Comments on CROATIAN SOCCER REPORT: CROATIANS AROUND EUROPE WEEK XIII

Ivan Perisic was cleared today, so, no need to wor...

2009-11-11T10:31:45.406-08:00

Ivan Perisic was cleared today, so, no need to worry. Lets get 6 points in the next few days and top the under 21 group.

http://www.nogometni-magazin.com/newspro/coranto/v...

2009-11-10T17:56:16.819-08:00

http://www.nogometni-magazin.com/newspro/coranto/viewnews.cgi?id=EkVZlZpupVCQmKcTye&tmpl=coranto_hrv_news

Not sure what you want to make of this, but yeah this doesn't seem good.

The match is in Cyprus, so I am not entirely sure ...

2009-11-10T14:23:49.833-08:00

The match is in Cyprus, so I am not entirely sure what the availability would be.

You can check www.myp2p.eu

I even checked RTL and no dice.

@ TheGoldenChild - Not a crazy idea to call up Per...

2009-11-10T14:19:46.369-08:00

@ TheGoldenChild - Not a crazy idea to call up Perisic. I will always be the first to ask for the youth to get a shot at the senior level, however, I think our Under 21s have a very good side at the moment, best to leave them all alone and let them try and compete for the under 21 championship. I was very critical of Ladic before, but, with Rakitic and Kalinic joining the youngsters, just leave them all down there and watch them make a run at the title.

@ Michael - That just ruined my day. I was planning on watching that, just assumed they would show the match. How tough would it be to find a live stream of that match on the net?

I just checked the schedule, here it is. http://r...

2009-11-10T14:11:25.179-08:00

I just checked the schedule, here it is.

http://raspored.hrt.hr/?raspored=1&mreza=3&datum=2009-11-14

Why doesn't Bilic call up Perisic and bring in Bil...

2009-11-10T13:56:37.738-08:00

Why doesn't Bilic call up Perisic and bring in Bilic, and let them play off each other up top. Might as well take a shot to see how it would work out. I know we have many different options up top..just a thought since we're not making the world cup there is no reason why we couldn't experiment for a game or two.

Crazy idea?

Really? the Under 21s play a few hours before the ...

2009-11-10T13:53:52.062-08:00

Really? the Under 21s play a few hours before the senior team.

HRT won't be broadcasting the U-21 game this Satur...

2009-11-10T13:25:45.867-08:00

HRT won't be broadcasting the U-21 game this Saturday.

They will be showing

Croatia vs Lictenstein (sp?)
Portugal vs BiH

Apparently he (Enke) lost his daughter to a rare h...

2009-11-10T13:10:17.740-08:00

Apparently he (Enke) lost his daughter to a rare heart condition when she was only 2. That would be enough to lead anyone to depression.

Their own bank account, sorry. One eye on the cpu ...

2009-11-10T13:05:10.322-08:00

Their own bank account, sorry. One eye on the cpu screen, the other on the Barca game.

Initial reports are that he threw himself under a ...

2009-11-10T13:03:22.893-08:00

Initial reports are that he threw himself under a train. Very sad. I dont know what drove him to it, but, depression is something that can strike anyone and very easily at that.

On another note;

Bravo Alcorcon!!! Hahaha, 4 - 1 on aggregate over the pretty boys of Real Madrid. They totally outclassed Madrid in the first leg. The Madrid fans were breaking out the cries of Ole anytime Alcorcon strung together 2 passes in the last 5 mins. Lets go Barca!! I hope Villarreal and Valencia can string together some nice results as well.

Pokrivac should have definitely went to Germany instead. The problem is the agents. Never trust anyone who stands to make a commission off your decisions. They are supposed to be acting within the best interest of their client, instead, they act in the best interest of their bank own account.

that's really sad, he was only on the pitch two da...

2009-11-10T12:37:25.953-08:00

that's really sad, he was only on the pitch two days ago. There is far too many players being lost. Croatia has lost its share too - Mile Kovacic, Custic, Dani Popovic and Sabolcki.

Schildenfeld can make himself a good career in Austria. Pokrivac has been excellant in Austria. I think he prob dropped down a bit too low. He should have gone to Koln. Pokrivac however has done what so many players from Croatia should be doing which is finding there level. Too many get lost in the wrong clubs.

RIP, Robret Enke. I knew he was suffering from dep...

2009-11-10T12:08:10.413-08:00

RIP, Robret Enke. I knew he was suffering from depression, thats just a really sad story. Second high profile German International to suffer from depression over the past few years. Thank goodness that Sebastian Deisler got the help that he needed.

Andre Mijatović should have definitely been called...

2009-11-10T11:46:14.284-08:00

Andre Mijatović should have definitely been called up, before he broke his leg many years ago, he was highly thought of.

I hate to disrespect anyone who we call up, or may...

2009-11-10T11:43:45.125-08:00

I hate to disrespect anyone who we call up, or may at one time represent our country on the field. However, I never thought Schildenfeld or Strinic were really in line for a call up. I am happy to see Pamic get a chance. Trapatoni and Lothar Matthaus must have seen something in him to bring him to Austria. I think we may have to start thinking of players like Pokrivac and Perisic a bit differently. It seems as if both of their roles are changing. Nikola has been used in a 4-1-4-1 and is lined up inside the flat midfield four. Ivan has been lined up as a support striker recently. I dont know if Pokrivac can be seen as a lone CDM and Perisic as a classic creative midfielder. Seems as if he is a hybrid between a midfielder and a striker.

I am looking forward to watching our Under 21s this weekend. I look forward to that match more than the senior squad which will be playing later that day. Hopefully Vida gets a start, he was all over the park on the weekend and was even helping out the midfielders and the strikers. He looked like Igor Tudor, back in his Juventus days under Lippi. Lippi gave him a free role at times. The winner against Deportivo de La Coruña definitely comes to mind.

I believe that if it were a competitive match this...

2009-11-10T06:22:18.072-08:00

I believe that if it were a competitive match this Schildenfeld/ Strinic position we are discussing belongs to Dejan Lovren. At least until Goran Sablic gets fit anyway.

I'm completely disinterested in the Croatia friendly. Its such a low class opponent that i think we'll learn even less than Qatar. Qatar were at least quite quick and tricky, but Leichenstien is just a mundane match. HNS prob will even make a loss in hosting it. I'm only really interested in Slovenia and Bosnia's match this week. Croatia's going on the back burner for a fortnight.

I don't even think the friendly is a good match to judge the qualities of Dujmovic, M Bilic or Jelavic. Dujmovic has to avoid injury at all costs as his team are involved in the last matches of their season. Also a goal for Bilic against Leicestien is about as impressive as scoring his Cup goal and the goal Jelavic scored at weekend. We all know they can score against low class opposition.

Personally i think you may as well send out players like Mario Carevic, Ilija Sivonjic, Anas Sharbini, Bojan Vrucina to play Leichenstien.

CORRECTION: Schildenfeld plays for Sturm Graz like...

2009-11-10T04:12:08.796-08:00

CORRECTION: Schildenfeld plays for Sturm Graz like dinamofan said, not LASK Linz.

With regards to defense. We have a bunch of defensive prospects in the u-21 squad.
Names that stand out the most:
Lovren
Maloca
Tomecak
Vida

All play in the HNL, all 20 or younger, far too young and inexperienced for the big boys NT at this point in time.

Any Josip Simunic's being sought after by the HNS in Australia right now?

There should be more Schildenfeld's playing in the...

2009-11-10T00:53:29.847-08:00

There should be more Schildenfeld's playing in the game against Leichenstien. Its such a nothing match. Is Schildenfeld really any worse than Strinic? At least Schildenfeld has played in a side that won titles and played in Europe. Also at Dinamo if he was so bad he would not have gone to Besiktas. Schildenfeld was still young and not ready to transfer, but cos of Drpic he ended up going. Early 20's in not the age to judge a central defender. Schildenfeld can improve as he gets older. He's certainly good enough to play well in the Austrian league. I personally don't see him as a Croatia player at this point, but then again neither is Strinic. Hopefully Cale gets restored sooner rather than later. Andre Mijatovic has also had a good season so far and can be added to the list of providing potential defensive cover.

Regards his situation in Turkey apparently he had a bizarre illness on arrival and then Besiktas tried to not pay for him. He played a few games as sub and then had a nothing season last year at Duisburg. But at Sturm Graz he's been fine. Against Leichenstien i see no problem in calling him up. I would imagine sides like Hoffenheim and Spurs would hope Schildenfeld plays instead of Simunic and Corluka.

@ Denis, It's good to hear that CAE is liked from...

2009-11-09T20:28:56.381-08:00

@ Denis,

It's good to hear that CAE is liked from a reverse perspective. Ivica got it right away...we have a weekend off coming up. What the hell are we going to talk about now?

If anyone doubted the defensive crisis facing the ...

2009-11-09T19:50:38.198-08:00

If anyone doubted the defensive crisis facing the NT in the near future, I've two words; Gordon Schildenfeld. And to think there was a time when people used to whine about Dario Simic sitting on the bench for Milan...
Seriously, unless Sablic and Knezevic can stay healthy and Lovren can develop into a decent defender, we're in trouble in the near future. Bilic needs to kiss his lucky charm and pray that another quality young defender pops up a-la-Corluka.
On a more positive note, it's great to see Babic back. He created the goal v Valencia by taking a wicked 25yrd shot which was tapped in by the rebound and was himself denied a goal by a questionable offside call. All after coming on as a sub.

That is true, I'm just not a fan of his, so I gues...

2009-11-09T16:19:36.175-08:00

That is true, I'm just not a fan of his, so I guess my bias is a bit too strong.

I should reserve judgment until I see him in action.

I do believe he has been getting solid minutes wit...

2009-11-09T15:28:00.290-08:00

I do believe he has been getting solid minutes with LASK Linz in Austria this season. Why not check him out? It is just a friendly.

Bilic did call him up to he squad.....I just don't...

2009-11-09T15:21:14.350-08:00

Bilic did call him up to he squad.....I just don't see why.

He was horrible in Dinamo, perhaps he's improved his game, but Besiktas sent him packing mighty early (And if I'm not mistaken, he's involved in a financial dispute with them)

@ Michael Michael, I thought I read somewhere tha...

2009-11-09T14:44:43.945-08:00

@ Michael

Michael, I thought I read somewhere that Gordon Schildenfeld had some words for Bilic? Or vice versa?

Fill us all in pleaseee!

Gordon Schildenfeld..........really Bilic? That's...

2009-11-09T13:56:09.537-08:00

Gordon Schildenfeld..........really Bilic?

That's a new low.

Comments on CROATIAN SOCCER REPORT: CROATIANS AROUND EUROPE WEEK *XIII*