With Croatia’s current problem at the #9 position, why didn’t Dalić call up 20 year-old Red Bull Salzburg striker Roko Šimić for November’s Euro 2024 qualifiers against Latvia and Armenia? I’m not asking for the kid to start or even get any minutes with the senior side in either match, but why not let him hang with Modrić and company and get groomed properly?
Šimić is starting for RB Salzburg in Austrian Bundelsliga matches as well as Champions League. He already has a Champions League penalty to his name. Why not reward the kid with a call up when the Croatian defense and midfield is already stacked with talent?
The Musa project has yet to leave the launchpad…if it ever does. Both Petković and Budimir are similar “big body/hold up” strikers. Do we really need two of them for Latvia and Armenia? Petko is 29 years old and Budimir is 32. Both not our future. Why not reward Šimić with his great play this season; whether he plays or not? In my opinion, I think you have to bring one young guy if you’re already benching Musa and Beljo in the process.
I mean, if Frigan can get called up in September, Šimić should 100% be called up for this month’s qualifiers. I don’t quite understand the logic from Dalić.
Another question: why not Hrvoje Smolčić? He’s a regular starter for Frankfurt and can play as a defensive mid or CB. Might be a better choice than Nikola Moro (I’m not saying I know this, just putting the idea out there).
LOLOL all these people saying “what has he done to deserve a call up” LOLO! Half our team has done nothing or less and still get called up.
Also 99% of the people saying this haven’t watched him play more than a handful of minutes, if that at all. You call him up cause he’s young and hungry and passes the eye test.
He doesn’t have to play a minute. Just having him there is beneficial to everyone.
mlad i gladan can be described for any players under 23 yrs of age.
Call him once he proves it.
Not true at all. Halilovic is a perfect example. Thought he was the shit.. .now he’s just shit.
Sorry dude but that’s an awful take. Not everyone youngster wants to put in the effort.
Plus we have no one else. We havent had a proper striker since Mandzu. So what can go wrong if we put Simic or Ljubicic for a few games up front ?
Šimić has done absolutely nothing to prove he’s NT material. 4 goals and 0 assists in 12 Austrian Bundesliga games isn’t bad for someone his age, but I don’t think it’s enough to even earn himself a spot on the bench.
Good point. For reference, Budimir has six goals this season in the top league in the world… He’s setting the standard for the moment, along with Musa.
Where are all the prospects? You have been touting on this website. The greatest 15 year old. This guy and that guy. The hype machine at work. The players might be good but they have to fit the coaches system, have chemistry with teammates and have confidence to perform.
Dalić is the classic « dance with the one that brung you » manager. He is loyal to HIS players. Why else would Vida be starting? This team needs an influx of youth. Maybe after this cycle Dalić plan on leaving. One thing we all must credit Dalić for…silver, bronze, Nations League finalists, winning streaks. Remember what this team was like when Dalić took over?
As the bumper sticker say in Croatia……. What would Modric Do? I with you, the highlights I viewed, it looked like Beljo was doing well.
On another note. Why do they count penalty kicks as goals for strikers? That should be a separate statistic. I hate when they say a player scored a goal, and it was just a penalty kick. A striker who has 6 outright goals, is better than a striker with 3 PKs and only 3 goals actually scored. The 2nd one would deserve in Oscar Award for Best Actor. It should future be broken down into Direct and Indirect PKs.
I have bitched about this for years lol. Made me wonder if it should be like basketball where the guy who gets fouled takes it, or the guy who touched the ball last when it hit defender’s hand takes it. It really makes soccer fantasy player pools much less fun than they could be. Take the PK taker.
I read that when Skoblar bagged 44 for Marseille that all came from open play. When Messi had 50 for Barca, 15 were from PKs.
Dalic is an absolute shit manager /
better to tie with Latvia and Loss to Armenia
so then we can kick him out and have a bright future!!
Dont you need to actually do something to get on the national team? Does he have potential? Sure.
There is nothing in his game to suggest he is a senior national team player. Not yet at least.
Well he does start for a Champions League team and won a MOTM award.
Also, we’re in a position of weakness with our striker depth, now that Petković is injured and our superstar Livaja has retired.
Budimir is being called back simply because he scored a couple of goals this past month, and Dalić is getting nervous and won’t experiment with youth.
We should still be calling up at least one of Musa, Beljo, or Šimić with the intention of giving them some substitute minutes (or at least practice with the team for future integration).
The good news is that we have a lot of recent strikers options in Beljo, Šimić, Frigan, and Musa.
The problem is that they’re all still relatively young and unproven (with no obvious standouts)…and it’s difficult to give each guy a chance with enough time to evaluate.
Musa seemed like the logical choice (due to him starting at Benfica) but now it’s confusing because Beljo seemed to do more in the few minutes he received off the bench, then Musa did in both his starts.
I don’t agree that we should now demote both players (like Dalić just did) simply because Budimir scored a couple of goals (including a PK) a couple of weeks ago.
Should have kept at least one, so you can continue to play them (at least off the bench) and continue to evaluate them.
The only logical thing is mamic blocked it with some sort of fall out with Dinamo and dario;)
But ya I’ve been calling for it for a while
What harm would it be if he is on the bench and maybe gets ten mins at the end of a match if we are up or heck starving for a goal once again
Mamic is still the boss, running things from B&H. The supposed national team is still his play thing and Dalic continues to be the ever loyal dog doing Mamic’s bidding.