apart. AZ were by far the better team after the score was 2-0 Hajduk gave up defending.
It was a silly mistake by Vuskovic to give away that PK on a player that was not going anywhere with the ball, but he will learn from this…
I don’t think their loss was embarrassing even though they lost 5-0 it’s an achievement to get all the way to the final, they beat Dortmund, Man City and other good teams, it was not an easy path and they did achieve a lot. It’s great to see Croatia in the footballing spotlight once again.
My God. This was embarrassing. What happened from Friday????
Did they forget how to play.
Hajduk did what Hajduk does best….pull a Hajduk when it matters most. But hey, at least they had great fans. Rinse. Repeat.
Just stfu, this is the youth side very different if it were the senior side but it isn’t.
All part of the same family.
Moronic tackle for the PK, but the better team won and kudos for silver. • Pasalic on the board for Atalanta, 1-0 v Roma at the half.
To change the subject for a second, Pasalic with a nice volley to give his side the lead at halftime.
https://streamja.com/60kk1
Yeah, it was nice.
I’m still proud of these kids but I’m left scratching my head how they got this game soo wrong? That defense was Swiss Cheese…the boys seemed completely unprepared and more interested in silly fouls and getting into little spats with their opponents, I couldn’t believe how bad the focus was. I mean they turned over the ball almost 100% of the time….its as if they forgot how to control the ball. Soo many low percentage passes, soo many really bad decisions….did they have to pick this day for everything to go completely bonkers?
That I think shows that they’re young and so discipline is difficult when you’re down 2-0. They gave up and were punished for it. They were very easily frustrated on the pitch, that was evident by the careless fouls, tackles and shirt pulling. Because their emotions got the better of them it cost them the game. AZ was more resilient.
It was about as non-competitive a game as you’ll see.
I was worried that the horrible tackle by Vušković resulting in the PK would be the game-winner, but the disparity in talent between the two teams was enormous. I don’t believe they put together three straight passes more than once in the match.
This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be proud of their accomplishment. Incredible to get this far. A learning experience for all of the boys!
Very proud of them…looking forward to their well deserved celebration this week! 👏🇭🇷
AZ is a really strong team, everything had to go right for Hajduk to win and it just didn’t happen. Still hope that our senior team takes some notes from this junior tournament
Ugh. Now AZ is gonna post about how Hajduk’s youth is concerning. 😉
Your just jealous it wasn’t Dinamo’s youth in the finals 😉
AZ 3 – 0. AZ too good, this could get ugly with 15 minutes left.
Pukstas did have a good chance in the 54 minute to score and Antunovic had a shot on target which produced a fine save from the AZ keeper.
Great effort to get to the final but unfortunately the luck ran out.
And there you have it.
I just listened to that last podcast. Lebo & Kvartuc – did you guys do a few bong rips before starting???? I know you guys get the good stuff in Cali. Majka bozja…
Poor challenge from Luka Vuskovic for the penalty. Hajduk will need to change tactics in the second half and try to attack a bit more. AZ Alkamar deservedly leading 1 – 0.
Vuškovic with the senseless tackle just before halftime. It was going to be a goalkick.
The disparity between the two teams is astonishing.
https://youtu.be/shjS1dRnHVY
Local BC Croatian SC
Penalties and flares. It’s how you know it’s authentic;)
to circle back on luka vuskovic and the height… we’ve covered this before…and it’s sad but there just aren’t great really tall soccer players.
he just turned 16 and stands 6’4”, which means he’ll probably be at least 6’6” or 6’7”.. heaven forbid 6’8”
But at any of those heights… you just can’t play soccer at a really high level.. I’m sorry.
And I am very open to being proven wrong here , if anyone can list for me some great 6’7” soccer players
great job by hajduk
Don’t you worry the man in the know our know it all bro >the all encompassing maminjo .He will kick in his Google search to prove you wrong on height!
Peter crouch anyone *ZLATAN.
Thanks Pero. I always respond to my fans. 🙂
Don’t forget Jan Koller from the Czech. He was over 6’8″ and was awesome at Euro 2004.
But we will have to wait to see how tall Luka Vuskovic is.
His entire family were footballers, and they were all roughly in that 6’2″ to 6’4″ height range.
Based off his family history, he may have stopped growing…or maybe he may squeeze out a few more inches. We’ll have to wait and see.
The knock on tall players is that they are very uncoordinated. But Vukusic having very good technical skills with the ball (being able to dribble and take free kicks) would likely help mitigate this issue.
I mean, if one of the best CBs in the world (Virgil Van Dyke) can be 6’5″ tall, then I’m sure a very coordinated and technically gifted 6’6″ or 6’7″ player wouldn’t suddenly be unworthy of playing football.
I mean, half of us here were content with Dino Peric being called up (before his injury of course) and he is 6’7″ tall and has very average skill with the ball.
I think Truth is worrying too much about this height thing.
Do you think the height matters position wise?
Defender vs forward?
Like stick the kid as a striker and take those sosa and JJ crosses is what I say;)
He almost seems better suited as a striker
Ante, it is before our eyes, not beneath them. 😉
We are a mix of Hajduk, Dinamo, Osijek, etc supporters and good to see everyone pull together to support mladi Hajduk. Ajmo Bili!
The below is for 90. Pinnacle odds to win title Alkmaar -257, Hajduk +201. I don’t see one at Bet 365 at the moment.
I don’t see Hajduk as a favourite at the books. At the two betting sites I just looked at, they are sizeable underdogs. At Pinnacle they are +346 (Alkmaar is -147) and at Bet 365 Hajduk is +333 (Alkmaar is -154).
Cmon mladi hajdukovi
no one will be considered by the shit manager Dalic ~
they are talented players in vain – under Dalic regime
Added momci Za Dom =U= Rob Nikada
Hajduk is starting as favorite in this match according to the bookies, hopefully it is not an omen. I have pretty much seen all the matches so far and for me the outstanding players have been Antunovic and Brajkovic up front and Vuskovic and Pukstas when playing. Vuskovic did not play against Man City and Borrusia Dortmund because he was suspended and Pukstas did not play in these matches because he was with the seniors.
In regards to who will make it professionally? We need to keep in mind that we are talking about juniors and many will not be able to transition into senior football and will disappear off the radar. My guess is that we will be lucky if one these Hajduk youth players makes it and plays for the Vatreni. Best chances of achieving this is Vuskovic and possibly Brajkovic.
I agree with @Maminjo on who are the most likely candidates at this time to see National Team action.
Mate Antunovic had a great near post goal vs Man City and a nice header vs Borussia Dortmund but was not a factor vs AC Milan.
Watching Vuŝković, I don’t think his height is a concern. How many 16 year olds blast 30 yard free kicks like he did vs AC Milan?
no one will be considered by the shit manager Dalic ~
they are talented players in vain – under Dalic regime
I like this teams chances and I’ll be praying for them to win it all! What a fantastic team with tons of grit and character…these guys are already winners in my book!
Can we get a run down on which players on this hajduk, if any, are future nt prospects?
I know there is vuskovic but as we’ve discussed he may prove serviceable at times but he’s too tall to be any kind of game changer and a serious player
Why is 6’4″ considered too tall?
If you watched him play, you’d see that he has some serious potential.
He’ll probably be (at most) like Dino Perić’s size, but with actual technical (dribbling) ability and the ability to take long range shots on goal (he took a nice free kick last game too).
Very impressive and rare combination of physical and technical skills.
Other intriguing talents are Brajković and Vrcić. Brajković is looking like a Perišić replacement and Vrcić is a striker who has been actually scoring in this tournament.
Question for you peeps.
Majer hasn’t been playing much for Rennes this season. Also, his team are currently 6th in Ligue 1 standings, which is not a European spot. Is it time for him to look for a new club?
Yeah, I was just thinking about Majer earlier. Has he fizzled out? Has he peaked meaning he is what he is?
He’s played only 16 minutes in the last 2 weeks. I don’t know if he’s banged up or anything but he’s been awfully quiet.
All my love and best wishes to the Hajduk juniors, all of Croatia is rooting for you!!
The biggest challenge will be Hajduk trying to keep these youngsters without being enticed by the 1.5 million Euro offers that will be coming in from bigger clubs.