Headlines:
- Dejan Lovren and Liverpool will try to shutout Vardy, Leicester and company on Saturday.
- Barcelona and Real Madrid look to stay atop the Primera Division table.
- Tin Jedvaj and Leverkusen will try to stop Alen Halilović and Hamburger on Saturday.
Videos
Luka Modrić vs Turkey
Ivan Rakitić vs. Turkey
i really hope mandzo doesn’t go the route of some others who refused to let the young guns take over and in turn hurting the team
i mean i get it, guy is a fighter out there and will of course believe he still has that touch but lets face it… its not there right now…
we have to go with the hot hand up front… what if livaja leads the spanish league in scoring this year… could you start mandzo over him? now that woudl be an interesting scenario and ziva would have a hernia for sure
kramaric playing like a beast today helping bring hoffenheim back from 4-1 to tie it 4-4. no goals, but 3 assists. one beauty. one red card drawn. some other shots off the post.
i continue to believe in kramaric and would like to see him take his shot in front of mandzukic sooner than later
but right now i’m guessing he’s 3rd i nline behind kalinic
but if he puts up a big season and mandzo loses regular minutes, cacic has some cover to shake things up
mandzo is already showing his age. imagine how he’ll look 2 years from now during the world cup (assuming we get there)
“Messi, Bale, Griezmann and Livaja all on 2 goals in Spain at the moment!” Ya might wanna add Duje Cop to that list, ’cause he too joined the party with his second goal today!
@Anonymous
It’s good to have options.
The nightmare is over.
Hrvoje milic should get a go at left back, he’s starting for fiorentina today
^ ^
Which one doesn’t belong?..
Messi, Bale, Griezmann and Livaja all on 2 goals in Spain at the moment!
well well well
another weekend where we see the same results
lets re cap
josip bust-alo barely gets off the bench at Wolfsburg
alen halilo-shit comes in with a 1-0 lead and 10 minutes left only to watch Leverkusen score 3 goals to win 3 -1
tin jedva igra plays the last 5 minutes of action
mateo crotch-does-itch manages to play in a 5-2 blowout and neither register a goal or assist as usual
marko pee-ass-a plays last 3 minutes of blow out win for juventus
wow….the young talent pipeline is really bursting
I hate to be the bearer of reality…or the truth…but it is the kriz I must carry
Pohjanpalo hat-trick for Leverkusen, Finland is in our group.
Kevin Kampl man of the match for Leverkusen!
@ Svima
Mateo Kovacic is the GOODS!
Figure it out and give this 22 year old some minutes.
Real Madrid +3 on Barca !
Modric with a classic Modric goal!
Zidane has been supporting him to shoot for some time.
Wow I had erased that strinic header
Man that was something bad
Why is west ham shitting the bed right now!
Remember when Bilic was getting hated on so bad
I for sure wouldn’t mind him coming back sooner then later
Bilic gonna get sacked before 10 games
@idemo
Yep, and such a beautiful assist provided to Guillaume Gillet by Strinic.
A perfect way to end the first half!!
The nightmare is over.
fuck that was a banger
More evidence that Strinic is actually trying to hurt us rather than help us.
http://tinyurl.com/h5qnglv
Starting at approx 1:42
The nightmare is over.
@Coco the Monkey
“Let’s take Chile as an example, in my opinion they have two world class players that being Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, and that’s good enough for Chile to win the last two Copa America titles!”
Chile has a very good system and a good nucleus of players.
“Wales has one world class player in Bale, Portugal have one in Ronaldo, Poland have one in Lewandowski, all teams that did better than us at the last Euros, and you say we have two world class players!”
How Wales, Portugal, and Poland did at the Euros is irrelevant when trying to determine how many world class players Croatia have on their team silly.
“So if we have two world class players, that would mean that the rest of our players are worse than the players that Bale has around him in the Wales squad.”
Not true. Put the Wales and Croatia teams side by side and go through the list. On paper we are the better side, there would be no argument.
“Take Modric out of our team and Bale out of the Wales team, which team do believe has the better squad? I would say the Croatian squad is better.”
Yes, on paper there is no doubt, mind you the game is not played on paper.
“In my opinion all that’s missing in this Croatian team is one world class player, it pains me to say this, but there is no world class players in this current Croatian team.”
Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic are world class IMO. However, we do not have a world class striker, maybe that is what you are trying to say or indicate?
“Now, to more serious buisness, that Strinic clip was hilarious.”
I must concur!! You cannot teach that stuff!! Pure comedy GOLD!!!!!!!
@Crnkovic
“Faouzi ghoulam IS a world class left back. That’s why he is ahead of strinic at Napoli, not because strinic is useless, if he was useless he wouldn’t be anywhere near the Napoli squad.”
World class or not he is better than Strinic.
However, Strinic is useless, please let me explain…
The only reason Strinic went to Napoli is due to the “free transfer” element. Napoli took a flyer on him and the rest is history. No free transfer equals no Ivan Strinic to Napoli. They would have never paid big money for him to join their team. NEVER.
“Judged by the highest standards He is mentally weak, defensively soft, and inconsistent in his attacking play.”
Agreed!! And to add..
He has no talent, his crosses are some of the worst known to man, clumsy beyond words, and has literally zero offensive skills at his disposal with zero football acumen. He also likes to help our opposition more than our team.
“Pivaric is a more solid option at LB for us. I believe pivaric will play when fit.”
He would have played at Euros if fit, and the last game against Turkey. I think you’re right, if fit he will start. Let’s hope for the best.
“Mandzukic needs to be dropped ASAP.”
We need a striker than can create and dribble. Mandzukic has zero creativity and cannot shoot from range either.
“Jedvaj is ready for more NT games, give him the LB spot…”
No issues with that at all, anything to keep Strinic away from that spot is bliss.
Wow, amazing performance by luka. It’s clear from watching that video that our attacking play is in a transition phase. So much of our attack has been based on getting the ball wide and hitting crosses, with the type of player we have coming through it makes more sense to play quick incisive football, with dribbling and interchange on the edge of the area. At the moment we are half way there. We just need consistency and a few more matches, I believe the team can click properly. If they do click, and get on the same wavelength we could see some big scores and finally some real momentum and belief. I hope
@Kit
Let’s take Chile as an example, in my opinion they have two world class players that being Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, and that’s good enough for Chile to win the last two Copa America titles!
Wales has one world class player in Bale, Portugal have one in Ronaldo, Poland have one in Lewandowski, all teams that did better than us at the last Euros, and you say we have two world class players!
So if we have two world class players, that would mean that the rest of our players are worse than the players that Bale has around him in the Wales squad.
Take Modric out of our team and Bale out of the Wales team, which team do believe has the better squad? I would say the Croatian squad is better.
In my opinion all that’s missing in this Croatian team is one world class player, it pains me to say this, but there is no world class players in this current Croatian team.
Now, to more serious buisness, that Strinic clip was hilarious.
Faouzi ghoulam IS a world class left back. That’s why he is ahead of strinic at Napoli, not because strinic is useless, if he was useless he wouldn’t be anywhere near the Napoli squad. Judged by the highest standards He is mentally weak, defensively soft, and inconsistent in his attacking play. Pivaric is a more solid option at LB for us. I believe pivaric will play when fit. Mandzukic needs to be dropped ASAP. Jedvaj is ready for more NT games, give him the LB spot…
@Coco the Monkey
“None of our players are world class, Strinic isn’t alone in that regard!”
I was mocking the comments I used to read on this site saying that Strinic was the best LB in Serie A. lol!!!!!!
The nightmare is over.
P.S. Luka Modric is world class, Ivan Perisic is world class. Imagine if Modric or Perisic exhibited play like Strinic against the Turks? Strinic is all by himself when we factor in his ability to help our opponents score goals and he is alone when we look at his low level of talent and low football acumen mixed with brain cramping of the century. His crosses never reach the intended targets. lol!
Long live Faouzi Ghoulam!! lol!!
Better national team, Croatia or Wales?
In my opinion Croatia has the better players, but Wales did better at the Euros because they have a world class player in Bale.
None of our players are world class, Strinic isn’t alone in that regard!
Strinic is such a graceful player, except when he is tackled by the invisible man. lol!
http://oi40.tinypic.com/plrmd.jpg
The nightmare is over.
How many goals did Strinic score for us? lol He helped our enemies more than our team.
Belgium, Portugal, Turkey… This is not a world class player folks..
The nightmare is over.
And he was our worst player during WC 2014 qualifying, not because of Stimac but because he was the worst player. lol!!!!!
The nightmare is over.
Just get Strinic off the field, he is useless and he might fall down just for no reason at all like he tends to do.
LOL!!
Such a sad excuse for a player. Seven crosses against Portugal and they were all horrific!!
The nightmare is over.
“That equalizer made us a bit nervous,” said Ante Cacic
Of course the team would be nervous, they knew they were never going to score another goal with players like Mandzukic on the field, I didn’t watch the game but if the mistake Strinic made was as bad as some are saying, the concern may of been that they could yet lose the game!
Mental midgets?
@maminjo strinic or anybody– what did Strinic do right before the half that was so inexcuseable? I missed it.
Strinic was not good, & his lack of hustle vs Portugal on his giveaway that lead to their goal still irks me.
Hrvoje Milic is one of our worst ever LBs. I doubt he ever gets called up again.
Milic playing on our National Team was an Igor Stimac decision. Think he played him as a DM in his debut against Portugal, lol.
Going back to those games that Stimac managed, wow, it’s hilarious when you look at some of the formations and lineups. Can’t believe we still managed to qualify for the World Cup.
The substitution situation is pretty frustrating all around. Players who usually perform best when they start do not necessarily make great subs. Kramaric plays amazingly well when he is a starter. He hasn’t often made a meaningful difference as a substitute. Kalinic, however, makes an impact in whatever time he is given on the field. Halilovic has not been so great as a starter, but he has changed the pace of the game when he has been a sub. Brozovic usually plays very well when he is a starter. The same cannot be said of his performances as a sub. Hopefully Cacic will start considering this aspect of the managerial game.
Strinic was once a very good left back. When he was signed to Napoli, he was considered a significant asset. What happens is that athletes who lose the habit of competing lose the rhythm they need in order to execute. Cacic probably wanted the same players to play who played at the Euros because they were the last to compete together. Once the squad has some friendlies (plus the matches against Kosovo and Finland), he can change the starting lineup.
Since Strinic is not competing at all with Napoli, he probably will lose his spot to Pivaric. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hrvoje Milic got called up again too. That would give the team three options on the left (Pivaric/Strinic/Milic) plus three options on the right (Vrsaljko/Jedvaj/Vida) in addition to the flexibility we already have in the central defense.
“Pivarić is a decent stop gap for us at LB. Vida can play spot minutes there too.”
“Vida is better LB than pivaric or strinic but CB is more vital.”
“I watched Vida play left back in champions league against man city…he did ok…we have no other options at the moment…Lovren or Jedvaj at cb…Vida at lb.”
So why does Cacic start the Napoli fan Strinic, the guy who never plays?
You know he did have Jedvaj on the bench. Cacic could’ve went with Jedvaj, Corluka, Lovren and Vrsaljko. He even could’ve went Vrsaljko or Jedvaj, Corluka, Lovren and Vida, we can see that he did have other options, but he went for the guy that never plays Strinic!
If we take out San Marino and Segesta, Mandzukic is not in goal scoring form for the NT, but yet Cacic continues to pick him.
Must sack Cacic before it’s to late.
@idemo
“only way Vida goes out left will be if Dejan comes back into the fold or someone bursts onto the scene. Vida is better LB than pivaric or strinic but CB is more vital”
Offensively Vida is not a better left back than Pivaric, he cannot dribble as well no deliver as good of crosses, and he is less involved in the build up of play for that reason. However, every time we have used Vida as a shutdown LB he has been absolutely stellar!!
Strinic is redundant on offense, and tends to play for the other team when it comes to defense. 🙂
only way Vida goes out left will be if Dejan comes back into the fold or someone bursts onto the scene. Vida is better LB than pivaric or strinic but CB is more vital
@Slavonac from Canada
He is not a long term solution to the LB position, but overall he is a decent player. He can whip some nice crosses in and has some decent link up play and decent football acumen.
Against Kosovo I would give him a shot and hvala. 🙂
Slavonski Brod…I don’t know Pivaric well but I do agree with what you said!!!
@Maminjo
“Heck, maybe it will keep Vida from interfering on all those headers that Ćorluka and Mandžukić almost had at the Euros and even this past game, with Vida jumping in front of them for it.”
And as soon as Vida goes back to the Ukraine you know he will score a header goal. He did it his first game back after the Euros. 🙂
Pivarić is a decent stop gap for us at LB. Vida can play spot minutes there too.
Heck, maybe it will keep Vida from interfering on all those headers that Ćorluka and Mandžukić almost had at the Euros and even this past game, with Vida jumping in front of them for it.
😉
The few games pivaric got in before his injury I liked it. As I don’t watch much HNL anymore I can not speak on if that is that same player anymore
@Slavonac from Canada
“might be good Lika, but it is a band-aid and not a natural position for him.”
Band-aid or not, we cannot afford to have Strinic hurt us anymore. I used to like him as well, but I have to admit he does not really offer much to our team other than frustration and bad play and he is redundant on offense. It is not like he has not been given an opportunity. After almost 40 games he should be much better than he is, he is not going to get better any time soon.
Give Pivaric a shot, he actually deserves it, and if he does not work out try Vida or Jedvaj.
might be good Lika, but it is a band-aid and not a natural position for him.
Slavonac, I watched Vida play left back in champions league against man city…he did ok…we have no other options at the moment…Lovren or Jedvaj at cb…Vida at lb.
Bolan Ne Seri,
We’ll see. It sounds like there have been meetings and all requirements on both sides have been met. If all have been met, why continue?
you know what gives me a chuckle sometimes. i laugh when i think about all the people after world cup 2014 who were excited about what halilovic would bring to the team in the euro qualifying and euro 2016. and now for world cup qualifying 2018 he’s not even on the team!
i tried to warn you guys, but some time you won’t listen. don’t fall too in love with the overhyped youth. it is unlikely any of these youth will be as good as modric. and even with modric we have been unable to win
…….….Perica….…….Pjaca……………
…….Perisic…Modric…Rakitic………
Vrsaljko………..Badelj………..Jedvaj
………..DjVida…………Corluka………..
……………….LovKalinic…………………..
the formation of the utmost reliable in our life
and will cope The strongest Argentina with their
new Maradona http://bit.ly/2bQMfAT in a tight match
@ brkic
i completely agree with you. i felt rakitic was out of sync during the game and watching the video only reinforced that
i hope it was only because he was out of rhythm because of everything going on with his family and the late arrival to training
one of the moves that i’ve been most excited for under cacic is that he has pushed rakitic up as far as possible. where he plays right behind mandzukic, even to the point where him and mandzo are the two pressing
this is a huge departure from the kovac tactic of having rakitic as far back as possible, literally parallel with the defenders at times controlling the ball
i thought rakitic generally did great in the euros in this advanced role and that was some of his best football for the repka.
The video highlights posted above are very telling. Modric was amazing and Rakitic was clearly off his game. If you didn’t like the decision to sub Rakitic off, take a look and see if the video changes your mind. Aside from his one touch from the spot to score the goal, he was poor. Great player, but he had a bad day. Unfortunately, Brozovic was off too. I think the near Chelsea transfer has impacted Brozo’s recent utilization by Inter but I expect him to get more playing time going forward.
I wish there was a highlight of Badelj’s performance bc he played extremely well.
Strinic is one of those types of players that lacks common sense, he displays very little emotions unless it is to show his displeasure and he is very indecisive and unreliable. I remember watching him at the Euro’s in 2012 and felt he was a very solid/sturdy player, this is definitely not the same guy we saw back then.
I’ve seen Vrsaljko play left back and the truth is, he’s terrible there. I can understand having him fill a gap for half a game but I never wanna see him play there again. Pranjic was done 5 years ago…I haven’t really seen anyone else that can fill that lb position, it needs to be addresses.
I’ll address this:
“Anyone remember when Cacic didn’t select Kramaric for a couple of “meaningless” friendlies, and the reason Cacic gave was Kramaric wasn’t playing for Leicester!
I remember both Ziva and Slavonac agreeing with Cacic on that occassion!
Kramaric wasn’t playing and hadn’t played, its true I did say that. goalscorers usually need to be in form and their confidence high.
this situation is similar but also different. I think Strinic is probably one of very few left backs that have the “ability” to play at that level, who else can we say plays left back and is capable? this is where I feel we are in a pickle! the decision to call and play Strinic may just be out of necessity….at a striker position, you can even try a 2nd division player (I’m not suggesting we do that) thats on fire…if he’s in form and firing on all cylinders, you can try it…its not the same for a left back. the dynamics are different, this is why I think we may see Cacic try to put a band-aid on this situation and experiment, or he may just stay with it until we get someone readily available.
@Crotone
“Vrsaljko (he has played there before) or Vida at LB would both be better options than Strinic. Jedvaj could’ve played RB. Strinic, in my opinion should not even be considered, seeing he’s not even playing for Napoli.”
I don’t disagree, but what does that have to do with who cost us the game on Monday? Cacic is not the person that makes that bonehead play at the closing minutes of half time. Are you suggesting that Ivan Strinic has no responsibility of what transpired on Monday? That would be like blaming Cacic for Pjaca missing a wide open net at the nine minute stage of the game. You make it sound like Strinic has never played nogomet before, (and technically he has not) lol!! It is not like Strinic has never played football before and it does not matter with him whether he gets minutes or not.
So are you suggesting that if Strinic was getting minutes at Napoli it would have been fine for Cacic to call him up?
Going forward I would not call Strinic up even if he was getting minutes at Napoli because he is just not a very good player and he constantly screws us over. And if something good has come of this maybe he will not be called up anymore.
This has the potential to be a very good thing that happened for our national team. Although we should have won the game on Monday, no thanks to the brilliant play by Strinic just before half time, but we ended up with the tie and thankfully so did everyone else in our group. But here’s the best part.
Potentially no more Ivan Strinic. 🙂
Whether he gets minutes or not for his club he should be done. If I were the coach, he would never ever be called again. Without a doubt as he is just not a not a very good football player. He never has been, he is not serviceable, and he is just Ivan Strinic a clumsy, no skill, bonehead player.
“Cacic selected Strinic to start at LB, even though he never plays for Napoli. Do you believe that Strinic should’ve declined the invitation to represent the NT? Cacic’s fault for selecting Strinic.”
Yes, I think he should have declined the offer but once again Strinic just does not know how to make the proper decision whether it is on the field or off. And it will be so nice to never see him suit up for our team ever again hopefully.
Once again, are you suggesting that it would be alright to call him up if he was getting minutes for his club?
This is the worst “regular” player we have had in the last twenty years with at least 39 caps, easily I might add. I really don’t care what Strinic does, I don’t rate him as a player and I think he is a moron. What has he ever done for our team? He has done nothing and hopefully he is done. Cacic gave him another chance and hopefully it does not happen again.
You always defend Strinic, but now that he shit the bed you don’t? Typical.
As I said previously, everyone was fine with the selection going into the Euro tournament. But because Strinic showed his true colors on Monday it is now Cacic’s fault. How convenient..
I love how all the Strinic fan boys are all apologetic all of a sudden. Pure cowards.
Ivan Strinic has to take responsibility for his actions, and now going forward hopefully something will be done about it.
I will say this…
Going forward, if Cacic does call Strinic up, regardless if he gets minutes or not, I would emphatically blame him Cacic. Without hesitation Cacic would take the blame.
What people do not understand, and maybe this part I somewhat agree, is that Strinic should never be called up to our team. You’re “maybe” suggesting because he is getting no minutes at Napoli but to me that is irrelevant. He is just not a good enough player. You make it sound as if he should not get selected because he rides the pine at Napoli. And I am suggesting that even if he played every single game that he still should not be called.
So we agree, but for different reasons. However, it was still his play that screwed us on Monday. But this might turn out to be a good thing.
Now, if you want to blame Cacic for calling him up based on the fact that Ivan Strinic is not a good football player at all I must agree with you. Not because of the no playing time angle because that is irrelevant.
And you cannot compare our strikers to Ivan Strinic, it is comedic. No doubt their finishing skills were off on Monday, there is no doubt, but once we get Strinic out of the way, which hopefully will be the case, then everything will work out just fine.
Although, I would sit Mario next game as well.
Anyone remember when Cacic didn’t select Kramaric for a couple of “meaningless” friendlies, and the reason Cacic gave was Kramaric wasn’t playing for Leicester!
I remember both Ziva and Slavonac agreeing with Cacic on that occassion!
Now we have the same coach picking Strinic to start in meaningful games!
@Maminjo Strinic
“Who should have been playing LB against the Turks if not Strinic when Pivaric was hurt?”
Vrsaljko (he has played there before) or Vida at LB would both be better options than Strinic. Jedvaj could’ve played RB.
Strinic, in my opinion should not even be considered, seeing he’s not even playing for Napoli.
“Not if we use any type of logic, we win 1-0 without Strinic’s error. Regardless of Cacic and Mandzukic. Hence the blame trophy goes to Strinic.”
Cacic selected Strinic to start at LB, even though he never plays for Napoli. Do you believe that Strinic should’ve declined the invitation to represent the NT? Cacic’s fault for selecting Strinic.
Cacic also believes Mandzukic is in form because he scored some goals against Segesta and previously against San Marino!
Mandzukic, 1 goal in the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, none at the Euros, another guy who should not be playing for NT anymore.
Strinic played 252 minutes for Napoli in Serie A during the entire 2015/2016 season. He played 300 minutes for Croatia this Summer at the Euros in 3 games. He has zero minutes through 2 games this season for Napoli and over 90 in the WC qualifier. He might be a serviceable LB, but he’s going to be rusty in every game unless things change at Napoli or he gets a transfer. Unless he starts showing good club form we need a change.
Vida-Lovren-Corluka-Vrsaljko
That’s what I wanted for the Euros and that still makes the most sense to me now. No need for Vida to push up, just stay close to home and be a rock on defense.
@Maminjo
I am not assuming, this is a PRO Strinic website. And trust me dude, this I know, and it is the focal point and the reason he gets defended all the time. I have never witnessed a player, in any sport, who has literally played far more poorly for his team with pure mediocrity/below average play, and yet he is defended so highly. And most of that ideology comes from within the mainframe of this website. I have heard comments like, “he is one of the left backs in Italy”, all the way to “If Strinic started against Brazil we would have beaten them.”
So please do not suggest that i am assuming.
NOW..
If that is all you have problems with with my post I have done my job.
Strinic is just too clumsy for me offensively and defensively and displays some of the worst crosses I have ever seen. On top of that he just gets burned way too much for my liking and I also notice he has troubles with the other CB’s over the years. Lovren against the Scotts comes to mind and Vida was not happy last game either. The chemistry is just not there and he just needs to go and we need to try another way.
Pivaric will start against Kosovo if healthy. And to be quite honest, I really don’t care who starts, but I don’t want things like what happened last Monday to happen again. That was inexcusable. I am not saying that Pivaric is a long term solution by any means.
There is tinkering that needs to be done with our team, that I am fully aware of.
@Maminjo Strinic
You make some good points that I agree with, but I’m not sure where you are coming from with some of your other points.
Most people on this board would want Pivaric to start. When Cacic took over and tossed Pranjic off the team in favor of Pivaric, everyone was ecstatic.
Not sure why you assume that everyone wanted Strinic over Pivaric. I don’t ever recall any Strinic vs Pivaric debate on here. Pivaric got a bad injury, and the logical replacement was Strinic. People were just happy it wasn’t Pranjic at the Euros. This is why nobody was complaining.
I don’t think anybody here thinks Strinic is a good or great LB. Some people think he’s serviceable and the rest think he sucks. I used to think he was serviceable (back in his Dnipro days) but he’s fallen off in these past couple of years, and it shows in the fact that he hasn’t played first team football for Napoli in a year and a half.
However, with Pivaric, I think most people here think he’s a decent LB. Not a natural talent, but better than any of our other options. Not sure why you seem to think that everyone wants Strinic over Pivaric.
@Crotone
I’ve always defended Strinic (largely due to my hatred for Pranjic), but honestly, we need to bench him.
He does make a mistake here and there that costs us a goal, but what bothers me more than that is that he is so damn ball-dominant.
He loves to hold onto that ball and get too involved in the offense. Aside from maybe Modric and our wingers (Perisic and Pjaca), it seemed like Strinic was the next highest person on the squad with the most touches.
That’s not a good thing.
I like that he tries to get involved, sure, but he needs to understand that he’s not some creative midfielder or winger, and he needs to simply drop it off to Rakitic or Perisic, and just provide support by staying open for them.
I don’t like seeing him try to initiate the offense by making deep runs into the opponent’s box, then fail to get back (like he did against Portugal). I admire the hard work, but he’s not talented enough to play like that. Focus entirely on defense and stay open for your man to pass it back to you in case they are pressured, and send it back when they are open again.
@Crotone
“Is it Strinic’s fault that the strikers aren’t scoring?”
No, but it is his fault when he aides and assists Portugal and Turkey our opposition. There is no excuse for what he did at the end of the first half, absolutely none, and it is not defendable. He just drained the life out of what we just did not even one minute previous. And by the same token there is no excuse for what he did against Portugal.
Are you going to blame Perisic now because the FK went off his head? LOL!
“This is gonna be brutal listening to you snobs blame all the problems with the NT on Strinic (the new Pranjic), on a guy who shouldn’t even be playing,”
All the problems of the NT on Strinic? Snobs? “shouldn’t even be playing?” Melodramatic much?
Pivaric would have played if not hurt, the next LB in line is Strinic, but if you would have taken a vote prior to the game the majority of people here would have called Strinic our #1 LB. At least that is what people have been saying for years on this website.
“the guy that Cacic picked to start because he’s in form at Napoli.”
Nobody was complaining when Strinic was our starting LB at Euros or for the Turkey game. Everyone and I mean everyone on this site wanted Strinic to play at Euros and the game against Turkey even after his great maneuver against Portugal. Strinic was inform against Portugal and it did not seem to matter. And those same people would say that he is our best left back option so if that is the case, why would we need to question why to start him? And in regards to the inform tangent all I can say is in form? LOL!!!! Even when Strinic plays on a regular basis, one can never call Ivan Strinic in form. LOL!!! That was great! LOL!!
Now, after the game on Monday, he is no longer our best LB option? Oh, I get it, this is done to show how it suites people. Why because Cacic is the coach and he put him in our starting 11? This is what everyone was calling for and now it is the wrong decision because he played poorly? Talk about manipulating the story!! LOL!!
If healthy Pivaric would have started at Euro 2016, and last Monday. Blame the person that cannot do the job and whose horrific performance is indefensible.
Who should have been playing LB against the Turks if not Strinic when Pivaric was hurt? The funny part is even if Pivaric was healthy, people here would have been going nuts to see him in the starting 11. It’s a total hypocrisy.
“Oh well, at least our strikers are in form!”
Better form than Strinic will ever be in! At least they do something resembling something and Strinic has always been useless.
“The people to blame for the Turkey result are Cacic and Mandzukic.”
Not if we use any type of logic, we win 1-0 without Strinic’s error. Regardless of Cacic and Mandzukic. Hence the blame trophy goes to Strinic.
What Strinic did at the end of the first half is one hundred per cent inexcusable! People miss shots on net and hit posts, these things happen. However, what Strinic did nobody should be doing, yet he does it all the time! And his performance in that game was something for the ages in regards to pathetic!
Carry on defending him which is hilarious! Get him off the field so he cannot help the other teams score goals on us.
Do you remember the Belgium game during the WC 2014 Qualifiers? Do you remember the Portugal game at Euro 2016? Do you remember who was our worst player by a country mile during the WC 2014 qualifiers? Do you remember that he has never scored a goal for us and has one “GIFT” assist for us in 39 games?
We did not need him to beat Turkey in a playoff to reach Euro 2012!
We did not need him to beat Iceland to reach WC 2014 in a playoff and we did not need him to qualify for Euro 2016 and we don’t need him now.
Snobs? LOL!!! Nope just realistic objectivists unlike yourself who try to manipulate the situation.
Where are all the people that keep trying to say that Ivan Strinic is quality, that he should be starting and playing for us regularly? Where are they now?
If Cacic starts Strinic against Kosovo, then you have every right in the world to blame him. All the other problems we have with our team is merely tinkering. Strinic is not a tinker, he is a plague that completely stagnates the left side of our field and other teams know he is our greatest hole and weakness. He has no right to be on the pitch when it’s a game that we expect to dominate possession and pressure up the field or where we will rely on skill and creativity to get a result.
Goodbye Mr. Strinic, it was not nice knowing ya.
No, He is not.
Ummm, people forget how Srna played in our last qualification campaign for Euro 2016 and the World Cup before that. He was mediocre at best.
He couldn’t send in a decent cross in any of the qualifiers, and he was humiliated in big games like the ones against Mexico at the World Cup and Norway in Euro qualifying.
He stepped up BIG in this past tournament and was one of our best players on the field (obviously motivated by it being his last tourney), but I am very glad that he retired. It was time.
Prime Vrsaljko will probably never be as good as Prime Srna, but over a 10-game stretch, Vrsaljko is currently better than Srna.
Strinic was not good, but I blame the tie on Srna. What a luxury it was to have a former World class middie playing RB!!
Not a knock on Vrsaljko, but he will NEVER be as good as Srna was at any point in his career. That said, Vrsaljko will do ok at RB.
Thoughts on BBB ending their boycott?
AJMO STIPE
gasterbeiter hahahah
Is it Strinic’s fault that the strikers aren’t scoring?
This is gonna be brutal listening to you snobs blame all the problems with the NT on Strinic (the new Pranjic), on a guy who shouldn’t even be playing, the guy that Cacic picked to start because he’s in form at Napoli.
Oh well, at least our strikers are in form!
Even Mr Football Crnkovic had Strinic in his preferred starting line up!
The people to blame for the Turkey result are Cacic and Mandzukic.
@Brkic
Was it bad luck that setup the free kick?
Nope, it was Strinić, we win the game if not for his buffoonery. Is buffoonery bad luck? Nope.
Get him off the field!!
@ Filip
Hear say or not, that is a most disturbing post.
Klinsman capped Pulisic early because he could see Germany trying to naturalize or Croatia snapping him up.
@ Amerikanski
Pulisic is real right now.
Klinsman is a world class manager and he is in the first team squad at Dortmund.
He can dribble attack right and he can dribble attack left.
Robert Jarni couldn’t dance around like Marcelo either but could run at defenders all day.
Pulisic is a different breed of soccer player.
No family issues or complexes.
The boy just trains and balls out.
His maturity and direct game would have been an asset for the Vatreni.
Time will tell to what his level will ultimately become but he has already shown his quality.
I hope he fights tooth and nail for minutes this year at Dortmund and becomes World Class over the next 4 years.
While Strinic didn’t play well, I blame it on bad luck. We deserved a 2-0 win based on play. That deflection wrong footed our keeper who would have had it covered. We missed quite a few chances but several were only misses by inches.
Hoping we schedule some friendlies to get some of the other players some minutes.
thank God, I was waiting for the same lame excuse on this site to blame mamic, suker and the savez 🙂
Question: What is to blame for Croatia’s 1-1 draw with Turkey?
Answer: Ivan Strinić
He’s not listed as a dual citizen on Transfermarkt (and they usually list all your passport nationalities on there).
He also wouldn’t have received German citizenship after only two years of living there, especially if his dad was just some gasterbeiter.
This story doesn’t add up.
Source?
New word out there is Germany is looking at calling up Josip Brekalo to their next u-21 match. Although born in croatia, Brekalo actually has german citizenship as well because his parents moved there with him for work when he was around 2 years old and lived there for about 2 years. Apparently, the German federation feels they have a good shot at landing him as Germany is a more competitive team than Croatia giving Brekalo the chance to win World Cups or Euros. and brekalo is also playing in germany right now. lets cross our fingers he stays loyal. no word out of his camp yet