SPAIN
Ivan Rakitić went from hero to villain for Sevilla on Friday, as Sevilla’s European hopes took a major hit in a 2-1 defeat to Real Sociedad. Ivan scored his 11th goal of the season when Geoffrey Kondogbia found him in the box and he finished in the lower corner. Five minutes later, Rakitić would score again, this time on the wrong net. Bergara Markel played in a free kick and Rakitić’s attempted clearing header went horrible wrong and into his own net. This only further confirms our suspicions that Ivan is incapable of scoring a real goal with his head. As it stands, Sevilla have the final Europa League spot in 9th due to two clubs being banned from UEFA but their appeals will be heard this summer, meaning Sevilla likely need to win their two remaining matches.
Rakitić Goal
Rakitić Own Goal
Luka Modrić and Real Madrid were out of action over the weekend after their Copa Del Rey defeat to Altetico Madrid (https://croatiansports.com/?p=14514). With two La Liga games remaining, they are locked in to 2nd place. Spanish newspaper Marca, whose readers voted Luka and Alex Song the “worst signing of the season” at the end of 2012, declared that he is “the only silver lining amid Real Madrid’s recent doom and gloom.
http://www.marca.com/2013/05/19/en/football/real_madrid/1368988220.html
Germany
Photo: Bayern
Mario Mandžukić looked to have taken a day off as Bayern Munich squeaked by Borussia Mönchengladbach 4-3 at Borussia Park in their last test before the Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund on Sunday. Super Mario started and played 75 minutes in the win. The former Dinamo Zagreb star finished the match with one shot and didn’t make much of an impact. Goal.com gave Mario the lowest score out of any Bayern Munich player. “Mario had a few nice touches on the ball, but he definitely should have done better to add to his scoring total.”(Goal.com) Bayern finished the season with only one Bundesliga loss and will be looking to add two more trophies with matches against Dortmund in the Champions League final and a week later against Stuttgart in the DFB Pokal final.
Photo: Wolfsburg
Three Croatians were on the pitch in Frankfurt as Wolfsburg and Frankfurt split the points in a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Ivica Olić and Ivan Perišić got the start for Wolfsburg, while Srdjan Lakić started up top for Frankfurt. Olić played 80 minutes in the draw and set up Diego with the second Wolfsburg goal in the 19th minute of play. Wolfsburg couldn’t hold on to a two goal lead with a man down and had to settle with a draw. After looking at relegation earlier in the season, Wolfsburg ended the season with an impressive ten match unbeaten run.
PHOTO: European cy
Ivan Perišić started and played only 37 minutes for Wolfsburg in the draw. The Croatian international had to be sacrificed by Wolfsburg after Makoto Hasebe was shown the red card for giving away a penalty kick. Ivan looks to be ready for Croatia’s clash with Scotland next month.
Srdjan Lakić started and played the full 90 minutes for Frankfurt in the draw. The former Kaiserslautern star finished the match with only one shot and will be looking to make some noise in the Europa League next season for Frankfurt.
PHOTO: Bundesliga
Hamburger SV missed out on the Europa League after falling 1-0 against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday. Former Dinamo Zagreb captain, Milan Badelj, played 65 minutes and held Bayer to a shutout while on the pitch. The Croatian international played well as a defensive midfielder on the left side right behind the two Hamburg strikers. Hamburg finish the season in 7th place with 14 wins and 14 losses.
Ivo Iličević came off the bench in the 80th minute and couldn’t get anything going in limited time. Ivo finished the match without a shot and picked up a yellow card down the stretch.
Mateo Pavlović looked on from the bench as Werder Bremen lost 3-2 in Nurnberg.
ENGLAND
Nikica Jelavić was brought on in the 67th minute of Everton’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea on Sunday. In manager David Moyes’ final match at the club before moving to Manchester United, Everton fell just short, with Jelavić failing to capitalize on three good scoring opportunities late in the match. Just after coming on, his diving header was saved comfortably by Petr Cech after a good delivery by Marouane Fellaini. Minutes later, he had a glorious chance to take the lead, but couldn’t direct Leighton Baines’ cross onto goal. His final chance came in the 89th minute, when once again Cech denied his header from point blank range. Everton finished the year 6th in the Premier League, one spot away from Europa League. After scoring 11 goals for Everton last year in 13 matches, Nikica was only able to find the net eight times in 31 appearances this season. He is expected to stay with The Toffees for next season.
Chances at 9:45, 10:00 ,11:40
Mladen Petrić was an unused sub in Fulham’s final match of the year against Swansea. They won 3-0 and finished the year 12th in the Premier League. Petrić was brought in for free from Hamburg prior to last season and scored five goals in five preseason games but since Dimitar Berbatov arrived, he has seen little playing time. He finished the year with five goals in 23 appearances. Rumors are that he will head back to Germany next season, and Fulham manager Martin Jol is “not sure he will stay”.
Season Highlights for Petrić
France
Olympique Lyonnais look to be on their way to the Champions League after registering a valuable point in a 1-1 draw at Nice on Sunday. However, chances are that Dejan Lovren will not be joining them after not even appearing on the roster sheet for Lyon in the draw. With one game left in the regular season, Lyon would guarantee a Champions League spot with a home win against Rennes. However, a draw and a Saint-Étienne win would drop them out of the Champions League and into the Europa League. All of this doesn’t seem to matter as Dejan looks to have played his last game for Lyon a long time ago.
Italy
Inter Milan ended a disappointing season with a 5-2 loss to Udinese in front of their home fans. Former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder, Mateo Kovačić, started and played the full 90 minutes in the loss. Mateo was fouled a game high six times but once again didn’t commit a foul. Inter finish the season a disappointing ninth place after having Champions League hopes at the start of the season.
The Croatian international is delighted to be at a club like Inter despite their problems in 2012-13. “I’m very happy to be here, Inter are a great outfit and it is a pleasure to play here,” the 19-year-old told Sky Sport Italia on Wednesday. “We’re playing badly at the moment, but I hope that the situation will change next season thanks to the arrival of some good players. I knew that I could play football, but I hope to get even better.” Inter have only praised Mateo since his arrival and chances are that Inter will revamp their roster for next season.
Marko Livaja returned from a one game suspension and might have played his final game for Atalanta in a 2-2 draw against chievo on Sunday. The 19-year-old, Croatian prospect came on for the injured Giuseppe De Luca in the 36th minute andplayed well in the draw. Marko was denied by the Chievo keeper late in the first half and did manage to find the back of the net in the 60th minute. However, the goal was called back because Livaja was offside. Marko did manage to pick up a fourth straight yellow card though after taking off his shirt to celebrate the offside goal. If Livaja can somehow get it together upstairs, the kid could have a bright future ahead of him.
Ante Vukušić was left off the roster sheet for Pescara in a 5-1 loss against Fiorentina. Pescara will be playing in Serie B next year and Ante will surely be looking for a new club. Should Ante make a return to Hajduk if there are no takers?
UKRAINE
Eduardo started for Shakhtar and scored his second goal of the season as they drew 3-3 to bottom feeders Metalurh Zaporizhya. With Shakhtar trailing 3-1 in the 75th minute, Taison made a fantastic run before playing Eduardo through, who rounded the keeper and finished. He played the full 90 and also picked up a yellow card in the 41st minute. Captain Darijo Srna was given the day off to rest himself before the cup final this week. Shakhtar will play in the Ukranian Cup final on Wednesday against Chornomorets, who currently are in 7th. They will look to pull off the domestic double for the third year in a row.
Domagoj Vida started at the back for Dynamo Kyiv in their 3-2 loss to Tavriya on Sunday. Niko Kranjcar was not in the squad. With one match remaining, Dynamo will finish the season in 3rd and play in the Europa League next season.
Ivan Strinić played the whole match for Dnipro on Sunday as they lost 2-1 to current runner-ups Metalist Kharkiv. He was given a yellow card in the 21st minute. Striker Nikola Kalinić was subbed on in the 78th minute, and was also cautioned, in the 84th minute. With a game remaining in their season, Dnipro are locked in 4th place, and will join next year’s Europa League in the third qualifying round.
RUSSIA
Stipe Pletikosa was in net for FC Rostov in their 3-2 defeat to Amkar Perm on Friday. Rostov will need to beat league leaders CSKA Moscow in their final match to avoid playing in the relegation playoff for the 2nd consecutive year.
Ognen Vukojević started for Spartak Moscow and picked up a late yellow card as they won on the road at Krasnodar. Spartak are in 4th with a game to go and need to win their final match against last place Alania to clinch qualification for Europa League.
Tomislav Dujmović was a second half sub for Mordovia Saransk in their 1-1 draw with Terek Grozny. He replaced Kirill Panchenko in the 59th minute. With a game to go, Mordovia is already locked into the relegation places.
Vedran Čorluka, Dario Krešić, and Lokomotiv Moscow play away to Anzhi on Monday.
Next Matches:
Saturday, 5/25
Bayern München vs Borussia Dortmund(Champions League Final)(2:45pm EST)
Sunday, 5/26
Real Madrid at Real Sociedad, Sevilla at Osasuna, Rennes at Lyon, Mordovia Saransk at Lokomotiv Moskva, CSKA Moskva at Rostov, Illichivets’ at Dnipro, Metalurh Donetsk at Shakhtar Donetsk, Metalurh at Dynamo Kyiv
~Ante Kvartuč and Denis Svirčić reporting from sunny Southern California, Zach Gilfix reporting from Minneapolis, MN
@Zora
Ok dumbass. Who said Lovren would be a star? Watch a game before your useless comment. Did Modric, Mandzukic, Corluka and the list goes on when they ended up in a bigger league crumble. Nooooooo. Look at your useless team first and who they produced.
Ante B tin jedvaj ? Dinamo ? Stud? Who the hell is he containing in the HNL? that makes him a stud? When he gets to a bigger league he’ll probably crumble like lovren.
The game that really started our little Luka’s fire. He’s going to be a legion.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN-W77rr51w
.
@ Croatia v Antwerp
Appreciate that link.
Ancelotti will build through Modric. Ancelotti was a intelligent midfielder and values Modric’s skill set.
Credit to Modric for playing his game despite the tension in that locker room.
Not easy considering his game his predicated on teamwork.
@Imposter Jock Sniffer…. Everybody knows soccer players dont wear cups.
Always a pleasure watching Jedvaj play. Very talented kid. The future looks bright for him.
@Ante B. I wonder if he is getting a call up now, he wasn’t on the list for u19 championship squad the games in 2 weeks. Especially considering 1 game is a friendly and the other has several defensive suspensions and guys coming in on yellow cards (And maybe not wanting them to yellow out for Srbija in the fall)
Once Tin Jedvaj gets the call up, you will not have to worry about our backline. Dude is a stud at Dinamo. Write that down.
I will never forget that old Yugo commuist war film when the Dalmatian Donkeys charged at the German tanks and were able to go around them to plant the sea urchin bombs. great stuff.
@ Ziva
In the outside world, yeah these guys were never ‘talents’ to begin with… But I’m talking in the little universe that is Croatian nogomet, none of these guys have really cemented a spot in the NT. Vida, Pamic, Vrsaljko and Pavlovic have all at one point been talked about in our media to become future NT starters and none of them have really panned out…
I wouldn’t label guys like Vida, Pamic, Vrsaljko and Pavlovic as busts.
They were overvalued to begin with.
I think Lovren could be rules as a possible bust based on his transfer fee and the team he went to.
Job well done by Bilic’s agent. Unless you are Sir Alex or Arsen, coaches are hired to get fired. It’s all about the gaurenteed money and the gaurenteed contracts.
@ Croatia vs. Antwerp
I mean I would be hopefull for a midfield prospect, since we’re producing class MF’s left and right and have a bunch in youth pipeline.
But with our defenders, who’s the last real quality defender Croatia has produced? Carli? And he came onto the scene in the mid 2000’s. I’m not sure how long we can rely on guys like Scifo and Big Joe and how much more time does these ‘young guys’ like Lovren (23), Vida (24), Pamic (25), etc. need???
I’ll give Vrsaljko (21) and Pavlovic (22) another year or so before officially labeling them busts as well…
@nepoznat
If I were to wager on the potential of Bilic winning the job at Everton, my money would be placed on them giving the job to someone else. But funnier things have happened.
Luka was Real’s only bright spot this Spring:
http://www.marca.com/2013/05/19/en/football/real_madrid/1368988220.html
Luka will be around next season to pull the strings.
@ Armada, those guys are still young and still have time to develop, so I’m keeping hope alive. I’m the glass is half full kinda guy.
@Mishko he does like Luka (who wouldn’t?!? haha), he was trying to get him to go to PSG last summer don’t forget
Mourinho is OUT. Ancelotti to be confirmed this week. I hope he likes Luka.
@SteveDave not very surprising considering their results. Any chance he ends up coaching the Toffees?
Biliću na kraju sezone otkaz, ali i šest milijuna eura odštete
http://is.gd/QD8tto
@nepoznat…..Maloca is around 23 or 24. He spent most of his junior years with Dinamo and then moved on to other clubs before signing with hajduk. In the HNL he has looked good to very good. But, in the match he played againmst the Swiss in August he was by far the worst player on the field that day and there were plenty of our guys who played like crap that day. Now, that could be just one bad game by him. Either way, I doubt we see him against Scotland.
@ regarding our backline
I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that we had so many young talents from this generation who couldn’t take that next step and become an above average or better defender. Vida, Vrsajlko, Pamic, Pavlovic, Maloca, Lovren, etc.
Shit, I’d say the best out of this whole last generation, defender wise, is Strinic (and I think he getting a lot of caps at LB just because we’re paperthin at that position).
I’m gonna wear my signed, game worn, ’98 Davor Suker kit to the game vs. Skotska and I’m gonna wear an athletic cup once worn by Robi Prosinecki as a good luck charm !!!! GO CROATIA !! YEA !!
perhaps because it’s only Scotland and a friendly? and we can’t forget that with the looming suspensions of Vedran and Dejan we need some bodies in there as subs.
I don’t know much about him, I don’t follow the HNL closely at all. How old is he? Perhaps it’s about training him and grooming for a spot in the future? Even if it’s just as a sub/backup type player?
Maloca making the call up shows you how bad the backline is for Cro. At this point in his career based on what he has shown, he is not a national team quality player.
http://www.vecernji.hr/sport/vijesti/maloci-poziv-reprezentaciju-iako-stimac-jos-nije-objavio-popis-clanak-557065
Maloča the Hajduk captain was called up for the upcoming games
@Ante B.
Damn. Cavoglave and if Thompson shows up a hell of a way to celebrate your bday.
Your donkeys have failed you!
Possible meeting in Cavoglave this year? I will be there as it will be my birthday.
@Ante B.
I have never seen it as expensive as this year to go to Cro. I bought my tickets last month. This will be the norm for this season.
I just got my ticket for the summer. Do you guys realize it costs MORE to go to Germany than Croatia?!?
@ Elvis
My roots run deep into the Adriatic Sea.
We can have differing views.
Please respect that I am 100% Croatian.
You’re fathers have failed you! 🙂
Pletikosa Srna(y) Joe(y) Sifo(y) Strinic(y)-Rakitic Kovacic(y) Badelj(y)Perisic Mandzo Ola. if this starting 11 plays against scots they stands for yellows will miss serb game in june and if they get yellows v serbs miss the big belgium game.
Croatia airlines are on stike so what now i heard that zadar airport is closed that all flight are in zg via bus from zadar?
@ Ziva boli te kurac sto drugi mislu ti si takav i to je to
I’ll take player hater any day over being a jock sniffer.
Radosevic played in primavera team the whole season and i think did well according to italian papers
Ziva is the ultimate player hater.
No worries about Corluka scoring an own goal. In a few weeks time Corluka will be in Zrce surrounded by disease-infested bimbos who will make him forget poor performances on the field.
NOTE: To any fathers out there who have daughters…..you have failed as a parent if you allow your daughter to go to Zrce or if she ever makes it to Zrce.
I saw the youtube and all I can say is yup you are a leftist. You chould make that your avatar pic.
Matesic they have DNA tests now. You may be surprised by this but we are more homogenous than you think. Why do you by into that leftist nonsense?
@MATESIC
What rock are you talking about……Crack?
and by cosmopolitan do you mean gay?
You have strayed to far from your roots. I am sorry you grew up in Manhattan. You would have been better off in Queens.
@ Anonymous
Ironic growing up in uptown manhattan you either could handle the rock or were not able to play basketball.
So yes that is me!
@ Elvis
Do some soul searching and you will realize that Croatians have always been a cosmopolitan crew. Accept of course for the segment that sit around all day and tend to goats!
Matesic = Earth Community!
I’m pretty certain Rakitic scored a real header (an excellent one, too) for Sevilla this season. Can’t remember which specific game.
Upitna je utakmica Zrinjskog i Hrvatske pod Bijelim Brijegom
http://is.gd/2rLVBv
Čorluka scored on his own team to lose the game !
It’s a 20 minute interview, but you gotta love what Paolo Di Canio is doing in the premiership. Many coaches have tried to take this high and mighty role, but I think he’s one that can actually get results from it.
Abridged version: Drunk players, players showing up 20 min late, etc. This is on a team that barely stayed alive in the prem this season. Aside from watching Hrvati, it’s guys like this who i hope succeed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IsOjtj2ERQ&feature=youtu.be
Oh hey guys, hows that Spurs CL spot looking?
Matesic is this you?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUEWqOYJttI
@Jack V, depends on the weather… if it’s nice here we’ll be up at the lake club with our boys (Summer season kicks off that day) and I’ll watch it on the DVR later. If it’s raining and crappy out like yesterday and today then I’ll hit up a pub with a couple of friends who are big time into soccer.
What are your plans for the big game?
@Ante B.
You are right. Let him stew in his rejection of Croatia.
@MatesicMethod “I feel Croatia is a nation that lives all over the planet. “…….LOL and why is that?
MatesicMethod = Communist
Unless you follow Napoli day in, day out, nobody has an idea of what took place. Maybe they played a guy who has been there for a while and this was his last game. Maybe Radosevic has been shit in practice, We dont know.
@Croatiavsantwerp for the win
^^^ @ c vs a
exactly
The fact that it was a worthless game with the result meaningless, means there was little pressure on the players. Now that’s exactly the type of game you want to put the lad in for his first match to gain experience.
Rounding out the season by seeing some time on the pitch would have been a nice reward for all his hard work in the reserves. It would’ve made him feel good to get a couple of minutes.
@jack…..agreed.
@cro vs antwerp…….kid is 18. they can play him next year. nothing gained either way from playing him in a worthless game.
If Modric was on the team they would have made CL this year, considering they were just so close.
And Radosevic was an unused sub. Gotta play the guy if they want a return on their investment, 3 million Euro is a nice chunk of change.
@Ziva:
I disagree about your assessment of Bale and Modric.
They have not replaced Modric and Bale is reaching full maturity.
Bale and Modric are top team players and Spurs are not a top team.
@Ziva:
They got 4th place 2 seasons in a row. They missed CL on a technicality.
Am i missing something…….Modric was on Spurs last year and they missed out on Champs League. Same thing this season as they just missed out on it. Bale means more to that team than Modric did.
Regarding Radosevic……was he on the roster today. I have no clue. if not, it has more to do with him being a non-european union player and in Italy you can only dress a certain # of non-EU players.
@ Jack V
Probably going to watch it with Stari at my place. With the kids and finishing up my Masters time is limited on the weekends.
No one is denying that Sertic will be called up. We as Croatians, just don’t like the fact he initially rejected the Grb. And as far as him playing well for Vatreni, that remains to be seen.
I find it ridiculous that Radosevic didn’t play in a meaningless match. They paid good money for the lad, 3 million Euro. I agree with Marko, they have to loan him out.
You guys act like you guys can change who will be brought up for the national team lol oh man keep arguing about how Sertic didn’t want to play for Cro and is still going to get the call up and when he scores a goal all you retard fucks will be on his nuts in no time … Piece
We have a nice generation coming up in the next few years the goalkeeper needs work but defense mid and attack look good, ive sayed this last year late 2013 and 2014 we will be a stronger team
Disappointing that Radosevic didnt get a chance to play in the meaningless final game for napoli. Instead they used one of their subs on a 31 year old loanee smh. Hopefully next season he can get more opportunities, but if not LOAN him, i dont want to see him playing reserve matches
@ Nepoznat
I root for the American players too, but Dempsey could not cancel out my disdain for Levy and how they screwed with Modric. Especially since Modric has to be the most humble super star on the planet. Who with the Croatian crew led them into the champions league.
@Matesis Method, Nepoznat & Croatia vs. Antwerp:
I agree.
@Nepoznat:
I like when Americans play on teams with Croats because television coverage is almost guaranteed.
I think Howard is overrated. He makes his fair share of blunders and doesn’t play out of the back when pressure is applied.
@Nepoznat, Matsesic Method:
Where are you watching the Champion’s League Finale?
I like to keep things Cro as much as possible. As soon as a Hrvat gets subbed out, I lose interest and change the channel. The only exception is if it’s a very important match, then I’ll stay tuned.
ARSENAL ARSENAL ARSENAL
COYG
I don’t often watch the Bundesliga, but the Wolfsburg game quite surprised me. Like MatesicMethod said, the players move with purpose. They know who to pass the ball to and with great speed and order to boot. I’ll try to watch German football more often!
@MatesicMethod
“I have come to realize if there is not a Hrvat on the field I lose interest.”
I agree 99%! The difference is I have some interest when there are Americans playing, like Howard for Everton or Dempsey for Spurs. I don’t get the same butterflies in my stomach when Americans are on the pitch like I do for Hrvati but I will have a rooting interest and care a bit more about a match if there is American representation.
@ Jack V
Funny I was thinking the same thing about the quality of the EPL.
So many players and teams that lack basic technique and touch.
Bundesliga games flow and everyone on the team moves with purpose. EPL games run hard with disjointed movements. In La liga it seems the entire squad has great technique.
I have come to realize if there is not a Hrvat on the field I lose interest.
@ Tottenham Spurs
No Modric = No 4th place.
@ Real Madrid
No Modric = No flow on the field.
Sad znate koje majstore !
Modric & Redknapp brought them 4th two seasons in a row.
I just watched two DVR’d games
Chelsea-Everton & Wolfsburg-Dortmund
Perhaps I am biased towards the Bundesliga, but I am finding the EPL harder and harder to watch.
The officiating blows, perhaps that is why England doesn’t excel internationally.
Another season ends with tottenham looking up to arsenal 😉
I’d love to know who is the agent for Rebic. Because he has gotten some great publicity in the cro media in the last few weeks. Some sranje was thrown out that Spurs were interested in him. I was skeptical of that and it came out that was a bogus story.
Rebic needs to show something at another club. Plying good for a third-tier club like Split wont get him to the EPL.
I am fine with Sertic being on the squad however I would stick with Perisic at that position
Stimac discussing the squad including a couple questions on Halilovic:
http://www.jutarnji.hr/igor-stimac-za-sn—uskoro-bi-mogli-debitirati-rebic–halilovic–jedvaj-i-milici–/1103514/
who would reject a call up to Cro????? people who are not croatian
@Jack……Both team have more important games to play in the upcoming qualifiers. So, tough to make any type of prediction.
Tottenham misses out once again, lol same old story for the end of season miss firing spurs, thats what happens when you put your fate in the magpies hands
Regarding Sertic, why anyone in their right mind would reject a Call Up from Croatia is beyond me. It’s a great nation with an amazing culture.
During the Homeland War, Croatians weren’t rejecting Call Ups to fight that’s for sure.
The Definition of Croatians: A Strong, Proud, Intelligent People who were the Gatekeepers of Christendom and European Civilization.
@Ziva:
Do you think Belgium will destroy the US or will it be a half hearted affair?
Stimac was a commentator on HRT because he forced his way on it and knew how to get his way. Don’t be naive and think he got the gig because of his soccer knowledge. Still, the results have been in Stimac’s favor and so its tough to bitch and moan about him as the coach, especially when he has made some good moves.
On the contrary, Stimac SOUNDS a lot smarter. He speaks very well and brings his points across excellently. As opposed to Bilic who sort of mumbles and slurs and makes it difficult to understand anything. Stimac was not a Hrvatska Radio Televisija commentator for nothing you know.
Now, who IS truly smarter, that is another question.
Bilic was smart, but he was inconsistent.
We did remarkably well in Euro2008 and Euro2012. But we also missed out on the World Cup, which was unforgivable in many Croats’ eyes and that started that constant Bilic-hate back home.
Bilic is a tough call. He sounds like he knows exactly what needs to be done and in most cases executes it really well, but he sometimes has this fear which causes him to hold back and then something like that 2-0 Greece game happens.
I also think he picked coaching in Russia as a safer option to jumping into the high pressure EPL right away. I haven’t watched any Lokomotiva Moskva games, but they’re having a horrible season and might end up canning Bilic.
Stimac sounds much dumber, and is probably not up to par with Bilic when it comes to tactics…but with a team as talented as Croatia, we probably don’t need someone to over analyze our squad. For the most part, we are playing teams that are below us in talent, so all we really need is a motivator, and I think guys are more motivated (or should I say, more afraid) of a Stimac instead of a Bilic.
It’ll be interesting to see what happens against elite competition in the World Cup. The Belgium game in Zagreb will be an excellent test.
@ Ante B “easy”
Bas mi briga.
What I know about what the f#%*? This kid was thinking when he rejected the last call up.
Maybe he is the prodigal son who is coming home to his father land?
I need to see if this kid can play?
I worked out with some pro teams in Rijeka and Zadar back in the day and my Croatian was limited. I fit in seemlessly with the other players. The connection I had with them was embedded in the DNA.
If the kid has the goods I say give him a shot.
I feel Croatia is a nation that lives all over the planet.
Now you know I am on the liberal side of the posting spectrum.
Ali ja hocu samo hrvati za NASA reprezentacija. Deckl ima pravi hrvati prezime. To je vasi za meni.
Stimac may be a bit shady but you can count on him load all the bullets in the gun before he goes into battle. This kid could be a valuable bullet!
Bog I Hrvatska!
Raketa good season imo, Scotland
Pletikosa Srna Sifo Joe Strinic Rakitic Badelj Kovacic Perisic Ola Mandzo. Subs Eduardo Sammir Halilovic to come in.
F**k Tottenham! Can’t wait for Bale to be sold. Theyve stolen more late points than just about any team in England I’d be willing to bet.
Arsenal belong in the Champions League and were unlucky to not beat the Munchen Empire over 2 legs.
And he finally scores a header!!! On his own goal… LOLOLOL
Rakitic scores 11th of the season!
It was always interesting to me how Bilic was always praised and saluted on here and other forms of international media however whenever I went to Croatia, everyone there wanted him out and were fed up with him post 2008.
He did a good job overall, two good Euro’s. Missing the World Cup was a huge blow, I like Bilic’s character but I like Stimac’s character and style too.
Most people dismissed Stimac when he was appointed and even more joined when he lost to Switzerland. I like his resilience and his mind set. A lot of people here in the UK remember him as a legend at Derby County, a vintage old fashioned centre back.
Scotland home and is 6 points. Serbia away will be very tough, they played very well against Belgium at home and they had some good chances in Zagreb, a draw will be enough and then beating Belgium goes without saying. If we lose to Serbia then it’s down to goal difference. I want + 7 from the Scotland games alone.
So Matesic, let’s get this right:
You want a player who rejected Croatia initially to go play for France because that was his first option? Then, after realizing he can’t play for France, then chooses Croatia out of convenience?
If you reject a cal up once, you should never play for Hrvatska. That’s why I don’t want him. Players should want to play for Croatia, like Kovac bros and Simunic, and not reject her only to come back later out of convenience. Excuse my Swahili, but fuck that guy.
If Sertic can improve the squad and support the cause then it works for me !
If he can’t play then he is out.
He has Croatian roots and the language is in him some where.
Plus he does not need to learn grammar or business level Croatian. Just the basics like “pickati materina!”
I pray we blow out Scotland and Belgium takes Serbia to lightly and lays egg. They are due to lay egg sooner or later as a young crew.
Either way we have own work to do.
Stimac is a winner and I respect how is cultivating depth in the repka. We have been too lean over the years to really compete at major tornaments into the later rounds. The more ballers the better.
Respect to Bilic and all the work he has done with the repka. I will say that he allowed everyone to be a little too comfortable. Jebi ga. You want to play then bring your A game, that’s how you build a championship level program.
Like Nick Saban at Alabama. Depth at every position!
No injury for Perisic I don’t think. Got subbed off after a defender picked up a red card
It seems halilovic playing for cro is becoming a much more certain thing between stimac calling him (likely wouldn’t if he didn’t think he would accept the call and stimac should know since he’s been in touch with him a bunch) and family members of halilovic saying it makes sense for him to play for croatia. Here’s stimac quote from the latest article about his place in the upcoming qualifier vs scotland.
Quote from Stimac: – “Halilović je definiran. Radujem se što ću sudjelovati u njegovom nogometnom razvoju. – kaže izbornik hrvatske nogometne reprezentacije.
For non cro speakers “Halilovic is defined. I delight that I will participate in his football development. ” Igor Stimac
Croatia vs Antwerp
I’ve seen Sertic play a few times. The guy is not a winger in my opion. If you want to compare him with one croatian player, I would say Badelj. Both guys play more or less on the same positon. Though, I think Sertic can score from outside the backline too.
Some news from Croatians in Germany
Munich won 3-4 against Monchengladback. Mandzukic played 75 minutes but didn’t score. Hrgota played 90 minutes for Mönchengladbach but he failed to score too.
Freiburg lost 1-2. Saintini came into the game after 64 minutes.
Hamburg lost 0-1. Badelj played 65 minutes while Ilicevic came in after 81 minutses.
Frankfurt-Wolfsburg 2-2. None of the Croatians on the field scored. Lakic played the whole game for Frankfurt, while Perisic was subbed out after only 38 minutes. I hope this won’t be an injury. Olic was subbed out after 82 minutes.
Pavlovic didn’t play for Werder Bremen.
That’s all, folks
I have not watched second choice Sertic play beyod extended highlights. So, I go with Perisic.
One thing that needs to be asked is how could the addition of second choice Sertic impact the repka from a chemistry point of view. I know if was on that team I would be pissed if he was called and took the spot of a freind, teammate (an actual hrvat).
His second choice is Croatia, and he shouldn’t be called up. Fair enough.
However the powers that be are calling him up. So solely from a footballing standpoint, who is better Sertic or Perisic?
I find this questionable:
Belgium is traveling to the USA to play the US in a friendly on May 29 in that great tourist destination of Cleveland (who knew the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame had so much appeal) and then return to Belgium to play against Serbia is a qualifier on June 7.
Make no sense to me, hopefully they drop points against the serbs.
Well, second choice Sertic should not even be called up. What a complete joke we are calling up a guy who rather play for France than Cro and doesnt even speak the language.
The call ups for the Scotland game should come up this week. Now its a wait-and-see approach if Halilovic will accept the call up.
Croatia is getting some reinforcements with Halilovic and Sertic joining the party.
Who do you think is better Sertic or Perisic? Both are winger/midfielders, and will be in competition for that 4th midfield spot.
Štimac u repku zove Halilovića a u stožer Krstičevića
Perisic taken off in first half. Another injury?
sadly Arsenal will sneak in yet again, it’s the same old Tottenham, Same azzzz before.. as the song goes,
Tottenham are known to crumble when the pressure heats up & are not able to maintain consistency, it’s instilled in them to do so & a part of their culture..
COYS!!!!
cant wait to celebrate st.totteringhams day this sunday 😉